Alyssa Rowan taught elementary school as a teacher before she decided it was time to make a change.
She started upskilling with Aspireship and listening to the TCC podcasts to help her navigate her exit from education.
She landed a role as a BDR and has now become a Jr Marketer for the same company!
Join us as we discuss the first role out of the classroom and how it can really be a standing ground for growth forward.
Find Alyssa on Linkedin.
Listen to the episode in the podcast player below, or find it on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
Free Quiz: What career outside of the classroom is right for you?
Explore the course that has helped thousands of teachers successfully transition out of the classroom and into new careers: The Teacher Career Coach Course
Mentioned in the episode:
- Sign up for 7 days of free access to Orchard
- Use code “TCC” to get 50% off of everything at Aspireship
- Our career path quiz at www.teachercareercoach.com/quiz
- Explore the course that has helped thousands of teachers successfully transition out of the classroom and into new careers: The Teacher Career Coach Course
Episode Transcript:
Elizabeth Suto: Hi everyone and welcome back. Join us today as we chat with Alyssa Rowan. She talks about her journey in education and how her career path has grown since she first left the classroom. She entered into the tech world as a BDR, decided that marketing was more of a fit for her. She became a marketing associate and now is a junior marketing manager.
We discuss how upskilling helped, networking, and how her work life balance is more calm now that she’s transitioned out of the classroom. Hope you enjoy!
Welcome back, everyone. I’m so excited today. We have Alyssa with us. Welcome, Alyssa.
Alyssa Rowan: Thank you for having me.
Elizabeth Suto: Well, we’d love to start this off by hearing about your journey in education, um, and what that was like.
Alyssa Rowan: So I started off in third grade, and I wanted to be a teacher pretty much my whole life. I had family members that were teachers and in high school, I did, one of the courses that worked with younger students. And so that’s what helps me kind of get into it in college. And I actually started off wanting to be a high school teacher and coach and quickly realized that that the younger students were more my forte. So I did elementary education and then, like I said, I started off in third grade and then eventually moved on to fourth grade. And I loved the students. I love the actual teaching part of it. I loved getting to be creative and learn how my students learned and their best way of learning and having fun in the classroom. Um, and so I really enjoyed that part of my teaching career and I did it for five years.
Elizabeth Suto: And then what was that point that was kind of your turning point where you were looking at different careers. When did that happen?
Alyssa Rowan: So my turning point was after my fourth year, um, I moved to a new school district. So I got a new team, a new school, new classroom, new everything. And the admin was completely different than what I had experienced my past four years. Um, and it was very much, want every teacher to be a clone, a replica, teach the same way. That way, if a kid were to move classrooms, it, would see it in the same way that their previous teacher had taught. And I just had different views about that. And I thought every teacher should be allowed to teach the way they felt was best for their students. We didn’t get to play games.
We didn’t get to have different days, like my previous school. They were all about glow days and reading days and math days and different themed. And this new school was, was just totally different. And I felt as if I could not be myself there. And that I was kind of doing the kids a disservice by doing what was best for them, but more what was best for scores or for the school ratings. So I decided in December, so halfway through that fifth year, that I would start looking outside of the classroom.
Elizabeth Suto: Thank you for sharing all of that. And I love to hear that you did change schools. You know, a lot of teachers are looking, you know, before changing careers, maybe change your environment, see how that works out. And then, you know, Also, how did you know about mid year to start planning and looking?
Because this is kind of an important topic, too, when teachers are looking to leave the classroom. A lot of times we do it in summer, you know, we have that time off, but in the reality of things, it’s It takes a while to find a new position and upskill. So tell us a little bit about how you kind of figured out that timing and then what you did then to upskill.
Alyssa Rowan: I really didn’t know that that timing was correct at the time. I had just went through an experience with my principal at the time that, with like the teacher ratings and everything that had just come through for the mid year. Um, and it kind of just sparked my feeling of needing to get out. Um, and it just happened to be in December and I was traveling during Christmas break and really thinking about it, having time to look over everything that had happened.
And I found the teacher career coach, um, Instagram actually. And I saw one of my friends was following her. so I reached out to her and said, Hey, I see you’re following this. Do you have any suggestions? And she suggested the podcast. So I just slowly started listening to the podcast and I ended up to where I was listening to it every day on my way to school and on my way home. it helped prepare me, but it also made it hard to continue positive in the classroom environment when you’re hearing about all these successful stories of teachers transitioning. So I would be careful on that one because it is, but it kind of got me motivated to start the process because I didn’t know where to start.
I had never Not taught so I didn’t know anything about the corporate world. I didn’t know where to start with my resume So I really started with Looking for Jobs, which was not the best way to start. I just started a down a rabbit hole on on random jobs around me and thought I wanted to go into Ed Tech, and I realized everybody was trying to get into Ed Tech in the teacher world. So I thought, okay, well, if I want to be out, if I don’t want to, um, leave school before the summer, I need to figure out the best route. that will guarantee me something else. so I, I slowly started working on the resume through the teacher career course. I did her course, and did the resume building and all of that. then I just kind of started researching things similar to, to ed tech but not in the education world. So I kind of stayed in the technology route because I, I always was really good at, um, working on the computers and I liked all of the different softwares that we used in school and all of that.
So that’s how I decided to stick with kind of the software, decision.
Elizabeth Suto: Well, I love to hear that you expanded your search, you know, kind of looking at the reality of, of the market and what’s going on in ed tech and other companies to you know, to tech in general software sales. So you got a role in sales and Now you’re in marketing. So I’m excited to dive into that deeper, but tell us a little bit about that initial transition, um, from teaching and into sales.
And then how did you bridge that gap? What were the first few months like?
Alyssa Rowan: Yes. So I, I got my job through, um, I did the Aspireship sales foundation course. Um, and at the time, I believe Aspireship was fairly new. Um, so I was kind of one of the first groups to figure out, do the course. Um, and I, I did the course. In spring break, so that would have been March of my my last year teaching and I sat down during spring break and I completed the course.
And I passed the test and the video recordings and all of that and got put into the hiring pool. And then, uh, once I determined which openings I was interested in that got sent to me, I got an interview with my current company for a BDR position. So, Business Development Representative. And what I was doing is, I was actually cold calling and cold emailing. Customer or not customers, but prospects that were interest might be interested in the software that, uh, we were, we would be selling. Um, and it’s a field service management software. So I had to make sure that they were the right fit, that they had the right number of employees. I would have to look them up on LinkedIn, all their social medias, research on their website, sure they would be a quality prospect. Therefore, I had to understand the sales process, which was very new to me. So I was very thankful to Aspireship because all the lingo that comes with a sales role is very different than teacher lingo. Um, I didn’t even know what a prospect was before Aspireship. So I was glad I had that to help me with the interviews because. very different worlds, um, but I was prepared for it because I had already learned all of that different, that they were saying in the interview. and I did have to interview with three different people in the company. So it ended up being my mentor and then a manager and then, um, a leadership personnel that I had interviewed with.
So I did have to have three interviews and they were all, uh, virtual. And
Elizabeth Suto: That’s quite different than teaching interviews. Um, so it’s good to hear, you know, kind of the process and how, instead of maybe one demo lesson that you do in the classroom, you’re doing. different interviews and they’re kind of assessing, like you said, your lingo, your knowledge, so I think that’s great that you went that extra mile and upskilled and did that research because it really does show to the employer, hey, she knows her stuff or she’s motivated to learn it, which is kind of like a great place to kind of set you apart.
from everyone else.
Alyssa Rowan: I made sure to let them know, like, obviously this is new to me and I was a teacher and I’ve obviously never been a salesperson, but that I’m willing to learn it and that teachers are very flexible and have to learn very quick. So I tried to use my teacher skills to my advantage. And it’s best to be confident in that and not be scared to say, I have these skills as a teacher, but they can resonate as this, this or this as well.
Being organized in any corporate company is, is a skill that surprisingly is hard to find. So if you are an organized teacher, it’s put that as a number one cause they will love it.
Elizabeth Suto: I love to hear those transferable skills because you’re exactly right. There are so many that we kind of think as second nature that when you, when you get into the business world, you think, Oh, wow, this, this is a very valuable skill that maybe not everyone has.
Alyssa Rowan: Yes.
Elizabeth Suto: And so how long were you in the sales role before you changed to marketing with your company?
Alyssa Rowan: Um, so I did the BDR role for about six months and then I slowly transitioned into the marketing role. And the way I did that is, I knew I didn’t want to be a BDR forever. And I knew it was a stepping stone, um, because BDRs are pretty much your entry level sales role that you can find. anywhere really.
It’s just the, the first level that you’ll see. And it is a hard job. A cold calling people, I will say is not easy. Uh, you have to have some thick skin, be okay with getting rejected, things like that. Uh, your, your quota for number of calls to make. Definitely not easy. So I knew were different routes I could go. And I could stick in the sales team and go more towards an executive, role. So an account executive or an account manager where you work with customers. and then I kind of looked at, had, we have a person that does demos. So I kind of looked at. at that route. And then I also looked at marketing because I was helping them, um, get into different social groups and tag them in post and things like that.
And so I reached out to different people in my company and asked if I could just get their input on what their day to day looks like to see if they were interested. That’s something that I would be interested in because looking at it from the outside, it might be different than what you think they actually do.
So I just set up one on ones with several different people, and I really clicked with the marketing team, and I really felt like I could bring my creative side back of like I did in teaching with creating different things and throwing Emails together with, um, graphics and creating those graphics for social post and getting some more color in my life back, back again with marketing.
Elizabeth Suto: Oh, I love to hear that. And something you said that I think is important, um, is that you, that was a stepping stone. So you got into the company, built trust, worked hard, you were motivated, and then you also mentioned you initiated one on one calls, you know, with the marketing team to learn more. So I, it’s just nice to hear that because there are these entry level positions and it is kind of a hard jump if you’ve been teaching 5, years to go, you know, somewhere that’s more entry level, but within six months you had already Learn so much set your sights on marketing and build those relationships with your team within your company that they You can just see how much they value you to where They want you to grow and stay with the company and learn those things that you want to learn so I just it’s just nice to hear that because I think that’s very important if you get somewhere that you and you enjoy, they also want to keep you and retain you.
So now that you’re in this marketing role, can you walk us through like day to day, what, what you do?
Alyssa Rowan: So in my marketing role I, uh, run our webinars that we have. So if we have customer or prospect webinars, um, I make sure to gather all the information we need. I set up the presenters from the company. I, um, schedule the emails to try to get people to attend. Um, I do a lot of email campaigns, um, around webinars and events. Um, so for going to any event, I help when, who is going to go, what needs to be at our booth. Um, so any type of not decor, but if you have tablecloths or or things that we need to send, um, I set that up. And then all of our social posts, I help create and make sure that they’re across all of our channels, making sure that we’re sticking to our company brand, our company colors and trying to bring in leads for the sales team and also retain our customers.
Elizabeth Suto: And so for this marketing position, what skills would you say, I know earlier you mentioned organization, but what were some of those other big transferable skills that you use often, or maybe some new skills that. Those listening who are interesting, interested, can start to explore.
Alyssa Rowan: Um, so I actually, um, went on to LinkedIn. So I got the LinkedIn account that you can get and they offer LinkedIn courses and I kind of started with a one on one like marketing course because even from sales to marketing, they have different lingo that sales doesn’t use. Um, that marketing might.
So I started with courses like that. Um, and I also shadowed my marketing mentor. Um, and she kind of guided me through the different resources that she used. So our company uses HubSpot a lot. And so I did HubSpot Academy. Um, I did different LinkedIn courses for HubSpot. Uh, we also use Canva. So I did some Canva courses. There’s so many free courses that you can find online to help you upskill. And a lot of the times, once you complete that, you can put it right on your LinkedIn profile, which is nice. Cause that’s another way to show that. You’re willing to upscale yourself and willing to take a course to do what’s best for you and the company. Um, so I really like when it, it connects to my LinkedIn so I can just keep stacking those certificates and things like that. But from teaching wise, the organization 100 percent helps, but also the creativity, um, in marketing, you’re able to be very creative as long as you stay within your branding guidelines. So it’s fun to get to bring that creative brain into something, uh, we’re software. So something digital and Canva, you know, getting to create. and images just like you do in teaching probably every day. Creating presentations for your team. Even speaking, you realize that though I was speaking in front of kids every day, you learn how to emphasize certain words or know when something is important.
So in a meeting, I always got told that I. Spoke really well to the group and that’s nothing that I ever learned how to do I think you just do it as a teacher Naturally because you’re so used to speaking in front of 20 little kids and keeping their attention So you try to be fun and and not be monotone So that also helps to also for for running those webinars Um, keeping those prospects and customers entertained during a maybe not so fun webinar is important.
Elizabeth Suto: I love to hear that, that part about public speaking. Because you’re right, you, every day you had to keep this, this many kids engaged and excited about learning. And now you’re doing the same thing with, with adults. And do you have a favorite part about your job?
Alyssa Rowan: I really love all of it, honestly. Um, I, I can make. My own schedule, you know, if I want to work on social post all day on Monday, I can do that. Or if I want to do an hour on socials, an hour on email, um, an hour on something else, I, I can choose how I want to spend my time. That works best for me. So I really enjoy kind of that freedom of it and Um, we’re a small marketing team.
We’re a team of three. So I, I like having that close knit Um, I know lot of corporate jobs, you’ll be on a team of 50 or something and, and it’s not as close knit, but that is something that I do enjoy because we all know each other personally as well. Um, so we can connect on different levels and just Being able to kind of be myself and, and put that into my work to an extent is, is Yeah,
Elizabeth Suto: That’s great to hear. And I’m glad you pointed out to, you know, the teams for marketing, sales, different departments. It will vary. Absolutely. Depending if you’re a small company, a small startup or a big business or corporation. And I love that, you know, everyone will be different too. They might prefer to work with a large team or a small team depending on their personality.
And are there, um, I’m curious to know if there’s any challenges associated with this position or that you run into, and how do you face those?
Alyssa Rowan: of course. I mean, there’s challenges with every job that you’re going to encounter. You’re going to encounter different personalities that you might not mesh with or maybe a certain part of the job that is not your favorite, but you still have, have to do it because it’s part of your job. I think the hardest thing is I, I’m very much a people pleaser, which a lot of teachers are, um, it’s just our nature and in marketing, you’re sending so many emails and you’re contacting so many people.
Some people, um, might get. by that. It might send you back a rude email. Um, unsubscribe me now. Or, you know, things like that, that come off a little harsh. Um, and you have to learn to not take it personal because it’s not directed towards you as the person. Um, it’s just part of the job. I, I had to learn that the hard way and, uh, reach out to different people within the job and say, how can I fix this? And, um, There’s just that’s just part of it. You can’t please everybody. Um, your emails or your posts are not going to resonate with every person that you’re trying to reach. And that’s okay. A lot of hearing a that I hear a lot is in the corporate world. You have to remember that. Uh, you’re saving PDFs, you’re not saving lives, so it’s okay to make a mistake every now and then, or forget to send an email and send it one day behind schedule or something like that, especially when it’s a role that you’re learning new, you’re going to make mistakes, and as a teacher, that’s hard. To do because we had to be perfect every single day from 6 a. m. To 6 p. m Because it was kids and people were expecting us to be perfect. So In the corporate world, it’s a little more lenient. I felt like and it’s not you’re not as harshly judged From my experience so far.
Elizabeth Suto: Thank you for sharing that, and it is, I feel like that’s an interesting difference sometimes in expectations, and you know, depending on what environment you’re in, it is nice that you can make mistakes, learn from your mistakes, grow, and move on. And then what are, what do opportunities for growth look like, um, at this place or company and, and for you,
Alyssa Rowan: Once you’re in, um, I feel like there’s growth in so many different directions. I mean, just like I went from VDR to marketing, I could have went a totally different route and, and decided to look at customer success or look at Customer service or account management. Um, there’s so many different roles, but now that I have this marketing under my belt, if I wanted to just strictly focus on socials, I could find a company that did that. Um, or if I, because now I’m kind of doing everything. So I get a taste of kind of what every. of marketing there is. Um, so if I wanted to focus on one specific thing, I could always go that route and have the experience to go with it. But there’s so many different pieces of marketing, um, planning.
If I wanted to go into events, um, strictly or just helping email campaigns, some people in marketing focus on one piece and some focus on a lot. So you can always. marketers grow in your content that you’re working in, but also into different roles. Um, I know some marketers go into content creation and, um, graphic design.
So there’s so many different places that you could grow into.
Elizabeth Suto: thank you for sharing all those different avenues, because I, I agree when I look online at marketing and, you know, learn from all of you and others, there are so many, like, Content manager, brand manager, demand gen, and so that what a cool place because you go into marketing, but within that, there’s all those specific little genres that you can branch off and learn more and the cool thing as well as it’s, it’s always changing.
So there’s. There’s new research, there’s new information, and so in addition to teaching you are always learning, keeping up with the new curriculum, and then in this position you are as well. Or at least that’s what I found from mine. I was excited to know that Wow, there’s so much learning potential, you know, you don’t just learn it and do it.
It’s always evolving.
Alyssa Rowan: Yes, always. And, and it’s nice because in obviously my degree is in elementary education and they don’t, in my corporate role, they don’t see me as an elementary teacher. They see me as a marketer because that’s my current job. So I don’t want people who are trying to transition to get stuck on their degree because if you can do the job, then they can, they can hire you. at least in my experience, they’re not going to put that against you in any type of way. Whereas I know in, in teaching, couldn’t move from a classroom teacher unless I got my master’s degree. So they were stuck on what degree I had in order for growth to happen. And in the corporate world, it’s such a, a thing in the background that it’s, You know, it’s important because they see that you took the time to educate yourself and do that, but it’s not going to Defer them from interviewing you or giving you a chance
Elizabeth Suto: With that being said, um, with that information about the degree, are there any other tips or pieces of advice that, that worked well for you that you would offer transitioning teachers who are looking to get into an entry level sales role or marketing?
Alyssa Rowan: Definitely do some type of upskilling. even if it is Aspireship or LinkedIn courses, something to show that you are willing to learn and that you have some sort of knowledge of what that role is going to be. Um, you don’t want to just pray and spray on every LinkedIn posting job that you see for marketing or ed tech or software. Because show through on your resume. If you’re just kind of copy pasting general skills, if you’re able to point out specific courses that you took, I know even Google has courses that you can sign up for, um, that are so specific to different types of skills. Um, so anything you can put on your resume that shows that you’re willing to learn it, you might not be an expert in it, but at least you’ve tried. You’re, you’re showing that you can learn it and you’re willing to learn it. I think that’s, what’s most important.
Elizabeth Suto: And I, I liked how you said show, because I know in teaching with the writing, it’s always like show, not tell, and similarly on the job hunt, if you’re taking those courses, you’re showing that you’re motivated within that. So, now that we’ve learned a little bit about your new position, tell us about your work life balance and how it may or may not be different from teaching.
Alyssa Rowan: So my work life balance is. Completely different from teaching, uh, in a good way. So, with my company, they offer unlimited PTO. So if I have a doctor’s appointment, or if I need to take my daughter somewhere, or I just need a mental health day, I can take it and not feel guilty. With teaching, it was very much, I always felt like if I needed to take a day, it was more work to take that day off than to just go to work. If I, even if I was sick or, um, needed to do something, it was getting a sub and writing the sub plans and making sure your team can help you. It was very stressful. Whereas here I, if, if I don’t have work that day, I even think about it. I mean, they’re, they essentially leave you alone. If it’s your day off, they leave you alone.
They respect that time that you took. And how the unlimited PTO works is your, your manager has to approve it, obviously. So you can’t just take a month off whenever you want. So there’s restrictions, but knowing that it’s available and that it’s okay. to have to take my daughter to, to her doctor is so relieving.
And, I don’t have the Sunday scaries. I don’t stress about waking up on Monday to go to work. Um, I work from home, so I just get up and walk into my office. Um, I log in at eight and close my computer at five, and then I’m able to think about my family and hang out with them the rest of the night without. having to grade papers or write an email or prepare for the next day. Because it’s just, I have all the, I have all day interruption pretty much to get my work done. So, and I’m not bogged down with, with meetings. Obviously we have meetings throughout the week, but they’re, you know, an hour every couple of days or whatever.
So, you know, Um, it’s crazy how, how different it is. Uh, and I, I had my, my daughter while I was with my new company. so I got maternity leave and with teaching, you know, you, you get max. Six weeks and they expect you to be back in the classroom. And I can, I just could not imagine. I was so thankful for what I got with my current company and the time that I got to spend.
And I actually, she only goes to daycare twice a week and the other days I get to keep her home with me. So I’m getting to see her grow up and enjoy her time with me, uh, as long as I can. She just turned one. So I know my time is getting short to her. She’ll be running around soon. but with teaching, I would, I would be missing out on so much and, and paying so much more money for daycare and, it’s just, it’s, it’s crazy how our, the expectations in teaching are out there and how we do it for so many years as beyond me.
And I respect everyone who stays in it because pray for them every day. It’s, they. They are strong people who are staying in it.
Elizabeth Suto: I’m so happy for you and to hear that and that you can spend more time with your daughter and to hear about the company culture, you know, with maternity leave and, and them being able to respect new parents, give them a little time to bond with their child. So that makes me happy to hear that. And we love to wrap this up by hearing what you learned about yourself during this transition process.
Alyssa Rowan: Um, I learned so many things. I mean, change is scary and trying to get out of education tends be a very secretive experience. Um, because you don’t want to necessarily tell this, the people at your school that you’re looking into that. just because certain schools have different views on it and you kind have to go through it by yourself.
And that’s a hard thing when You know, if your spouse is at home and, and isn’t a teacher, they don’t understand how, how difficult it may be to leave that behind, because I loved the kids and I loved teaching, and that’s not what I wanted to leave behind. But I, I, I didn’t wanna be crying every day anymore after work, and I didn’t wanna wake up and dread having to, to go to school, and it was just so mentally draining. So I realized that it’s okay to change if it’s for, for yourself and for the better. And it wasn’t just for myself. It was for my family too, because I, was, I didn’t want to do anything because I was so stressed out with school and now I get to experience so many things and not have that stress put on me anymore.
So to change. It’s okay to be scared about changing, um, because it is scary, but if you stick with it, it’s, it’s okay. Very possible. And it, it’s not a slow process at all. I’m thankful that I started when I did because it ended up lining up perfectly. I accepted my job in May and started in June.
So right when I went into summertime with school and I learnedhat I’m still very flexible and I can learn new things and I don’t have to just have the teacher label on me anymore. I can be so many different things.
Elizabeth Suto: Thank you so much for that message. And I’m so excited you were able to join us today. I can’t wait for everyone to listen and to hear about your journey from sales to marketing and just in general, all of these different changes that happen, um, when you do transition. And I do appreciate you mentioning as well that it can be a longer process and a hard process, you know, so stay confident and positive if possible throughout.
Elizabeth Suto: thank you. Thanks so much, Alyssa.
Alyssa Rowan: Thank you.
