What Jobs Are In Education Outside Of The Classroom? A Teacher’s Real Experience
Last month, I met my old college roommate Lila at our usual coffee shop, the one on Main Street that serves lavender lattes and keeps chipped ceramic mugs out for regulars. She’d just finished her 8th year teaching 4th grade, and she was stirring her latte so hard the foam sloshed over the edge onto the table. “I can’t do another year,” she said, rubbing the tension spot at the base of her neck. Her 7 year old has asthma, she’d missed 12 days of school last winter taking him to appointments, and the constant guilt of falling behind on grading and lesson plans was eating at her. “But what else would I do? My degree’s in education. I don’t know anything else.”
I get that. When I left the classroom 5 years ago after having my second kid, I thought the exact same thing. I’d been told over and over through my teacher training that a degree in education meant one path: standing in front of a classroom of kids 180 days a year. But over the years, I’ve watched so many friends and former colleagues build really great careers in education that never require that daily grind. I’ve also had so many parents reach out to me who have an old education degree, stayed home with their kids for a decade, and think they can’t go back to work unless they want to lead a full classroom. That’s just not true.
I work as a curriculum designer now, fully remote. I design reading intervention lessons and materials for small school districts around the state, and I’m done by 5pm every day. I never grade on weekends, I never have to stay late for back-to-school night, and I’m home to meet my kids at the bus stop every afternoon. When I decided to leave the classroom, I only completed a 6 week free instructional design certification through Google, and that was enough to land my first part-time contract. My 7 years of classroom experience were way more valuable to employers than any new degree. I make a little more than I did teaching, and I still get to build materials that help kids learn, just from my home office.
My neighbor Mia was a high school biology teacher for 12 years, quit after her third kid was born, and got a short certification in educational therapy for kids with dyslexia. She sees 3 or 4 kids a day in the extra sunroom off her front porch, sets her own schedule, and takes off whenever her kids have a day off from school. She always loved the one-on-one work with kids most, just never the bureaucracy of a full classroom. She gets to adjust every session to fit the kid sitting in front of her, and she never has to fill out 10 different forms for a single field trip.
My cousin Jake has an elementary education degree, and he never wanted to work in a traditional classroom at all. He’s the education director at our local nature center. He plans field trip activities for visiting school groups, runs after-school nature clubs for elementary kids, and organizes weekend family hike programs. He gets the same holidays and summer breaks as his two school-aged kids, which means he never has to scramble for expensive last-minute childcare when school lets out. Most people don’t think that counts as an education job, but that’s exactly what it is: he teaches kids about the natural world every single day, just outside a four-walled classroom.
Then there’s educational advocacy. My friend Sarah was a special education teacher for 10 years. Now she works for herself, going to IEP meetings with parents who don’t know how to navigate the school system to get their kids the support they need. She helps parents write requests for evaluations, walks them through what all the jargon means, and makes sure the school holds up their end of the agreement. She only takes 10 clients a month, sets her own rates, and says it’s the most rewarding work she’s ever done. She still gets to help kids and families, just not from a classroom desk.
A lot of people assume if you leave the classroom, you’re throwing away your degree and all your experience. That’s not the case. Almost all of these jobs prioritize classroom experience because you know what actually works in schools, what kids actually need, something most people who never taught can’t bring to the table. Most don’t require a whole new master’s degree, either. A lot only need a short certification or just proven experience to get started.
If you’re curious about these roles, the first step I recommend is messaging two people in your area who do the job you’re interested in, and ask for 15 minutes of their time over coffee. Most people are happy to talk, and more often than not, they’ll tell you about open spots that haven’t been posted anywhere yet. That’s how I got my first contract, actually. Second, if you’re not ready to quit your job cold turkey, start small. Take one or two clients a month on the side, or do a few freelance projects, to see if you like it before you make the jump. Third, update your resume to highlight the skills you already have, not just your classroom teaching duties. If you wrote all the 3rd grade curriculum for your school last year, that’s curriculum design experience, even if you didn’t have the job title.
Right now, Lila’s talking to the local parent advocacy co-op about taking on 3 clients a semester this next school year, while she’s still in the classroom. She hasn’t made any final decisions yet. Some weeks she’s convinced she’ll stay in the classroom for another 20 years, and some weeks she’s counting down the days until she can hand in her keys. But just knowing there are options has taken a lot of the weight off her shoulders. She doesn’t have to choose between working in education that matters to her and having a schedule that fits her family. There’s space for all kinds of work in education, even the ones that don’t come with a classroom number.
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