If you’re reading this, it’s likely you’ve spent years in the classroom, imparting knowledge, and shaping young minds. Teaching has been your life, your passion, and your comfort zone. But now, you’re contemplating a leap into the tech world, and that old familiar feeling is creeping in—impostor syndrome.
Let’s be honest; transitioning from teaching to tech can be daunting. Heck, the thought of transitioning to any career outside of the classroom can see intimidating and unattainable. It took me years to pluck up the courage to make the leap, and the reason why it took me so long was because I always harboured the same thought in my mind: I’m not cut out for anything other than teaching. I don’t have any experience besides teaching that would make me a good employee in another role.
Sound familiar?
The thought of stepping into a new career, especially one that’s full of tech-savvy professionals, can leave many teachers feeling like they don’t belong. But I’m here to tell you that you’re not alone in this journey, and impostor syndrome doesn’t have to hold you back.
I wrestled with these negative thoughts for a long time, and in fact, they forced me back into my comfort zone of being an educator for many years. Don’t get me wrong – I loved teaching, and I still miss it. But I wanted to experience something else. I wanted to have greater work-life balance and be present for my family and two young kids. I hated the Sunday Scaries. I wanted to have a clear career progression as I had none in my previous positions. There were so many factors that lured me into a career transition, but I was only able to pluck up my courage once I overcame my imposter syndrome.
Here are some things I did that I hope can help you in this journey as well.
Acknowledge Your Expertise
First things first, recognize the incredible skills you’ve honed during your teaching career. You’ve mastered the art of communication, adaptation, and problem-solving. Guess what, these skills are NOT exclusive to the classroom; they’re highly transferable to the tech industry (and many other industries, in fact!). It was only when I penned down these skills and expanded on them that I realised that, hey, I DO HAVE SKILLS OUTSIDE OF TEACHING!
In my current role, I forcus on Onboarding and Customer Success. It’s so important that I’m able to impart knowledge, show empathy, have conflict management skills and communicate effectively. I wouldn’t be so adept at these skills were it not for my teaching background.
Embrace Lifelong Learning
Tech (and well, the rest of the world) is continuously evolving, and it’s normal not to know everything from day one. In fact, no one in tech does! The key is to embrace the mindset that learning doesn’t stop just because you graduate and get a job. Just as we’ve always encouraged our students to explore, experiment, and make mistakes, it’s important that you apply the same philosophy to your own transition into your tech career transition.
My opinion is that teachers are generally good students. For me personally, I felt so lost at the start of my journey and didn’t know where to begin. I started searching for online courses and bootcamps, and found a few that caught my eye. I ended up paying for LinkedIn Premium and also took advantage of my local public library’s free Udemy Business membership to explore some of the courses I was keen on. I made sure to complete these courses and get my certs and share them on my LinkedIn profile. I also watched YouTube videos, TikTok videos, listened to podcasts and joined Facebook groups so that I could learn from the experience of others. Once I started taking in all this knowledge, I began to become familiar with some of the technical jargon, the variety of work/job roles in the industry, and found lots of advice (both useful and ummm, less useful) on how to get started.
So start by enrolling in online courses, joining coding bootcamps, or taking part in workshops to gain the technical skills you need. Remember, every tech expert was once a beginner, and we all start somewhere!
Connect with the Tech Community
Feeling like an impostor often stems from isolation. Once you start connecting with the tech community and talking to real people in the community, you can start to overcome this feeling. Search for local meet-ups, webinars, masterclasses and conferences. There is usually a lot of information about such events on social media or LinkedIn.
You can also join online forums and engage with tech professionals on social media platforms as well. I was very pleasantly surprised that many tech experts are welcoming, supportive, and willing to mentor newcomers. I’ve reached out to countless experts in the tech field on LinkedIn (yes, I’m one of those people who sends messages to people I don’t know personally). Some of them have flat out just ignored my messages, but most others usually respond very warmly. I once found a speaker from a podcast that I was listening to. He spoke about transferrable skills for a Customer Success Manager. I was so inspired by his talk that I reached out before the podcast had even ended. He responded almost immediately with such warmth and friendliness, and it made me feel less intimidated about reaching out to experts in their fields.
Remember, don’t be afraid to ask questions or share your experiences. Your teaching background is a valuable asset, and your questions may lead to fresh insights and solutions.
Shift Your Perspective
Impostor syndrome thrives on negative self-talk. Phrases like “I’m only good at teaching and nothing else” or think you’re too old/young/inexperienced to make the career jump. Challenge those inner doubts by shifting your perspective. Instead of thinking, “I don’t belong here,” remind yourself, “I may not yet have a job in tech, but I’m going to learn and grow until I do.” It might all sound very woo-woo, but challenging your own self-limiting beliefs is often the first step into making impactful change.
Celebrate your successes, no matter how small they may seem. Each step you take in your tech journey is a victory. Whether you re-crafted your resume to highlight your transferrable skills, landed your first tech job interview, or made contact with a mentor that you like and respect, acknowledge your progress and take pride in it.
You Belong Here. Yes, you!
It may not seem obvious to you, but in the grand tech landscape, there’s ALWAYS a place for educators like us. The tech industry values creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration—qualities you’ve already expertly honed in your career and training as a teacher.
So, to all the future ex-educators out there, don’t let impostor syndrome hold you back from pursuing a career change from teaching to tech. Remember, you CAN redefine your career and what it means to have career success. The journey will be challenging, but it will be worth it in the end.
Embrace the discomfort, learn continuously, and trust in your expertise and abilities. A career transition from teaching to tech is not as intimidating as your mind might be making it out to be – it’s a courageous step toward a brighter, equally fulfilling future. 🚀💻
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