Does having a teaching degree and relevant experience limit you to the classroom alone? The short answer is no, according to highspeedtraining.co.uk. 

Teachers usually possess outstanding interpersonal skills transferable to other fields such as human resources and diversity, equity and inclusion training, museum programs, outdoor education, youth mentoring and school counseling, the article said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated already-existing issues with the teaching profession in the classrooms, leading some teachers to retire and others to do so in search of better-paying alternatives outside of the classroom.

At least 300,000 public-school teachers and other staff left the classroom between Feb.2020 and May 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported.

At SUNY Oswego’s Marano Campus Center on April 12, a panel of professionals presented their careers and offered advice to students interested in pursuing similar possibilities outside of the classroom.

This event is held both on campus and virtually every year. It enables students to network with experts that share similar interests.

The event’s organizer, Jacqueline Wallace, spoke about the significance of career awareness and readiness. Wallace is also the associate director of Career Services at SUNY Oswego. She discussed how making sure you are putting your best foot forward and taking the time to understand what skill sets are essential for success in the field so it can be worked on now.

“It’s about understanding what is required of you to get into the field, specifically what employers are looking for,” Wallace said.  “It’s all about growth.”

Jobs.theguardian.com provides value for those in the education profession who are looking for fulfilling educational jobs that do not involve rigorous restrictions and lengthy hours.

Monet Kendall-Turner, a school counselor at Bergen County Technical High School, highlighted the significance of creating opportunities in order to be marketable and flexible in your profession.

“I turned down my first job offer as a regular school counselor for a non-profit position that allowed me to travel the United States,” Kendall-Turner said. “I did this for the first three years of my career and developed a college counseling program as a director.”

She went on to say that thinking outside the box can lead to a variety of experiences that can lead you to the job path you are most passionate about. 

“Don’t be afraid to take risks and have fun,” Kendall-Turner said.

She urged students to pursue study in the field they are passionate about, as well as to use the tools that are accessible to them as guidance.

“I realized that I should have taken more risks and been more deliberate in my research of what I want to do and different paths that can be taken to achieve my goals,” Kendall-Turner said.

Aside from taking risks and completing thoughtful research, it is critical to participate in extracurricular activities while in college. Pursuing a career that you are truly enthusiastic about rather than doing it for a degree motivates you to appreciate your work and helps you overcome obstacles along the way.

“I started out my first job doing sexual violence prevention education at a non-profit, which was so closely related to the work that I’ve been doing on my own time on my own passion outside of my academics,” said Sabrina Sugano, who is a learning facilitator in the area of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. “I found that working in an educational capacity was something I enjoyed and was able to do it specifically to interest as well.”

The panelists finished by expressing their impact on the lives of students they have taught or guided, in terms of highlighting the importance of being a part of a student’s development.

“Some of my students have grown up with me, and it’s very interesting to see them showing up in spaces that I am currently in,” Kendall-Turner said. “Nothing beats the joy of running into former students and hearing about their accomplishments. So, it’s been a pleasure and a delight for me to be a part of their development and to see them emerge as leaders in my community.”

Wallace emphasized the importance of fulfilling educational needs outside of the classroom as teaching jobs become more prevalent.

“Being able to think about what your interests are and how you want to educate others,” Wallace said, “…may be accomplished in a variety of ways. For example, on campus, we haveActive Minds, which is dedicated to de-stigmatizing mental health. Which counts as education, thus there are many alternatives to the traditional classroom.”

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