4 Draws of Adult Education as a Career Choice

Teaching has always been considered one of the noble professions, and for good reason. It’s a profession that has a profound impact on individuals, communities, and society as a whole. After all, teachers have the responsibility of not just educating but also trying to instil values such as respect, kindness, and empathy in their students. So a career in teaching is a great career choice for anyone hoping to make a difference. Even if you’re not too keen on teaching children, adult education can be a great choice.

Here are 4 draws of adult education as a career.

Making a Difference 

There are so many ways to make a difference as an adult educator. 

You can give struggling adults the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the workforce by teaching job-specific skills and offering career training programs; or elevate the overall quality of life of individuals by improving literacy skills, teaching basic financial management skills, providing health education, etc.

You can even enhance social mobility and reduce inequality.

Flexibility 

Many people don’t like the nine-to-five life because of reasons like feeling trapped with little control over their daily schedule, and struggling to balance work and personal responsibilities. If you’re one of them, a career in adult education could be ideal. 

It’s a field that offers a great deal of flexibility in terms of work schedule and location. Many adult education programs not only offer evening and weekend classes for individuals who need to work during the day or have other commitments, but they also offer remote classes for much the same reason. You get the option to work from home or another remote location.

In some cases, you may even have the option to share a teaching position with another educator, giving you both the setup for a more flexible work schedule that lets you better balance work and personal responsibilities.

Variety 

Maybe you know a lot about many different subjects, maybe you prefer stimulation in your career. 

Adult education offers a great deal of variety in terms of subject matter and teaching methods. As adult learners are a diverse group with different educational backgrounds, experiences, and goals, adult education programs are typically designed to meet diverse needs. This means variety in subject matter and teaching methods to engage and meet the needs of the learners. Thus, you may often have the opportunity to teach countless adults, from residents of a senior living facility to business executives with methods such as peer teaching, and virtual reality.

Career Progression

Like any great career, career progression is possible with adult education. In fact it may look something like this:

  • Teaching assistant responsible for course planning, instruction, and evaluation
  • Instructor responsible for developing and delivering course content, assessing progress, and giving feedback 
  • Program manager responsible for overseeing the development, implementation, and evaluation of educational programs 
  • Director responsible for the overall management and direction of educational program 
  • Consultant responsible for giving expert advice on things like curriculum development 

As you can see, a career in adult education can be a fulfilling one where you get to make a difference, have flexibility and variety, and progress as an educator. 

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