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• [toc headings="h2" title="Table of Contents"] Edtech was a growing industry even before 2020, and its role in helping teachers overcome the challenges of the pandemic accelerated that development tremendously. The global education technology market was valued at over $106 billion in 2021, and is projected to continue growing at a rate of 16.5% per year through 2030. While edtech is made and used around the world, the United States is the heart of this dynamic sector, home to everything from innovative startups to established industry leaders. Those considering a career in edtech will find there's a lot of variety in the positions and companies that are available. The types of education technology available have become more diverse, accommodating a range of learning styles and students at all stages of their life. Emerging technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence are also making their mark on the edtech marketplace, laying the foundation for even more innovations in the future. This makes it an exciting time for former teachers, IT professionals, and other job seekers with these in-demand skills to embark on an edtech career.

• A brief history of edtech

• While edtech companies have gotten more attention in recent years, the truth is tech has been shaping the way students and teachers engage with learning material for decades. As early as the 1950s, renowned educator B.F. Skinner was experimenting with teaching machines and computer-based learning tools. In these early years, the tech used in classrooms was generally designed for other uses and adapted for education. With the invention of video games, for example, came now-iconic educational games like The Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. By the end of the 1990s, e-learning was entering the scene, expanding the possibilities for distance learning, which had existed prior to this but was considered too costly and ineffective for many colleges to implement. The development of edtech as we know it today began in the 2000s. Elearning platforms led to the invention of learning management systems, while the free Wikis of the internet gradually expanded into Open Educational Resources (OER) like the early OpenCourseWare from MIT. These led to the emergence of sites like Udemy and Coursera, where anyone can pursue studies on a range of subjects without needing to enroll in a university program.

• Current trends in education technology

• Today, there are thousands of edtech companies around the world, continuing to innovate the industry. One of the biggest trends driving the field currently is the push for more collaborative distance learning models. The lack of social interaction, especially for younger children, has been one common complaint against the growth of virtual learning since 2020. This has edtech companies going beyond recorded videos and lectures, shifting to an approach that will give teachers and students the ability to interact more naturally in a virtual education system. Something else many education technology companies are focused on currently is how technology can drive engagement and interaction within physical classrooms. Changing from standard books to eBooks can help keep students more engaged with the material. The systems teachers use can also be modified to give more dynamic feedback and insights about the types of learning activities that students respond to most. These tools let teachers go beyond just tracking grades and attendance, using data science methodologies to generate in-depth reports about student learning. With these systems, teachers could create customized options that let students learn at their own pace, without adding a huge workload burden to educators' already full schedules. Some emerging technologies may also have a valuable application in edtech. One example is virtual reality and augmented reality (VR/AR), which can create a more immersive virtual learning environment and add new dimensions to the education landscape. Eventually, this technology could let history students take virtual tours of ancient landscapes, or let students put scientific concepts into practice without leaving their desk.

• Benefits of working in edtech

• It has a high salary potential.

• This is a particularly appealing benefit for teachers, professors, and others pivoting from the classroom. Low salaries are one consistent complaint for teachers, especially those working in public school districts. The average salary for a K-12 public school teacher in the United States in 2022 is $46,000-$68,000 per year, depending on your state, and most first-year teachers start with a salary around $35,000-$40,000. Compare that to edtech roles like curriculum designer ($77,000/year median salary) or educational sales ($99,000/year median salary). In general, those who switch to edtech from classroom environments see their pay rate rise substantially.

• There are a lot of jobs available.

• Even in a recession, children need to learn. While some tech industries saw their growth slow in late 2022, edtech has continued its steady upward trend, and is likely to keep doing so at least through the next decade. For job seekers, that means good job security, both today and into the future. It's also an industry you'll never get bored working in. From designing learning process applications and writing course content to tutoring, troubleshooting customer problems, or selling platforms to organizations, the variety of positions in the edtech industry give professionals a lot of choices as they progress on their career path.

• High flexibility and remote job availability.

• Many online learning systems and platforms use a distributed workforce, with employees all over the world. Even edtech companies that do have a physical main office are often open to hybrid and remote workers, offering workplace and scheduling flexibility far beyond what you'd expect in other aspects of the education industry. For those who want to continue working directly with kids (or students of any age), taking a role as an online tutor can be the best of both worlds, letting you do the teaching and coaching you love while still maintaining your ideal work-life balance.

• The top 8 edtech companies for today's professionals

• 1. Blackboard/Anthology

• Founded in 1997, Blackboard was one of the earliest learning management systems (LMS) to gain widespread use by educators, learning institutions, and employers across sectors. It's become one of the most popular education technology products around the globe, used by more than 17,000 schools and organizations, including over 75% of colleges and universities and more than half of the K-12 school districts in the United States. The company's merger with the holistic learning environment software Anthology in 2021 is only likely to expand their share of the edtech industry market, and means plenty of career opportunities for teachers and edtech professionals. They currently have the most job openings on the technology side of the business, including roles in software design and development, coding, cybersecurity, and data analytics.

• 2. Coursera

• Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a popular edtech format, giving everyone access to classes and certification programs on a range of subjects and skills. Coursera is one of the largest and fastest-growing of these tools, with more than 100 million users and partnerships with over 250 businesses and universities. While it's based in the area of San Francisco (Mountain View, California), Coursera has both employees and students all over the world, with offices in Bulgaria, France, Mexico, and Canada, as well as the United States. They also have a wide variety of roles available at any given time, from content and curriculum designers to engineering, data, finance, and sales professionals.

• 3. Chegg

• Some students need more support than they get in the classroom, and Chegg was designed to help. Among the services it offers are a library of digital and physical textbook rentals, online tutors, test prep resources, and help finding answers to homework questions. While most of their features are focused on K-12 and college students, they also have an internship listing, a tech career bootcamp, and other knowledge to help recent graduates transition into the workforce. For job seekers, the supportive and diverse culture at Chegg is one of the main reasons to join their team. Jobs are available on location in India, Israel, and U.S. cities including Santa Clara, New York, and Portland, Oregon. They also frequently have remote positions available on both a permanent full-time and temporary contract basis, so there are a variety of ways to join the Chegg staff.

• 4. Course Hero

• The online learning platform Course Hero was started in Redwood City, California in 2006 with the goal of meeting student needs for more course-specific study resources. This includes study guides, worksheets, sample quizzes, textbooks, video lectures, and assignments in a range of topics, from basic math and English to advanced college courses, with a list of hundreds of school-specific lesson plans and courses to choose from. This information can be uploaded by class leaders directly or shared by users, and students can ask questions on the platform to have them answered by peers and tutors. Their virtual-first work environment is a plus for many job seekers, with the bulk of their team working from their homes at least part-time. They also have a reputation for taking care of working parents with benefits like a family planning stipend and paid parental leave, and support their mission of knowledge with personal development programs and tuition assistance, making them an appealing employer for professionals at all stages of their careers.

• 5. Duolingo

• Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Duolingo is a language learning app and platform available for free to both classroom students and independent learners. It uses a mix of AI-guided learning and gamification methods to make learning a language accessible and fun for people of all ages. While they're based in the United States, Duolingo has a global community of language lovers, with users in more than 70 countries and content in dozens of languages, including endangered languages like Gaelic and Navajo and even constructed languages like Esperanto and Klingon. Along with in-person positions at their offices in Pittsburgh, New York, and Berlin, Germany, they also hire remote employees and freelance professionals.

• 6. Knewton

• Knewton develops technologies to improve the learning experience for students in higher education through personalized education content and adaptive learning. They're particularly focused on STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), delivering customized content to expand on classroom lessons in these areas and improve student success through data analytics, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies. Knewton is owned by the Wiley Brand, which oversees a number of teaching and education companies, and you can search all open roles at Wiley through their website.

• 7. A Cloud Guru

• A Cloud Guru is an online training platform that helps students earn certifications in Azure, Google Cloud, AWS, and other in-demand skills for the modern workplace. Their library of courses and hands-on labs lets customers create custom learning paths in order to prepare them for a range of industries, and they also have skill assessment tools and team accelerator programs for businesses. With locations in Texas, London, and Melbourne, Australia, they have a widely distributed team and virtual-first workplace, with a reputation for providing an exceptional work-life balance for their employees everywhere in the world.

• 8. DonorsChoose

• While most edtech focuses on teaching and learning, DonorsChoose brings a different type of service to the education industry. They help schools raise funding to implement the learning solutions and other improvements that will let them give students better instruction. On their platform, donors can give money directly to public school classrooms and instructors, and they helped to fund more than 1 million projects between 2005 and 2018. This makes them a top choice for professionals who want to work for a non-profit in the edtech space, and they were voted one of the best nonprofits to work for by Forbes in 2017. They hire team members from a range of backgrounds, including former teachers and school administrators.

• Finding the right company for your edtech career goals

• The variety of roles in edtech is one of the industry's strengths, and a big reason for its popularity with former educators. That can also make it a bit overwhelming to identify your ideal roles in the field, however. This is why it can help to start your search by identifying top companies you want to work for. When you find an organization with the right combination of culture, work environment, and values, check out their opportunities to see if any are a good fit. Even if you need to start at the entry level, the industry's quick growth often means fast advancement opportunities once you've acquired a few years of experience.