My career transition began the night I reached my breaking point which was Valentines Day several years ago. I was too exhausted to celebrate and all I could think about was the stack of work beckoning me that evening.
All I wanted was a career in education that provided a semblance of work-life balance, a livable income, and a decent lunch break and bathroom break for that matter.
A career where I felt respected and experienced occasional relief from the pressures of state testing, countless education initiatives, staff meetings, various parents and overwhelming responsibilities. All of this eventually lead to mental and physical exhaustion and sadly jeopardizing my health and well being.
However, I needed a new career that afforded me the opportunity to still make a difference and change young lives while remaining in the field of education. Yet, I wanted out of the public school system. However, I had no clue what I could do with an education degree outside of the school system, nor where those opportunities existed or how to begin! I mean, WHAT COULD I DO WITH A TEACHING DEGREE. (Later, I discovered that the possibilities are countless.)
Educator to Educator (E2E),
I had limited knowledge regarding the career search process. I really didn't know anyone that worked in the education field that wasn't a teacher or administrator. I briefly met a few trainers from education companies that visited my school a few times a year to provide PD. So, I contacted recruiters and employment agencies, consulted friends but found that the majority did not truly understand PreK-12 education, an educator's skill set, and experience nor the multi-faceted role of an educator. I also applied for several jobs online but really didn't get any results.
One recruiter suggested a full-time tutoring job that paid less than what I made as a first-year teacher and I had no desire to move to another country to teach! There had to be more career options for us! We are an extremely educated profession with a wealth of skills. Private industry career coaches can charge between $150 - 375 per hour which was a financial challenge on my current salary. Also, I found that many are not truly knowledgeable about our profession and how our skills transfer to other careers and industries. So, I ventured out on my own.
I landed my first interview with a National Education Company. Wohoo!!!! However, this education company with which I interviewed required an upfront fee (several hundred dollars) to work for them - promising huge returns on my investment. BEWARE
AND YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS ONE: A company offered to PAY ME a small stipend to post my resume on their career site and match me with employers seeking former PreK-12 educators. Sounds like a great deal right? Wrong!
I discovered that this company was paid $1,000s of dollars by education companies for giving them resumes including mine. When I tried to remove my resume from their website, I was locked out! They owned my resume for a measly stipend and I couldn't get it back. BE CAREFUL!!!!! Many of these companies that offer to post your resumes on their websites are paid extremely well by companies. Just be careful...
I made a few mistakes along with way, e.g., not asking the right questions during an interview (which resulted in my working for one of Satan's children!!!!), missed out on a few opportunities because my resume needed a little fine tuning, wasted valuable time on the wrong job search websites, with the wrong recruiters and job coaches that didn't really understand PreK-12 Education, or I didn't act quickly enough when I saw a position in which I was interested, etc.
However, with experience and some valuable guidance, I mastered the career search process (from start to finish) and now I also train others in effective career search strategy all across the USA. The day I landed an education consulting role with a large client in LONDON, ENGLAND (this company does the product research for one the world's largest and leading children's toy companies and they hired me as a consultant) I cried!!
I have landed so many amazing opportunities which focus on education, more than tripled my income, am enjoying life immensely. Moreover, I am still impacting young lives! But, I'm doing it outside of the school system. I know YOU CAN TOO!
E2E, with a little preparation & planning, some easy & practical steps you can discover your own amazing opportunities! You have a wealth of options. Just take the first step and we will help you along the way.
Shelly
Shelly Broils, Founder
@educatorcareercoach
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