Expert: Sharon Reed Abboud - 6/17/2008

Question
Hello, I have been teaching high school and middle school for six years and would like to get out of teaching. I would like to get a job that has a better salary. I am not worried about working year round. The problem is that I don't really know how to market myself now. In college I was a history major/ poli sci minor and now I feel as though I don't really have the skills to do anything but teach.
  Please tell me I am wrong. What other fields could my experience lead me to?

Answer
Hi. Thanks for your question. As a teacher, you have many transferable skills that can be used in other types of careers. Many teachers have used their experience to segue into careers in business, non profit organizations, and government.

Here are some websites focused on alternative careers for teachers:
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/careeradvice/a/teachercareer.htm
http://www.unco.edu/CAREERS/CareerGuides/alternativeteaching.pdf
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CDC/education_careers.html

Since you were a history major/political science minor, you may also want to check out careers related to those subjects:
http://www.historians.org/pubs/Free/careers/index.htm
http://www.apsanet.org/section_516.cfm

I suggest that you take some time to decide what you want to do and then create a strategy to make a change to that career. You can start by taking a few career assessment tests. Here is a link to a portal to many online assessment tests: http://www.quintcareers.com/career_assessment.html

You may also want to read this article about how to make a career change: http://www.quintcareers.com/career_change.html

Here is a page with links to many About.com articles about career change:
http://careerplanning.about.com/od/careerchoicechan/Career_Choice_or_Change.htm

Good luck to you!