How to Transition from Corporate to Teaching: 6 Skills You Already Have

If you’ve been working in a corporate or business environment and want to make a change to a fulfilling career in education, you might be surprised how qualified you are to begin a master’s program and prepare to make the switch. Many of the skills you’ve learned on the corporate ladder will serve you well in the classroom.

6 Skills of a Good Teacher You Learn in a Corporate Job

A career change into teaching might sound scary at first. However, if you are passionate enough, it shouldn't be a problem to find fulfilling work, thanks to the rising demand for highly qualified teachers across the country.

Communication

Strong communication skills are fundamental to an organization's daily success in the corporate world. Being able to clearly and effectively express yourself through verbal and written communication while making space to not only hear, but understand, others is a major part of nearly any corporate job. Whether you’re sending emails, presenting a slide deck or making a sale, you’ve no doubt learned to be an effective communicator through your work experience.

Similarly, teachers need to have impeccable comprehension and communication skills to help them understand the subject they’re teaching and transfer that knowledge to eager learners in a way that aligns with their development and skill levels.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking skills, or the ability to solve complex problems, analyze information and make sound judgments not only makes you a high-quality employee, but they can make you a successful teacher as well. A teacher with critical thinking skills demonstrates resourcefulness and can develop new ways of tackling problems, ensuring smooth processing of information for students, staff and administration.

Fortunately, you’ve probably been perfecting your critical thinking skills every day in your current corporate job. Turning problems into opportunities, evaluating information and strategizing new solutions that help your organization attain its goals isn’t that different from the ways you’ll flex your critical thinking skills as a teacher.

Leadership

Leadership and organizational skills are essential qualities for people in the workforce. If you’ve ever motivated someone to do their best work, mentored a colleague or stepped up during a crisis at work, you’ve acted as a leader. The ability to inspire and motivate a team while also meeting your own objectives is transferable to nearly any industry.

As a teacher, you’ll rely on your leadership and organizational skills to create a classroom environment that promotes learning, engagement and collaboration. You’ll also rely on these qualities to prioritize your work, create lesson plans and ensure that the students stay engaged and on task.

If you have good leadership qualities or have held leadership positions in the corporate world, it will serve you well in transitioning to teaching.

Patience

They say patience is a virtue, and when you work in a professional environment, patience can mitigate potential conflict and help you make strategic decisions and seek out new and better options. You probably practice patience every day in your current role whether you’re waiting for the right time to roll out a new product, being considerate to a colleague who is running late or helping an employee who needs more time for a project.

The art of waiting for the right moment to act or talk is also essential in teaching. All your students will behave and learn differently—some will grasp concepts quickly while others will need a bit of time. Practicing patience will help you better understand your students’ needs and ensure a supportive learning environment for all.

Teamwork

Collaboration and teamwork play a massive role in determining whether an organization will be successful. These skills allow employees to work together on projects to pursue a common goal. For example, the marketing department could team up with the sales or product teams to improve the messaging or work together to plan a new advertising campaign.

Teachers use teamwork to achieve common goals, too. Teachers must work together to develop a curriculum, school rules and timetables to ensure that the institution achieves its goals. Teachers also need to team up and decide the best course for helping struggling students.

The collaborative spirit you acquired in the corporate industry easily transfers to your new profession.

Time Management

In teaching, time management refers to the ability of teachers to prioritize tasks successfully and plan their days so that all students have the time to achieve their benchmarks, lesson plans are followed and assignments are graded and returned to students within a reasonable time frame.

Working in a corporate environment is a great way to improve your time management skills. With the many deadlines to meet and deliveries to make, you have no option but to be time conscious. Fortunately, you can smoothly transfer this quality into teaching and help your students learn these skills as well.

Make the Career Switch to Teaching at SHU

Transitioning from a corporate job to teaching is exciting. Equipped with the skills and abilities you’ve learned in your professional career, you’ll be set up for success in a teaching credential program, such as SHU’s Master of Arts in Teaching program.

Want to know more about Sacred Heart University’s education programs?

Have a one-on-one conversation with one of our counselors to get all your questions answered either virtually or in person. Email gradstudies@sacredheart.edu, call 203-365-7619 or schedule an appointment today.