Depending on which corner of the internet you’re in, teacher career coaches either offer vital services that expedite your transition out of the classroom (LinkedIn), or they are sharks in the water, sniffing out the blood of vulnerable and desperate teachers (Reddit). “The people who get rich in a gold rush are the ones selling shovels,” one bold commenter asserted. Ouch.

I think the truth lies somewhere in between these two polarities. Yes, there are folks just looking to exploit the mass post-pandemic exodus of educators; and also, teachers often need a lot of support navigating the transition into the private sector and coaches can really help in this.

People insist that you can find most of the information and support career coaches offer for free online—which I’m discovering is true. But good God, it takes a lot of time to do the digging, especially when so much information is gate-kept or inaccurate.

So if you’re in the position to pay for services, personalized guidance from the right person can go a long way in quickening and easing your transition.

I’ve seen both benefits and drawbacks of coaches in other areas. I’ve seen friends waste thousands of dollars on life coaches who were little more than untrained therapists with poor boundaries. (It’s important to remember that coaching is a largely unregulated industry.) Exhausted and desperate after the birth of my first child, I hired not one but two different private lactation consultants (basically, breast-feeding coaches) who offered maddeningly conflicting advice that was largely unactionable without purchasing more $200 sessions.

On the other side of that, I watched a dear friend thrive after receiving ADHD coaching. I’ve seen friends’ and colleagues’ businesses flourish after business coaching. I’ve learned game-changing strategies from a parenting coach who helped me address my daughter’s tantrums more calmly and effectively. The sleep consultant we’ve worked with for both my children has saved my sanity and literally been some of the best money I’ve ever spent (shout out, Renee Wasserman).

All of which is to say, I’ve seen and experienced the different ends of the coaching spectrum. But the good experiences have been so good, so valuable and so transformative that I have to believe there are equally good teacher career coaches—people who know their stuff and aren’t just trying to sell shovels in a gold rush.

Which brings me to this list. I spent a lot of time researching, digging around, asking questions, private messaging people, etc. I wanted to find out the people working in the crowded teacher transition space who others respected, trusted and had positive experiences and results from.

While I haven’t purchased services from any of these coaches, I’ve interacted with everyone on this list. Several of them I’ve interviewed. They have been open and transparent about their pricing, and generous with their time.

If there’s a coach you don’t see here, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’ve heard terrible reviews of them, especially if they’re a smaller enterprise and don’t market heavily. It’s very possible I just haven’t heard of them. So please, if you’ve used someone’s services and loved them, let me know!

Just as a reminder, I compiled all this as a labor of love, because I truly want to help teachers in transition. If you find value in this list, please consider supporting this publication. Without selling ads, services or products (really trying to keep that going!), your support is how I keep this whole thing going.

Here is your list of well-reviewed teacher career coaches:

Professional Coaches

These are the pros. They are either trained coaches or coach full-time, which means their offerings are robust and in-depth. If you’re looking for some serious professional guidance, these are the folks to go to.

Erin Lewber

Erin Lewber is perhaps the most trusted and beloved career coach in the teacher transition space. It might have something to do with her free resume template that’s helped so many educators land interviews (get your copy from her homepage). In addition to transitioning teachers, she specializes in working with return-to-work moms and women who want to break into leadership. (I know from the surveys that some of you about both, or all three, of these things!)

In her words: “Over her 20+ year career, Erin has led award-winning technical and healthcare recruiting teams and currently leads a large team at Amazon as the Head of Strategic Account Management. As a two-time career pivoter herself who lost her job and home and had to rebuild it all, Erin combines kind, direct feedback with proven, time-tested knowledge to help her clients successfully pivot to a new role or excel in a leadership position.”

Erin’s pricing is transparent and reasonable, especially considering her reputation and the value of what she brings:

• One-Hour Session ($209 first session for new clients, $299 reg): A one-hour Zoom coaching session on literally any part of the career transition process. Clients leave with a meeting summary and relevant, actionable next steps. 

• Interview Prep Package ($499): Two one-hour Zoom coaching sessions that include a mock interview, feedback and homework, followed by a round two. We close session two with more actionable feedback, as necessary.

• Strategic Job Search Coaching Package ($4000, payment plans available at no upcharge): An intensive, five-month program for serious and committed job seekers that includes identifying your focus, networking, resume writing and networking support. Throughout the program, clients have unlimited text/voice messaging with Erin via Voxer App. Potential clients should begin with a no-pressure complimentary consultation.

• Focus Role Formula ($37): Know you need to get out of the classroom but don’t know what to do next? This course is for you. It’s self-paced and leverages AI to explore potential career paths and choose a "focus role" so that you can have a targeted, and therefore more successful, job search.. 

• The Resume Blueprint ($97): A step up from Erin’s free resume template, this no-fluff course follows her exact 1:1 Resume process, but at a fraction of the price, because it's DIY.

T Lassiter Services

One of the big LinkedIn/Instagram/TikTok career coaches, I’ve simply heard too many positive reviews of Tyrina Lassiter’s T Lassiter Services to not believe the hype. Tyrina spent over 20 years in nonprofit and corporate DEI roles before transitioning to coaching. She’s gotten so popular that she now employs a team of writers and consultants who support her, but everyone who purchases coaching packages still receives one-on-one time and attention. One stand-out of her services is that her coaching packages include unlimited continued support.

T Lassiter’s services are the most expensive on the list, but judging from the numerous good reviews I received, people are happy with the investment.

• Coaching packages ($800-$1651): Of T Lassiter’s services, these packages offer the best value. The Elite Level ($800) includes a mid-level resume and interview prep. The VIP Package ($897) includes a mid- or executive-level resume, cover letter and either LinkedIn optimization or interview prep. The Platinum Package includes everything. These prices are comparable to what I see of other big-wig career coaches, but come with a lot more positive reviews.

• Resume services ($450-$557): For professional resumes and cover letters with a fast turnaround, T Lassiter Services offers resumes geared towards mid and executive-level positions, as well as ones oriented for jobs with the federal government (apparently they are their own beast). My take is that if you’re going to invest this much in your resume, you may as well buy a full package.

• Interview coaching sessions ($457 for 1.5 hours): There’s not much information on the site about this service, so again: if you’d drop this much for interview prep, you may as well get a package.

Laura Litwiller

Omg, am I ever gonna shut up about Laura Litwiller? Probably not.

At least twice a week, I see some version of the “I have no idea what to do next” post on a teacher transition forum. If you’ve ever asked that question, check out Laura’s services before you dive into your job search.

Laura’s services are a bit different from other coaches, but just as crucial. Laura is a career clarity coach, which means she doesn’t focus on resumes, optimizing your LinkedIn, or other aspects of the job search. Her specialty is the step that comes before that: getting clarity on what you actually want to do next. You can read my interview with Laura here.

• Career Clarity Consult ($199): I wish every transitioning teacher would do this. It’s a one-hour one-on-one Zoom session that includes pre-consult prompt, and post-consult summary and follow-up emails.

• Ongoing one-on-one coaching ($400/month): This ongoing service includes two one-hour Zoom sessions per month, along with assignments, emails and support between.

• Teachers At A Crossroads Career Course ($247/month or $177/month): This six-month course takes you through ten modules that include identifying your limiting beliefs, discovering what sparks joy and playing with job possibilities. Perhaps coolest, you move through this course with a cohort of other teachers, so you get to build community and support one another. The group meets weekly, with assignments and video lessons between. The current course is full, but the 2025 waitlist is open! Laura offers two tiers of pricing: $247/month, which covers the full cost of the course, or $177/month, a discounted rate for teachers in need.

Former Teachers Who Coach On The Side

While full-time coaches take up most of the airwaves, there are actually a lot of former teachers who coach on the side, mostly just to help other teachers. They’re not as visible because they don’t pump a lot of time into marketing and their services tend to be less comprehensive than the professional coaches, but they can be a great choice for affordable support, especially in their target industries. Many of these folks charge minimally, just enough to not be giving away free labor (respect) while also remaining accessible to teachers who need support.

Melissa Chapman

A former teacher and current PMP (yes, I had to Google that too), Melissa is respected (and adored?) by transitioning teachers for her generosity and eagerness to share her experience. Anyone interested in going into project management should definitely get in touch.

“I honestly started coaching just because I was getting so many requests and needed a way to streamline it,” Melissa told me. “My goal is to give transitioning teachers tools and a clear plan in a way that is affordable… Things like optimizing LinkedIn; translating their language to new industries; (avoiding) pitfalls and traps I see them fall into; and having a plan and not just ‘spraying and praying.’” You can check out Michelle’s interview on the Twisted Teacher podcast (which I also recommend) here.

Melissa offers everything from $50 30-minute Ask Me Anything sessions to $150 packages geared towards people pivoting into project management. She also offers a rare resume review for $50 (many coaches don’t offer this service because it’s simply too much work for too little return, so take advantage of this while she’s got it!).

Cedric Scott, Jr.

In addition to being a STEM and AI maverick, Cedric offers career transition support for teachers. I definitely recommend that anyone looking to go into EdTech or corporate educational sales chat with Cedric.

Cedric recently streamlined his offerings. He now offers one-hour career support sessions for $149, and a one-hour-fifteen-minute Catalyst Call for tech/AI/innovation entrepreneurs. Sadly his $60 resume reviews are no longer being offered.

For general questions, you can also try out his free AI chatbot. You can check out my interview with Cedric here.

Mandy Brown

You may remember Mandy from our recent interview. In addition to resumes, interview prep and LinkedIn support, Mandy mentors on mindset, de-stressing and letting go of maladaptive strategies from teaching. She uses a trauma-informed holistic approach to support teachers in their transitions. A Senior ID, I especially recommend Mandy for anyone interested in pivoting into instructional design.

Mandy offers one-hour one-on-one coaching sessions for $95, as well as three monthly sliding scale spots that start at $68. She also offers a pay-what-you-can resume course. And she recently launched Design Time With Mandy, a monthly instructional design workshop membership for $32.97/month—way cheaper than those boot camps!

Other resources

While this post is focused on one-on-one coaches, I’d be remiss not to mention Daphne Gomez’s Teacher Career Coach course. It’s simply been recommended by too many people to not include. Through 20 video lessons, the course covers all parts of the transition process, with users reporting the resume modules to be especially helpful. You also get access to a private community of former and soon-to-be former teachers that’s reportedly really positive and supportive (can we get that started over here?!).

Though Daphne has recently stepped back from her empire, the course appears to still be going strong. I also recommend her podcast, now with a new host, as well as her free blog posts.

Did I miss anyone? Any amazing coaches that need to be added to this list? Message me or comment!

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