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Old 01-23-2011, 08:00 AM
 
Location: St. Joseph Area
6,233 posts, read 9,450,632 times
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Hey forum members! I have a question for all of you. Let me explain my situation.

I'm a high school English and History teacher. I have been for two years. Right now I'm beginning to search for jobs, and I'm not completely sure I want to remain a teacher. I like teaching, but it's hard to pay off student loans on a teacher's salary. I'm not ready to go back to Grad school. Maybe in a year or two, but not now.

So my question is, besides being a schoolteacher, what other things can someone do with an education degree in English or History? Has anyone here left teaching and done something else where their ed degree came in handy? If so, what do you do?

Any answers would be great. Thanks!

Mackinac
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Old 01-23-2011, 09:38 AM
 
Location: On the brink of WWIII
21,088 posts, read 29,046,806 times
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Insurance? When I was in high school quite a few teachers went into insurance.
English / history might work in a Human Resource position. Museums, editor, doing seminars / presentations?

I am currently exploring the possibility of doing some free lance writing and photography. Not that I expect the degree and / or majors (SpEd and Language arts with writing concentration) to make a difference in free lance work. Also exploring the seminar / presentation aspects since most teachers are really good at talking and keeping an audience engaged..
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Old 01-23-2011, 09:41 AM
 
4,796 posts, read 22,836,177 times
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Would you be interested in teaching adults? I don't mean in a night school GED type of setting. I mean, in a corporate or professional training type of setting? Just a thought.

Oftentimes professional training occurs at conventions and symposiums, so event planning wouldn't be a big leap from a career in professional training.

Perhaps also academic advising or counseling, at a college level?
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Old 01-24-2011, 12:36 AM
dgz
 
806 posts, read 3,381,397 times
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If you have technical/IT skills, can write well, and have studied instructional design (for adults)... you might be able to find something in technical writing or instructional design for technical training.
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Old 01-24-2011, 05:11 AM
 
37 posts, read 322,918 times
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You are not going to be hired anywhere just because you have a degree. Instead you will only be hired if you can prove you have a set of skills, talents, experience, and a history of results and accomplishments in a specific career field. There are few if any truely entry level professional jobs now days in any field. Employers will expect that you were trained to do a specific type of job through vocational training, internships, and college course work.

Training may be an option but only if you have strong technical skills in the area you are training in.

Human Resources and Insurance are complex fields you can't just do walking off the street. Your need skills and knowledge and the ability to hit the ground running to be hired today.
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Old 01-24-2011, 07:06 AM
 
Location: On the brink of WWIII
21,088 posts, read 29,046,806 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by In Serious Debt View Post
You are not going to be hired anywhere just because you have a degree. Instead you will only be hired if you can prove you have a set of skills, talents, experience, and a history of results and accomplishments in a specific career field. There are few if any truely entry level professional jobs now days in any field. Employers will expect that you were trained to do a specific type of job through vocational training, internships, and college course work.

Training may be an option but only if you have strong technical skills in the area you are training in.

Human Resources and Insurance are complex fields you can't just do walking off the street. Your need skills and knowledge and the ability to hit the ground running to be hired today.
State Farm abd Allstate will hire a person simply because they have degree...any degree. They provide training. I know many people, mostly teachers, who were hired based on having a 4 year degree. Some didn't even have the people skills necessary to to sell ice in the desert.

I once considered HR. Even talked with a headhunter who put together a package and had placed other teachers in various positions including training, HR, and management. Since they were only pais after I found a job, it must have been a viable avenue as they generally spent considerable time on each person.


A good teacher can teach anything if they know the material...

Last edited by zthatzmanz28; 01-24-2011 at 07:14 AM..
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Old 01-24-2011, 10:59 AM
 
Location: Owasso, OK
1,224 posts, read 3,986,616 times
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A good teacher can teach anything if they know the material...

That used to be true (and technically still is), but under NCLB a teacher must be "highly qualified" in the subject matter they are teaching. For example, I can teach Biology, Anatomy & Physiology, Botany, Zoology, Psychology/Sociology, Middle School Science, and Mild/Moderate Disabilities in the State of Oklahoma according to my certification. By law, I could not teach English, Math, History, etc.
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Old 01-25-2011, 07:41 AM
 
Location: On the brink of WWIII
21,088 posts, read 29,046,806 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Milleka View Post
A good teacher can teach anything if they know the material...

That used to be true (and technically still is), but under NCLB a teacher must be "highly qualified" in the subject matter they are teaching. For example, I can teach Biology, Anatomy & Physiology, Botany, Zoology, Psychology/Sociology, Middle School Science, and Mild/Moderate Disabilities in the State of Oklahoma according to my certification. By law, I could not teach English, Math, History, etc.

NCLB has not taken away my ability to teach. For me to rely on NCLB to tell me if I can teach? Legalities are just government prevention of progress. In real time a person who knows the material (i.e for training purposes or seminars) can effectively teach it in a compelling manner.
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Old 01-25-2011, 12:36 PM
 
6,129 posts, read 6,772,651 times
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Its hard to answer this question without knowing what other kinds of skills/experiences you've had.

That said, those majors usually produce good writers, and lots of positions look for that kind of thing (textbook publishers, technical writers, magazines, websites, marketing/advertising in general, etc). Editing and proofreading are closely related fields as well.

Maybe try hooking up with a company that needs good writers that draw from your particular experiences in education? Magazines or professional org pitched at teachers, non profits that based on educational issues, museums, etc.

I also agree that corporate training is a good option. A lot of times you can take a certificate course in some aspect of leadership training and use your teaching experience to land a job like that.

I'd also look into for-profit education companies (test developers, etc)
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Old 01-25-2011, 07:35 PM
 
Location: St. Joseph Area
6,233 posts, read 9,450,632 times
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Quote:
Originally posted by Tinawina
Its hard to answer this question without knowing what other kinds of skills/experiences you've had.

That said, those majors usually produce good writers, and lots of positions look for that kind of thing (textbook publishers, technical writers, magazines, websites, marketing/advertising in general, etc). Editing and proofreading are closely related fields as well.

Maybe try hooking up with a company that needs good writers that draw from your particular experiences in education? Magazines or professional org pitched at teachers, non profits that based on educational issues, museums, etc.

I also agree that corporate training is a good option. A lot of times you can take a certificate course in some aspect of leadership training and use your teaching experience to land a job like that.

I'd also look into for-profit education companies (test developers, etc)
Yeah, I probably should have mentioned my experiences:

1. I'm and English and History teacher who loves to write (I'm actually working on a novel right now--just for fun), so the textbook thing looks like something worth looking into.


2. Corporate training is one thing I've thought about. I'm already looking into that.

3. I also worked as a pharmacy technician for seven years (I'm still doing it as a 2nd job) so maybe I could be a drug sales rep? I just thought of that yesterday.

You guys have given some good feedback. Ideally, I want to work in a job where I'm educating people in some way, whether it's speaking or writing. I love teaching and giving people new information, and if I leave the classroom, there will definitely be some things I'll miss.
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