Lesson 2 - Finding a new career outside of education that is best for you

Ready to dive into lesson 2?

In this lesson (How to find that next career after leaving education that is right for you!), I’ll cover:

• Identifying what brings "joy"

• Looking within and evaluate strength and weakness & Skill assessment  

Identifying what brings joy

First, we’re going to cover how to identify that career path that is right for YOU. 

Let's observe the formula 

Passion + Expertise + Usefulness = Your Perfect Career Path. 

This formula is inspired by what Jay Shetty says in his book, "Think Like a Monk". 

Jay says, "Everyone has a nature which determines where they flourish and thrive. You should feel passion when the process is pleasing, and your execution is skillful and the response from others should be positive, showing that your passion has a purpose."

Let’s break this up into pieces. 

Passion:

What are you passionate about? What topics excite you? What makes you feel alive or brings a smile on your face?

Do you like your job? 

I LOVE TALKING! I absolutely love coaching people and sharing my wisdom to help them make better choices. For some people, it is lesson planning. For others it is planning field trips.  Or maybe you just love being around children and that brings you joy.

 Do you like planning or do you like using your creativity to teach someone an idea or lesson? Or do you love the logistics aspect of timing, activity transitions? Or do you enjoy the part where you get to execute the lesson plan more?

Expertise:

Are you good at your job?

Is your greatest skill or passion outside of work? What are you really good at?

For me, I am really good at asking intelligent questions and digging deeper. I am also really good at public speaking: making eye contact, changing my tone and expressing emotions in my voice and face, and using my hands for gestures. For some people, they are excellent at researching. Or maybe they know everything about plants! Or training a dog. Or maybe you are really great at listening empathetically. 

Really think about what you are skilled at. This might be something you have always been a natural at, or a skill you developed over the years.

Usefulness:

Do you think there might be ways you could bring your passion to your work?

Which companies or roles utilize the passion and skills you have? (You can easily find this by searching the “skill” itself on LinkedIn or Indeed. For example, type “writing” and you will see all jobs that require one to have this particular skill)

For example, your passion for “teaching” for example, and your excellent communication skills (your expertise) can be useful in a career as a “Trainer”! 

Identifying all 3 aspects: passion, expertise, and usefulness is really important because if your passion is missing, you may not feel fulfilled and if you are not an expert and continue to work in a field where you are mediocre, you may feel inadequate. And if you don’t check the usefulness and demand of your skills and passion, then you may be jobless or may have very few work opportunities.

Looking within and evaluate strength and weakness 

Self-awareness is very important when reflecting on your expertise. You want to be honest with yourself. Is this something you are really good at or you wish you were really good at? Have others complimented you on this skill before?

If you have absolutely no idea, you can also try one of these tips to help to identify your strong point. 

Tip #1: You can take this career test to get some ideas too! Here is one I made especially for educators! Career Quiz

Tip #2: You can also ask your friends and family to share what they think you are really good at or what you always talk about!

Tip #3: LinkedIn offers several skill assessments tests that you can also use to assess whether you are good at key skills that employers are currently looking for such as Ms.Excel, or Writing, or Communication!

Takeaway: Identify your passion, expertise, and usefulness before jumping to apply for jobs to avoid wasting time on jobs you won’t enjoy or won’t qualify for. 

Let's connect on LinkedIn - I have a whole community of educators there who are looking to change careers! Alternative Careers for Teachers | Groups | LinkedIn 

I hope you enjoyed this lesson! Next, we’ll cover Training, and Learning and Development related careers which might be a great fit for former educators and how to match your skills to the right career.