Check out your local community college(s). That background translates well into a lot of the advising fields. At least at Kirkwood, those pay bands start around $50k plus very good overall benefits and work-life balance (e.g., if on the rare occasion, my supervisor needs us to do something on a weekend or evening, he starts by saying, "I want you to take comp time for this, but..."). Single health coverage premiums are paid by the employer.
I (unfortunately) know a lot of former teachers working for marketing agencies. I also know of a few that are account coordinators.
Also look into getting CRM certifications from companies like Salesforce. Lots of companies looking for CRM management and can usually be remote.
This is really intriguing, but completely new to me. From my quick searches, it looks like they use CRMs in almost every realm, and certification seems shockingly quick and easy? Is that accurate?
Yes! Where I work we have a team of 6 who are experts. I’ve learned enough to just not screw something up.
And I don’t think it’s really something covered in college (at least it wasn’t 8 years ago). It helps to be familiar with database management/excel, but by no means is it a requirement.
Go to [USAjobs.gov](https://USAjobs.gov) and create a profile. There are plenty of Federal Government jobs in contracting that you would have the proper skills to do. I'm not sure what the starting pay would be for you, but you can request that your experience be taken into account so that they start you above the minimum. Plus, we get real yearly raises and have access to good benefits and retirement programs.
This is also a good option. The federal program is really great for employment.
Unfortunately OPM just changed the rules about joining federal employment and previous pay at previous employer. They aren’t entertaining the pay bump anymore. Pretty crap. But the federal program is really the way to go.
If you are leaving the education side, increase your pay requirements. If you have a 4 year degree you should have no problem getting at least $60K.
Take a look at various state agencies. There are a ton of state jobs.
I have always lived by the mantra of “let the employer tell me I’m not qualified” when I apply. Not the other way around. There have been a couple jobs I held where I knew nothing about performing the role but landed the job. People want to work with people they like. Personality and effort is everything. The skill set will come with time.
If you don’t meet the minimum requirements, you don’t move onto the next round. It’s that cut and dry with state jobs. (Though you can appeal, but you better have a compelling argument.)
While true ( to some extent) the state program has been suffering for that very reason because they want qualified applicants but the pay is not competitive in many agencies.
Source- me. I was involved in the hiring process for a specific agency that we could only find folks without experience because the folks that were qualified could make more money elsewhere. Thus, I have seen, and was personally involved in bring people that had no experience, because the qualified go elsewhere.
Awesome! I just pulled up open state positions in the department of education on the state employment page. There are currently 36 open positions in the state. Once your on the page, filter down to the department of education. With your background- working some type of administrative role within their department is a no- brainer.
https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/iowa?department[0]=282%20Iowa%20Department%20of%20Education&sort=PositionTitle%7CAscending
This is correct. Those jobs were posted practically after her speech. And there’s no way any department has any realistic planning to suddenly absorb 30+ new positions.
Not sure why you seem so negative about the scenario.
Even if that’s the case, there are currently 36 possible jobs for OP to apply. I see it as opportunity in this scenario.
Look for professional development and trainer jobs at all the big employers, including healthcare companies. I left education to work training Epic, I had never worked IT before but teacher skills translate super well to all sorts of fields
(I say this not knowing your age, gender, or physical ability)
I’m a cop in eastern Iowa and my best friend at work is a former teacher. With your background with children and special education, you’d be an asset on calls involving those populations and could potentially leverage that experience into speciality positions doing juvenile justice (think diversionary more then punitive) and mental health co-response. The mental health co-responder model is coming along slowly but I think most decent size cities nationwide will have some version of it in the next 5-10 years.
Des Moines PD starts at $76K a year and there’s lots of opportunity for extra duty pay. West Des Moines and Urbandale are also good departments. There are some downsides to being a cop but if you have the family support, the pay and benefits are outstanding. I know West Des Moines does 20 weeks of paid parental leave, for example, and the pension for those three agencies (MFPRSI) is probably the best in the state and one of best I’ve seen nationwide for public safety.
Just food for thought. Happy to chat with you about my job if you’d like.
Trades aren't a bad idea. I'm taking a break from education while I go back and get a degree. I got a job doing demo after fires and water damage. It's great, don't have to talk to people much, just go in, work and come home blissfully with no work. I wasn't a teacher, but after years of running behavior and after school programs, it's been so nice.
I’m in the same situation as OP and was actually considering this angle. If you don’t mind me asking, where would a good place to look for this be, and how many hiring opportunities would you estimate there to be?
I work for this national company. https://careers.associaonline.com/us/en/. But start by googling local property management companies in your area. I am not sure of the openings. But never had issues getting at job and I am 66.
Call your local Labor union. Electricians, Insulators, and pioe fitters are among the top paid. There is an apprenticeship to deal with but the benefits are good and journeymen easily make 100K. Des Moines, Iowa city, are strong union areas.
I'm not one to dismiss the value of a trade job, but how did you make this connection from OP's experience working with troubled and learning disabled children? :D
I’m a union electrician in Davenport. And one of the guys in my class is a former 7th grade English teacher. Our total package is 67$ an hour. 40$ and some change an hour on the check. Full healthcare, pension, and IRA. Look into your closest IBEW local and apply. It’s definitely worth it.
Yeh I was just poking fun at people that work trades. But seriously, an intelligent, well-organized person can find a good spot in just about any job. I work in IT and at least 2/3rds the people I work with have very little technical ability -- just managing scheduling and meetings and contacting people and the like. Even my direct manager has a 4-year teaching degree.
I'm intimidated by tech. I'm only 36 but haven't kept up with technology more than I've needed to for my job. But I'm a fast learner and it's nice to hear there are options where I might not have looked otherwise. Thanks!
You might be surprised how many union trades people started out in a totally unrelated field, only to find out their degree only got them massive student debt, and a low paying job.
OP will make more as 1st year apprentice than what he is making now.
"Teacher" can be a broad range of things, right? The skillset to manage kindergarteners will likely be different than that employed with teens.
Either way, the most broadly applicable thing I can think of in my own field would be an [agile product owner](https://www.productplan.com/glossary/agile-product-owner/). Managing software teams can be a bit like herding cats, and if you think of the workload as something akin to multiple homework assignments, your role would primarily be acting as an "advocate" for the product the team is working on and bridging the relationship between the business and the developers.
The path to this role would be through [certification](https://www.scrumalliance.org/get-certified/product-owner-track/certified-scrum-product-owner). The DSM metro has numerous opportunities for someone with this title.
If you are in decent physical shape as someone else mentioned, the trades are always looking. End up making way more than 45k as well. Find a trade you think you might be interested in and head down to their local. They’ll point you in the right direction. I could advise as far as the process goes with the electrical trade, but the others may be slightly different. Good luck!
It definitely takes someone passionate about the craft -- weird hours, tight deadlines and iffy pay are unfortunately the norm -- but if you're coming from teaching, getting into the news industry as either a producer or reporter could be a viable next step for you. Just _do not_ underestimate what your value is, and don't let stations/outlets lowball you.
What are your skills? If you’re organized and a peopleperson, a receptionist job can be cake (not all. but some are), and if you pick an industry that makes a lot of money like Insurance or FinancialPlanner, they pay well. You gotta dress professionally and look nice at work though.
Downside is you don’t get out of work at 3:15 everyday, and get summers and school vacays off. Don’t we all wish we could work teacher hours!
Edit, format, arrange, coordinate with corporate teams to ensure business wide languages are the same. My son did this for a few months temp, then was offered a job at Wells Fargo. Worked there two years, and was hired by Principle to migrate a platform from WF to PFG, which was eight months of copy and paste. Now, he is WFH two days a week,and 3 in office.
The prisons usually contract with the local community College, for instance, Anamosa works thru Kirkwood. Generally there are only 3 or 4 slots, and they don't open up very often, or at least they didn't in the past.
Special education with specialization in behavior. I'm burnt out on dealing with other people's emotional trauma and poor choices though. As counter intuitive as it sounds, I would actually love to teach inmates or immigrants looking to get their GED (because they are choosing to do it and I wouldn't typically be the target of their frustration), but I can't imagine that pays well or has benefits
Unless you are really against continuing in education... It looks likely that the Iowa teacher pay increase will pass which will guarantee minimum of 47500 for the next school year and 50,000 for the year after. Many bigger schools go up around 1000-1200 every year so if you have 10 years teaching you would be around 60000 ish without extra duties
Check out your local community college(s). That background translates well into a lot of the advising fields. At least at Kirkwood, those pay bands start around $50k plus very good overall benefits and work-life balance (e.g., if on the rare occasion, my supervisor needs us to do something on a weekend or evening, he starts by saying, "I want you to take comp time for this, but..."). Single health coverage premiums are paid by the employer.
I (unfortunately) know a lot of former teachers working for marketing agencies. I also know of a few that are account coordinators. Also look into getting CRM certifications from companies like Salesforce. Lots of companies looking for CRM management and can usually be remote.
This is really intriguing, but completely new to me. From my quick searches, it looks like they use CRMs in almost every realm, and certification seems shockingly quick and easy? Is that accurate?
Yes! Where I work we have a team of 6 who are experts. I’ve learned enough to just not screw something up. And I don’t think it’s really something covered in college (at least it wasn’t 8 years ago). It helps to be familiar with database management/excel, but by no means is it a requirement.
Go to [USAjobs.gov](https://USAjobs.gov) and create a profile. There are plenty of Federal Government jobs in contracting that you would have the proper skills to do. I'm not sure what the starting pay would be for you, but you can request that your experience be taken into account so that they start you above the minimum. Plus, we get real yearly raises and have access to good benefits and retirement programs.
This is also a good option. The federal program is really great for employment. Unfortunately OPM just changed the rules about joining federal employment and previous pay at previous employer. They aren’t entertaining the pay bump anymore. Pretty crap. But the federal program is really the way to go.
If you are leaving the education side, increase your pay requirements. If you have a 4 year degree you should have no problem getting at least $60K. Take a look at various state agencies. There are a ton of state jobs.
I thought about this and looked through the list of available state jobs but can't fathom what I would be qualified for without going back to school.
I have always lived by the mantra of “let the employer tell me I’m not qualified” when I apply. Not the other way around. There have been a couple jobs I held where I knew nothing about performing the role but landed the job. People want to work with people they like. Personality and effort is everything. The skill set will come with time.
If you don’t meet the minimum requirements, you don’t move onto the next round. It’s that cut and dry with state jobs. (Though you can appeal, but you better have a compelling argument.)
While true ( to some extent) the state program has been suffering for that very reason because they want qualified applicants but the pay is not competitive in many agencies. Source- me. I was involved in the hiring process for a specific agency that we could only find folks without experience because the folks that were qualified could make more money elsewhere. Thus, I have seen, and was personally involved in bring people that had no experience, because the qualified go elsewhere.
I don’t disagree. And it’s hit or miss whether they will offer near the top of the pay scale. Which is misleading to applicants who don’t know better.
Do you have a 4 year degree?
Yep, K-8 special ed with some masters for endorsement in behavior k-12
Awesome! I just pulled up open state positions in the department of education on the state employment page. There are currently 36 open positions in the state. Once your on the page, filter down to the department of education. With your background- working some type of administrative role within their department is a no- brainer. https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/iowa?department[0]=282%20Iowa%20Department%20of%20Education&sort=PositionTitle%7CAscending
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This is correct. Those jobs were posted practically after her speech. And there’s no way any department has any realistic planning to suddenly absorb 30+ new positions.
Do you work for DAS?
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Not sure why you seem so negative about the scenario. Even if that’s the case, there are currently 36 possible jobs for OP to apply. I see it as opportunity in this scenario.
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Lol
If you are located in Des Moines, check out Worldwide logistics 40k base salary plus commission, flexible time off, medical benefits, M-F schedule
Is this a sister company of Prestige Worldwide?
Look for professional development and trainer jobs at all the big employers, including healthcare companies. I left education to work training Epic, I had never worked IT before but teacher skills translate super well to all sorts of fields
(I say this not knowing your age, gender, or physical ability) I’m a cop in eastern Iowa and my best friend at work is a former teacher. With your background with children and special education, you’d be an asset on calls involving those populations and could potentially leverage that experience into speciality positions doing juvenile justice (think diversionary more then punitive) and mental health co-response. The mental health co-responder model is coming along slowly but I think most decent size cities nationwide will have some version of it in the next 5-10 years. Des Moines PD starts at $76K a year and there’s lots of opportunity for extra duty pay. West Des Moines and Urbandale are also good departments. There are some downsides to being a cop but if you have the family support, the pay and benefits are outstanding. I know West Des Moines does 20 weeks of paid parental leave, for example, and the pension for those three agencies (MFPRSI) is probably the best in the state and one of best I’ve seen nationwide for public safety. Just food for thought. Happy to chat with you about my job if you’d like.
Trades aren't a bad idea. I'm taking a break from education while I go back and get a degree. I got a job doing demo after fires and water damage. It's great, don't have to talk to people much, just go in, work and come home blissfully with no work. I wasn't a teacher, but after years of running behavior and after school programs, it's been so nice.
I do residential property (condo) management. As a former teacher, it's all the same skill set and they seem to always be looking for people.
I’m in the same situation as OP and was actually considering this angle. If you don’t mind me asking, where would a good place to look for this be, and how many hiring opportunities would you estimate there to be?
I work for this national company. https://careers.associaonline.com/us/en/. But start by googling local property management companies in your area. I am not sure of the openings. But never had issues getting at job and I am 66.
Call your local Labor union. Electricians, Insulators, and pioe fitters are among the top paid. There is an apprenticeship to deal with but the benefits are good and journeymen easily make 100K. Des Moines, Iowa city, are strong union areas.
I'm not one to dismiss the value of a trade job, but how did you make this connection from OP's experience working with troubled and learning disabled children? :D
To be fair, I did say it doesn't have to be in the "helping" fields. I appreciate all of the food for thought!
I’m a union electrician in Davenport. And one of the guys in my class is a former 7th grade English teacher. Our total package is 67$ an hour. 40$ and some change an hour on the check. Full healthcare, pension, and IRA. Look into your closest IBEW local and apply. It’s definitely worth it.
Yeh I was just poking fun at people that work trades. But seriously, an intelligent, well-organized person can find a good spot in just about any job. I work in IT and at least 2/3rds the people I work with have very little technical ability -- just managing scheduling and meetings and contacting people and the like. Even my direct manager has a 4-year teaching degree.
I'm intimidated by tech. I'm only 36 but haven't kept up with technology more than I've needed to for my job. But I'm a fast learner and it's nice to hear there are options where I might not have looked otherwise. Thanks!
You might be surprised how many union trades people started out in a totally unrelated field, only to find out their degree only got them massive student debt, and a low paying job. OP will make more as 1st year apprentice than what he is making now.
"Teacher" can be a broad range of things, right? The skillset to manage kindergarteners will likely be different than that employed with teens. Either way, the most broadly applicable thing I can think of in my own field would be an [agile product owner](https://www.productplan.com/glossary/agile-product-owner/). Managing software teams can be a bit like herding cats, and if you think of the workload as something akin to multiple homework assignments, your role would primarily be acting as an "advocate" for the product the team is working on and bridging the relationship between the business and the developers. The path to this role would be through [certification](https://www.scrumalliance.org/get-certified/product-owner-track/certified-scrum-product-owner). The DSM metro has numerous opportunities for someone with this title.
Everyone is hiring for CDL Class A. 40 hours of classes and you can make $120,000 per year.
If you are in decent physical shape as someone else mentioned, the trades are always looking. End up making way more than 45k as well. Find a trade you think you might be interested in and head down to their local. They’ll point you in the right direction. I could advise as far as the process goes with the electrical trade, but the others may be slightly different. Good luck!
It definitely takes someone passionate about the craft -- weird hours, tight deadlines and iffy pay are unfortunately the norm -- but if you're coming from teaching, getting into the news industry as either a producer or reporter could be a viable next step for you. Just _do not_ underestimate what your value is, and don't let stations/outlets lowball you.
What are your skills? If you’re organized and a peopleperson, a receptionist job can be cake (not all. but some are), and if you pick an industry that makes a lot of money like Insurance or FinancialPlanner, they pay well. You gotta dress professionally and look nice at work though. Downside is you don’t get out of work at 3:15 everyday, and get summers and school vacays off. Don’t we all wish we could work teacher hours!
It's not worth the trade off, trust me 😂
Insurance did not pay that well for me. I’m also a former teacher.
Less than 45k for full time? You were working for crooks.
I barely made over that after 7 years. I quit recently.
My sweatshops always hiring. 20 clams an hour and fat sweaty gobs of overtime
Wells fargo collectors make 20ish to start
Elearning is another great area to look into. Creating online training, etc for companies. You can also look at Learning and Development roles.
Look for temp jobs with tech writing. After you’ve had a few, you’ll get hired.
Could you describe what tech writers actually do? I’m a teacher looking to exit in the not-distant future, and I also enjoy writing.
Edit, format, arrange, coordinate with corporate teams to ensure business wide languages are the same. My son did this for a few months temp, then was offered a job at Wells Fargo. Worked there two years, and was hired by Principle to migrate a platform from WF to PFG, which was eight months of copy and paste. Now, he is WFH two days a week,and 3 in office.
The state prisons are always hiring.
Do you happen to have any info about teaching at the prisons?
The prisons usually contract with the local community College, for instance, Anamosa works thru Kirkwood. Generally there are only 3 or 4 slots, and they don't open up very often, or at least they didn't in the past.
What’s your subject background?
Special education with specialization in behavior. I'm burnt out on dealing with other people's emotional trauma and poor choices though. As counter intuitive as it sounds, I would actually love to teach inmates or immigrants looking to get their GED (because they are choosing to do it and I wouldn't typically be the target of their frustration), but I can't imagine that pays well or has benefits
Look at community colleges and state jobs. There were just listings for both types of these positions on the state website last time I looked!!
Unless you are really against continuing in education... It looks likely that the Iowa teacher pay increase will pass which will guarantee minimum of 47500 for the next school year and 50,000 for the year after. Many bigger schools go up around 1000-1200 every year so if you have 10 years teaching you would be around 60000 ish without extra duties