Career exploration in the school setting has changed greatly over the last couple of decades. This is primarily due to the changing world of work. Careers are no longer limited by state, region, or even country. The world of work has stretched beyond our country and is a global playing field. In order for students to compete globally, they must first be exposed to careers outside their local community and they must understand how they are connected to the world of work if they are going to be contenders in a global market.

8 QUESTIONS is a series of interviews with teachers who have effectively transitioned their classroom skills into new and exciting careers in the field of education. We at Teach.com believe that teaching is a rigorous and diverse classroom in and of itself; the skills learned “in the trenches” can translate into an exciting portfolio of professional options. From education tech to consulting, the only “X factor” is where you want to go — our interviews hope to shine a light on the steps it takes to get there.

We discussed last week how PARCC, the standardized test born of the Race to the Top program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, has gradually fallen out of favor with schools and why. (We specifically discussed how it, like many standardized tests, can disrupt instruction and subject students to long slogs of test prep, while reducing teachers to proctorship).

In 2009, in an effort to get a slice of the program’s $4.35 billion in federal funding, states were incentivized to adopt policies pertaining to things like common standards, performance-based teacher evaluation models, and “developing and implementing common, high-quality assessments.”

A new school year is still many months away, so revising your resume might be the last thing you’re thinking about as you ring in 2018.