12 Best Paying Jobs for Former Math Teachers (Double Your Salary)

by Erin Schollaert

Updated

Teaching is a difficult job both financially and emotionally; many teachers get worn down and decide they want to quit and start another career sooner rather than later.

Fortunately, instead of feeling lost without a career path, there are plenty of jobs for ex math teachers.

12. Operations Research Analyst

This may be the lowest paying job on this list of careers for ex math teachers, but it still makes $30,000 more a year than the average math teacher position!

As an operations research analyst, your main role will be to advise managers and decision-makers on the correct course of action to solve a problem.

You’ll use advanced math and analytical methods to correct issues and help companies and organizations make better decisions.

Working in this role as a teacher means you’ll have experience working with large groups of people, and presenting your ideas in front of them will be easy to do.

Unlike many careers, this is also a job without uniform requirements, so you’ll get to be comfortable at work.

Average yearly income: $84,810 (USNews)

11. Social Scientist

college-campus

If you’re going from a math position to a role as a social scientist, the field you’ll want to specialize in is economics. Working in this position, you’ll research the link between economics and finances and human behavior.

This means studying past events and lifestyles to modern life and relationships between different nations, cities, and beliefs about the economy.

Previously working as a teacher means that you’ll be perceptive about human nature and understand the need for people to understand where we’ve come from and how money affects our lives.

It’s a common way to make money with a biochem degree as well, since folks with that background also have strong analytical skills.

Average yearly income: $85,847 (ZipRecuiter)

10. Personal Financial Advisor

This role is fantastic for teachers because it puts you in an authoritative position and allows you to counsel people into making better decisions, which is what a lot of teaching can feel like.

As a personal financial advisor, you’ll look at the financial needs of your clients and help them make hard decisions on investments, taxes, and insurance.

Not only will you have to help them plan for long and short-term goals, but you’ll also be there every step of the way as their financial problems are solved.

This can be a rewarding goal and needs your experience in math to succeed.

Average yearly income: $89,330 (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

9. Meteorologist

sunset-sky

Taking a job as a meteorologist from teaching may feel strange, but you need a bachelor’s degree in math to be able to do this job!

In this role, you’ll use scientific and mathematical principles to observe, understand, and explain or forecast the atmospheric phenomena that affect life here on Earth.

This takes some training, but you get to analyze the relationship between the weather and other environmental processes and consider its impact on life here on Earth. It’s an interesting and evolving position that’s needed more now than ever.

Trends on the Rise

Most meteorologists work behind the scenes, but if you’re professional-looking, have a great personality, and have a voice people like listening to, you may be able to win a position as a television weather presenter.

Average yearly income: $90,489 (ZipRecuiter)

8. Statistician

Deciding to leave a teaching role can be difficult, but it’s made easier when the pay is this good and you have the chance to make serious changes in your field.

A statistician creates and applies mathematical or statistical theories to gain and explain useful information and solve real-world problems.

Statisticians are incredibly useful in multiple industries, like engineering, business, and science. There’s a large gap in the market for people who are willing and good enough to do this job.

Average yearly income: $91,160 (USNews)

7. Physicist

If you want to follow in the footsteps of Albert Einstein, who also taught math, you can join in his role as a physicist.

Working as a physicist, you’ll work as a scientist specializing in the field of physics and get to observe and test the natural phenomena that build our world.

This encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all lengths and scales in the physical universe.

It’s perfect for people who love math, are incredibly rational, and know how to explain their thought processes well enough to educate others on it. This is a fantastic job for passionate math teachers.

Average yearly income: $98,589 (Payscale)

6. School Principal

Getting a job as the principal of a school means that you’ll work as the leader of an entire community within the school.

You’ll have to manage major administrative tasks and oversee the work of not only the teachers but all employees on the school’s payroll and the students.

Although this isn’t a job with tons of free time, you’ll be making a difference in children’s lives everyday.

School principals coordinate curriculum, and provide students with a comfortable and productive environment to study in.

This job isn’t for anyone who has trouble finding their voice in adversity, so you must be able to stand up for yourself and communicate your ideas clearly.

Tactics for Success

  • If you’re planning on seeking this position in the future instead of immediately, take the time to do some administrative work so your resume will be more eye-catching.
  • Ensure that you apply for this role at a school besides the one that you currently teach at, or have taught at in the past, since many people have trouble coming to terms with a coworker stepping into a role of authority over them.

Average yearly income: $110,479 (Salary.com)

5. Compensation and Benefits Manager

The average compensation and benefits manager analyzes wages and salaries and the cost of benefits and helps create programs that fit both the organization and its employees.

As a past teacher, this role can allow you to oversee the fair treatment of every party involved and give you the chance to flex your math muscles in a way you don’t in class.

Average yearly income: $117,817 (Salary.com)

4. Sales Manager

A sales manager position is perfect for any math teacher coming fresh out of a school. In this position you’ll recruit, hire, and train new members of a company’s sales staff.

This gives you the chance to continue teaching, as well as stretch your abilities while you set sales goals, analyze data and create new training programs for the organization’s sales staff.

The pay is fantastic, and you get to put your teaching skills to use here more than any other job on this list. Getting into marketing is another great option if your interested in business careers.

Average yearly income: $120,258 (Salary.com)

3. Air Traffic Controller

airplane-wing

In this role, you’ll have to have an intimate understanding of math since it will help you understand distances and measurements at a moment’s notice.

Working as an air traffic controller can be a highly stressful position since a small error in directions could be massively fatal.

This role is great for teachers because you get to direct and inform people on what to do, but it’s one of the most stressful jobs a person can hold since you have to deal with the reality of life or death situations.

This role isn’t for anyone who fumbles the numbers easily or isn’t confident in their decision-making skills.

Average yearly income: $120,830 (Forbes)

2. Actuary

Far less stressful than becoming an air traffic controller, an actuary analyzes the financial risks that come with potential future events or decisions.

In this role, you’ll help businesses and clients create policies that shrink the cost of that risk.

This position is vital to the insurance industry and is a great position for any teachers who love math and are great at explaining their decisions and ideas.

In addition, there’s a strong employment lookout in this role since businesses are finding more need for people with this skill every day.

Average yearly income: $120,970 (USNews)

1. Cryptographer

If you’re fantastic at code-cracking and want to have a job that would blow the mind of almost anyone you explained it to, consider becoming a cryptographer.

With this role, you’ll have to be incredibly skilled at math to keep cybercriminals at bay using mathematically based encryption methods.

You’ll develop algorithms, ciphers, and security systems to help encrypt data and keep companies and individuals safe.

This is an awesome job for anyone who loves problem-solving, like many teachers do, and is a role that will never get old no matter how long you do it because the problems continue to evolve.

Average yearly income: $149,040 (CybersecurityGuide)

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Erin is a business teacher and mother of three. When she’s not in the classroom or fulfilling her obligations as an A+ hockey and lacrosse mom, she’s working on her latest article.

About the Author

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Erin is a business teacher and mother of three. When she’s not in the classroom or fulfilling her obligations as an A+ hockey and lacrosse mom, she’s working on her latest article.