Skip's Edtech Jobs: October 28, 2023

Thank you for reading the EdSkipper, Skip’s newsletter about skipping from education to education-aligned careers. Every Saturday, I send out a list of curated remote jobs. Premium subscribers receive two additional emails a month with industry insights and advice to help you apply more competitively to the jobs you’re passionate about.

Last week, I sat down with one of my colleagues and friends in edtech, Holly Owens to talk about the skills educators need for their edskip.

If you don’t know Holly, I highly recommend following her on LinkedIn. She curates (mostly remote) US-Instructional Design jobs twice a week and always includes salaries!

Here are links to the audio and the video recordings!

What continues to resonate beyond the podcast is our discussion about upskilling.

As Holly mentioned, some jobs definitely require upskilling — not just building your skills but practicing them in real-world situations (volunteer, internships, etc). She’s an instructional designer and knows this side of things really well!

But we also talked about the darker side of upskilling — when it bleeds into imposter syndrome. I see this so frequently: educators underselling their skills.

I’ve talked about this on LinkedIn before. As Holly and I were talking, I was thinking about the specific skill I most frequently see educators undersell: our leadership experience. So many educators I talk to have led departments or committees, spearheaded new programming, and created real change in their buildings.

They usually call it ‘collaboration.’

But it’s leadership!

Let’s call it leadership!

~I hope you find some fantastic jobs to apply to this weekend,
Chelsea

Last Week’s Poll Results: What’s a fair minimum salary for a first edskip?

Love how many of you weighed in on last week’s poll!

Just a reminder, the assumption was that companies were looking for 3-5 years of experience. And the average educator salary (in 2020-21) was $62k; that same links highlights that the average educator has about 14 years experience.

Here are a few of the topics readers shared about their answer choices:

• Almost every comment included the same word: “inflation.” Cost-of-living increases are driving many salary increases but I’m still seeing a lot of entry-level edtech jobs that are paying the same rates they paid a few years ago. One reason? Tons of applicants. (How many? The Teacher Success position I posted last month had 1,250 applicants…)

• A number of people mentioned how geography factors in. There are some areas of the country were educators are making six figures (though that salary is still low compared to others in their geographic area), but where you live definitely impacts the salary range you’re looking for.

• Another person mentioned that salaries in edtech should be higher because companies work full-time in the summer. Such a good point! Historically, summers ‘off’ has been one justification for paying teachers less. (“Teachers only work 185 days a year” is what the business manager in my local school district used to say whenever teacher versus admin salary came up. Of course, we know there’s the difference between the days and hours teachers are PAID to work and they days and hours they ACTUALLY work…)

This Week’s Edtech and Education-Adjacent Jobs!

FULL-TIME JOBS

These are only some of the jobs I’ve posted this week! View all the remote jobs.

CURRICULUM JOBS

The College Board is hiring an Assessment Specialist-Math who has experience teaching math on at a 6th grade-college level and experience creating test questions. The Specialist will create and edit assessment questions as well as collaborate with external partners to evaluate accuracy and fairness. $52-85k.

The Center for Civic Education (Center) is hiring a Media Literacy and Professional Learning Consultant who will develop an 8-lesson module and instructional resources on media literacy for middle school students as well as training educators in implementing the curriculum. They are looking for certified teachers or librarians and subject matter expertise. $50+/hour.

PROGRAM / PROJECT MANAGEMENT JOBS

Renaissance is hiring a Research Coordinator who will lead, manage, and maintain the data collection process for studies related to Renaissance products. The Research Coordinator will recruit potential study participants, create surveys and data collection instruments, and monitor the study progress. They are looking for candidates with relevant skills. $30-32/hour

The Center for Effective Public Policy (CEPP) is hiring a Program Assistant who will support their Community Supervision Resource Center (CSRC), a centralized hub for issues surrounding pretrial, probation, and parole supervision. The Program Assistant will be responsible for creating content and trainings as well as scheduling events and supporting project management meetings. They are looking for candidates with relevant experience. $65-70k.

SALES JOBS

Presence, which provides online speech and OT for children, is hiring a Sales Development Representative. The SDR will make outbound calls, conduct research about potential clients, schedule meetings, and make presentations about Presence's products. They are looking for candidates with relevant soft skills and special education expertise. $80k (OTE -- $40-50k base)

Zearn is hiring a Partnerships Associate who will coordinate the purchasing process for districts, managing all communications and providing quotes, addressing potential objections, and manage the order process. 2+ years experience. $60-65k

NOTABLE STATE-SPECIFIC JOBS

These are only some of the jobs I’ve posted this week! View all the state-specific remote jobs.

RethinkED is hiring a Professional Services Manager who lives in the Mountain or Pacific Time Zones. The Manager will support the implementation process across multiple school districts and will be responsible for leading implementation with assigned districts as well as supporting renewals if assigned by the supervisor. Candidates should have 4+ years classroom experience utilizing Emotional Learning, MTSS, Mental Health and/or behavior analytic principles. $75-80k.

Facing History and Ourselves is hiring a Program Associate located in the Southeast. The Program Associate should be an experienced educator who will Facilitate professional learning, through in-person and online workshops and seminars; recruit new schools to their curriculum; and focus on implementing all aspects of the program. $75-85k