Is Curriculum Development the Right Fit for You? Let's Find Out!

You’re a mid-career teacher thinking about your next move. You’ve got years of experience designing lessons, aligning to standards, and scaffolding content like a pro.

Now, you're wondering: Could curriculum development be the right next step?

Here’s the short answer: it might be—if you know what it actually involves and how your skills translate. Let’s break it down so you can move forward with clarity.

1. Know What Curriculum Development Really Means Outside the Classroom

It’s not just making lesson plans. In an edtech company, nonprofit, or publishing house, curriculum development can mean:

• Creating full instructional units aligned to national standards
• Writing teacher guides, student materials, and assessments
• Collaborating with designers and product managers to bring content to life
• Iterating content based on user data and feedback

This is strategic, collaborative, often fast-paced work. If you're looking to just “get out of teaching,” this isn’t a soft landing—it’s a pivot into a different kind of rigor.

2. Your Classroom Skills Do Translate—But Only If You Can Frame Them Right

If you’ve:

• Designed scope and sequence documents
• Created differentiated materials
• Piloted curriculum or coached other teachers
• Aligned content to standards and learning outcomes

…then you already have curriculum chops. The key is learning to frame these in the language of instructional design and product development.

3. Ask Yourself: Do You Actually Enjoy the Work Behind the Work?

Some teachers love delivering lessons. Others light up when building them.

If you’ve ever found yourself:

• Geeking out over pacing guides or vertical alignment
• Tweaking lesson plans until they’re airtight
• Volunteering for curriculum committees

…that’s a sign. Curriculum development is behind-the-scenes work—it’s for people who get energy from creating systems, not running them every day.

4. It Might Not Be the Right Fit If…

Not every teacher is wired for curriculum development. Here are some red flags:

• You thrive most when interacting with students daily and miss that immediate energy
• You get frustrated with ambiguity, constant revisions, or corporate-style feedback
• You prefer autonomy and don’t enjoy collaborative editing or back-and-forth drafts
• You want a break from thinking about standards, rubrics, or content alignment—but that’s the core of this work
• You’re mainly looking for a slower pace or less pressure—this field can be just as demanding, just in different ways

If any of these resonate, consider roles that lean more into coaching, training, operations, or customer success. There are plenty of ways to use your skills without staying in content creation.

5. Be Ready to Work in New Structures—and With New People

Outside of schools, you’ll work in cross-functional teams where:

• Deadlines are tighter
• Feedback is direct
• Stakeholders include marketing, sales, and product—not just teachers

You’ll need to be flexible, open to critique, and okay with building things that evolve quickly. If that excites you, you're on the right track.

6. Start Testing the Waters

Before committing to a full pivot:

• Freelance for curriculum companies on the side
• Volunteer for content-writing projects
• Take a short instructional design course to build vocabulary and samples
• Connect with people in the field via LinkedIn or communities like The Learning Guild

Action builds clarity. Start small and pay attention to how the work feels.

The Bottom Line

Curriculum development is an excellent fit for educators who love building the engine—not just driving the car. If you’re strategic, systems-minded, and ready to work in new ways, this could be your next bold step.

Ready to transition? Start building your portfolio, tighten up your resume with impact-driven language, and get visible in the spaces where this work lives.

You’re not just leaving the classroom—you’re stepping into a role that shapes learning at scale. Let’s make it happen.