With an average retirement age in our school systems of 55 to 57, most departing educators have nearly a decade until they reach the national retirement age and are eligible for social security benefits. Furthermore, an educator's eligibility for social security will differ depending on the state(s) in which they worked.
As a result, many seek a second career out of interest or financial necessity.
Take a look at where these 10 district and school-level leaders as well as veteran teachers ended up.
To safeguard their identity, their names have been modified.
***Many of these highly talented K-12 education leaders once earned six-figure salaries, held responsibilities comparable to C-Suite Leaders in the private sector, and amassed retirement nest eggs.
Here's where they ended up:
(This is a representative sample of K-12 district and school-level leaders across the nation. All hold advanced degrees: Ed.D, PhDs, or Master’s Degrees).
1. Dr. M: “ I started out doing door-to-door insurance sales and didn't want to tell anyone that I was a former Superintendent … I was offered an Interim Admin role but I didn’t want to go back to working full time … ” (Currently MLM Insurance sales) (MLM = multi-level marketing/network marketing/pyramid sales)
2. Dr. W (former district-level director of instruction): “My bank account is overdrawn and I’m nearly bankrupt. I wish I would have found you first before investing my money in this … [consulting program].” (Independent Education Consultant)
3. Mrs. M (former AP): “I’ve hit rock bottom. My credit cards are maxed out I have no money in my bank accounts…I’ve been crying all day.” (Retired in 2018 – currently MLM Product Sales)
4. Mr. R (former Principal): “I’ve been in real estate for a few years, sold a house, tried bartending for a few days, maybe I’ll be a mailman…”
5. Dr. T (former Principal): “I’ve never applied for a job outside of the schools. Not really sure ... You don’t know what you don’t know…” (Retired from one school district, working for a second and on medical leave)
6. Dr. H (former district-level Instructional Coach): I’m now a substitute teacher making $20 an hour, work 5 days a week … I need another job for at least six years.
7. Dr. D (veteran classroom teacher): “I thought with all my experience, a doctorate and working internationally, employers would jump to hire me… maybe I’ll just live in my RV, travel the world… I feel like I’ve disappointed my family …” (Currently an Adjunct Instructor at a community college)
8. Dr. S (former Department Chair): I’ve applied for jobs and my only offer was with a tutoring company for $12 an hour… I feel deflated …
9. Mr. D (former Principal): I don’t know what my career options are so I’ve gone back into the classroom and am teaching now.
10. Mr. C (former Principal): My car was repossessed; I don’t have $20 to my name… pray for me… (Currently an Independent Education Consultant)
HERE'S ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS WHY:
KEY SKILLS THAT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM WERE MISSING.
Compare the educators above to the other educators who transitioned to higher-level careers and consulting roles which are listed at the end of this blog. What's the main difference?
In many instances, educators that struggle to transition do not have access to the guidance or resources necessary. Sadly, many of them suffer in silence, withdraw, feeling humiliated or lost and plagued with self-doubt.
Are you one of them?
Don't blame yourself. Success is within your reach just like the educators listed below. If they did it, you can too.
OUR NATIONS SCHOOL LEADERS AND TEACHERS HAVE HIGHLY TRANSFERABLE AND MARKETABLE SKILLS, but the private industry job market and running an education consulting business are significantly different from the hiring processes and operations within our school systems. Your Career Transition Readiness (CTR) skills are key to success.
Learning how to navigate a new job market is mission critical.
Many educators wrongly assumed that due to their credentials and levels of career attainment in the K-12 schools that getting hired for a high-level private industry career will be easy. It takes so much more that locating a job vacancy on the internet and just applying. Also it's NOT always who you know that is the key to landing that NEXT dream job or career.
“I thought with all my experience, a doctorate and working internationally, employers would jump to hire me… maybe I’ll just live in my RV, travel the world… I feel like I’ve disappointed my family …” Currently an Adjunct Instructor at a community college (an honorable role BUT not what this educator envisioned)
“I’ve been in real estate for a few years, sold a house, tried bartending for a few days, maybe I’ll be a mailman…” (former Principal)
Several other educators have been fallen prey to scams, duped into believing that their education consulting firms will become an instant successes. As a result, many school leaders are teetering on financial collapse.
“My bank account is overdrawn and I’m nearly bankrupt. I wish I would have found you first before investing my money in this … [consulting program].” (Former District-Level Leader, now and Independent Education Consultant)
My car was repossessed; I don’t have $20 to my name… pray for me… (Former Principal, currently an Independent Education Consultant)
Sadly, too many transitioning educators (teachers and administrators at ALL levels) struggle for YEARS to land the RIGHT job or experience education consulting success.
Some give up and never experience career search success.
NOT because they're unqualified or because they lack the marketable skills.
Educators ARE highly skilled with a unique set of marketable skills that can certainly be leveraged beyond our school systems.
It's largely due to GAPS in their CTR skills: a limited understanding of the When, Where and How of a new job market or operating a business and approaching it with the same strategies used to land a career within the school system.
This is further exacerbated by a scarcity of customized career transition readiness tools for the K-12 professional, and further impedes their progress.
K-12 professionals that do seek career guidance from external support are often times counseled by individuals who wrongly assume that our (a K-12 educator's) skills are constrained to a few select and narrow career paths.
As a result, countless educators get stuck in the SAME occupations, post transition.
Sound familiar?
tutoring,
college adjunct,
instructional designer,
retail,
real estate sales,
social worker,
nanny,
drop shipping,
trainer,
education consultant,
pyramid sales and MLM companies,
entry-level or
labor-intensive blue-collar roles.
Re-skilling and obtaining yet another college degree is not the answer, nor is it ideal for everyone.
Countless educators, when provided the right CTR resources, have successfully transitioned at faster rates and to amazing careers and phenomenal consulting roles WITHOUT earning yet another college degree, credential or certification.
Educators can and have successfully transitioned at faster rates and to higher levels when provided the right resources and support. You can too.
Examples of educators landed their dream jobs beyond the school systems:
Kim (former principal) now a Director of Education Partnerships in the private sector.
Mrs. L (former District-level instructional coach and School Administrator) now a Senior-level Customer Engagement Manager for and leading international firm . Hired in 30 days.
Pat (Retired Instructional Technology Teacher) landed a role as an Assessment Design Consultant in record time. Hired over 60 over applicants.
Steph (Gifted Ed Teacher) now Learning and Development Manager for a large non-education related corporation.
Cheryl (Math Teacher) now a Math Product Development Manager for one of the nation's largest education curriculum firms.
Vick (SPED Teacher) is now an Account Executive earning a 6-figure compensation package for non-education related company.
See our testimonials page for more success stories...
Note: the time to transition can vary per individual. Broils Consulting Group is not a job placement firm nor will guarantee employment due to external factors beyond our control.
LET'S DO BETTER AS A NATION BY PROVIDING OUR RETIRING EDUCATORS WITH THE CAREER TRANSITION SUPPORT THEY NEED. Our fellow educators until that happens, take charge of your own future. Begin with the step listed below.
If you are a retiring or exiting educator seeking a new career or consulting role make every effort to find an experienced Career Transition Advisor/Coach
with expertise
in both the K-12 AND private sectors with CTR Resources customized
for educators which includes a wide range of career options.
If you're unable to find CTR Specialist, invest in career transition resources customized for K-12 educators
AND
designed by an expert that has worked within the K-12 school systems and successfully transitioned to a progressive career
(not just one role)
in the private sector.
There are over 60 lucrative and amazing and lucrative education careers outside of the school systems.
This includes high-level and lucrative careers within the private industry with opportunities to impact young lives or K-12 education IF that remains of interest.
If not, there are also countless education careers that are non-k12 related
within the private industry that are a great fit for countless educators.
Whether it's us or someone else, you don't
have to do it alone.
"Your time is limited, so please don’t waste it living
someone else’s life.
Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions
drown out your own inner voice…
You’ve got to find what you love.
Your work is going to fill a large part of your life,
and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.
And the only way to do great work is to
love what you do.
If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.
You’ll know when you find it.
Don’t settle ..." ~ Steve Jobs
Stay Safe. Stay Inspired. Stay Awesome.
Broils Consulting Group
The Educators Career Transition Experts
Transforming Careers ... Transforming Lives
Ranked as one of the TOP 25 global education consulting firms by Wall Street Industry Experts
© 2023 Broils Consulting Group, LLC