Finding my path

As one year ends and another begins. In January of 2021 I knew it was time for me to share my journey from classroom to tech. I assumed other educators had pivoted their career in one way or another towards a different career path. I just couldn’t envision how common this really was, so I started compiling the steps that I took to make my career pivot happen.

First of all let’s establish why you are here: 1. You want to know how educators can add value to your workplace in non-traditional roles. 2. You ARE the educator seeking the solution to closing the classroom door and implementing your transferable knowledge into a career and industry you are truly passionate about.

To start understanding the added value having an educator on your team can bring I want to first highlight: You are not restricted to roles outside of the classroom but still traditionally tied to education. I fundamentally believe there is a huge opportunity for curriculum designers and EdTech for those in search of that path. While I did spend a few short months in roles with these titles I found there was an even greater chance of expanding into other industries all together.

I specialize in financial operations, with a specific interest in compliance/risk & controls. With more than 3 years of internal audit experience in my tool box I can draw clear connections between the types of skills required to implement instruction, create effective performance assessments, and how this pairs well with internal audit methodology and deriving root cause analysis that improves audit scores.

They key to breaking into any industry is knowing your way around the “language”. There are so many approaches to learn this aspect but if I had to be brutally honest I highly recommend simply studying that space. Find articles, ones that draw on knowledge, peer reviewed, and supported by the community. Network with those well versed on the topics you want to explore and make note of the verbiage during communication. It will be your mission to find connections between the language in your current role and how it can be demonstrated in your future role. The most successful transition is supported by a good understanding of the industry translation.

My next post will focus on the sites I have implored which helped me translate my educator language into wording the financial industry understood and accepted.

Onward & upward friends!