10 Best Alternative Careers for Teachers Looking to Leave the Profession

Realistic, rewarding paths for teachers ready for something new

Thinking about a career change from teaching? You're not alone.

Whether it’s the workload, the ever-moving goalposts, or just a quiet feeling that there might be something else out there, you’re in good company. I’ve been there myself.

After leaving the classroom, I worked in education technology leading curriculum design, and later went on to start my own education business. So I know just how many skills you take with you when you leave teaching, and how many places those skills can take you.

Below are ten alternative careers for teachers that don’t involve a total reinvention. These are roles where your experience, your empathy, and your classroom battle stories are actual assets, not just something you explain away in an interview.

Whether you're ready to leave the profession completely, you're looking to pivot within education, or you're just thinking about a side-hustle for now, these ideas are could be a great place to start researching your next chapter.

1. Freelance Tutor or Online Educator

Use your subject knowledge and teaching skills on your own terms. Whether it’s tutoring one-to-one, running classes on platforms like Outschool, or building your own mini-business, this route gives you flexibility and freedom. You still get to teach, but without the paperwork, playground duties, or full class of 30.

2. Museum or Heritage Education Officer

If you’ve got a passion for history, science or the arts, this could be your happy place. Museums and heritage sites often have education teams that run workshops, create resources, and bring learning to life in some seriously inspiring settings. You’ll still be teaching, but with fossils, artefacts, or ancient castles as your backdrop.

3. Coaching or Mentoring

If you’ve enjoyed supporting ECTs or mentoring pupils, this might be your next chapter. Many teachers move into coaching roles: supporting children or teenagers, other educators, school leaders, or even people making career transitions. It’s about asking good questions, building confidence and offering just the right amount of encouragement without a star chart in sight.

4. Entrepreneurship

It might sound scary, but lots of teachers start their own businesses - often rooted in education. Whether it’s tutoring, designing resources, running workshops, or something entirely new, your planning, delivery and people skills give you a brilliant foundation to build from. You’ll be your own boss, set your own schedule, and finally get to implement all your own ideas.

5. Franchise Ownership

Like the idea of running your own business, but with full support provided? Educational franchises give you a proven brand, full training, and ready-made resources, so you can focus on doing the work you love. It’s a halfway house between employment and full entrepreneurship, perfect for those wanting a safety net.

Find out more about educational franchises for former teachers here

6. Educational Content Designer

If creating engaging lessons and resources is your thing, this could be a great fit. Education companies and publishers love working with former teachers who know what actually works in a classroom. You could be writing curriculum plans, editing textbooks, or designing materials that genuinely help other teachers.

7. Instructional Designer

This is like planning a great lesson, but with better software and within the hours you're actually paid for. Instructional designers create courses and training materials, often for universities, online platforms or internal corporate training in companies. Your ability to break down content clearly and creatively is exactly what’s needed here.

8. Corporate Trainer

Love teaching but fancy a more grown-up audience? Corporate trainers deliver training sessions to adults in businesses, helping them learn new systems, develop soft skills, or onboard into new roles. It’s still teaching, just with fewer spelling tests and more coffee.

9. Educational Consultant

If you’ve ever thought “there must be a better way to do this,” you might make a great consultant. Educational consultants work with schools, trusts, or companies to improve curriculum, pedagogy or leadership. You get to share your experience and ideas, and people actually pay you to hear them.

10. Learning & Development (L&D) Specialist

L&D teams are the education departments of the business world. You’d be designing training, supporting staff progression, running induction programmes and helping organisations grow. Think CPD but in a corporate setting, with a surprising number of transferable skills from your time in school.

Remember, you don’t have to throw away your skills to find a new path. Teaching sets you up with communication skills, organisation, empathy, resilience, and a sense of humour that most industries would kill for. There are more options than you think, and more people cheering you on than you know.

If you're looking to stay in education but work differently, check out what we do at Inventors & Makers. We’re all about bringing creativity back into learning, and helping teachers do things on their own terms.