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Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by Jeff Settle, MHA on 2/27/2023, 4:12 pm

As a former band director who has transitioned into a new career path, and having seen many posts on this forum asking for help transitioning to another career from teaching/band directing, I am willing to help! I am now a licensed professional coach and a healthcare administrator with experience helping teachers transition successfully from the classroom into the real world!

If you find yourself exhausted, underappreciated, and longing for more work/life balance, you should talk to me!

I have also formed a boutique consulting firm designed for career, leadership, and executive coaching services.

I am passionate about teachers given I spent so many years in the profession and I want to help!

Please click the link below to reach out to me through my website and I will schedule a time that works for you to discuss your options!

Link: Settle Consulting, LLC

Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by Saxman77 on 3/8/2023, 6:53 pm, in reply to "Making the Career Change from Teaching"

Hey Jeff! Just sent you a PM. Looking forward to some exciting discussions in the very near future!

Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by Jeff Settle, MHA on 3/8/2023, 8:11 pm, in reply to "Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching"

Looking forward to working with you!

Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by Curious, but on 3/5/2023, 4:14 pm, in reply to "Making the Career Change from Teaching"

I'd bite if I knew I could make what I make now (six figures) and have the same number of vacation days (2 months in summer, 2 weeks at Xmas, spring break, random holidays, etc). But I'm guessing I'm probably too old a dog for a new gig. Glad it works for you, though!

Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by Vacation on 3/7/2023, 12:26 pm, in reply to "Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching"

Please don't buy into this vacation myth. You do get time off but it's not paid like many other jobs.

You are paid for the days you work (contract days) and that pay is generally paid out in 12/24/or 26 increments. But you ARE NOT paid for time off. Not a single day of our time off is actually called paid vacation. It's more in line with being furloughed.

Btw. My husband works year-round but also isn't tied to a set vacation schedule. He can pick and choose----I can't.

He can travel when it's cheaper instead of only in the summer when everything is more expensive. And it's paid time off!

He has a much better work/life balance because when he feels he is draining, he takes vacation time.

He also gets federal holidays off (paid)

Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by Ugh! on 3/13/2023, 9:56 pm, in reply to "Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching"

Nobody making 6 figures is getting 12 weeks vacation. I don't care if you call it paid or not paid. 100k salary for 9 months worth of work is REALLY good pay. Your husband can travel when he wants but I would almost bet my house he cannot travel for 3 months with NO work requirements during that time! Teachers get 3 months of unpaid time off and make pretty decent money. My spouse works in corporate America, makes 6 figures and gets 3 weeks PTO plus another 8 holidays over the course of the year. So a total of 4 weeks plus a
few days. That's not 12 or 13 or 14 like a teacher is getting. And my spouse is getting that after 25 plus years in their industry. That's as much vacation as they will ever get per year. So paid or unpaid, teachers make decent to good money and get a lot of time off. I know I am forever grateful for all those summer vacations and spring breaks and Christmas breaks that I got to spend with my daughter that my spouse didn't get to because they had to go to work during those times. Stop buying into the vacation myth that teachers get no time off. If you want PTO then choose a career that works 50 weeks a year and then you can have your 2 weeks of PTO....

Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by The Commish on 2/28/2023, 9:01 am, in reply to "Making the Career Change from Teaching"

The "real world"? It doesn't get more real than teaching.

Nothing wrong with leaving the profession, but please find better terminology. This is along the lines of the old adage, "Those who can't do..." Please leave this thinking in the past. I enjoy what I do and think it prepares students for life. I've certainly contemplated leaving the profession, but not because what I do isn't real.

Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by Tim- TYB Host on 3/1/2023, 5:37 pm, in reply to "Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching"
Board Administrator

I think I can help with this:

I taught for 7 years. Flamed out spectacularly (no, I didn't get in trouble with the law, just yelled too much), and went into oil and gas. Now I'm a commercial title examiner with one of the biggest financial firms in the world. This is all in addition to being your humble TYB moderator, BrynnPark data provider, drill designer, doting husband and loving father, etc.

School work is nothing like the real world. It's harder. Adminstrators are worse, and the rules are stupid and the customer (the parent) is always right.

It doesn't work like that in the real world. I can take off when I want to, and not have to worry about anyone else but me. Oh, and it is PAID time off, which I accrue. You kinda get that in schools, but it runs out real quick. The insurance is better, the retirement is better. We also have guiderails for bad bosses/admin, where they can be let go and NOT assigned to some easy gig.

Do I miss teaching? Hell yeah. Love to teach. Help train folks in what I do now. But as y'all know, teaching is about 30% of what teachers do now, if that much. There's a reason why teachers leave, and there are great reasons to stay - that being each and every kid.

Blessings to you all who stay, as its not an easy life at all. But it ain't the real world - its much more difficult - unless you've got a job that's been featured on Dirty Jobs.

Tim

Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by BDSO on 2/28/2023, 6:48 pm, in reply to "Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching"

I teach middle school. Middle school isn't "the real world". If it is, then we are in BIG trouble.

Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by Well... on 2/28/2023, 11:00 am, in reply to "Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching"

How many days do you recall there being a post about leaving the profession? How many times have you seen post from directors lamenting their situations and wishing they were out?

My guess is plenty.

And eduction is not the real world. Having taught for a great many years and then moving into private industry I can most assuredly tell you it is not the real world. I don't have to ask permission to be off to go to whatever I want. I don't have to get denied time off because there isn't a sub for me. I don't have to ask permission to go to the bathroom. I don't have to sit in meaningless meetings that are for the benefit of some administrator to bolster their resume. I don't have to deal with a new fad or plies of wasteful paperwork for the sake of the state agency or the district new policy. I don't have to scarf my lunch down because there's a class filing in.

I am a professional now. I don't have employees that fail drug tests or not do their work and they get a 7th chance to make it right. I don't have to sit down with their parents and hear what a terrible job I'm doing.

I work more hours now, but I will gladly trade that for the fact that I am now in "the real world."

Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by Kind of on 3/13/2023, 9:46 pm, in reply to "Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching"

I have days I don't get lunch.

I have days I have employees fail things.

There are still new fads and sometimes wasteful paperwork but it was asked for or required so that someone else can do their job or help with mine.

There are meetings that don't apply to me that I still have to sit through.

There are certain times I hold it in because it isn't a good time for a potty break but will be in 15 minutes so I wait, like an adult.

I too am a professional but in management, I have found that sometimes adults are just overgrown children that still do stupid stuff and still get themselves in trouble, (or needing corrective action).

Oh, and you have limited vacation and in every industry there are times that you simply don't take off so even in the corporate world, there are times you don't get vacation and you may very well only have 2 or 3 weeks of it instead of a summer, winter, Thanksgiving, and spring break to work in random trips.....

I love corporate America but don't kid yourself that it's all roses. Education has its benefits. Corporate America has it's benefits. But only retirement will give me the true ability to do whatever I want whenever I want.

Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by Antiwork on 2/28/2023, 3:53 pm, in reply to "Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching"

Yet I hear and read thousands of stories of people being denied PTO or even sick leave because "There's no one to cover" in many professions, especially wage-based ones.

We hear about people being forced to install monitoring software on their computers and personal devices to "watch what employees are doing at work." And many are required to install 2FA programs that can literally wipe their personal phones when uninstalled just to login.

We hear about monthly staff meetings, weekly "status reports" and "stand-ups" and the like. Just like faculty meetings.

Dozens of businesses also monitor restroom breaks and smoke breaks - and all but require that their employees work through lunch and work mandatory unpaid overtime just because they need to "meet a deadline" that is artificially created and totally arbitrary.

If you think the "real world" has ANY less micromanglement (intentionally misspelled) you're absolutely delusional. It's one and the same.

Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by Tim- TYB Host on 3/1/2023, 5:41 pm, in reply to "Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching"
Board Administrator

I'm thankful to not be in a job where I've been denied PTO or sick leave. We do have tracking software on our computer, but if you do your job, no one cares. Not sure what the 2FA is, but no one controls my personal devices but me.

I have a weekly staff meeting, done remotely, and I am in shorts and a t-shirt, unless it is winter. no one has ever monitored my restroom or smoke breaks, and no one ever cares. I've never been required to work through lunch, and it IS ILLEGAL TO REQUIRE UNPAID OVERTIME.

I guess I'm with a great company. There's no reason to work for folks like you described above. Let that ship sink without you, cuz I guarantee they will. Or they'll be unionized.

Tim

Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by Jeff Settle, MHA on 3/1/2023, 9:33 am, in reply to "Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching"

I believe you have “heard” wrong. Never experienced any of that in the private sector (for profit or not). I can see how rumors could sway you, however experience in education AND the private sector would probably have the best advice here given the experience.

Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by Antiwork on 3/1/2023, 11:41 am, in reply to "Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching"

Know how I know you don't know many nurses?

Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by Jeff Settle, MHA on 3/1/2023, 4:35 pm, in reply to "Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching"

Because I work with doctors?

Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching

Posted by Jeff Settle, MHA on 2/28/2023, 10:10 am, in reply to "Re: Making the Career Change from Teaching"

Apologies if that term offended you. That was not my intention.

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