25+ Jobs For Former Teachers To Start a New Career

Are you a teacher looking to start a new career? There are many jobs for former teachers that are a perfect fit for your skills and expertise. You should also rest assured you’re not the only one wanting to start anew. Before the pandemic, 44% of new teachers were leaving the profession within the first five years.

Why Do Teachers Leave Teaching?

There are many factors that drive educators to wish for a new career. Poor pay, long hours, stress of the classroom environment name a few. Once 2020 made classroom teaching more difficult and even potentially dangerous, the number of teachers leaving their jobs grew by 75%. Retired teachers may also be looking into a new career to supplement their income in retirement.

No matter if you teach secondary school or at the university level, the challenges for teachers in the workplace remain the same. Luckily, teachers tend to have a lot of education, skills, and experience that are valuable for jobs in all sorts of different fields. Here’s a detailed list of jobs for former teachers based on skills, education level, career goals, and more:

How To Use Your Classroom Skills in Your New Career

If you have lots of classroom teaching experience and want to apply these skills to jumpstart a new career, here are some of the best jobs for former teachers to consider:

• Become a homeschool consultant
• Start teaching online
• Become a tutor
• Manage after school programs
• Become a museum educator
• Become an adult educator
• Start a freelance business

The Best Jobs for Former Teachers in 2021

Here’s an overview of the top jobs for former teachers that make the most of your classroom skills:

1. Homeschool Consultant

Homeschool consultant has become a very popular career choice for former teachers in recent years. More and more parents are opting to homeschool their children using online resources, but they need the help of an educator to manage the task.

As a homeschool consultant, you may build curricula, monitor student progress, and even teach or tutor on occasion. You can work with multiple families or exclusively with one. The great news is, you have the potential to earn a lot more as a homeschool consultant than a regular classroom teacher.

2. Online Teacher

What are some alternative choices for classroom teachers? If you still want to teach but don’t want to commute to school every day, then why not try online teaching jobs from home? Since 2020, online teaching has become a much more popular form of instruction. Some schools allow teachers to teach online from home. If yours doesn’t, then you can easily get hired by another school that does, or work privately for homeschool classes. If you search freelance platforms like Upwork or Guru, you can find parents and organizations looking to hire teachers to work remotely. You can also use my Upwork proposal template to apply for gigs and start landing clients as an online teacher.

3. Tutor

Tutoring is another one of the great jobs for former teachers, especially if you’re retired and looking to do something part-time. As a tutor, you can work with students outside of the traditional classroom environment, either by visiting their home, meeting somewhere to teach, or video chatting. Tutoring can also be a remote job if you want. How much you can earn as a tutor depends on the subject area and level of education you’re tutoring. Tutoring is something you can do part-time or full-time. There are plenty of online platforms out there designed to help tutors and students connect, such as Tutor.com.

4. Managing After School Programs

Managing after-school activities as a program director is a great job for former teachers. Depending on the school and program, this can be a full-time job or a part-time commitment. An after-school program director can plan and conduct various activities to engage students in elective topics outside of the classroom.

For a larger school, a director could be in charge of planning, budgeting for, and managing all after-school activities, including sports and clubs. Many teachers who want a change consider becoming an after-school program director to get out of the classroom, work more flexible hours, and focus on engaging with smaller groups of children.

5. Museum Educator

If you’re considering alternative jobs for teachers outside of the classroom, Museum Educator is a great option. You already have strong teaching skills that can be applied to educating museum visitors. This type of job also gets you out of the classroom so you can work in a new environment.

While there are no special credentials needed to become a museum educator, it helps if you have knowledge and a passion for the subject area of the museum. Salary is not high for this kind of job, but if you really love your subject and teaching others about the museum, it can be a great alternative career to teaching in a classroom.

6. Adult Educator

What can retired teachers do? If you’re just worn out of working with kids, why not become an adult educator? There are many programs that need teachers to work with adults. There are night classes for those working to get their GED, as well as specialty vocational classes, and other courses at a community college or career center that adults take to advance their careers.

As an adult educator, you can teach remedial courses on different subjects as well as other soft and hard skills. You’ll need at least a bachelor’s degree for this role, and a teaching license will definitely help you land a job.

What Kinds of Companies and Organizations Hire Former Teachers?

Lots of teachers today think they can only get hired by schools. However there are lots of companies and organizations that seek out teachers to fill important roles in their business. Former teachers can also work as independent contractors for a variety of companies. Teachers have valuable skills that relate to all sorts of fields.

Here are some different types of companies and organizations that hire former teachers:
• Corporate businesses
• Nonprofit organizations
• Government offices
• Academic institutions

Alternative Careers For Teachers Outside of Education

Here are some of the different jobs and roles former teachers can have working in a career outside of education:

7. Corporate Trainer

You might be surprised to discover that big corporations do hire teachers. Lots of insights that former teachers can offer are valuable to business administration and other areas. There are many companies that hire former teachers as a corporate trainer. In this role, your job is to educate employees, teaching them new company procedures and skills to better do their jobs. You’ll do this by creating lesson plans, presentations, and activities to teach. Lots of big enterprise businesses hire former teachers to have as corporate trainers on staff, paying them an excellent salary.

8. Career Counselor

If you want to work outside of education but still help shape their future for people, then career counseling is a great choice. Career counselors can guide high school students about university and career options or help college graduates get ready for the world of work. You can also work as a counselor for mid-career professionals looking to advance their position or take a new direction.

As a career counselor, you could work for a school or a specific organization, or as an independent contractor. This allows you to pick your clients and set your own hours. I also recommend Bonsai freelance software for tracking your hours worked and invoices.

9. Nonprofit Employee

There are lots of jobs for ex-teachers with nonprofit organizations. Teachers tend to be knowledgeable and passionate about helping others, which makes them a great pick for nonprofit organizations.

There are many different types of jobs you can do in the nonprofit sector, such as:
• Outreach coordination
• Fundraising
• Grant writing
• Administration
• Accounting
• Health and Human Resources
• Management
• And More

Salaries vary greatly based on your field. Which area you choose will depend on your current skills and goals. Many nonprofit employees have happy, successful careers knowing they do their part to work towards a positive goal.

10. Freelance Writer

I’m personally a freelance writer, so this is my favorite job for former teachers on the list. There are many people with higher education who are qualified to work as a freelance writer, but former teachers are among the best. You already have writing skills and other valuable knowledge you can apply to freelance writing, either part or full-time as a new career.

If you want help getting started with your writing career, I have lots of content that can help:

• How to get started as an educational writer
• How to set your writer pay rates
• Places to find writing gigs

11. Blogger

Blogging is one of the best alternative careers for teachers who are looking for freelance jobs from home. As a teacher, you likely have a lot of experience and skills that you can write about on a personal blog. Retired teachers often blog about education-related topics and childhood development, or even non-teaching-related topics from their other hobbies and skills. Blog frequently and build an audience of regular readers, then you can monetize your blog to earn passive income. Displaying ads, creating and selling your own info products, or promoting third-party products as an affiliate are all ways to earn income blogging.

Jobs For Former Teachers With a Master’s Degree

If you have master’s or doctoral degrees in teaching, education, or another subject, there are many career paths you can take that utilize your credentials. Here are some of the best options:
• Curriculum Developer
• Education Policy
• Grant Writer
• School Administrator
• Instructional Designer
• Education Consultant

12. Curriculum Developer

Curriculum development is one of the best jobs for teachers who don’t want to teach because you get to use your teaching skills without having to do any actual instruction. School districts, other teachers, and homeschool programs regularly hire consultants to help them develop curriculum for new classes. This is true for all levels of education and for specific subjects. Using your skills as a former teacher, you can specialize in certain areas of curriculum design and earn good money in the process.

13. Education Policy

A career in education policy is a great way to take your experience as a teacher and passion for educational success and apply them to drive positive change. A bachelor’s degree is the minimum to work in education policy, however it’s much easier to get a high-paying position if you have at least a master’s.

Most positions in education policy will be working for the government, but you could also get hired to work for other political organizations or advocacy groups. Your job is to ensure certain standards for education, and possibly push new initiatives to improve education for tomorrow’s students.

14. Grant Writer

If you have a master’s degree and a knack for persuasive writing, then grant writing could be an excellent second career for you after teaching. Nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and small businesses regularly hire writers to help them craft impactful grant applications.

If you’ve ever successfully applied for or received a grant yourself, whether it be for your teaching position, in university, or another organization, those are all the credentials you need to become a freelance grant writer. When I first started freelance writing, I helped a few clients craft their grant applications, and all I had was a small NSF grant and a few successful scholarship applications as credentials.

15. School Administrator

School administrator is an obvious career choice for former teachers, which is why it makes our list. School administrators are needed for primary, secondary, and post-secondary schools. The average salary is about $95,000 for secondary school principals and around $94,000 for post-secondary administrators.

To become a school administrator, you’ll need an advanced education degree or degrees in a related field, such as:
• A Master’s degree
• Educational Specialist degree
• Doctor of Education
• Ph.D. in Education

16. Instructional Designer

If creating lesson plans was one of your favorite activities as a classroom teacher, then you might consider a career in instructional design. Unlike a curriculum developers who choose what topics and level to teach in different classes, an instructional designer actually comes up with specific activities to teach a curriculum. These can include worksheets and assignments, demonstrations, in-class activities and assessments. You’ll also create time-bound objectives teachers can work towards in the classroom environment.

17. Education Consultant

If you have years of experience in the classroom as a former teacher, you can apply these skills to a new career as an educational consultant. Many teachers who don’t want to teach anymore but want to still help students learn take on a new career as educational consultants.

Education consultants are required to have at least a master’s degree. Depending on your role, you may consult with principals and staff or work directly with teachers to help them improve instruction. Most educational consultants work for several different schools in a single district.

What Can You Do With a Teaching Degree (Besides Teach)?

Tired of looking for teaching jobs? Want to start a new career instead of being a school teacher? Here are some of the best careers former teachers can get into if they don’t want to teach anymore:
• Editor
• Textbook Sales Representative
• School Counselor
• Author
• Developing Standardized Tests
• Selling Teaching Materials

The Best Jobs for Teachers Who Don’t Want to Teach

Here’s an overview of each of these unique careers that are perfect for former teachers who don’t want to be in the classroom anymore:

18. Editor

Editing is one of the best alternatives to teaching out there. Years of reading and grading papers makes many teachers more than qualified to earn income as a freelance editor. Editing is also something you can do part-time if you want to keep your teaching job as well.

You don’t need any special credentials or extra experience to become an editor beyond what you already have as a teacher. As a successful editor myself, I have a lot of resources that can help you get started with this job for former teachers, including:

• Advice on how to start an editing business
• A guide on how much to charge for editing services
• A guide to earning income editing for education as an academic editor

19. Textbook Sales Representative

Textbook sales representative is one of the best jobs for teachers who love to travel. In this career, your job is to convince different schools and organizations to purchase textbooks. You’ll be responsible for pitching potential buyers, presenting the textbook’s content and value, and answering questions about the product. You can also travel from place to place to spread the word about textbooks. Former teachers are great for this position because they understand how textbooks are used practically and can use this knowledge as a selling point.

20. School Counselor

If you don’t want to teach but enjoy working in the school system, then school counseling might be a good career choice for you. You can work as the designated counselor for a single school, or split your time between several different schools in the same district.

As a school counselor, you’ll guide students in their academic careers. You’ll help students with annual academic planning and offer career and college advice. You’ll also guide them with personal and social matters, and evaluate students for behavioral differences or learning challenges.

21. Sell Teaching Materials

Selling teaching materials is one of the best second careers for teachers but few ever pursue it! Most people with education experience don’t realize they can package educational resources and sell them online for profit. Educators and even parents will purchase good teaching materials online created by former teachers. The market for these resources has gotten even larger since remote learning became mainstream.

Here’s an example of an online business that creates and sells worksheets for secondary school:

You can create and sell teaching materials for any level of education or any topic area.

22. Author (Textbook Author)

Of all the great career changes for teachers, becoming an author is often one of the most rewarding. This career choice is also great for retired teachers who want to work from home and earn some extra income from book royalties. The logical choice for a former teacher would be to write a textbook. If you have advanced teaching degrees and experiences as a teacher in a specific subject, that’s all the qualifications you need to write a textbook. However that’s not the only type of book you can write. Teachers have a lot of knowledge, skills and experiences that they can teach others by writing a non-fiction book.

23. Developing Standardized Tests

If you don’t want to teach anymore but want to stay in the education field, developing standardized tests is a logical choice. In this role, you’ll create test questions designed to evaluate student understanding so that parents, teachers and schools can improve learning outcomes.

As an expert in a certain subject area, most likely you’ll be in charge of creating a section of a standardized test that relates to your subject. The key is to create a variety of similar questions that are comparable in difficulty to create different test versions. You could do this on the national or state level, or working for individual districts or schools.

Jobs For Former Math Teachers

If you’re a former math teacher, you have some valuable skills that can be applied to many different careers besides teaching. Math teachers are qualified for many jobs for former teachers, but here are a few that they’re uniquely qualified for:
• Data Scientist
• Financial Advisor
• Performance Analyst

24. Data Scientist

All sorts of data science skills are in-demand, from the simplest regressions to the most advanced quantitative analyses. Here are the main data science & analytics job categories on Upwork right now:

• Quantitative Analysis
• Data Mining & Management
• Data Extraction /ETL
• Data Visualization
• A/B Testing
• Machine Learning
• Others

When I first started freelancing I did some data analysis and visualization work. Nobody cared that I didn’t have a degree in statistics, I just told them I’d taken graduate-level stats classes and showed them a copy of my (stats-heavy) master’s thesis.

If you want to learn how to build a freelance business as a data scientist, my course can help you.

25. Financial Advisor

A financial advisor is someone who offers advice to individuals about their personal finances. As a former math teacher, you can apply your analytics skills to help people plan out their budget and build savings. Financial advisors may also offer advice about stock market investments, which requires more mathematics skills. In order to become a financial advisor, you need at least a bachelor’s degree and be certified by the CFP board.

26. Performance Analyst

A performance analyst is someone who evaluates the performance outcomes of different processes, usually for companies. In this position, you’d run the numbers for a business and offer suggestions for improving their efficiency and driving their bottom line. Usually this is done by writing reports or giving presentations. Large, enterprise businesses often hire their own performance analyst who works in house tracking their various initiatives. Businesses can also hire performance analysts on a contract basis, so you can work with a variety of clients.

How to Make the Transition From Teaching to a Second Career

If you’re ready to successfully transition out of teaching to a new career, here’s some advice for success:

Start with your current skills. You don’t want to reinvent the wheel and start all over with your new career. As a former teacher, you already have numerous valuable skills that can be applied to new careers. Instead of searching for entry-level positions in a field you know nothing about, instead consider your current strengths and choose a path that maximizes their value.

Focus on your goals. No matter what kinds of jobs you’re qualified for, always remember why you wanted to leave teaching in the first place. That will help narrow down the options for you. If you wanted a job that pays more, then certain nonprofit positions or museum tour guide aren’t a smart choice. If you wanted to escape the classroom and be your own boss, then working as a freelancer or independent contractor is a good idea. Always choose a career that allows you to stay away from the challenges that made you want to leave teaching in the first place.

I personally recommend freelance options involving working online, because they have exponential income potential, job stability, and offer complete freedom over when and how you work. If you want to learn more about working online as a former teacher, check out my exclusive guide: