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You need to either align you job search to those fields where your current degree applies or update your education to add the degree required by the field you seek.
I have. I’ve already applied numerous times to non-teaching jobs in Education where I would use my language skills (I have degrees in Spanish and French), without success.
I’m at the point in my life (late 40’s) where going back to school would be a waste of time and financial resources.
My general impression is that people look at my resume and see so much teaching experience that they can’t see past it and/or can only see me as an educator.
Do you think simply reordering my resume by putting my education and office skills first would help me to get a job as, say, an administrative assistant?
I also wonder if I should apply to jobs in HR, as I feel like a lot of people I know have successfully changed careers by going into HR
I have. I’ve already applied numerous times to non-teaching jobs in Education where I would use my language skills (I have degrees in Spanish and French), without success.
I’m at the point in my life (late 40’s) where going back to school would be a waste of time and financial resources.
My general impression is that people look at my resume and see so much teaching experience that they can’t see past it and/or can only see me as an educator.
Do you think simply reordering my resume by putting my education and office skills first would help me to get a job as, say, an administrative assistant?
I also wonder if I should apply to jobs in HR, as I feel like a lot of people I know have successfully changed careers by going into HR
We have hired several former teachers in as admin assistants. The ones I've seen do excellent in the job and are able to really perform above the admin assistant level. If that's what you're going for, you should emphasize admin skills, as well as those unique ones that a lot of applicants don't have, such as self-starter, leadership ability, organizational skills, budgeting, people skills. The teachers we've hired were excellent in those skills. In your case, if you're fluent in Spanish, a lot of offices would see that as a plus.
If you consider the Federal gov, you might also look into financial management and buyer. You may already have some of the courses for those and not need a full degree but just some specific missing courses to qualify.
The other aspect is commercial/industrial training management.
One general thing on office skills. Today everyone "knows" Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. And frankly a lot of the traditional admin typing has gone away. But if you can proof, edit, and make those programs sing, and in today's world, interact with Teams/Zoom etc, those are big pluses.
I have. I’ve already applied numerous times to non-teaching jobs in Education where I would use my language skills (I have degrees in Spanish and French), without success.
I’m at the point in my life (late 40’s) where going back to school would be a waste of time and financial resources.
My general impression is that people look at my resume and see so much teaching experience that they can’t see past it and/or can only see me as an educator.
Do you think simply reordering my resume by putting my education and office skills first would help me to get a job as, say, an administrative assistant?
I also wonder if I should apply to jobs in HR, as I feel like a lot of people I know have successfully changed careers by going into HR
I was 61 when I started at the coding academy. What got me the job was going to networking events. I felt that if I could get to live people, rather than my resume not getting past all the filters, I could make a good impression. It took four months, during which I met a lot of really interesting people who found my journey from inner-city French teacher to junior developer to be fascinating.
I recommend that you start trying to network with people outside education. Build up your LinkedIn profile and reach out to the people in business who are interested in hiring people with your skills.
One of the most edifying conversations I had at the networking event was this from a leader at the Mississippi Development Authority. When I asked him about age being a factor in hiring, he told me that employers ask him to "send people with gray hair." You may not have much in your forties, but trust me, I have plenty.
Don't give up and reconsider going back to school. I tried that ten years ago when I was still in my early 50's and taking night classes. Even after one year of coding classes, my professor said I was ready for internships. I experienced a life-threatening illness that cut that foray short and kept me in the classroom. So when the pandemic hit and I needed to safeguard my health, the coding academy ads kept popping up and I decided that third time was the charm. I was right!
I thank God every day for my new life. I miss teaching, but not all the other crap that I would have to deal with. Good luck with yours!
I was 61 when I started at the coding academy. What got me the job was going to networking events. I felt that if I could get to live people, rather than my resume not getting past all the filters, I could make a good impression. It took four months, during which I met a lot of really interesting people who found my journey from inner-city French teacher to junior developer to be fascinating.
I recommend that you start trying to network with people outside education. Build up your LinkedIn profile and reach out to the people in business who are interested in hiring people with your skills.
One of the most edifying conversations I had at the networking event was this from a leader at the Mississippi Development Authority. When I asked him about age being a factor in hiring, he told me that employers ask him to "send people with gray hair." You may not have much in your forties, but trust me, I have plenty.
Don't give up and reconsider going back to school.
I won’t consider going back to school, as I can’t afford it because I already have 2 Bachelors and a Masters. I don’t want another degree.
As for networking, I used to have a LinkedIn account but have since deleted it because I found that I wasn’t using it. I’m not into social networking.
That said, networking is not something I’m good at. I’ve had a lot of bad experiences with people, so I am the kind of employee who keeps their head down and just does their work. I don’t run in a pack or talk about my personal life and I try to always say nice things about people. If I were in a place where I had to successfully navigate office politics, I wouldn’t survive there.
We have hired several former teachers in as admin assistants. The ones I've seen do excellent in the job and are able to really perform above the admin assistant level. If that's what you're going for, you should emphasize admin skills, as well as those unique ones that a lot of applicants don't have, such as self-starter, leadership ability, organizational skills, budgeting, people skills. The teachers we've hired were excellent in those skills. In your case, if you're fluent in Spanish, a lot of offices would see that as a plus.
If you consider the Federal gov, you might also look into financial management and buyer. You may already have some of the courses for those and not need a full degree but just some specific missing courses to qualify.
The other aspect is commercial/industrial training management.
One general thing on office skills. Today everyone "knows" Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. And frankly a lot of the traditional admin typing has gone away. But if you can proof, edit, and make those programs sing, and in today's world, interact with Teams/Zoom etc, those are big pluses.
Thank you, this is very helpful. I think that, when I do start applying for jobs, I am going to need to revamp my resume so that it appeals to jobs that are not in education but that, also, shows how my skills and experience in education will successfully transfer to the new job.
1) Many states have alternative certification. They tell you what you need to take, but they hire you and you're working/teaching at the same time. It has the advantage that you know you have a job.
2) If your degrees are masters level, you could probably catch on at a community college.
3) Private schools can often hire whomever they want. They don't pay as well typically and you don't have the same job security, but they often cut through a lot of BS.
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I guess some longer than others.
