Jobs for ex-teachers in the UK: where teachers go and what it pays

Routes that use teaching skills directly include learning and development, e-learning design, further education, careers advice, school business management and inspection. Others use the organisational side of teaching: civil service casework, policy, data analysis, user research and project management. This page lists 15 with ONS pay for each. Only 4 have a higher full-time median than secondary teaching (£47,632, ONS ASHE 2025).

Of the 15 routes here, project manager has the highest ONS full-time median at £59,834, against £47,632 for secondary teachers (ONS ASHE 2025). Policy work and L&D management are close behind, though their ONS figures cover broad groups that include other jobs. A median covers everyone in the job, including people with years of experience, so it is not a starting salary.

Yes. The National Careers Service says a university qualification is not essential to join the Civil Service, and executive officer roles are open to direct application. You will need to pass background checks and meet the nationality rules. The ONS full-time median for national government administrative jobs, which include executive officers, was £33,000 in 2025, below the secondary teacher median.

Sometimes, but not usually straight away. Four of the 15 routes on this page have a higher ONS full-time median than secondary teaching. Most pay less at the median, and every median includes people with years in the job. Remember the Teachers' Pension Scheme employer contribution of 28.6% (DfE) when you compare offers.

In 2024/25, 38,600 full-time-equivalent teachers left state-funded schools in England, 1 in 12 (8.5%) of qualified teachers and 2,100 fewer than the year before. 91% left for reasons other than retirement (DfE, School workforce in England, published 4 June 2026).

Under the Burgundy Book, which sets notice periods in local authority maintained schools and which most publicly funded schools follow, the deadlines are 31 October to leave on 31 December, 28 February to leave on 30 April, and 31 May to leave on 31 August. Your contract states your own notice terms, so check it. Your school can agree to release you early but does not have to (NASUWT; Southwark Council schools HR).

For most routes on this page, no. You already have a degree, and civil service, L&D, school business management, data and project roles all have documented routes that do not need another one. Social work and cognitive behavioural therapy normally need a new postgraduate qualification (National Careers Service).

It is the closest match to what you do now. The pay depends on level: the ONS full-time median was £36,357 for trainers and L&D advisers, and £57,529 for the HR managers and directors group that includes L&D managers (ONS ASHE 2025).

Yes. ONS codes the job as an e-learning developer, inside the same unit group as software developers, so its pay figure describes that whole group and will overstate typical e-learning pay. Skills England has a level 5 Digital learning designer apprenticeship, typically 24 months.

In England, often yes. Skills Bootcamps are free courses of up to 16 weeks for adults aged 19 and over, with a guaranteed job interview at the end. Apprenticeships have no upper age limit and your employer and provider cannot charge you for the training. If you earn under £25,750 or are unemployed, Free Courses for Jobs can pay for a level 3 qualification.

Yes. GOV.UK's only age rule is that you are 16 or over, you can already have a degree, and you are paid as an employee. Check the pay: employers can pay £8 an hour in the first year of an apprenticeship even if you are over 19 (National Minimum Wage rates, April 2026).

Yes. Get Into Teaching says you do not need a degree or QTS to teach in further education. The Teach in Further Education service says industry experience is not a requirement but can make you a stronger candidate. The Skills England Learning and skills teacher apprenticeship is level 5 and typically 18 months.

Yes. The Department for Education's Teaching Vacancies service runs a return-to-teaching guide and says schools are interested in recruiting former teachers. QTS is still usually needed to teach in a state school in England, so keep your QTS details and teacher reference number.

It depends on the route. Direct applications, such as civil service or L&D roles, can take as long as a normal job search. A Skills Bootcamp is up to 16 weeks. The level 4 apprenticeships on this page typically take 18 to 24 months while you are paid. A postgraduate social work degree normally takes 2 years, and a career guidance qualification 1 year full time.

HSE's Labour Force Survey figures put education at 2,620 cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety per 100,000 workers over 2022/23 to 2024/25, significantly above the 2,040 average for all industries. Teaching and other educational professionals were one of the occupational groups with a statistically higher rate (HSE, November 2025).

It can be. ONS publishes a full-time median of £34,396 for the teaching professionals group that includes employed tutors, but ASHE does not cover the self-employed, so it says nothing about what freelance tutors earn. You can test tutoring alongside your current job before relying on it.