Leaving Teaching for a New Career in EdTech with Raven Wilson

Leap Like Me

Teaching is often viewed as a career that people stay in for, well, the entirety of their working years. But what if teaching isn’t right for you? What if you want to take a leap into a new career? Where do you start?

In today’s episode, I’m talking with Raven Wilson about her transition from elementary school teacher to customer success manager in the field of EdTech (educational technology). Her leap has led her to also serving as a coach and mentor to other educators who want to leave teaching. She started a group called Black Educators Transition to provide Black educators with a supportive community and the tools and resources needed to embark on a new career path.

She shares her advice on knowing what interests you and how to translate your experience to a new role. She talks about the patience necessary for the process of networking, researching jobs, and interviewing. And mostly important, she reminds you that you have to really want something new and different for yourself and be proactive with your leap.

In this episode, you’ll learn...

• Raven’s background and current role [01:52]
• What it’s like to be a customer success manager in EdTech [03:03]
• How Raven learned that teaching wasn’t the right fit for her [04:56]
• How COVID affected her career decisions [06:55]
• How her inner voice told her to take the leap [09:21]
• What made it difficult for her to leave teaching [10:54]
• About the identity shift that comes with taking a leap [14:02]
• About Raven’s process that led her to learning what other careers are possible for teachers [16:28]
• The importance of researching your options and asking yourself questions about your skills and interests [20:02]
• How to hone your experience and craft your resume to align with the job you seek [23:14]
• What she learned in the job search and interview process [27:17]
• Raven’s experience with interviewing and eventually landing a job in EdTech [30:02]
• About her passion for helping other Black educators who want to leave teaching [34:52]
• The questions she gets most often from teachers interested in leaving the profession and her advice to them [42:34]
• That losing summers off isn’t so bad thanks to flexible PTO in other fields [48:01]
• Why it’s okay to switch jobs and move companies [49:54]
• What Raven wishes she knew before she took her leap [52:02]
• Raven’s advice for those interested in taking a similar leap [53:05]

If you’re waiting for a sign to take your career leap, be sure to tune into this episode.

Get full show notes and the episode transcript:

https://www.lisahoashi.com/leaplikeme/episode28

Connect with Raven

Raven’s LinkedIn

Join Black Educators Transition on Facebook

Raven’s Bio:

Raven Wilson is a former elementary teacher turned customer success manager. Leaving teaching was one of the hardest but best choices she ever made. Since her transition to EdTech, she has more freedom and flexibility which is all she ever wanted.