Find Your Teacher Career Path

Learn how a career that starts with teaching can open doors for your future. Where will teaching take you?

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Teachers learn skills that can take you almost anywhere you want to, like leadership, communication, creative problem-solving and teamwork. So whether you stay in the classroom or set your sights beyond, let’s look at some of the ways you could grow your career.

Of course, this is just a taste! There are as many career possibilities as there are teachers—and you get to decide how your journey will look.

5 Career Paths for Teachers

These are a few of the diverse fields where you can work with a teaching certificate. Click on a category to see examples of each!

Classroom Leadership

School Leadership

District Leadership

Policy, Advocacy & Academia

Education Products & Services

Classroom Leadership

You can advance your teaching career without giving up the opportunity to work with students directly. Here are a few roles that let you grow in your career and stay in the classroom.

Department chairs and team leaders support their whole academic department. So, you might lead all the teachers at your grade level or in your subject area.

As a leader for your fellow teachers, you might:

• Facilitate regular meetings to collaborate on curriculum, assessment and policies.
• Help the team implement new curriculum and teaching practices.
• Work with school administration on behalf of the group.
• Support your fellow teachers and help create a positive team culture.

Many states have a “master teacher” designation to recognize exceptional teachers. Master teachers aren’t just great at instruction: They’re also experts at classroom management, supporting students with diverse needs and building strong communities, both in the classroom and with student families.

As a master teacher, you might:

• Help create a professional community of support and growth.
• Share and model best teaching practices for colleagues.
• Coach and support new teachers.
• Open your classroom for observations.
• Advise school or district leaders on policies.

Your school district may offer a “Master Teacher” designation for meeting certain performance benchmarks. You can also earn your National Board Certification , the most advanced certification available for teachers! Many districts offer extra pay to Master Teachers or National Board Certified teachers.

Mentor teachers (sometimes called cooperating teachers) help early-career and student teachers develop effective teaching skills. Many school districts offer stipends to mentor teachers!

As a mentor teacher, you will:

• Co-plan and co-teach with beginning teachers.
• Observe and give feedback to beginning teachers.
• Share teaching practices and strategies.
• Model effective instruction and more.

Peer observation is just what it sounds like—you’ll observe a colleague in their classroom to provide feedback and support. You’ll often serve as a peer observer upon request by a teacher or administrator.

As a peer observer, you will typically:

• Meet with colleagues to talk about teaching goals.
• Observe your colleagues in action.
• Provide detailed, supportive feedback and ideas to help your colleagues grow.

School Leadership

With some teaching experience under your belt, you may decide to support your school community beyond the classroom! Check out these school-level leadership gigs and what they entail.

At a basic level, a principal’s job is to support students, staff and families to help the school community thrive. Principals and assistant principals work together to make that happen.

As a principal, you'll have the opportunity to:

• Set academic goals and lead staff to reach them.
• Work with staff to develop a positive, supportive school culture.
• Build relationships with students and parents.
• Create professional development plans to help teachers grow.

Instructional specialists focus on an area of academic need, like reading or math. When you become an instructional specialist, you'll work with students and support other teachers at your school.

• Model great instruction.
• Coach fellow teachers.
• Help teachers with instructional planning.
• Facilitate teacher skill-building sessions.

Student support specialists advocate for students and families in all areas, including academics, social development, life skills and career and college preparation.

The term “student support specialist” can refer to many different roles! With additional training, you can use your teaching experience to grow in to positions like:

• School Counselor
• School Social Worker
• Speech and Language Pathologist
• School Marriage & Family Therapist

The dean of students is responsible for school culture. Deans lead by example and work with almost everyone in the school community, from teachers to counselors to nurses and parents, to create a positive atmosphere.

Here are some of the responsibilities you can expect as a dean of students:

• Build relationships with staff and student families to create a strong, supportive community.
• Help staff manage classrooms in a way that supports student learning.
• Make sure student policies are implemented fairly and equitably.
• Track data on school culture metrics.

District Leadership

In a district leadership position, you can broaden your reach and make a lasting impact across multiple schools. These are just a few of the many district leadership positions you can grow into.

School superintendents help districts try new initiatives and work toward goals. They’re usually experienced educators who know how to communicate well, manage large teams and understand the big picture.

Here are just a few of the tasks you might take on as a superintendent:

• Act as the liaison between school district staff and the school board.
• Work with the school board to develop goals and long-term plans for the district, based on student needs.
• Communicate with the media about events or policies that affect the larger district community.
• Oversee the district’s finances, budget and spending.
• Track student achievement and implement program changes.

In a nutshell, chief operations officers keep school districts running. They have to be well-organized and great communicators in order to keep multiple departments running!

Chief operations officers typically oversee departments like:

• Facilities & Buildings Maintenance
• Food & Nutrition Services
• Student Registration
• School Safety
• School Transportation

If you enjoy exploring the latest learning technology and educational apps, you may find yourself coordinating your district’s technology resources.

A district technology coordinator:

• Maintains the district’s hardware, software and computers.
• Develops district policies around technology and security.
• Offers tech training and support to teachers.
• Predicts future technology needs and resources.

Many educators belong to teachers' unions, which advocate for higher pay and better working conditions for teachers. Some union representative roles are full-time, while others happen alongside your teaching responsibilities.

If you're elected as a union leader, you will:

• Address teacher complaints.
• Negotiate contracts with school administration.
• Serve as a liaison between your school and the union.

Policy, Advocacy & Academia

As you advance in your career, maybe you’ll want to expand your reach and share what you know with new audiences. Here’s a snapshot of the types of roles you can consider!

As an experienced educator, you can transition into a teaching role at a college or university. Most professor positions require a PhD, so you may choose to work towards an advanced degree while you're teaching. You could also apply to your school district for a sabbatical to begin your doctorate!

As a college professor, you could do things like:

• Train new teachers in effective lesson planning, instruction and classroom management.
• Teach in your content area, with a focus on how to plan engaging lessons.
• Train administrators in how to build a strong school culture and support student achievement.

Interested in education policy? You could help research and inform decisions at the local, state or even federal level!

Here are a few places you might work as a policy staff member:

• Your local mayor’s office
• Your county office of education
• Your state department of education
• Legislative branches at the state or federal level
• The U.S. Department of Education

You might also consider a policy fellowship! Fellowships let you deepen your knowledge in a particular area, such as educational policy or practice, over a fixed period of time. You might qualify for policy fellowships through organizations like TeachPlus . You can also search for policy fellowships through our national database , or use this list as a place to start.

Love to learn? You might earn an advanced degree to begin a career in education research. Education researchers often work for universities or think tanks. You’ll develop research plans, conduct studies, evaluate results and publish your findings—all to help educators and students!

There are infinite topics to study, but you might tackle big questions like:

• What's the best class size for learning?
• How do young children respond to digital learning tools?
• What’s the best way to support English language learning?
• What's the best learning environment for students with disabilities?

Many networks and organizations, like Educators for Excellence , exist to make schools better for students and staff alike. With teaching experience, you can bring an educator's voice to the table.

You might decide to join an organization focused on topics like:

• Public health and wellness for students.
• Specific content areas, such as early childhood or science education.
• Quality education and support for underserved students.
• Ensuring teacher voices are heard and considered in educational policies.

Education Products & Services

The skills and knowledge you gain from teaching can prepare you to develop products and services for other educators. Here are a few possibilities to consider.

As a teacher, you’ll get an on-the-ground look at the needs of educators, schools and students. You could use your experience and leadership skills to start an organization that helps meet an unmet need.

Here are just a few of the kinds of products and services education startups offer (The sky’s the limit!):

• Online teacher training
• Online courses, study tools and tutoring for students
• Community-building opportunities for teachers and families
• Lesson plans and support materials in your content area
• Software and tech tools that support classrooms or administration

Social entrepreneurs lead businesses for the greater good—not just for profit. As a teacher, you’ll encounter all kinds of societal issues that need attention. Your expertise could help you lead an organization that works toward social change.

Socially-minded organizations might address issues like:

• Helping students build social and emotional regulation skills.
• Closing the achievement gap between high- and low-income students.
• Bringing resources and educational experiences to underserved schools.
• Supporting early-career teachers, especially those from underrepresented groups.

Teaching is all about relationships. And you can put those relationship skills to use in other areas too!

Account managers typically focus on client satisfaction, rather than sales. From nonprofits to the private sector, you could have a successful career managing client portfolios in a variety of fields.

As an account manager, you might:

• Manage one-on-one client relationships.
• Advocate for clients to make sure their needs are being met.
• Offer guidance to help clients reach their goals.
• Negotiate contracts and monitor account performance.

Teachers are great creative problem-solvers. You can use that know-how to analyze and tackle challenges for businesses and organizations.

As a data analyst, you might do things like:

• Analyze company and customer data.
• Analyze company systems and processes.
• Recommend solutions and ways to improve.

Talk to an Expert

Want to learn more about where a teaching career might take you, or how to become a teacher? Talk to a TEACH coach (it’s free!) for personalized advice, or learn how to connect with educators near you.

What’s next

How to Become a Principal

Find out how to become a school principal. Learn about the step-by-step process, required credentials and how to get started.

Teacher Certification (Complete Guide)

Discover the steps you need to take to become a licensed teacher. TEACH is your No. 1 source for becoming an educator.

References

1. State Financial Incentives for National Board Certification. National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. https://www.nbpts.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/State-Incentives-Chart.pdf
2. Elementary, Middle and High School Principals. Occupational Outlook Handbook. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/elementary-middle-and-high-school-principals.htm#tab-1
3. “2022–2023 AASA Superintendent Salary & Benefits Study.” The School Superintendents Association. https://www.aasa.org/docs/default-source/resources/reports/2022-23-superintendent-salary-benefits-study-abridged-version.pdf?sfvrsn=3c42defe_5
4. Education Teachers, Postsecondary. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes251081.htm
5. Operations Research Analysts. Occupational Outlook Handbook. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/math/data-scientists.htm

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