Best Remote Jobs for Teachers Transitioning Into Tech
Our Favorite Remote Jobs for Teachers
Project Manager
Short Project Manager Job Description
Project managers work to organize business projects and help teams collaborate. This is one of the best jobs for teachers, as many of the skills (organization, interpersonal communications, logistics) translate 1:1.
The primary tasks of project managers include project sequencing and planning, budgeting time and expenses, and making sure team members have the tools and materials needed to be successful at their jobs.
Project Manager's Starting Salary
We've aggregated thousands of salaries across Glassdoor and Linkedin, and Project Managers can make anywhere between 65k - 86k, depending on their location and skillsets.
How to Translate Teaching Experience to Project Management
Classroom management, if communicated the right way, is almost 1:1 experience translation with project management.
In a project, there are certain deadlines to hit for a bigger picture. Lesson planning-- on the daily, weekly and monthly-- to get your students ready for standardized testing is a great example of project planning. Planning your resources and supplies for a school year is very similar to a project's budget. You need to find the optimal balance with monetary allocations. Communicating with students, parents and other teachers is a great way to demonstrate cross-functional relationships, and the ability to manage both up and down.
To really hammer the point home, create a few free accounts with some popular project management tools (such as ASANA, Jira, Trello) and create a task manager for a lesson plan. Create a budget for your (or a pretend) classroom. Watch Youtube or take a bridged recommended class to learn best practices.
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UX Researcher
Short UX Researcher Job Description
UX Researchers work to identify user friction with applications and websites by using qualitative and quantitative data. Teachers demonstrate UX Research skills daily by combining student test scores (quantitative) and their classroom behavior (qualitative). They conduct user interviews by talking to students, parents and teachers. This is especially a fun gig for those who studied psychology or sociology, or anyone curious who is interested in identifying problems and talking to users all day.
The primary tasks of a UX researcher include conducting user interviews, aggregating survey responses, and presenting their findings to larger teams.
UX Researcher's Starting Salary
We've aggregated thousands of salaries across glassdoor and linkedin, and ux researchers can make anywhere between 75k - 85k, depending on their location and skillsets.
How to Translate Teaching Experience to UX Research
Like we mentioned before, teachers are always completing research to make sure their classrooms are run effectively. Observing student test scores is quantitative research, and talking to students/parents/other teachers is qualitative research.
UX Research focuses on identifying user problems. Think about a time in your classroom where you thought you had a problem, and the steps you took to get to the bottom of it. What was the root of the problem? Did it align with your original assumptions? Write these down as a case study, and be prepared to talk about them in interviews.
To further up your game, sign up for a free research resource like Sprig or Hotjar, and get familiar with different types of qualitative surveys you could design for users. Think about how these are similar or different to your teaching studies. Look into the different types of unbiased questions asked in research surveys around topics like pricing, messaging, and customer satisfaction.
View Full UX Researcher Job Guide
Product Analyst
Short Product Analyst Job Description
Product Analysts work with quantitative data to identify user flows and drop offs with an application or website. This is a great gig for math or science teachers who are familiar with mathematical concepts like percentages or light statistics. A chunk of product analytics requires presenting data to an audience in an understandable way, which makes teachers a prime candidate to rock the role.
This one takes a little more training, but we recommend the Google Sponsored Data Analytics certificate to learn everything you need to know in as little as 2 months.
The primary tasks of product analysts include digging and synthesizing data, creating dashboards to show off findings, and presenting their findings to team members.
Product Analyst's Starting Salary
We've aggregated thousands of salaries across glassdoor and linkedin, and product analysts can make anywhere between 75k - 85k, depending on their location and skillsets.
How to Translate Teaching Experience to Product Analytics
This role requires a little more training to gather data, but once that is completed the other skills translate directly. Presenting data and findings in an understandable way is the very backbone of teaching. Again, bonus points here for a math or science teacher. Weighting and calculating grades is a great example of data manipulation.
View Full Product Analyst Job Guide
Recruiter
Short Recruiter Job Description
Recruiters work to inspire other workers to come and join a specific company. While recruiters often specialize in certain fields, beginning as a recruiter can be a wide open field. This is a perfect job for teachers who enjoyed the social aspect of the teaching job, who enjoy emailing and talking to others all day.
The primary tasks of recruiters include scheduling/sourcing candidates for specific roles, writing job descriptions, and working with hiring managers to make sure everyone gets their ideal career scenario.
Recruiter's Starting Salary
We've aggregated thousands of salaries across glassdoor and linkedin, and Recruiters can make anywhere between 65k - 85k, depending on their location and skillsets.
How to Translate Teaching Experience to Recruiting
Teaching is inherently a social job that requires interpersonal relations, which is very similar to recruiting.
Think about ways you inspired students to complete better work, pursue certain subjects, or follow certain career paths. These tactics are also applicable to recruiting. Keeping track of students, grades, and interests are also key requirements of being a recruiter. Be sure to communicate this in interviews!
Online Teaching Roles
Get paid to teach kids English online full or part time, or tutor younger kids remotely in a tricky field. VIPKid and Starkid do not require much (if any) experience, but BookNook requires either 3 YOE teaching or 1 YOE tutoring. If you come from an education background, these could be great part-time options for you!
If you're an educator looking for more part-time remote options, specifically for teachers, check out our recommendations Best Part-Time Remote Jobs for Teachers.
Careers in the Ed-Tech Industry
If you're still nervous about breaking into a remote job with your teaching experience, we recommend focusing your job search on the education industry, known to professionals in the tech world as "ed-tech."
Normally jobs have two learning curves- one for the role, and one for the industry. By applying to roles in the education space, you're tackling one of the learning curves early since you're already familiar with education. This will give you a leg up over applicants coming from other industries!
Job Hunting as a Teacher
We recommend spending some time thinking about what you'd like to get out of a remote job. What aspects about remote jobs are important to you. If you plan to travel, we recommend prioritizing jobs that do not have a lot of meetings so you aren't dealing with timezone changes. If you're working from home for personal reasons, this may not be a problem. But think about it.
Next, we recommend researching jobs that align with your skills and experiences. We've made it easy here at bridged to browse common jobs that cool companies have. After you've picked a job, we recommend using our free career coaching platform to keep track of your progress in establishing skills.
Some Great Questions When Job Hunting:
- Do I mind being in a lot of meetings?
- Do I truly want to be "remote," or have the option of an office/hybrid?
- What are my motivations for switching to a remote job?
Don't worry-- this is just the start. There are many exciting career paths available in the technology industry for teachers looking to transition into a new role or expand their skills. From instructional design and educational technology to data analysis and project management, the opportunities are diverse and growing.
By targeting individual skills and relating them to your teaching experience, you can position yourself for success in the tech industry. Whether you're a veteran teacher or just starting out, exploring a career in tech can lead to new opportunities, personal growth, and a rewarding experience.
Here at Bridged we are huge fans of stacking micro-certifications to achieve desired career results. We're building a product to make your career planning fun and affordable, and we'd love to talk to YOU! Was this article helpful? Did you land an interview at Square?Let us know at hello@getbridged.co
