I never want to convince anyone to stop pursuing their dreams or talk them out of applying for careers that they are certainly qualified for. This might not be the right message for you. And if you are firm on what you want, it is totally okay to skip this episode. I have definitely seen very upset posts about this exact concept on LinkedIn from teachers saying that no teachers should take anything that is not their dream job, or is a pay cut or is labeled as entry level. Now, before I get too far into this episode, I have to address this. So instead of thinking of stepping stone careers as being stuck or taking a step backwards, consider this as a strategic way to prepare you for your future advancement. Maybe it’s a company that doesn’t spark as much joy as let’s say your top favorite education company.īut you know that this experience can help your resume and help you get your foot in the door at any company outside of the classroom after a couple of years. Maybe it’s a position at a company that you love, but not actually your dream position. So maybe you’re right now open to in person role when you know eventually you want to move into something that’s completely remote. It could even technically be a step up in pay, but just doesn’t really feel like your forever career, because maybe it’s not something that you feel like you want to stick with for forever. It could be potentially a pay decrease, but it might be in the industry that you want to get your foot in the door in. It may also feel like a step backwards, depending on how long you’ve been in teaching. So maybe it’s a new position that has a similar pay or benefits. Maybe it’s more of a step sideways than upward in your career trajectory. Now, what are stepping stone jobs? A stepping stone job is basically any job that you go into really knowing that it’s not probably going to be your forever career. That’s why in this episode, I’m going to talk all about stepping stone jobs. And you’re starting to kind of fall into the same category. And I’ve heard from so many of you that can relate to this stress and the time constraint that’s given to you with the job search. I remember preparing myself to take basically anything that paid my bills as long as I wouldn’t be miserable.

After an entire year of extreme stress that was brought on by a really toxic work environment, I just knew that I needed a mental break for my next role. The negative head space that I was in had me really not acting or thinking like myself. When I was leaving the classroom, I knew I just needed to get out of teaching altogether. Welcome to the Teacher Career Coach podcast.

Listen to the episode in the podcast player below, or find it on Apple Podcast or Spotify. In this episode, I talk about stepping stone jobs, basically any job you go into knowing that it is not going to be your forever career. Instead of thinking of this as being stuck or taking a step backwards, consider it as a strategic way to prepare for future advancement.

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