10 Jobs for Teachers & Ex-Teachers
Are you fed up with teaching and working within the stressful school environment? Then it’s possibly the right time to think about making a change. It’s certainly never too late to start to gain back some free time that will allow you to live your life fully again! Discover how it is possible to enjoy work, earn money that matches the hours you put in and regain a healthy work-life balance. Sadly, repeatedly, I hear teachers ask: “What else can I do? I used to love teaching, but now I feel stuck in a job I’m no longer passionate about!” Or complain: “I’m paid for 16 hours, but I’m doing 45!”. Luckily there is a whole range of exciting jobs out there that are ideal for ex-teachers to try out, involving less stress and perfect for achieving a happier, fulfilling lifestyle.
You are not alone if you feel like you need a change. There is currently a growing trend for teachers looking for a new profession. Many teachers now feel like they’ve given as much as possible to the mainstream teaching profession and realise there is more to life than undergoing continuous pressure. You are meeting unobtainable targets, being subjected to work and planning scrutiny and surviving the stresses of all the ongoing internal and external inspections while striving to meet the ever-increasing and unrealistic expectations at a departmental, school, academy and national level.
It’s not teachers themselves that have changed; it’s just the continuous pressures of a relentless job that make a modern teaching career less sustainable than ever. Fortunately, there is another very fulfilling life out there, just waiting for any teachers willing to take the plunge, giving them a chance to be treated with the respect they deserve and earn a decent hourly wage. Have you ever stopped long enough to work out your hourly rate once you take into account all the meetings, planning and prep you do? You may find you are even getting below the minimum wage! I certainly was!
So here are my top ten alternative jobs to teaching to set you on the pathway to happiness:
Driving Instructor
Sit back and enjoy the ride while teaching someone who’d like your help. Teachers who have entered this profession report excellent job satisfaction and maximum flexibility. You can be your own boss resulting in a very flexible work pattern. The demand for Driving Lessons continues to rise, and on average, a Driving Instructor working the same 40 hours as an office worker can earn between £35,000 – £40,000 per annum. To get more information on becoming a driving instructor, visit The AA and gain the freedom to do what you love.
Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)
As a teacher, you may be interested in taking a short TEFL course to teach English to a range of nationalities in the UK or abroad. Students come to Great Britain from around the world, hoping that immersion in English will boost the grammar and vocabulary they have studied in their own countries. Some will have already moved to the UK and desire to learn the language for professional or day-to-day reasons. A TEFL job can be varied and exciting, with some learners participating in short courses and others learning over a longer time. The most lucrative TEFL positions are overseas, often with high pay, travel and living expenses paid and can even be tax-free.
For more information, visit:
QUORA – How much can you earn as a TEFL teacher?
English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher
Enter the Insurance Industry
One of the most popular jobs for ex-teachers is reported as working within the Insurance Sector. Teachers have many transferable skills that make them good candidates for communicating with and listening to the general public. Teachers often have developed ICT skills and management experience and are good at problem-solving, administration and decision-making. This makes them good leaders as well as creative thinkers. So, for many teachers, it’s a case of working out their transferable skills and being aware of all they can offer a new employer. For examples of how to assess your skills, visit TES – Possible Other Careers.
Exam marking and moderating
Many ex-teachers enjoy being on the other side of the exam treadmill. Instead of the pressures of getting the pupils to achieve the high standards required to pass school exams today, they rather enjoy moderating and marking exams at both a primary and secondary level. If you have experience teaching and want to get paid to mark exam papers in the comfort of your home, this may be an attractive option for you. Many teachers find marking gives them a better insight into what skills and techniques pupils need to pass an exam. For some, marking can be monotonous, but the money is worth it for others, as you get paid per exam script. To find out more, visit: AQA – Do I Qualify?
Private Tutor or Online Tutor
Social Media opens up many opportunities to advertise your skills to gain employment as a private tutor. There is a growing trend for pupils to be home-schooled from EYFS to KS1 as well as through KS2, then right on through to secondary school. Parents often would like some support in their children’s learning at home. You can either offer your teaching expertise independently or work for an agency. This kind of teaching provides flexibility and control as you decide your working days and hours. The possibility of online tutorials means that teaching can be scheduled and delivered around the globe, from anywhere in the world! Phonics Franchises and Music and Movement Lessons are proving very popular with parents with young children and toddlers. There are even opportunities to teach coding in a flexible work environment. So, whatever your field, it is pretty easy to continue to share your expertise in a less formal and traditional style. For a whole range of jobs suitable for ex-teachers, visit:
Outdoor Ed Leader/ Forest School Leader
If you love being outdoors and want to teach learners under nature’s blue skies, perhaps working in outdoor education could be your new calling. With the increase in the importance of improving both children’s and adults’ well-being and the recognition of the need for all of us to spend more time with nature and less time on screens and indoors in a static environment, both Forest School and Outdoor Education are becoming more and more popular in both rural and urban areas. Work can be obtained privately and within school settings. It can also be fun and fulfilling to retrain, learn new skills and meet others with similar outlooks on working outdoors, so for more information, visit:
Writer and Publisher
As a teacher, you may have often had to create pieces of creative or informative writing for your learners. This skill set is precisely what companies like DCM Surfaces look for when recruiting, and since COVID, most of these positions are now fully remote or hybrid. You probably know all the skills that make a good writer or reporter, so why not put these skills into practice by writing your own creative or compiling content suitable for an audience level that you know inside out? Many story formats are straightforward, and all that’s stopping you from composing and publishing your work is the self-belief and time to do so. So, it’s maybe now time to believe in yourself and give yourself the time and freedom to let your creativity flow. If you enjoy art, could you illustrate your books or become the artist you’ve always wished to be? Many online writing and publishing courses can start you off on your creative journey. Visit book blogs for more helpful tips:
Now Novel – How to write a book and get it published in 10 steps
Self Publishing School – How to Publish a Book in 2019: A Step-by-Step Guide for First-Timers
How to Set Up an Art Exhibition
Enter the Business Industry
With such an abundance of useful, transferable skills, teachers often make both suitable and valuable employees in the business sector. A former teacher will often be used to assessing and successfully dealing with a wide range of the general public and communicating with all types of agencies and will usually possess good planning, organisational and analytical skills. With thoroughly developed leadership skills and with a well-tested aptitude for problem-solving, a teacher may make the perfect business team member. Why not look out for a job within HR or a Marketing Department, as businesses will often offer training and support if they feel they’ve found the right candidate?
Museum or a Library Curator
If you are interested in learning new ideas and enjoy sharing new experiences with others, working in a museum or a library can be an intellectually stimulating new direction for an occupation. You will still work as an educator and develop visitors’ experiences but may also be accountable for the management of artefacts or book collections. This kind of role allows ex-teachers to use and apply their knowledge of subjects they’re interested in or familiar with. It will enable you to meet new people, be socially interactive and use technology to research and record whilst being free of the boundaries of the academic teaching institution.
Join the Health and Beauty Sector
Those ex-teachers who’ve retrained to sell cosmetics or to practice beauty therapies such as massage, pedicures or manicures or complementary therapies, such as Reiki, aromatherapy or acupuncture, often report tremendous job satisfaction and flexible working conditions. They talk of “marvelling at how well we are treated” and “feeling enormous reward from helping someone feel happier about themselves”. It’s surprising how many teachers now find they enjoy working within the Beauty Industry and wouldn’t look back.
For more info, visit:
Make that Change
If these options don’t appeal, how about becoming a Youth Worker, Education Advisor, Surveyor, Education Recruiter, or even an Embalmer or Funeral Celebrant? Or take the opportunity to join the Civil Service or the Armed Forces Education Team or work within the Training Department in a Construction Company? Or participate in Charity Work or retrain in Employment Law?
These are all jobs that have proven to bring a new passion to teachers working lives and, with it, a work-life balance that makes their lives worth living again. So, what are you waiting for? There is no simple, singular answer to what’s the best job to have after teaching, but there’s an abundance of proof that there are many options out there, making ex-teachers very happy. There’s certainly no time like the present to go and investigate the opportunities out there just waiting for you. Life is too short of having regrets. In my experience, once you decide to leave teaching, you’ll be surprised at how many doors swing wide open and welcome you in.
Other useful websites: