I've heard the sentiment hundreds of times from teachers, nurses, software engineers, accountants, lawyers and dancers who want a new career: What else is out there? And what relief they all feel when I tell them they are not the only clueless ones.

As Sandy, a retiring teacher from New Jersey wrote me after a column I wrote about teachers who don't know what else to do but teach adults instead of kids: "I was relieved to know that other teachers are in the same boat as far as not really knowing what it is they want to do in their next life. As it was said in the movie, Shawshank Redemption, we are institutionalized--in a box and not knowing what is out there for us."

Kathy, a Seattle teacher in her early 50's taking an early buyout but unsure what to do next, wrote to say she is well-spoken, funny, intelligent, hard working, creative and loves to read. "I could certainly work in another profession for years if I choose. Any advice?"

Whether you've been in the teaching profession, in business, non-profit or the arts, Kathy said it: the choice is yours. But you'll stay clueless as long as you look for answers in the wrong place--out there.

Sorry, but there is no list of "Perfect Jobs Out There for Former Teachers and Others." There are, however, hundreds of former and retired teachers who have explored new careers that are related to or completely different than teaching.

Take the three public school teachers in Missouri. One became the vice president for administration, another, the athletic director and a third, the assessment director at William Woods University. Clients of coach Marcia Merrill who were teachers became tutors to students who were too ill to attend classes. Another started an educational consulting business. One is giving presentations on benefits for a human resources firm, while others are conducting training on investments. One of my clients who taught for many years is now a financial consultant.

If you are a teacher and have a knack for explaining things so others can understand, why not charge for it? suggests Janet Attard of Business Know-How. You could teach non-teachers how to teach. Or teach managers how to train their employees. If you understand what corporations need--everything from sales management and computer training to self defense--you can investigate the $50 billion corporate training market.

What skill or knowledge do you have that business needs? Can you package it and sell it as a consultant?

The best choice for your next career will not be based on "what's out there" but on what's in you.

One former teacher based her new career on just that. This woman had taught music for 25 years. Her mother had Parkinson's disease, was near death and unable to communicate. One day she went to visit her mother in the nursing home and heard a Nat King Cole CD in the background. The woman started singing along and suddenly, her mother began to sing too--in harmony. When the song ended, so did her mother's singing. That was the last sound the woman heard from her mother before her death three months later.

The experience convinced her to use her musical talents to help others. She decided to enter the music therapy program at Maryville University of Saint Louis.

Instead of asking, "What's out there?" ask: What is in my past that I can build on and has meaning to me now in which I can create my future?

© by Andrea Kay