Myth: There's No Money in Education...And other Liberal Arts Degrees
I wish I could say I'm about to reveal the secret sauce to a sky-high teaching salary.
The civil servants who dedicate their lives to educating the next generation remain some of the most underpaid and overworked professionals out there.
Are you interested in the education but not sure if your skillset is right for a role as an educator? When you expand your view of what it means to work in education, you'll be surprised by the role (and earnings) potential.
Whether you majored in education or another liberal arts degree, this blog invites you to look beyond the lens of your liberal arts degree and research the wide-ranging opportunities that may exist that are both emotionally and financially rewarding.
You Can Work In Education Without Being An Educator
I drafted this post grad career list once I felt sure I wanted to pursue some type of career in education:
- Curriculum designer
- Education consultant
- Education policy analyst
- Instructional designer
- Librarian
- Standardized test developer
- Textbook author
- Think tank researcher
- UX designer
I remember googling key phrases like roles in education besides teaching, and different roles in the education industry.
I kept the list broad and based on my general interest in the job descriptions of the above. I wanted a job that had a lot of writing in it, whether that mean championing education products making a difference, or impacting the user experience.
Some of the roles on that list have higher salaries and more financially rewarding pathways than others
Tech as a starting place
Tech and well-paid sound like synonyms, but I underestimated how many companies building software cared about writers. Boy was I wrong.
Writing is key to successfully building, marketing, and selling—from thought leadership content to all the copy and messaging within products themselves.
- Writing about education: Marketing blogs, sales collateral, pitch decks.
- Writing what's in the product: UX copywriting any language that a customer sees as they navigate
Product marketing was the right fit for me because I get to champion an industry that I've believed in and used my entire life. I get to use my writing skillset and have challenged myself to develop other skills to become an effective communicator.
What was also surprising is that these roles pay! And the salaries only increase on the journey from associate to director level+.
If you're getting a BA in education or another liberal arts field and don't have technical experience, don't let that stop you from exploring tech roles in industries you're passionate about! Not everyone in tech is developing software.
Your major doesn't have to be your job title
Don't limit yourself into feeling like you have to turn your major into a derivative:
Oh, you're studying education? You must want to be an educator.
Psychology is it? A psychologist sounds pretty interesting.
History? → Historian.
Philosophy → Philosophist.
Sociology? → Sociologist.
If what you're studying and what you want your job to be is this clear cut, fantastic. If it isn't, just know that there are roles that exist across industries—like the marketing role mentioned above—where you can take your passion for your field of study.
