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Do I Need to Retrain to Change Careers? The Truth About Leaving Teaching
Updated: 4 hours ago
Change Careers After Teaching
Many teachers are keen to learn new skills and broaden their horizons (which I strongly recommend, by the way), however, this doesn't necessarily mean retraining and completely starting from scratch.
You probably don't need to start from scratch!
One of the most common things we love to do as teachers, (who are perfectionists in every sense of the word) is fall into negative self-talk. We start convincing ourselves we haven't got any relevant skills. We start believing the narrative that our experience only counts inside a school. We read hundreds of job ads for roles in project management, communications, learning and development, HR, or administration, and the first thought that comes into our brain is: “I've never done that, so there's zero point in even applying."
Except that you probably have. You've just called it something different.
Take secondary school teacher, Sam. Sam manages projects all the time- a new curriculum, a school event, a trip, parents' evenings etc. He communicates with different audiences every day such as students, parents, colleagues, senior leaders, external agencies, support staff, and sometimes difficult "clients" i.e. parents, who need calm, clear answers.
Sam designs learning. He builds resources. He assesses progress. He explains complex ideas. He adapts under pressure. He handles conflict. He organises people, information, deadlines, data, and expectations.
Sam is also you. As a teacher, you do all the things that Sam does and more. So, before you assume you need a new degree, you need to start thinking about the skills you already have. If you're not sure how to do this then I've got you covered in my other posts here:
How can I change careers without retraining or taking an expensive degree?
So the question is, how can change careers after teaching without retraining or taking a degree?
The answer is simple....
UPSKILL!
Ask yourself- what are the gaps between your current skills, and the skills that you need to fulfill a career in X? You can work this out this by looking at job ads and writing down skills that come up over and over again.
For example, take these two job ads below for a Learning Designer/Instructional Designer role:
Comparing Job Ads
If we compare the two job ads above, you'll see that there are similar requirements that appear on both ads: ‘experience designing resources’, ‘a qualification in learning design/development or education’, ‘experience using learning management systems (LMS)’, ‘detail-focused/high attention to detail’, ‘manage priorities/manage competing priorities’, and ‘confident designing resources.' If you translate these job ads back into "Teacher Talk", then all of these skills you already possess!
You might be thinking 'But I don't know how to use Articulate Storyline or Photoshop etc.', but these are re tools which can be learnt and aren't anything to do with the qualifications and transferable skills you already have. You need to look at the main skills the job requires, and how your current skills translate. If you want more information on how to pivot into Learning Design specifically, you can browse my posts below.
How Can I Upskill?
Once you've identified the skills you already have, the next step is to work out where the gaps are.
You don't necessarily need another degree or years of retraining. Sometimes, all you need is a short course that gives you a specific skill, introduces you to a new area, or gives you something relevant to add to your CV.
Think of it this way: Don't retrain for a completely new career. Fill the gaps between the career you have and the career you want.
For example, if you're a teacher who wants to move into Learning & Development or Instructional Design, you may already have many of the core skills employers are looking for. What you might be missing is experience with particular tools, terminology, or approaches used in corporate learning. That's where a course can help.
Start with the career you want
I recommend following these steps below:
Look at the jobs you actually want.
Find 5–10 job adverts for the type of role you're interested in and make a note of the skills, qualifications, software and experience that appear repeatedly.
Then ask yourself:
What do I already have?
What can I demonstrate from my teaching experience?
What am I missing?
Which of those gaps could I realistically fill with a short course?
Look at relevant courses below, or via Coursera (they're affordable and you can go at own pace).
This approach means you're upskilling strategically, rather than collecting qualifications for the sake of it.
Courses that can help you make the move
If you want to build new skills without committing to another expensive degree, Coursera is a great place to start. There are courses and professional certificates covering areas such as project management, instructional design, data, UX Design, HR and business..
You can explore courses in areas such as:
Project Management – useful if you're considering project coordinator or project manager roles.
Instructional Design Foundations and Applications - if you're interested in moving into Learning Design and need a better understanding of adult learning and principles.
Human Resources – worth exploring if you're interested in people-focused roles outside education.
UX Design – useful if you enjoy design, technology and building new and exciting things.
Data & Analytics – useful if you enjoy working with data or have a background in maths or science, and want to develop more technical skills.
The important thing is that you don't need to do all of these.
Pick the career direction you're interested in, identify the skills you're missing, and then choose one or two targeted courses that help close those gaps.
Don't underestimate what a course can do
A course won't magically give you five years of experience — and you shouldn't expect it to.
What it can do is give you:
Knowledge + terminology + a practical skill + something relevant to put on your CV + something to talk about in an interview.
You already have the teaching experience. Now you just need to learn how to translate it, add the missing skills, and show employers what you can do. That's a much smaller leap than starting your career again from scratch.
When a new degree might actually be necessary
There are times when retraining is not optional. For example, if you want to move into a regulated profession, you may need a specific qualification. That can include areas like:
Nursing
Social work
Counselling or therapy
Law
Clinical psychology
Some finance or accounting roles
Some technical or engineering roles
Certain specialist health roles
In careers like these, the qualification is not just a nice extra. It is part of the legal or professional pathway.
The key question is not:
“Would another degree make me feel more employable?”
The better question is:
“Is this qualification required for the work I want to do?”
Leaving teaching does not always mean starting again. Sometimes it means finally seeing your experience in a different light.
If you have any questions, please comment below! I'd love to help or hear about your success stories!
Sooo pleased I came across this blog when I did! I was about to pay for a uni course and this has saved me time and money. I'll take the Project management one as covers a lot of the same things as the more expensive uni one.