Applying Teaching Skills to Other Careers

So you have worked as a teacher. Did you know that you can apply the skill set of classroom teaching to other careers? The recession reminds teachers that they may find themselves out of a job. Some school districts have to cut back on teaching staff due to a decrease in enrollment or due to other causes of revenue shortfalls and budget cuts. You can take skills and bring them into a new workplace. Here are some ideas to consider.

Teachers are planners. If you think about how much time you plan what you will teach during each class period and the intricacies of each assignment, you spend a lot of time planning. In other industries, especially business, professionals spend some time planning. You can apply your ability to choose the right way to organize work and to get people to accomplish particular tasks day to a managment role or to another administrative position. Planning is also needed in government and in project management fields such as real estate, information technology, and construction.

Teachers are multi-taskers. Teaching has become a multiple-activity environment for quite a few years now. If you have developed into a successful person who thrives amid organized chaos in your classroom and in the rest of the school environment, you will thrive in other high stress situations (think emergency room) and in environments with multiple distractions (think customer service call center). Remember that you can think quickly on your feet and help more than one person at the same time.

In the recession, it is important to recognize your skills and to apply them in a job that ofers a living wage. The recession and its upswing will both be good times for you to consider applying your teacher skill set to a new career. After all, not everyone will spend their whole career in teaching. Remember to include in your research and self-representation that you can successfully help more than one person at once. Have you thought about signing up for a high-stress job or working as a corporate trainer? Sign youself up for a number of positions, and you will find a place in a career that utilizes teaching skills.