Quitting Teaching? Here’s How to Become an Educational Consultant!

So you’ve had enough of the wild and exhausting world of teaching. Maybe you’re trying to figure out what else you can do that’s “education adjacent.” Well, buckle up – we’re about to embark on a journey through the thrilling world of educational consulting.

I’m going to teach you HOW to become an educational consultant.

Being an educational consultant is great! You get paid more and, quite frankly, for doing less too!

Think of it like being a guru of teaching, except with less spiritual stuff and way more professional development.

Why would you want to be an educational consultant? Well, if you’re quitting teaching, then it’s a very easy and very transferrable pivot. (With a slim chance of still influencing the teaching profession in a positive way.)

So, get ready to dive into the world of education, where the only limit is your sarcasm. (Because not everyone understands a good joke – trust me.)

Here’s exactly how you can become an educational consultant.

What is an Educational Consultant?

Picture this: you’re some kind of British detective of the classroom, solving mysteries like why little Timmy can’t seem to understand fractions or why that kid over there won’t stop licking the desk.

As an educational consultant, you’re basically the Dumbledore of the education world, waving your wand (or PowerPoint clicker) to make all the educational problems disappear. Impossible, right? Well, probably.

But you were expected to do the same thing as a classroom teacher, along with countless other responsibilities you’re being micromanaged on by the administration. So you might as well whittle it down to one role!

In terms of the actual services an educational consultant provides, it’s a strong mix of advisement, strategization, analysis, and coaching, alongside developing and implementing resources to better support students.

Educational consultants maintain a number of duties and responsibilities, including:

• Conducting interviews and tests to identify the strengths of students
• Supporting students in developing various core skills
• Creating plans for academic goals and future careers
• Advising educational institutions on materials and staffing 
• Analyzing curricula, learning data, and faculty performance in order to hit key targets
• Collaborating with teachers, parents, and caregivers to enhance student success
• Coaching various educators to support individual and organizational teaching outcomes

And, well, I mean, let’s be real… How much of that are you already doing as a teacher?

See! If you’re weighing up leaving the profession and wondering what other jobs a teacher can do, becoming an educational consultant might be precisely what you need to do.

So the next question is… how do you action that?

7 Steps to Becoming an Educational Consultant

Ready to make that transition?

There are a LOT of good reasons to quit teaching, but getting paid more to do less is certainly topping the list!

While you may already have a lot of the necessary skills for educational consultancy, there are still some steps you can take to really secure your chances of a fruitful and rewarding career. Starting with the most logical place…

Step 1: Gain Relevant Education and Experience

Let’s start with the basics, shall we?

If you’re looking into becoming an educational consultant, you have probably already spent a ton of time in the classroom and are just about burnt out on teaching. Obviously, you have a bachelor’s degree in something vaguely related to education and hopefully a related Master’s too.

Combine that with your experience, learn a bit about the greater sphere of learning frameworks and theories (even if it’s a bit bogus), and congratulations!

You’re officially on your way to becoming a professional know-it-all. ;)

Step 2: Develop Specialized Skills and Knowledge

Time to dust off those analytical skills and put them to good use. After all, it’s not every day you get to analyze the latest educational trends and pretend like you know what you’re talking about. Bonus points if you can do it with a straight face!

Just google “latest trends in education” and “educational jargon 2024” and memorize a few fancy-sounding items.

Inject these terms into your interviews, cover letters, and particularly branding if you’ll be operating independently. It’s probably good to learn a bit of the theory behind them too, just to back yourself up. Get this stuff into your self-marketing and you’ll be right on your way to becoming an educational consultant.

Administrators love a bit of BS educational jargon-speech.

Step 3: Build a Professional Network

Who needs friends when you have professional connections, am I right? Most of life happens online now anyway, so why should you ever have to meet someone face-to-face ever again?

Instead, attend all the online conferences, join all the organizations, and collect LinkedIn connections like they’re Pokémon cards. The more people you know, the more likely someone will hire you to pretend you know what you’re talking about.

It’s a sad fact that the educational industry is largely run on nepotism: it’s 20% what you know and 80% who you know. So play the game, grab your suit, tie, or pencil skirt, and get out there.

Maybe print some business cards too.

Step 4: Gain Practical Experience Through Internships or Consultancy Projects

Internships aren’t just for fetching coffee and making copies anymore. Now you get to fetch coffee, make copies, and pretend you’re making a difference in the world of education, too!

Whether you’re working for a big-name consultancy firm or flying solo, remember to smile and nod like you know what they’re talking about and that you totally agree.

And as you develop experience in consultancy projects, keep every detail you can. ESPECIALLY data and metrics of improvements. A nice little portfolio of that stuff will greatly please the eggheads running the show as you become a very successful educational consultant.

Step 5: Pursue Professional Certification or Accreditation

Because nothing says “I’m a professional” like a fancy piece of paper with your name on it. Feel free to spend a small fortune on certifications that may or may not actually mean anything.

We’ve all done those AWFUL professional development days for teachers, right? Slap some of those and an overpriced certification or two on your resume, and the path to working as an educational consultant just becomes clearer and clearer.

Just remember, the knowledge isn’t a must-have to get one of these sweet gigs, but looking good on paper sure is! It’s all about the illusion of expertise, right?

Step 6: Develop a Strong Portfolio and Brand

Of all the hats you used to wear as a teacher, you’re going to need just one more: a marketing hat.

You need to show the world why they should hire you. Spruce up that portfolio with all your best work, throw in a few educational buzzwords for good measure, and voila – you’re a brand! Knowing how to become an educational consultant means knowing how to market yourself as one.

Then, all you have to do is convince people to pay you for your expertise.

Step 7: Market Yourself Effectively

Break out the megaphone, because it’s time to shout your “accomplishments” from the rooftops. Whether you’re schmoozing at conferences or shamelessly self-promoting on social media, just remember…

When it comes to educational consulting, there’s no such thing as too much bragging.

It might make you a little nauseous, but if it gets you that gig that pays $2600 a day for “observing” a class, who cares if people hate you online!

Bonus Step! Get Some Help Becoming an Educational Consultant

Help is available!

Quitting teaching, whether it’s mid-contract or at the end of the year, is an overwhelming experience. Combo that with learning how to market yourself while still navigating the woes of the education industry as a consultant and you’re looking at a one-way road into Stressville.

So how about you enlist the services of someone who knows exactly how to do that?

Daphne Gomez, ex-teacher extraordinaire, is no educational consultant. Rather, she is The Teacher Career Coach.

And as The Teacher Career Coach, she’s custom designed a step-by-step course to help teachers ready to leave the profession find their next dream job, including educational consultancy!

Her mission is to help YOU to leave teaching and find career (and emotional) success in what comes next. By signing up for The Teacher Career Coach Course, you’ll be supported with a collection of incisive resources designed to help you move on to bigger and better choices. And this includes all the bits and pieces you’ll need to become a learning consultant in the educational sphere.

Things like…

• Networking
• Marketing yourself
• Writing a pristine resume
• Developing a hard-hitting portfolio
• Coaching for interviews
• And access to a community of current and former teachers for encouragement, support, and advice

If you’re serious about trying your hand at educational consultancy, it might just be time to make that change. And there’s nobody who has your back more than The Teacher Career Coach.

Now You Know How to Become an Educational Consultant!

And there you have it, friends! Your quick and dirty guide to becoming an educational consultant.

At this point, we all know what teaching is really like. Id est, it’s a goddamn mess!

But there is a way out. Transfer those abilities, learn some new ones in marketing (and maybe a smidgen of jargon), and you’ll be locking in the skills for educational consultancy you need. A better job is just a transition away.

By now, you’ve got a pretty solid idea of how to become an educational consultant. So, strap in, keep your sarcasm meter at minimum capacity, and get ready to conquer the world of education, one well-timed eye-roll at a time.

The world is your oyster when you’re a professional BS artist.