UX researcher

You know what a classroom looks like when it is going badly, which is when the most useful research happens. You also already assess without leading, which most researchers have to be trained out of.

Possible from teaching with methods training, more often through a masters program or a move from instructional design. The smallest number of open roles on this list.

Walkthroughs trained you to record evidence before you judge, which is the discipline usability research runs on. You have also written and read a school climate survey, sat with a teacher through a hard debrief without leading them, and watched instruction in rooms where the adult was performing for you.

Few openings, and most postings ask for research methods training. The common routes in are a masters with a research component, or a move from instructional design or customer success inside a company that already sees you analyze usage data. An evaluation background helps in interviews but does not replace method training.

Program evaluation transfers. You have designed a pilot, written observation protocols, run focus groups with teachers who did not trust the process, and separated what people said from what the usage data showed. You have also delivered findings that contradicted what a superintendent wanted, which is most of the job.

Research teams hire for method, so you need usability testing, interview technique, and synthesis practice that a pilot evaluation only partly covers. A certificate or a portfolio of two or three studies with written findings closes most of the gap. Assessment and accountability directors have the shortest path; curriculum generalists usually need a product-adjacent stop first.