Have you thought about the National Park Service (NPS) as an alternative use of your Music background? An interpretive ranger at a historic site related to music?

For NPS job info visit http://www.nps.gov/personnel/

Many baby boomers will be retiring, leaving many vacancies (which won’t all be filled due to budget constraints, but they still have to hire a bunch of folks).

When you speak about being burned out in the teaching profession, I imagine it is the traditional classroom school setting. I recently retired early from college teaching…and the biggest problems were more with the education system. One of my daughters is teaching 3rd grade, and after 7 years is feeling burnt out…largely due to the system, not the actually teaching.

Over the past several years before my early retirement, I did a number of projects with the NPS and have since encouraged many of my students who aspired to be teachers to consider shifting their goal from traditional classroom teaching to interpretive work with the NPS….teaching, but without the ed system bureaucracy, grading papers, shifting ed fashions and buzz words…but lots of possibilities to be outdoors.

Consider this simple fact….who goes to National Parks? People who WANT to be there. So you “teach” people who self-selected to be there…not a captive audience that’s being put through an institutional mill. And you don’t have to make up tests and grade papers and dance to the tune of prepping folks for standardized tests.

It would be wonderful to have a person well versed in music to explain the music from “natural” materials and native cultures…which may take some “learning” on your part, but it isn’t like starting all over again.

The same applies to all sorts of parks (state, county, or city). Then there are museums with interactive programs to engage people to actually handle materials…and these might be other venues to “teach” in an environment of self-selected / non-test performance oriented learners. You can imagine how stress-free that can be.

Oh well, just brainstorming. Hope this helps. Best wishes for peace and contentment in your life.

First, I would ask if you have tried teaching in a private school. The whole experience can often be totally different from public schools. But if that’s not an option, I’m afraid your opportunities are kind of limited. You might try getting on at a university that has a music library. And I don’t know what your minor was, but would that open any doors to you? Sometimes the best way to find something is by networking. Sometimes, if you read the want ads in sections you would not normally consider, you’ll see something you could fit into. If you can think of something your previous education and experience would make you qualified for, you can try signing up with an employment agency or putting your resume on job sites like Monster.com. Good luck!

Many teachers have your same dilemna . Some go to private schools. The money isn’t as good but often times the hours are more flexibile and there aren’t as many restraints as offered by the state regulated public school sysytem. Don’t rule out big business. You have a degree and most have training programs now before you actually begin work. So, think about an employment agency. Sit down with a counselor there and see what’s out there . It might just be time to ditch music altogether and be trained in another entirely new field. One of my neighbors was a school counselor and is now a computer programmer. Good luck.

Can you get into school administration? Or are you just sick of the school system in general?

Do you get summers off? If so, you’re in a terrific position to be retrained for a new job. Visit the career center at your local colleges and universities, talk to a career counselor, go to any career/job fairs to explore your options, talk to your friends, get in touch with any fellow teachers who’ve left the field, etc.

Keep in mind any work-toward-pension years you’ve accrued, and what kinds of jobs they might transfer to. Would working for the city in some capacity allow you to stay on track to retirement? (I have a relative who taught for a few years, quit teaching to raise kids, and then went to work for the city water department. Her teaching years counted toward a pension in her new job.)

If you enjoyed the real estate course & think that’s a career you could be successful in, chances are you have an entrepreneurial, people-oriented personality. This is a great asset in the working world. It’s important not to get down on yourself, just because one professional choice hasn’t worked out.

If you really hate teaching, please do find a way to get out of the profession. Our kids deserve enthusiastic, committed professionals.

Finally–I am confident that beginning to work on plans for a change will make the remaining teaching you need to do much easier.

Good luck and Godspeed.

Do you think you could handle teaching in a one on one setting? You can always tutor. Otherwise maybe moving up to adult learning level would help the issue. My mother in-law is a English teacher living in Israel. She was teaching elementary and was close to losing it. Finished her masters and stated teaching at college level and is much much happier. The only other thing I can think of using your background would be in Occupational therapy maybe, not sure what further educational requirements you’d need. Once again a very specific field but having more skills never hurt anyone.

Do you live in the USA? Have you thought about working for your state government? Try the Texas Health and Human Services job search. You might be surprised at the jobs available. Or look at the OKDHS.org/careers site for state jobs in Oklahoma. You would still be working full-time but vacation time and sick leave time is generous for working parents. The pay isn’t that great benefits make up for it.

I recently retired from a state government job. I was personally acquainted with several ex-teachers who became social workers, did music therapy for the developmentally disabled or did something entirely different from what they had received a degree.

You are not alone. I have friends who also decided that they didn’t want to teach and that was soon after getting their diploma. I suggest that you do a bit of brain-storming and write a list of activities and interests that you enjoy and then look up careers on the internet and see if there is anything there that could use what is on your list. You could also speak to a career counsellor. They are trained in that sort of thing. Perhaps you could even be a career counsellor if that interests you. Ultimately, though, the final decision has to be yours.

What about using your degree to your advantage and teach from home? I am not exactly sure what your degree is like, but here it’s pretty common for teachers who are sick of teaching in schools to turn to teaching from home. You get to spend time with your children while earn some cash at the same time.

Hmm, could you give private music lessons? I know that would still be teaching, but it would be a bit different since it’s one-on-one. Also, you could have your students come to your house, and that way you could spend more time with your children. I took private piano lessons for about eight years, and it really had a positive impact on me 🙂 Good luck!

Try to start a business with low start-up costs, of some sort, perhaps some sort of service you could perform.

Also, you might consider sales of some type, perhaps with a salary and commission.

You might want to use your credentials to start some local or online courses or classes of your own, and possibly get some teachers in other areas to help out for various, different subjects.

I believe that if you play your cards right, you could get your own enterprise going. Think about this and let your ideas flow.

Ultimately, most people should strive to have their own business as opposed to working at jobs.