I couldn’t be more enthusiastic about breaking into the education industry, especially after leaving behind the guilt I carried over not becoming a teacher first.
I've always honored teaching as a valuable stepping stone that later helps transitioning educators get a fuller understanding of edtech needs.
I've questioned how I could become a legitimate professional in the industry without ever holding that title. A title that signals someone's grit to take on one of America’s toughest, most notorious jobs.
After tutoring for a few companies and building an e tutoring service during COVID, I knew I wanted to make impacting student success into a full-time career. Getting to know my students and witnessing their lightbulb moments was priceless.
I enjoyed tutoring but wasn’t satisfied enough to leave the gig economy to teach full-time. Here’s how realizing this helped me decide where I wanted to start my career.
I needed a role that would maximize my skills
Starting a fulfilling career for me meant choosing a role where I could write. Creatively. With personality. To persuade.
When I tutored kids in college, my problem-solving and oral communication skills were on point. The writing was left in the dust.
This skill is a core part of who I am and what I'd want to maximize in a full-time role. That was non-negotiable for me so I knew I'd need to pivot soon.
Edtech marketing let's me continue developing my writing, task by task.
I wanted to work in a business atmosphere
I didn’t feel energized by the idea of working exclusively with students for most of my day. Instead, I wanted to work with people with a variet of age and experiences (including kids) that shared my enthusiasm for the education market, marketing, and writing.
Like many people who work for social impact organizations, making money for a standard business didn’t feel purpose-driven or exciting to me.
Using business dynamics to change the face of education, did.
I want to include educators and students in outreach and decision-making as much as would be helpful to them.
I already knew I didn't want to be a lifelong teacher
No one should enter the teaching profession because they feel like they should. Take it from me, I know what putting that pressure on yourself can feel like.
So much prep goes into becoming a licensed teacher. It's not worth dedicating yourself to getting trained if you aren’t truly passionate about the job.
That's why if you're dipping a toe into the profession as a way to launch into another field, you should probably reconsider this path.
The greatest danger a teacher who doesn’t want to be one can have is rubbing their lack of interest off on their students. Do you remember what it was like being taught by people who were uninspired, for whatever reason? Students can sense this. And it's not a good feeling.
Anyone entering any profession, especially becoming an educator, should take it seriously.
It's never too soon to make the shift from ed to edtech
There’s an alternate path to working in the classroom for 8 hours a day without feeling like you're leaving educators behind.
Edtech companies can and should include teachers in their creation process and consistently acknowledge the impact they have on supporting their education solutions.
And keeping their company running.
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