You want to leave the classroom behind, and supply teaching is not for you. What are your other alternatives?
In this series, I am combining my experience as an educator and that of being a professional career coach to explore different options for teachers who want to use their skills in a new way. So far, we have explored tutoring and supply teaching. Now it is time to look at two more alternatives.
Becoming a Teaching Assistant / Specialist Teacher
If money is not a major issue (the reality is the low pay of TA work is not comparable with a teacher’s salary) and you like schools but not the responsibility, this is an option to consider.
Alongside the more general Teaching Assistant roles that offer one-to-one or small group teaching without the full class responsibilities (and all the extras) teachers have, there are also more specialist roles within this route. These include behaviour specialists, learning specialists, PPA cover roles, and even SENCo roles which are held by qualified teachers who no longer have class responsibilities.
For those who love working with children but just no longer love the responsibly that comes from being a class teacher, this route offers an alternative way to use transferable skills.
Exam Marking / Academic Marker
This option works well for those who are looking for multiple income streams as it offers a great way to generate income during the high-demand periods throughout the academic year.
For exam marking, the busiest period is May, June and July and can consist of SATS marking, GCSE or A Levels. There are also senior marker roles, along with moderator positions. It offers a way of using your subject knowledge and works well alongside tutoring roles or alternative multi-income streams.
Academic markers provide feedback on essay submissions to enable students to improve their work before formally submitting for assessment. This tends to be a work from home freelance role offering the flexibility to sign up to a platform and download “jobs” as and when you want to earn extra money. It does not tend to pay well but it does have the advantage of acting as a great “top up” income generator that when combined with other roles provides a lot of flexibility.
There are so many roles available to match teacher and school leader skills. If you want more help, message me to learn more about Mapleleaf Vision career coaching services.
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