Alternative Careers for Teachers

Are you a teacher considering leaving the classroom? Are you wondering about alternative careers for teachers, or what private sector jobs are available to someone with teaching experience? Do you find yourself searching “jobs for teachers” throughout the summer or school year? This is for you. 

Before I came to Lifted Logic, I was a classroom teacher for nearly 20 years. But over the last few years (well, maybe five), I felt the growing realization that education wasn’t a good fit anymore. The odds are good that you’re feeling it too: according to one recent survey, more than half of classroom teachers these days are looking for a career change. 

Leaving the teaching profession is a difficult decision.

The reasons why teachers remain in the profession are just as complex as the reasons they leave. In my case, teaching was my creative expression. I enjoyed the constant search for novel approaches to my work, and to explore learning and growth with a group of kids was phenomenally gratifying. I never thought anything could be as rewarding as teaching. 

But as I began actively looking for jobs outside education, it felt like I was planning a betrayal–of my values, my students, my colleagues, and even the community that had embraced me for so long. I was also apprehensive about putting myself out there, fearful that I had no skills to offer, and more than a little susceptible to the sunk-cost fallacy. 

Teachers have skills. You can do all of the things.

You’ve no doubt heard the old adage, “those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.” Well, I think that’s completely demeaning bullsh*t. But this idea has nevertheless infiltrated teachers’ professional self concept. I can’t tell you how many of my former colleagues told me, “I would maybe think about doing something else…but teaching is the only skill I have.”

Uh, no. Teaching isn’t a single skill; it’s a process that involves a million skills that non-teachers lump together because they don’t know any better. While it’s true that you have obvious “teacher skills,” like writing curriculum or lesson planning, you also have innumerable other skills and attributes that you probably don’t even think about but that can immediately transfer to a work environment like Lifted Logic. 

Teachers can learn and teach.

We’re not a school, but learning is still at the center of pretty much everything we do at Lifted Logic. Not only are we constantly learning about our clients and their needs, we’re also continually learning new, better, and smarter ways to do our work. The web doesn’t remain static and neither can we.

As a teacher, you can help with this. 

• You’re used to thinking about all the things that make people successful or unsuccessful learners. 
• You can probably break down large tasks into smaller components. 
• You can probably explain complicated things and then check for understanding. 
• You probably give, receive, and recognize concrete and actionable feedback. 
• You can probably work and collaborate as part of a professional community. 

Put another way: you have a learning mindset, which is an attribute we value and need. We’d love to talk more with you about how your skills can apply to a position at Lifted Logic

Teachers can build relationships.

Lifted Logic is built on relationships. That’s why our clients love working with us, why all of us in the office love coming to work every day, and why people are excited to join our growing team. These strong and positive relationships support our morale, our productivity, our creativity, our collaboration, our readiness to learn–all the good things that ultimately help our work be the best it can be.  

Think for a second about the first week of school. Think about all the things you intuitively know to do in order to establish and maintain a positive and productive classroom climate: you’re making sure everyone feels welcome and included, establishing expectations and norms, setting boundaries, all that stuff. These are things you know how to do! These are part of your teacher skill set, and part of what you would bring to Lifted Logic. 

Teachers can multitask.

Talk to anyone at the office, and they’ll probably agree:  we’ve got a lot going on at Lifted Logic. It’s a very fast-paced and collaborative work environment. Most of us are juggling several ongoing projects and responsibilities simultaneously. In any given moment, you might hear conversation, laughter, a coffee machine, and guitar music. 

It may be crazy, but it’s not classroom crazy. You know what I mean: the relentless near-chaos, the way you’re constantly switching roles and identities–coach, mentor, friend, confidant, career counselor, security guard, taskmaster, therapist–whatever the moment demands. It’s the part of the work that leaves you at the end of the day unable to utter a single coherent English phrase. If you can negotiate classroom crazy, trust me: you can handle Lifted Logic crazy. You might even thrive! 

We need talented people, and that means you!

At Lifted Logic, we’re building a team of designers, writers, thinkers, planners, dreamers, and innovators, and we’re always looking for smart and motivated people to join our team based in Kansas City. And teachers: that most definitely includes you. 

Spend a minute or two browsing through the client testimonials or case studies, and you’ll glimpse the impact of our efforts. You’ll see that every day at Lifted Logic we do work that matters for our clients and the communities they represent and serve. 

Once you’ve done that, check out our open positions. If you don’t see a specific position that tickles your fancy, use our virtual application tool to submit your info and help us understand where you may be a good fit! If we agree, we’ll reach out with a task for you that will tell us about your thinking, your skills, and your approach to the sorts of work we do every day. We can’t wait to meet you.