As a teacher, you must interact with different kinds of people (students, parents, administrators and fellow instructors) with varying personality and learning styles, and you probably would say that you’ve developed the skill set of an effective communicator. You must have the competency that the education schools call “withitness,” or the ability to keep lots of plates spinning at the same time. The classroom teacher must be able to find innovative and novel ways to present, or “sell” information to often times unwilling and uncooperative students. These are all the foundational skills of effective salesmanship.

Teachers must be self-renewing, constantly learning and self motivated in what is arguably the most difficult profession in the world.  And despite the rewards (and there are plenty),  teaching in the schools is difficult and teachers are very underpaid, so…you might be thinking you’d like to move to sales. 

After all, you’ve seen those textbook and software salespeople at your school, and at the summer conferences. They are nicely dressed and look tan and relaxed. They have good hair cuts and nice shoes – they lunch with their colleagues over white wine and salad nicoise while you maybe get 20 minutes at your desk hunched over mystery meat and tater tots.

When I made the transition to sales, I doubled my salary in one move – then doubled it again each year for the next three years. I was finally able to say I was making the money that I thought my education, experience and expertise entitled me to.  Then – I made a startling discovery.

If you’d like to hear more about my path, what I learned and how it might help you, please comment.

Join the conversation, won’t you?

Due to the fact that lots of these ole’ gals are going to be retiring – in addition to a large upcoming student population, the United States is faced with attracting around two million-plus teachers in the next ten years. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that between the years 2006 – 2016,  the national numbers of preschool teachers who will be needed will go up 21%, elementary school teachers will go up 14-20%, secondary school teachers up only 3-6%, but the need for all categories of postsecondary teacher will increase at least 21%!

In Florida, where I live, the numbers are even more astounding. Even though we are struggling through economic downturn, and the population is dropping somewhat, the state public school system still had a shortage of about 16,000 teachers for the 2007-2008 school year.

Why is it so difficult to recruit good teachers? And why is it that this sour puss stayed twenty-five years and is retiring with a pension and the hides of 4,568 sith graders tacked to her bulletin board – but today ’s average new teacher “burns out” within the first three years? Here’s a new website that tackles the issue and provides good resources from the teachers’ point of view.

It doesn’t really go to the heart of the issue, though.

Thoughts, anyone?