I am a consultant – a STEM Education Specialist. I love my job, but I can't keep up with all the opportunities that come my way. Why am I saying this? Because there is a huge demand for STEM educators and you might be considering a career change.
So what exactly does a consultant do? Mostly I teach students and teachers how to use technology. STEM is the hot topic right now in education and administrators want to jump on the bandwagon with the latest and greatest gadgets. That's where I come in, because those gadgets aren't always as easy to understand as they look. Matter of fact, that's probably my greatest skill – making things look easy.
I am an engineer by training (civil and electrical) with extensive (but varied) experience in teaching (high school, middle school, industry, and college). I've never stayed in one place for very long, because I'm one of those people who always want to try something new. Some might call that a rolling stone; I prefer to think of it as visionary. I'm creative and passionate about hands-on activities that relate to the real world and think that anyone can be successful if you make learning fun as well as challenging. My favorite tools are robots and sensors with a little sprinkling of art thrown in. I firmly believe if you're good in art, you're good in math; and besides, everyone likes a little color in their life.
How did I get started in this business? When I find something I like, I'm very vocal about passing that information along to others. Businesses love to support people who do that, whether it be by representing the product at a conference, writing up a curriculum manual to go with the product, or teaching a workshop to show someone else how to use it. That is what I spend most of my time doing and I love it.
My job is not without a few frustrations, mostly in the accounting end of things. In order to get paid, I have to keep track of my hours, send out billing statements to my clients, and pay my own taxes and insurance (not the fun part of my job). I'm a very organized person, but unfortunately many of my clients are not. Instead of one boss, I have many, most of whom are borderline techno-phobes, but who are determined to get into STEM.
My advice if you want to become a STEM consultant – get out there and make a name for yourself (90% of my jobs come from referrals). Check out your local university, community center, or library, because many of them offer summer workshops for kids and adults. Offer to teach one that highlights your expertise. As long as people sign up, your fee is paid by the registrants' tuition. Make sure your idea is innovative, hands-on, and cost-conscious. A client probably won't be willing to buy a classroom set of drones for a newbie, but most organizations have access to a set of computers. Start off by suggesting an Hour of Code workshop using Scratch or Python or appInventor or any of the other free programs easily downloadable from the internet. And then invite the organization's marketing department to your workshop to take photos. It's a win-win for everyone – the organization gets some good publicity and you've gotten your first job as a consultant.
So what exactly does a consultant do? Mostly I teach students and teachers how to use technology. STEM is the hot topic right now in education and administrators want to jump on the bandwagon with the latest and greatest gadgets. That's where I come in, because those gadgets aren't always as easy to understand as they look. Matter of fact, that's probably my greatest skill – making things look easy.
I am an engineer by training (civil and electrical) with extensive (but varied) experience in teaching (high school, middle school, industry, and college). I've never stayed in one place for very long, because I'm one of those people who always want to try something new. Some might call that a rolling stone; I prefer to think of it as visionary. I'm creative and passionate about hands-on activities that relate to the real world and think that anyone can be successful if you make learning fun as well as challenging. My favorite tools are robots and sensors with a little sprinkling of art thrown in. I firmly believe if you're good in art, you're good in math; and besides, everyone likes a little color in their life.
How did I get started in this business? When I find something I like, I'm very vocal about passing that information along to others. Businesses love to support people who do that, whether it be by representing the product at a conference, writing up a curriculum manual to go with the product, or teaching a workshop to show someone else how to use it. That is what I spend most of my time doing and I love it.
My job is not without a few frustrations, mostly in the accounting end of things. In order to get paid, I have to keep track of my hours, send out billing statements to my clients, and pay my own taxes and insurance (not the fun part of my job). I'm a very organized person, but unfortunately many of my clients are not. Instead of one boss, I have many, most of whom are borderline techno-phobes, but who are determined to get into STEM.
My advice if you want to become a STEM consultant – get out there and make a name for yourself (90% of my jobs come from referrals). Check out your local university, community center, or library, because many of them offer summer workshops for kids and adults. Offer to teach one that highlights your expertise. As long as people sign up, your fee is paid by the registrants' tuition. Make sure your idea is innovative, hands-on, and cost-conscious. A client probably won't be willing to buy a classroom set of drones for a newbie, but most organizations have access to a set of computers. Start off by suggesting an Hour of Code workshop using Scratch or Python or appInventor or any of the other free programs easily downloadable from the internet. And then invite the organization's marketing department to your workshop to take photos. It's a win-win for everyone – the organization gets some good publicity and you've gotten your first job as a consultant.
