Leaving the classroom doesn't mean that you have to leave your passion for teaching behind. Whether you're looking to change careers, take on new challenges, or find a better work-life balance, there are many opportunities for teachers outside of teaching. From roles in the public sector to corporate training and instructional design, your teaching expertise can lead to new career paths.
Career Options in the Public Sector for Former Teachers
Australia's largest employer, the public sector offers security, flexibility, and salary benefits. It includes roles in administration, defence, education, health, and public service. If you're passionate about education, you could play a vital role in highlighting education issues, even without entering politics. A ministerial advisory position could allow you to influence the debate on improving conditions for teachers.
When exploring alternative careers, many teachers gravitate towards the public sector due to its familiarity. Remember, many roles in the public sector also exist in the private sector, with the key difference being the employer. Prioritising self-care for teachers remains crucial during this transition.
Job Title
Average Salary
Description
Learning Support Assistant
$75,000
Support students with learning needs in schools or community programs.
Community and Youth Worker
$78,000
Work with young people to support engagement and personal development.
Administration Officer
$68,000
Manage administrative and operational support in government departments.
Convenor
$85,000
Assist in youth justice programs and restorative initiatives.
Museum Educational Officer
$88,000
Develop educational programs for museums and cultural institutions.
Education or Academic Advisor
$85,000
Provide guidance on curriculum, career pathways, and student support.
Librarian
$88,000
Manage library resources and provide educational support to students and researchers.
Curriculum Developer / Instructional Designer
$100,000
Design educational materials and training programs.
Translator or Interpreter
$80,000
Convert written or spoken content between languages in various settings.
Education Policy Advisor
$115,000
Influence education policies and reforms within government or organizations.
1. Learning Support Assistant
If you still love being around children and you are passionate about motivating students and assisting them to be the best they can be, then a learning support role might be perfect for you.
LSAs usually help children with specific learning requirements who need individual attention in class. You’ll be able to help a smaller group of children and really invest your time and energy well to help these children thrive.
This role can extend anywhere from in-school classes and focus groups to school holiday programs and youth groups, to counselling and support services for academic matters or even personal issues. LSAs can teach a wide variety of subjects, not just academics!
As a career path, similar to teaching, learning support is very hands-on. The learning support assistant role involves working closely with students, often one-to-one, and requires regular liaison with teachers and parents. Salaries are vastly different from teaching, but other rewards and personal outcomes can be more satisfying, such as more flexibility and fewer hours in one setting.
In this area, you may also consider a teaching role in special education, or you could work in a relief capacity as a substitute teacher.
Average Salary: $75k
2. Community and Youth Work
Photo by Shane Rounce
Teachers need to be able to establish a rapport with students and motivate young people to engage in learning activities — which is exactly what is required of youth workers.
The role of youth workers is to support young people in the community by encouraging them to engage with others and explore opportunities, allowing them to discover their interests and grow their strengths.
Ex-teachers who have kept their own childlike curiosity and drive to help youths make great youth workers. As a teacher, you are required to establish and maintain a sense of authority but a youth worker gets to engage with young people on a different level.
The role and relationship is, by necessity, more casual and you are required to befriend young people while maintaining a professional relationship to encourage them to seek your guidance when needed.
Many kids need someone like a youth worker in their lives, as they might not have a trusted adult at home or at school.
The fundamental goal of a youth worker is to ensure that the young people they are working with achieve their full potential and are prepared to navigate adulthood independently.
Youth workers' roles are varied and include operating youth groups and community youth centres; organising outdoor experiences and social activities and helping facilitate community initiatives.
Activities and events can include:
organising and leading bushwalks
community art installation projects
assist in the operation of a drama society and associated performances
Like teaching, youth work can be demanding. However, it can also be highly rewarding as you often have the satisfaction of seeing each young person improve and move forward with their life.
Average Salary: $78k
3. Administration Officer
Administration Officers work with the Department of Defence and require people who are fast-thinkers, well-organized, able to handle lots of factors at once, and collaborate with others - all skills that can be developed while teaching!
Administrative Officers are in charge of helping the office function properly, including providing procedural, operational, administrative, and business support. They should be able to identify problems and potential problems, redundancies, and obstacles in a work environment and come up with ways to solve these issues.
Whether it's an insufficient digital filing system or an obsolete procedure for employees, Admin Officers can help make the processes more effective and efficient.
Additionally, they help ensure that business practices adhere to existing laws and regulations as well as new ones that are periodically issued.
It’s a very different job from teaching, but if you have good communication, organization, problem-solving, and basic tech skills, you might be a great fit!
Average Salary: $68k
4. Convenor
Many teachers begin working in education because they want to help kids and young adults. Working as a Convenor is a great way to have a lasting, meaningful impact on kids who need help from advocates to have a chance at reforming and living a healthy, fulfilling life.
Convenors often work with the Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs. They work with troubled youths who have committed crimes to help ensure that fair justice is achieved and that the youths get the restorative help they need to learn new skills and mindsets with the intention of preventing re-offending, instead allowing these youths to live a different life.
Convenors will need to learn about the legal system to work with courts, judges, and lawyers as well as with the youths in the programme. You must be culturally sensitive and inclusive.
Average Salary: $85k
5. Museum Educational Officer
Photo by Chris Nguyen
Aligned with the education trajectory, Educational Officers in museums are in charge of creating engaging curriculums to teach children, school teachers, and other museum visitors about a subject.
Museums that need this type of employee are mostly science and history museums. One such location is the National Museum of Australia, whose Educational Officers teach about Australian history and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and cultures to school groups.
If you love making lesson plans and supplementary materials to help students get immersed in learning, Educational Officer is a great choice for you.
Average Salary: $88k
6. Education or Academic Advisor
Choosing subjects and courses that will ultimately shape your future can be daunting as a student. Often, students will need career and academic counselling to help them explore their options and feel comfortable with their decisions.
This is where academic advisors come in.
All levels of schooling, from secondary school to university and community colleges, have dedicated staff who provide guidance to students on their academic and career choices.
Advisory roles in educational settings are perfect for ex-teachers who have a breadth of experience in the areas of curriculum knowledge and educational requirements. After all, there must be some things you wish you had known before you embarked on your higher education and career path! When you help students make these decisions, you can help inform them about things they have no perspective on yet since they’ve never lived as independent adults.
Working as an academic advisor can be very fulfilling as you get to know students individually, are trusted with their issues, dreams and ambitions, and have the satisfaction of knowing you have assisted them in selecting the perfect pathway to achieve their goals and live a fulfilling life.
As an ex-teacher, your educational expertise will be valued, and combined with the knowledge that you're helping young people become less anxious about their futures, working in advisory roles can be rewarding jobs for former teachers.
Average Salary: $85k
7. Librarian
Photo by Martin Adams
Being a librarian is more than putting books on shelves and telling people to shush.
While many people who work in libraries actually have high educational credentials in library science, it’s possible to work in a library (perhaps at a lower pay grade) without this specialised education.
Librarians are extremely important community figures whether they’re in a school/university library or a public library.
Many children, youths, or even adults find librarians to be not only trusted persons to help them find educational materials but also trusted friends to whom they can talk.
Libraries also often host many communal activities, making libraries and librarians cornerstones in the community.
If you adored making syllabi and curriculums, coming up with what you want your students to learn and how to teach it, a career in instructional design may be your calling! And the best part? You don’t have to actually teach the material; that’s someone else’s job.
As an instructional designer, you can develop courses for schools, corporate training, specialised technical training, instruction manuals, and more.
Average Salary: $100k
9. Translator or Interpreter
If you’re fluent in another language (or can easily achieve that qualification) then becoming a translator or Interpreter can be a great career choice. The range for translators can be anything from transcribing documents or audio files from one language to another, to working alongside government officials as they deal with international correspondents.
Therefore, the salary for translators varies wildly, depending on the sector and expertise of the job.
Average salary: $80k
10. Education Policy Advisor
Photo by Inera Isovic
An education policy advisor is a natural fit for ex-teachers.
You can work with government agencies or educational organisations, developing policies that shape the future of schools, curriculum, and learning outcomes.
This role requires a strong knowledge of the education system and research and analysis skills.
Average salary: $115k
10 Career Options in the Private Sector for Former Teachers
Private sector fields include law, media, retail, hospitality, and trades. Conversion courses may take 12 to 18 months and can be costly, so consider if the investment is worthwhile. With proper research, the new skills and job opportunities often outweigh the costs.
Benefits of the private sector include flexible schedules, remote work options, on-the-job training, and more frequent salary raises. For teachers seeking a career change, it offers a refreshing variety of opportunities.
Career Option
Average Salary / Year
1.
Private Tutoring
$73k
2.
Corporate Trainer
$85k
3.
Human Resources
$95k
4.
UX/UI Designer
$100k
5.
Personal Trainer / Fitness Industry
$88k
6.
Event Planner
$70k
7.
Freelance Writer
$50-$73k
8.
Editor / Proofreader
$65k
9.
Travel Guide
$60k
10.
Landscaper / Groundskeeper
$65k
1. Tutoring
Photo by Andrew Neel
Are you still passionate about teaching but have just had enough of being in a classroom or constrained by the curriculum? Feeling like you're stuck in a rut with no autonomy often causes teacher job dissatisfaction.
The solution is not completely hopeless. Resigning from your teaching job does not mean you have to stop teaching, in fact, private tutoring jobs in Sydney or other parts of Australia might be exactly what you're looking for.
Private tutors are free to choose their working hours and set their own rates. Your 'classroom' is flexible — your home, your students' house, office space, or even a public space like a library or coffee shop.
Your clients will actively want to learn and you'll be relatively free to use the methodology you feel is best to help each student achieve their goals.
You can specialise in subjects you are truly passionate about, whereas in schools teachers are generally forced to provide more broad information since there simply isn’t enough time to explore one small topic deeply.
Alternatively, you may decide to apply for jobs at tutoring agencies, which offer benefits such as insurance and visibility but can constrain you with regard to fees, work hours, and pedagogy.
Another option, if you decide you really want to make a career out of tutoring, is to start your own tutoring business and work for yourself.
Whatever you decide, tutoring is one of the best jobs for former teachers who, despite resigning, remain passionate about teaching.
Average Salary: $75k
2. Corporate Trainer
Photo by Artem Maltsev
To be a teacher, you need to possess an understanding of learning styles and developmental needs, as well as have strong interpersonal relationship skills. These skills are equally applicable in the business world as they are within school settings; positions teaching adults are often ideal second careers for teachers.
It may be that you still love sharing knowledge but really need a change of audience. Delivering training and development courses within a company structure may be the career change you're looking for.
As a trained teacher, you'll already have a bank of effective and innovative teaching strategies, you'll be proficient in developing courses and you'll have experience in both mentoring and coaching roles.
As with school students, company staff often require direction on how to work together as a team and manage interpersonal relationships. As a corporate trainer, you may be in charge of providing training for technical skills or working to help grow synergy, trust, communication, and cooperation within a team.
It may surprise you how many jobs for ex-teachers exist in the corporate environment!
Average Salary: $85k
3. Human Resource Manager
This sector of work offers desirable options with a range of jobs for teachers who quit their teaching careers, as they already possess the requisite transferable skills.
In HR, your key role is to motivate people to work to their potential and, as such, personal enthusiasm and great interpersonal skills are a must.
As a teacher, your primary focus is to facilitate opportunities for students to grow and utilise their strengths to achieve their academic goals. The same applies to HR, where your key functions are to select the right employees to fulfil specific roles, as well as to organise professional and personal development opportunities, relevant to the workplace.
You must also enforce policies and settle disputes between coworkers, so diplomacy and levelheadedness are paramount skills, just like in teaching.
Average Salary: $120k
4. UX/UI Designer
Photo by Faizur Rehman
Getting into tech is a move millions of people all over the world have been making for the past few years.
One of the least-inhibitive ways to get into the tech industry is through design. UX and UI (user experience and user interface, respectively) are highly important aspects of any app, software, or website.
The principles of UX/UI, user psychology, and programming languages and tools for these aspects can be learned, assuming you are a bit tech-savvy.
Average Salary: $100k
5. Personal Trainer / Fitness Industry
Perhaps not the most obvious choice for jobs after teaching, becoming a trainer or coach can be a rewarding and fulfilling way to continue to be an educator and mentor - just in a different setting!
If you have a passion for fitness and nutrition, becoming a personal trainer can be a great way for you to explore teaching the very interactive subject of diet and exercise. If you’re sick of being sedentary and stuck in a classroom, this is also one career move that will help ensure your office work is minimal.
Other types of work in this industry include pilates instructors, yoga instructors, and other specialized exercise teachers, though the salary for these avenues may differ.
Average Salary: $88k
Discover tutoring jobs Brisbane as a way to teach or coach whatever you’re passionate about!
6. Event Planner
Photo by Marissa Grootes
At first glance, most people think “events planner” and “party planner” are synonymous.
While some event planners might specialise in things like birthdays, baby and bridal showers, and retirements, there are many other types of events that require a planner or a team of planners to pull off.
Think about expos and conventions, weddings, charity fundraisers, scholarship announcement events… the list goes on!
Events planners can specialize in different areas, making an average salary hard to calculate.
Average Salary: $70k
7. Freelance Writer
If you love writing, you can seek out opportunities for different types of writing. Content writing and copywriting are two of the most popular ways freelancers begin their writing careers.
Look for publications, websites, and blogs that either take guest posts or need a contracted writer. If you have knowledge in a field like medicine and other sciences, you’ll find many great opportunities! But, you can find work in essentially any other subject as well.
Take a peek at this article and the Superprof blog in general; many articles just like these are written by freelance writers!
Average salaries vary by your writing niche, your employer(s), and your workload, but content writing can be a surprisingly lucrative career!
Average Salary: $60k
8. Editor / Proofreader
Photo by Andrew Neel
As a teacher, you likely possess the required skills to be an effective editoror proofreader, either in the spelling and grammar capacity, the writing technique capacity, or the fact-checking capacity.
You can join a company that provides these services to clients or start freelancing.
Your clients could be article writers, newspapers and magazines, advertisers, novelists, websites with a lot of written content, and publishers, among others.
Average Salary: $65k
9. Travel Guide
Photo by Ivana Cajina
Do you just want to completely change your life and do something completely different for a while?
Becoming a travel or tour guide can help you find a new lease on life.
You can join a company to build itineraries and/or lead travel groups domestically or around the world, or strike out on your own and start an independent tour and travel agency.
You could lead activities for tourists coming to Australia or you could host events abroad.
An added bonus? You’ll meet so many people that you are bound to make great connections, which can lead to a different line of work later on if you decide you’re tired of travelling after a while.
Like many other ambitious endeavours, the average salary is hard to calculate because there are so many factors.
Average Salary of a Tour Guide in an Agency: $60k
10. Landscaper / Groundskeeper
While perhaps unglamorous, running a professional landscaping service can be an interesting and lucrative career. You get to be outside in nature and move around - much different than a typical classroom!
Landscapers can also be pretty well-paid, especially if they snag a wealthy client or two! You might be in charge of maintaining a property or rearranging it, depending on what the client needs.
Average Salary: $70k
Do Ex-Teachers Need Retraining for New Jobs?
Depending on what career path you choose, upskilling or retraining to gain new qualifications may be necessary — this can take a lot of time and could be expensive. Seek career advice to determine precisely what qualifications and skills are necessary for your chosen job.
Next, evaluate yourself. Think about your personality traits and job suitability. Where are you confident, and what makes you bubble with enthusiasm? What are your qualifications? Before pursuing your dream job, do you need to add to your skill set?
When you embark on a teacher career change, you don’t have to limit yourself to jobs similar to teaching. Most people look at jobs like these because they are familiar with being in more structured positions within a professional setting, and they feel like their years and money spent on higher education are being put to good use.
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Kellie Nissen
Kellie is an editor, a children's writer, blogger and a teacher. Any remaining time she has is spent on a dragon boat.
I found your article most informative and very interesting. The format was most effective and the information useful and provided food for thought. There are many factors which would have to be considered such as utilising a cost-benefit analysis especially for people making this decision in their 60s or 70s.
Rhys
As a 50yo teacher Librarian who’s ready to leave, I’m frightened by the prospect that no one will hire me in an alternative field. I feel trapped ave just hour that the next 17 years go super f fast so i can just retire.. or win lotto.
SEB
Same, the options are limited and things at school are not getting better, new principal means I am on class more and have less time for library, also I am used as internal relief…. I feel depressed all the time and trapped.
SEB
Every one of these types of employment means a massive decrease in salary. For people wanting a change in the current economic climate these alternatives are not helpful.
Jiayu
Thank you for your comment! We understand your concern, and it’s true that some career changes may come with an initial drop in salary, particularly when moving into a new field. However, many former teachers have found roles that not only utilise their skills but also offer long-term potential for salary growth. Additionally, work-life balance and personal satisfaction are important factors that many ex-teachers prioritise when changing careers, even if it means a short-term reduction in pay.
PAYAL VASHISTH
Actively looking for a job in yoga, wellness, fitness
Jiayu
Hi Payal, we recommend signing up as a yoga and fitness tutor on Superprof, if you have any trouble doing so, we invite you to send your questions to our customer care team at the email gday@superprof.com. Have a lovely day!
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Frequently asked questions
What Other Careers Can Teachers Go Into?
There are many other careers that teachers can go into. Some examples include: working for a non-profit organization, becoming a principal or administrator, working in curriculum development, or becoming a professor at a university.
What Is A Good Second Career For A Teacher?
A good second career for a teacher is to become a principal.
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I found your article most informative and very interesting. The format was most effective and the information useful and provided food for thought. There are many factors which would have to be considered such as utilising a cost-benefit analysis especially for people making this decision in their 60s or 70s.
As a 50yo teacher Librarian who’s ready to leave, I’m frightened by the prospect that no one will hire me in an alternative field. I feel trapped ave just hour that the next 17 years go super f fast so i can just retire.. or win lotto.
Same, the options are limited and things at school are not getting better, new principal means I am on class more and have less time for library, also I am used as internal relief…. I feel depressed all the time and trapped.
Every one of these types of employment means a massive decrease in salary. For people wanting a change in the current economic climate these alternatives are not helpful.
Thank you for your comment! We understand your concern, and it’s true that some career changes may come with an initial drop in salary, particularly when moving into a new field. However, many former teachers have found roles that not only utilise their skills but also offer long-term potential for salary growth. Additionally, work-life balance and personal satisfaction are important factors that many ex-teachers prioritise when changing careers, even if it means a short-term reduction in pay.
Actively looking for a job in yoga, wellness, fitness
Hi Payal, we recommend signing up as a yoga and fitness tutor on Superprof, if you have any trouble doing so, we invite you to send your questions to our customer care team at the email gday@superprof.com. Have a lovely day!