2025 Job Skills Shift: What Teachers Need to Compete in the New Market

What if the problem isn’t just how many balls you’re juggling—but the whole game itself?

In this episode of Teachers in Transition, Vanessa Jackson breaks down a powerful framework to help burned-out teachers stop doing all the things—and start identifying what actually matters. You’ll learn how to tag your tasks as glass, rubber, lead, or hot air—and why that color-coded system could save your sanity.

Then we zoom out into the 2025 job market.

What hard and soft skills are in demand now?
Which teacher strengths still matter—and which need a serious reframe?
What’s disappearing from job descriptions—and what’s replacing it?
How can you compete without another degree?

Vanessa also shares how to strategically upskill for free, how to translate “classroom” into “corporate,” and why you already have the communication advantage in the AI age.

If you’re feeling the tug to leave teaching but don’t know where to start—this episode is made just for you.

Keywords

Teacher career change, teacher transferable skills, 2025 job skills, burnout recovery, how to leave teaching, project management for educators, resume help for teachers, teachers in transition, what jobs can teachers do, free upskilling for teachers, best careers for former teachers

🔗 Links & Resources:

Check out https://Jobscan.co 

🎯 Join the DECIDE Workshop – September 27th
https://teachersintransition.com/calendar

📆 Book a free Discovery Call with Vanessa:
https://teachersintransition.com/calendar

👋Connect with and Follow Vanessa
📧 Email: Vanessa@teachersintransition.com
📞 Text or Leave a Voicemail: 512-640-9099
📅 Book a Free Discovery Session: teachersintransition.com/calendar
💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/vanessajackson78132
📷 Instagram & Threads: @teachers.in.transition
📘 Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565671792885
🌤️ Bluesky: @beyondteaching.bsky.social
    X (Twitter): @EduExitStrategy

I need your help!

Please share this podcast with someone that you think might like what it has to say – many teachers are aching to find a way to a new career.  You can help them. People find new podcasts mostly because they’ve been recommended by someone they know.   

The transcript to this podcast is found on the episode’s homepage at Buzzspout

Transcript

Hi, I’m Vanessa Jackson. I spent 25 years in the classroom before burnout pushed me to reinvent my life and career. Now I share what I’ve learned to help other teachers find their way forward. I know this journey because I’ve lived it. This podcast is about clarity, courage, and practical steps for anyone ready to move beyond teaching and into what’s next. And along the way, I’ll remind you that you’re not alone - you have more strength and more options than you think.

Today we’re dropping back into our regular format – a segment on stress, mental health and/or motivation, a hack to help your day and advice on career transition and job search. Today we’re talking about balls. No, not the dodgeball flying at your head during P.E.— Besides, we talked about dodgeball two episodes ago in episode 265!  I’m talking about the metaphorical balls we juggle every day: family, health, work, responsibilities. And knowing which is which? That’s the key to surviving teaching and preparing yourself for what’s next.

 I’m sure you’ve heard a version of this sometimes before, but it’s important to remember, so I’m telling it again.  “Everything in life can be thought of as a ball. Some are rubber, some are glass, some are lead, and some are just full of hot air.  

• Rubber bounces—you can drop it and it will come back.
• Glass shatters—once it’s  dropped, it’s hard or impossible to repair.
• Lead just weighs you down—heavy, exhausting, and not worth carrying around.
• And hot air?  Well, it floats away when you let it go. 

Family and health? Glass. Work? Sometimes it’s rubber, sometimes it’s lead, and occasionally it’s glass. And here’s the kicker: in teaching, we’re often handed a basket of balls that outside of education, two or three people would be sharing. And we’re told: ‘Don’t drop any of them. Ever! They’re all glass!’” It is an impossible ask

Color-Coded Framework
To make this tangible, let’s color-code it:

• 🔵 Blue = Glass. Non-negotiables. Protect them.
• 🔴 Red = Rubber. Urgent-feeling, but fine to bounce. Like a Dodgeball.  Sometimes this will hit you in the face. 
• 🟢 Green = Lead. Heavy and draining - let them go. Think about those Mr Yuck stickers. 
• 🟡 Yellow = Hot Air. These look big and important, but they’re mostly fluff. If you let them go, nothing actually happens. 

Examples

• Glass/Blue: student safety, a child in crisis, technically your own lunch break should fall here.
• Rubber/Red: bulletin boards, perfectly laminated centers.
  👉 Hack: In middle/high school, create a student “bulletin board crew.” I’ll talk more in depth about this shortly. 
• Lead/Green: like the repetitive paperwork nobody reads, data dumps no one checks.
  We have hacks for this too. 
• Hot Air/Yellow: Think endless “cute extra” projects, contests, or paperwork invented to look good but with no real impact. 

Grab a pack of dot stickers or markers and start tagging tasks. When you see a sea of blue dots, it’s a wake-up call. When you see lots of green and yellow, it’s time to rethink your workload.

 We are conditioned to believe everything is glass. But it’s not. So, take your to-do list this week, and start to look at it and tag your to-do list with blue, red, yellow, or green dots. See what happens. You may find you’ve been carrying around a lot of lead.”

And so since we are talking about our rubber and lead balls, Our hacks are designed to free up space in your brain and your life to try and make it better. If you’re overwhelmed by repetitive classroom tasks, don’t do them alone. Automate or delegate. Here’s one idea: 

Bulletin Board Crew. 
 If you are in middle of high school, designate a small crew of kids to be the Bulletin Board Crew. I’ve done this, and it was great.  I had a box of materials, and with a little bit training like “Never cut the borders, just overlap them…” I turned them loose with the following parameters

·         Always have A monthly calendar

·         Always have Upcoming events

·         Things from this “post this” folder had to get up there.

The theme was their choice, as long as it didn’t get me in trouble.  I had one that was random bunnies one month.  No reason, just bunnies. You might prefer to give Pinterest idea or Teachers Pay Teachers done-for-you sets that they just put together like Legos.  Different things work for different people, so what works for you is what works for you!  For a few years there when the ages were right and we were in the same state, my daughter set those up at the beginning of the year for me  
 
 That’s the year I found all sorts of little sticky notes in all sorts of places like “You’re doing great, Mom!” hiding in a folder, or “Consider the horrors you unleash upon the children” taped to the side of my band director’s metronome (you too may have been traumatized by this little grey box…)
 
 

If you’re in elementary, this is trickier – I might reach out to middle school or high school and see if there is a group with kids looking for community service hours, like NJHS or NHS. Give them parameters and Win/win!
 
 You might have to write a pass every so often, but the work gets done while you work on other things that might require your actual college degree to accomplish. 

So with other things -  that data report that nobody reads? Create a spreadsheet formula once, or use ChatGPT to auto-generate the language.

Here’s the mindset shift: there is no medal for suffering through the busywork. Save your time and energy for the glass balls that truly matter. Because they won’t all matter despite what we’re told
 
  One year we were told to post all our lesson plans in a folder – a Google folder-  that would be public so parents could read it.  So I did. Not a big deal. The next year we didn’t get new instructions, so I continued posting them there. 
 
 Somewhere near the end of the first semester, I got one of those ‘gotcha emails saying I needed to be submitting my lesson plans. I replied with ‘they’re all in the google folder link you guys sent me last year.”  Ha!  I *was* doing it and you can’t get me for that.  The response I got was “Ok, well, now you need to be posting them HERE in THIS folder with THIS link.”  OK. I can do that. Done. 
 
 Actually all I did was put in doc that was titled to say “All lesson plans can found by clicking here” which took them to the original link.
 
 Never heard another word about it and no one ever looked at them as best I could tell– and I kind of expected to. That’s an excellent example of a yellow ball. 

In a future episode not too far away, I will walk you through the steps to build a custom GPT through ChatGPT to streamline a lot of pesky administrivia (that would be administration + trivia) those tasks, but for now, start to get comfortable with the idea of giving yourself permission to stop carrying lead balls.

As I close out this hack section, I want to encourage you to help the rookie teachers identify which balls are which. They believe they’re all glass because that’s what they’re told which is why they don’t even last 5 years.  

 As we move into the career transition and job search segment (I feel like this needs a special name…) we are going to zoom out. Because sometimes the problem isn’t just the number of balls - it’s the game itself. It’s constantly changing.  The only constant is change, right? Every year, hiring platforms publish the most in-demand skills. Jobscan.co just released their 2025 data, and the shifts from 2024 are fascinating. If you’re considering leaving teaching, here’s what you need to know.
 
 
 

Top Hard Skills 2024 

• Data Analyisis 

• Marketing 

• Customer service 

• Sales 

• Project Management 

• Research 

• Computer Science 

• Finance 

• Engineering 

• Search Language Query (SQL) 

Top Hard Skills 2025 

• Computer Science 

• Systems design 

• Project management 

• Engineering 

• Python 

• Java 

• Search Language Query (SQL) 

• Finance 

• Programming 

• Software Development

Top Soft Skills 2024 

• Collaboration 

• Interpersonal Skills 

• Communication 

• Leadership 

• Analytical Skills 

• Problem Solving 

• Attention to Detail 

• Innovative 

• Management Skills 

• Professionalism 

Top Soft Skills 2025 

• Management 

• Problem solving skills 

• Analytical Skills 

• Leadership 

• Research 

• Communication 

• Collaboration 

• Attention to detail 

• Innovation 

• Interpersonal Skills 

Let’s think about this analytically: If the Skills Are in Preferential Order 1 through 10, it has one set of implications.  

In Soft Skills

• The Shift from Collaboration to Management at the top means
   Employers are moving from valuing team participation most highly (2024) toward valuing leadership/oversight and the ability to direct people and processes (2025).
  The Implication for teachers: This helps because teachers already “manage” classrooms daily—schedules, behavior, projects. The challenge is reframing it from “classroom management” to “people and project management” in professional language.
• Research has entered the chat, Professionalism drops out
   Companies want employees who can dig deeper into data and the evidence rather than just “show up polished.”
               The Implication for teachers is : Teachers have excellent research skills from developing lessons, sourcing curriculum, and evidence-based practice. But teachers will need to prove those skills translate into business contexts.
• Communication drops slightly in priority if we are looking at it as a ranked list
   While still important, communication being further down suggests it’s now considered a “given.”
               Implication for teachers: This hurts slightly, because communication is often our strongest selling point. It means we can’t rely solely on this strength—they must highlight analytical and management skills more strongly.

For Hard Skills

• There is a definite shift toward Technical/Programming
   Data Analysis, Marketing, and Customer Service (which were top 3 in 2024) are replaced by Computer Science, Systems Design, and Project Management for 2025.
  The Implication for job seekers: Technical proficiency is increasingly non-negotiable. Coding languages (Python, Java, SQL) dominate.
• For Teachers:
   
  • What might Hurt for teachers about this is that Teachers without technical upskilling may feel locked out of “hard skill” roles type.  It’s not hard to get that training though. 
• 
  
  • What Helps is that Project management remains high, and education professionals with certifications (like PMP, Agile, or even informal but documented project leadership) can pivot into operations, training management, or ed-tech project roles. You do exhibit project management skills daily. 
• 
  

The Big Picture if these are ranked lists signal that employers are demanding more ownership, technical literacy, and analytical rigor. Teachers must pivot from “supportive collaborators” to “managers, analysts, and decision-makers” in their storytelling.

If the Skills Are Not in Preferential Order (Just Top 10 Lists) then let’s focus on what appeared and disappeared and what that might mean for teachers. 

Soft Skills: What Was Added / Dropped

• We added: Research
• We dropped: Professionalism
  The Implication for job seekers is that Employers assume professionalism is baseline now—showing up on time, dressing appropriately, behaving well. What sets people apart is the ability to find and use information effectively.
    The Implication for teachers: This helps. Teachers conduct ongoing research (lesson prep, pedagogy, interventions). They just need to frame it in business terms (market research, user research, process improvement).  
   And teachers know that ‘research’ does NOT mean that you watch TikTok or YouTube videos from people you already agree with!

Here are the Hard Skills that were Added / Dropped

• We’ve added: Systems design, Python, Java, Programming, Software Development
• What has Dropped has been Data analysis, Marketing, Customer Service, Sales, Research
  The Implication is that roles are consolidating around technical product creation and management. #AI Customer-facing and “generalist” hard skills are less emphasized.
   🔹 Implication for teachers: This can hurt unless teachers actively reskill. However:
   
  • Teachers interested in ed-tech, instructional design, or training platforms could benefit from learning programming basics or systems design principles.
•  
  • Teachers moving into non-technical roles (HR, training, consulting) will need to rely heavily on their soft skills since the hard skills are becoming more specialized. Again, those technical skills are not that difficult or expensive to acquire.  You do not need a whole ‘nother degree. 
• 
  

So the big pictures is that if this are unranked lists, the shift shows employers are rebalancing—technical and research-heavy roles are prioritized, while “entry-level business” hard skills (sales, marketing, customer service) are less valued. Teachers can still pivot, but it emphasizes the need to upskill in tech OR double down on project/people management roles.

Here's the Summary: 

• If it’s ranked → Teachers must lead with management, analysis, and technical adaptability, not just communication/collaboration.
• If it’s unranked → The floor has risen. Employers expect professionalism and basic communication as givens. Teachers win if they highlight research and project management but may need technical training to stay competitive.
   
   

Let’s also look at HOW those skills grew and changed from Jobscan’s analysis of job descriptions off of LinkedIn.

Hard Skills tell the Tech Story. From 2024 to 2025:

• AI skills jumped 30%.
• Computer science is up 14%.
• Engineering is up 12%.
• Systems design up 11%.
• Project management gained 6%.

Yes, that is a wall of tech jargon. Python, SQL, Java, systems design. But here’s what’s often overlooked: none of that matters without good prompts and attention to detail. Remember the old coding proverb? Garbage In = Garbage Out. With AI, that’s gospel truth. And who are the masters of crafting prompts that get results? Teachers. You’ve been doing it every day with directions, assignments, and test questions.” Especially if you teach the very small, the middle school.  or the very oppositional who want to question everything.  You’ve become a master of crafting the ask without loopholes.  That’s what AI needs. 

Soft Skills tell The People Story
 Now here’s the surprise twist: the biggest spike wasn’t technical side like AI. It was human.

• Communication skills up 231%.
• Management skills up 9%.
• Problem-solving up 2%.
• Analytical skills up 3%.
• Research up 4%.

That 231% jump in communication means employers are realizing what teachers already know: without strong communication, nothing else works. Nothing.

 And again the items that dropped off: customer service, sales, marketing, and professionalism. Employers treat those as baseline now. What sets candidates apart is higher-level thinking—research, analysis, leadership, management.  I swear this is coming off that Bloom triangle. 

Implications for Teachers
So here’s how you play this game as a teacher in transition:

1. Reframe your skills.
   Classroom management = people management.
   Lesson planning = project management + research.
   Grading = data analysis.
   Adaptability = problem-solving.
2. Upskill strategically - without breaking the bank.

You can get a lot of learning for free through Microsoft and Google some other things are: 

• Python/SQL → freeCodeCamp, Kaggle Learn (free).
• Project management → Google’s Project Management Certificate on Coursera (audit for free).
• AI practice → free versions of ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google Gemini.
• Data/analytics → Google and Microsoft both have Data Analytics Certificates or free Excel/Sheets tutorials are ALL over YouTube.

You don’t need to master all of it. Pick one. Just one. It signals to employers: ‘I’m growing. I’m future-ready.’

1. Leverage your AI advantage.
   Garbage In = Garbage Out. We already know how to get meaningful outputs because you’ve mastered the art of asking questions. That is a marketable skill.

 The takeaway is this: employers want communicators, managers, problem solvers, and researchers who are comfortable with emerging tech. That’s you, you and still you. Highlight what you already do, pick one new technical skill to start learning, and you’ll be ready for 2025 and beyond.”

So, I’m interest in your take. Are these skill shifts exciting or overwhelming or terrifying? I’d love to hear what you think.

Here’s what I ask you to do this week: start tagging your to-do list. Use a flair pen, use some garage dots - blue for glass, red for rubber, green for lead, and yellow for hot air. Notice what you’ve been carrying that doesn’t need to be carried.

And if you’re realizing that maybe it’s not just the balls you’re juggling, but the entire game you’re playing that needs to change - join me on Friday, September 27th for my DECIDE Workshop. It’ll be at 2:PM central. This is great for teachers who don’t really know what they want to do and need help to see the big picture.   

This is where we slow down and look at that big picture: should you stay, should you shift, or is it time to start building your exit strategy? You’ll leave with clarity, not just about your career, but about which balls you really want to carry into your future.

So tag your list this week, and then grab your seat for the workshop. Because you don’t have to juggle alone, and you don’t have to keep carrying balls that were never yours to juggle.
 
 And if you know you’re tired of all the juggling, I’d love to see how I can help. You can book a free discovery call at https://teachersintransition.com/calendar - I owuld love to chat with you and hear your story.
 
Links to everything are in the show notes. 

In the meantime, remember your challenge: tag your to-do list with blue, red, green, or yellow dots this week, and pick one free resource to start building a 2025-ready skill.

You don’t have to juggle every ball. You just have to know which ones matter—and which ones you can set down.

If you find this podcast to be helpful and useful PLEASE I would love for you to help me out by recommending it to a friend and giving it a rating and a review on Apple or Podcast or wherever it is that you like to listen to YOUR podcasts. And I am going to be gifting a free session to work on your resume or your LinkedIn page to the first five people who leave that five star review on either of those sites 

Did I mention I’m on all the socials?  Here’s where you can find me:
 Email me at Vanessa@teachersintransition.com
Leave a voicemail or text at 512-640-9099
Schedule a free Discovery Session with me: https://teachersintransition.com/calendar
Follow me on Bluesky @beyondteaching.bsky.social
Find me on Threads and Instagram  AND TikTok @teachers.in.transition
And even on X at @EduExitStrategy
Follow on Facebook: search for Teachers in Transition and look for our blue phoenix.
Or? Join the Teachers in Transition Podcast Club on Facebook

I can’t wait to connect with YOU and hear YOUR story.