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Careers in Education

The field of education offers a wide range of career opportunities for liberal arts graduates both within, and outside, the classroom.

Getting Started: Three Visions

The job search process in the field of Education does not have to be a daunting task. Follow these steps below to get started:

Create three visions for yourself: when you think about the year(s) following your time studying at the university, what are three versions of yourself that you can imagine:

    • Ideal: where do you see yourself located? Which populations are you serving? What type of people are you surrounded by? Which types of tasks/projects/activities are you engaged with? What might you be exploring (inside and outside of the workplace)?
    • Best Alternative: if the Ideal Vision is not available to you at this time, what other version of you comes to mind? (This is not the ‘safety plan’ or the ‘back burner’ idea – this is something you are equally excited about, but it is different from your Ideal Vision). Use the same questions listed above in the ‘Ideal’ vision to flesh out your ideas.
    • Wild: what if you could explore something that feels and seems really out there? What does that look like for you? Use the same questions listed above in the ‘Ideal’ vision to flesh out your ideas.

Target Employer Lists & Networking

After you’ve completed the vision exercise, develop your target employer list. Look for 5-7 organizations/employers that align for each of your visions (i.e. 5-7 for Ideal, 5-7 for Best Alternative, and 5-7 for Wild). Once you’ve identified names of the organizations/employers that initially seem of interest to you, find the following information for each:

    • Contact: use peer networking lists, LinkedIn, Yale Cross Campus, and CareerShift (located in your Yale Career Link account) to identify a specific person to reach out to at the organization/employer. This can be a Yale alum, a recruiter, or someone else entirely.
    • Recruiting timeline: does the organization hire on an as-needed basis, or is there a specific time of the year?
    • Facts: identify key information about the organizations – what are their goals? missions? needs? Which trends are they following?

Make time to host informational interviews with contacts at the organizations that are of interest to you.

    • Yale’s Office of Career Strategy offers clear guidance on informational interviewing. Spending 30-minutes on a call with a contact can give you essential information you need to perform well in the job application process. Nuanced information that is shared can often inform your cover letters, resumes, and other application materials (including essay responses and writing samples). Take extensive notes while speaking with contacts, including current and former employees.

Different Roles in Education

Within education, teaching is the area most often thought; however, there are opportunities in education administration, curriculum development, governance and leadership, and educational research and policy. An individual can choose to work within a public or private education setting, and it is not uncommon for young professionals to start their career in the classroom as a teacher, then use the knowledge gained from their teaching experience to expand into other professional roles in education.

Read the articles posted below on different job functional roles and environments to learn which skills are needed and which areas might be best suited for you. Or, access the articles here:

Yale Resources

The Yale Education Studies Program (EDST) provides robust guidance and resources on obtaining Teaching Practice, including volunteering through clubs and local organizations, obtaining a formal teaching internship or part-time job in New Haven, engaging in international summer teaching, and post-graduate pathways into the teaching.

Join an EDST mailing list to receive news about informational gatherings and education-related opportunities:

Yale’s Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning also provides resources for the teaching profession.

Education Alumni Community: Are you a Yale student or alum who is interested in connecting with fellow Yale  students or alums who have worked in, or currently work in, Education? Be sure to visit the Peer Networking Lists in your Yale Career Link account and join the LinkedIn ‘Yale Careers in Education’ group.

Teaching in the U.S. & Abroad

There are several pathways to become a teacher in the United States:

  • Teacher certification through undergraduate degree programs – this path typically includes 1-1.5 years of coursework and practicum training at a higher education institution
  • Master’s Teacher Preparatory – students enroll fulltime in Education-related Master’s programs that are specifically for the teaching profession and typically take 1-2 years to complete
  • Alternative Certification Programs – each state in the U.S. is different; however, similar components include: coursework and training with fulltime teaching commitments, on-site/on-the-job mentorship, and tuition coverage for a Master’s degree or teacher certification upon completion of a 2-5 year commitment
  • Private School Teaching – typically, certification is not required, and some schools may have on-site housing/boarding availability for teachers

What to consider when determining which teaching certification path is right for you:

  • Location – certification to teach is granted on a state-by-state basis with little reciprocity. Be sure to consider the location (city vs. rural, state, geographic proximity to future opportunities or needs, etc.)
  • Cost of alternative certification – some states offer state-run alternative certification courses and practicum training, but it might come at a financial cost
  • Training – consider the length of time programs offer training (depth vs. breadth), and learn which programs emphasize subject-matter training verses behavioral or discipline-based training

Several organizations are positioned to hire and train students, or recent college graduates, to engage in the teaching profession outside of the United States. Examples include: Peace Corps, Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship, and Yale China Teaching Fellowships.

Public Service: Responsible Engagement

For those interested in public service work, whether that be through structured internship programs, post-graduate employment, community service, or volunteer work, it’s important to think about what responsible engagement looks like.

Review this page on Planning Public Service Projects to learn more about what responsible engagement looks like and how you can develop a plan that aligns well for you and the community you are hoping to serve.

Examples of Pre-Teaching Internships and Opportunities

Sidebar

Sam Fisher ’24 Highlights Teaching Fellow Experience at Asian University for Women

About four months ago, and two months after graduating from Yale with class of ‘24, I moved across the planet to work as a Teaching Fellow at the Asian University for Women, in Chittagong, Bangladesh. During my senior year, I …

By Stanley Willard Jr.
Stanley Willard Jr. Assistant Director of Employer Relations
Read more

LAUNCH Virtual Interviewing Event

Seniors are invited to apply to opportunities available via LAUNCH (Liberal Arts Undergraduate Network – Careers & Hiring).  LAUNCH is a virtual interviewing event that takes place for pre-selected students who apply for opportunities through the LAUNCH portal. 

Participating employers

By Yale Office of Career Strategy
Yale Office of Career Strategy
Read more

Apply for Educational Resource Strategies (ERS) Open Analyst and Associate Consultant Roles

About ERS:

ERS is a national non-profit that empowers school system leaders to make transformative shifts in resources, structures, and practices so that all students – especially those with the greatest learning needs and those furthest from opportunity – attend a school …

By Stanley Willard Jr.
Stanley Willard Jr. Assistant Director of Employer Relations
Read more

Job Search Resources

The Office of Career Strategy collects information about Yale College graduates. This is a great resource tool that allows users …

Explore Job Market InsightsIn partnership withLightcast logo

Search continually updated U.S. market trends to learn about job types (job functions), growth trends, and desired skills. The results will include general information about each job (functional area), employment trends from the past two years and projections for the next 10 years, employers that have that role, desired education level, skills for the position, and more!

TWO WAYS TO SEARCH:

  1. Find Career Data by Selecting Keywords: Enter keywords of various job titles and choose a state or search nationwide to learn more about that job.
  2. Filter by Industry and Occupation: Search by industry and choose among popular occupations/job titles within that industry.

First, choose an industry of interest, then filter for occupation. (If you'd like to see data for a specific location only, filter by state.)

Type in a keyword to select a relevant occupation. (If you'd like to see data for a specific location only, filter by state.)

YC Career Outcomes

The Office of Career Strategy collects information about Yale College graduates. This tool allows users to search outcomes by year and major. Please visit Statistics & Reports for more information on our data collection.

Helpful Tips for the Interactive Tool:

  • There is no Enter or Submit Button, results will appear automatically with your selections
  • The default search setting is ‘All Years’ or ‘All Majors’ and shows results across years and majors
  • You may choose specific years or majors for more granular results. Uncheck the selected major(s) to reset your search.
  • The tool returns results with at least five responses, for small majors, choosing ‘All Years’ is more likely to show results
  • To ensure confidentiality, results are reported in the aggregate and more granular data is not available through this tool.
  • First Destination Summaries are based on the knowledge rate of graduate outcomes six months after graduation according to National Association of Colleges and Employers guidelines.
  • If you require additional information contact the Office of Career Strategy

Most Recent Class Overview

Knowledge Rate Success Rate Mean Starting Salary Top Five Industries
90.3% of those graduating between July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023 94.0% employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation $89,622 among graduates employed full-time in the United States Education, Financial Services, Technology, Consulting, and Healthcare

 

  • First Destination
  • Top Employers
  • Employment Industry and Function
  • Size of the Organization
  • Starting Salary
  • Time of Year Offer Received
  • Internships, Research, and Study Abroad Experiences
  • First Destination Locations
  • Top Universities
  • Advanced Degrees Pursued

First Destination

First Destination refers to the postgraduate plans of Yale College graduates six months after graduation. The pursuits of Yale graduates include employment, graduate school, independent research, military service, and more.

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