Find Your Teacher Career Path

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.

An advanced degree or certification lets you earn more and build your career. Many Texas districts recognize exceptional teachers through the Teacher Incentive Allotment. This program comes with bonuses for educators—sometimes thousands of dollars!

National Board Certification is one way to qualify a Teacher Incentive Allotment bonus. This is the most advanced certification available for 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.

We learn best from our peers. As a peer observer, you will support fellow teachers through classroom observation and provide them feedback on how to improve their teaching. Typically, peer observers are requested by a teacher or a school administrator.

As a peer observer, you will: 
 

• Connect with your colleagues to discuss teaching goals 
• Sit in the classroom and observe your colleagues in action 
• Provide detailed and supportive feedback to help your fellow teachers grow.

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. 

Instructional specialists: 
 

• 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. 

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:
 

• Serve 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

District coordinators help lead a particular program or service for the school district. You’ll work with students, teachers and staff in lots of different schools! 

Depending on your experience and interests, you could grow into a position like: 
 

• College and Career Readiness Coordinator
• Counseling Coordinator
• Postsecondary Coordinator 
• Student Outreach Coordinator
• Technology Coordinator

Great communicators are always in demand—and teachers are communications experts. You might even join your district’s communications team one day!

As director of communications, you’ll do things like:
 

• Promote awareness of the district and its mission and goals
• Connect with district staff, families and the wider community about what’s happening in the district
• Manage public relations with the media and local community
• Get the word out about opportunities for your community to get involved

With your teacher experience, you can transition from teaching kids and teens to teaching adults at a college or university. Most professor positions require a PhD, so you have the option of working towards your advanced degree while still teaching. 

You could also apply to your school district for a sabbatical to begin your doctorate! As a college professor, you’d be able to:
 

• Train new teachers in effective lesson planning, instruction and classroom management.
• Teach in your content area and create engaging lessons.
• Train administrators on 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. You might qualify for policy fellowships through organizations like TeachPlus.

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 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.

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

Educators often 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 work for an organization that works toward social change.

Nonprofit leaders can help address societal concerns by working for organizations that: 

• Help students build social and emotional regulation skills.
• Close the achievement gap between high- and low-income students.
• Bring resources and educational experiences to underserved schools.
• Support 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 1-on-1 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 quick on their feet and able to solve problems creatively and effectively. Those skills can help you tackle challenges for businesses and organizations. 

As a data analyst, you can expect to: 
 

• Audit and analyze company and customer data to recommend improvements
• Analyze a company’s systems and processes 
• Provide recommendations based on expert observations to help a company improve and grow