Hi, Vanessa

This month, I’ve had the honor of connecting with so many of you - teachers in transition - who are brave enough to share your stories with me as part of my upcoming white paper on burnout and career change.  Your honesty, insight, and vulnerability continue to inspire me. If you haven’t reached out yet and would still like to contribute your experience, I’d love to include your voice. Just reply to this newsletter and I'll reach out to schedule a time for us to talk.  Every story is valuable. 

And if you feel that the information in this newsletter or the opportunity to share their story would be valuable to a educator friend, please feel free to forward it to them. 

This newsletter turned out a little long, but there was a lot to say this week. 

 

 

What JobScan.co’s New Report Means for Teachers

Jobscan.co is a site and a tool that works to help match resumes to job descriptions.  It is a great tool for job seekers.  They also scour LinkedIn for trends and they've recently released their 2025 top hard and soft skills report. When comparing it to 2024, there are interesting trends and implications for current and former educators.   The short version? The job market is shifting toward more technical, analytical, and management-focused roles. For teachers, this can be intimidating—but it’s also affirming. Much of what’s newly in demand are things you’ve already been doing, just under a different name.

Key takeaways:

  • Soft skills like management, research, and problem-solving are now more in demand than traditional business-facing roles like customer service or sales.
  • Technical hard skills—like Python, SQL, systems design, and programming—are rising fast.
  • Communication has skyrocketed in importance, showing a stunning 231% increase in job postings.

What does this mean for teachers? It means you’re closer to career transition readiness than you might think. The catch? You need to learn how to reframe your experiences in the language of the corporate world and selectively upskill.

Here’s how your teaching experience translates:

  • Classroom management → People and project management
  • Lesson planning → Research, analysis, and strategic planning
  • Grading and feedback → Data evaluation and performance reporting
  • Giving clear instructions → Prompt engineering for AI tools (yes, really!)

Even better: You don’t need a full degree to grow in one of these areas. Start by identifying one technical skill that piques your interest—data visualization, basic coding, AI tools, or project management certifications. Pick one and explore it for 30 minutes a week.

There are plenty of accessible and affordable ways to upskill. Platforms like LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, Udemy, Google, and Microsoft offer free or low-cost courses in Python, SQL, project management, and more. You can even audit many courses for free or find full certification programs that cost less than a tank of gas. Check out FreeCodeCamp for programming, Kaggle Learn for data science, or Google’s Project Management certificate on Coursera. These resources are a powerful starting point.

One intentional move, one small area of growth, is enough to signal to future employers: I’m ready, I’m capable, and I’m building what’s next.

You’ve got this.

More Balls Than Hands: What’s really necessary

You’ve been handed too much. Too many tasks. Too many expectations. Too many mixed messages. And if you’ve been teaching long enough, you’ve probably internalized the idea that everything is urgent, sacred, and absolutely cannot be dropped.

Except... that’s a lie.

There’s a story often told in the corporate world: life is like juggling balls. Some are rubber and bounce when dropped. Others are glass and shatter. But for teachers, that analogy barely scratches the surface.

 

Let’s go deeper with something I call The Drop Test—a color-coded strategy to help you figure out what to protect, what can bounce, and what to finally let go.

Here’s the breakdown:

🔵 Glass – These are the non-negotiables: your health, your family, student safety. Drop these, and it’s hard or impossible to repair the damage.

🔴 Rubber – These bounce. Bulletin boards, perfectly laminated centers, and “extra” touches can wait.

🟢 Lead – These are the heavy, soul-sucking tasks you should never have had to carry. Redundant reports, data no one reads, outdated admin tasks.

🟡 Hot Air – These look important, but when you let them go, nothing happens. Think: contests, spirit wear spreadsheets, or overly complicated displays.

Want to try it? Use dot stickers or colored flair pens. Go through your to-do list and color-code it. This simple exercise will help you see what truly matters and what’s draining your energy for no reason.

We’ve all been conditioned to treat everything like it’s glass. But it’s not. You don’t have to juggle every ball. You just need to know which ones matter—and which ones you were never meant to carry in the first place.

Podcast

Enjoy these articles?  I go even deeper into these concepts in this weeks podcast.   Listen to the full episode now at Teachers in Transition Podcast.  A transcript of every podcast is available on the podcast's page in case you prefer to read and not listen. 

Upcoming: DECIDE Workshop - Friday, Sept 27 at 2 PM Central

Are you still in the classroom, but not sure if this should be your last year or not?  Or perhaps, the burnout is strong and you are trying to figure out how to last just a couple more years and aren't sure how you are going to do it? 

Not sure what’s next for you? Join me for the DECIDE Workshop where we’ll slow down and look at the big picture: should you stay, shift, or begin your exit strategy?

You’ll leave with clarity, a plan, and maybe even relief. Register now: Join the Workshop

There is a suggested price of $99, but there is a pay-what-you-can option so choose what works for your budget. 

I'D LOVE TO CONNECT! 

 I'm all over the socials these days 

📧 Email me at: Vanessa@teachersintransition.com
📱 Leave a voicemail or text: 512-640-9099
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