You are clear you want to leave teaching. It is a career that demands a lot of our physical and our emotional energies. Each year the pace and the pressures take their toll and the holidays no longer rejuvenate. However, you may feel too young to retire to a life of leisure. Choosing to retire at the age of 55, for instance, still leaves you with at least ten years of potential fruitfulness – a time when you could try a different career altogether – and a time when you may want to enhance the money from your Teachers’ Pension Scheme.
There are ramifications for your pension if you continue to work. It is worth talking to a financial advisor about your options before taking the leap. Your teachers’ pension scheme could be impacted by a decision to work. However, if all we are doing is looking into the blue-sky, let’s explore some professions that make great second careers for retired teachers.
Professional Speaker
You will have grown so accustomed to speaking in front of large groups that you have forgotten how mere mortals get nervous. The average non-teacher finds the idea of public speaking terrifying. You are trained to break down concepts in an engaging way. You are experienced in being mindful of the concentration span of an audience. You understand the value of a multi-sensory experience. You have skills that are marketable here.
Researcher
You are a person who knows how to learn and then how to communicate this learning. You will have done research-based practice, possible undertaking a master’s degree to advance your career. You also understand what it means to be rigorous and disciplined – both in the use of literature and the use of data. You may be a specialist in Science or the Humanities, which makes for a smooth transition to this area of research. However, even as an English or Maths specialist, you have talents that others won’t bring to this role.
Writer
As a teacher, you will have been expected to do much writing for lots of different audiences, with lots of different purposes. You will have written reports for parents, and maybe governors. You will have written schemes of learning for other teachers, along with resources for the students. You will have marked students’ work and been expected to offer editing and proofreading services. You have all the necessary skills required to become a writer.
Corporate Trainer
Leaving the classroom might not dampen your enthusiasm for teaching. You may want to move away from the high demands of a secondary school but continue to offer learning and development to others. You will be appealing to corporate organisations looking for a trainer. You will be comfortable training using visual and audio aids, and you are also used to offering discretionary effort. You will be pleased with how surprised corporate entities are with individuals who are willing to provide above and beyond, with only a limited idea of what price tag should be attached.
Sales
As a teacher, you have spent a lifetime knowing how to talk to people. You have the skills for assessing an individual’s needs and then attempting to serve them. This is called sales – but in a different form. You have been selling your subject for the longest time, showing passion and handling challenges to your knowledge.
In short
You have worked hard through your career to develop a skill set that is highly marketable in the “normal” world. It is possible that your teachers’ pension scheme offers enough to do nothing, but you want to be worthwhile and useful while you are still able. Here we have covered only a few of the possible career choices you could make on retirement. It could be time to start asking questions of advisors to see if it would pay to make a move.
The content in this article was correct on 9th February 2019. You should not rely on this article to make important financial decisions. Teachers Financial Planning offers advice on the teachers’ pension scheme. Please use the contact form below to arrange an informal chat with an advisor and see how we can help you.