[linguae]

Have you considered teaching computer science? If you are based in California and you have at least a bachelor’s degree with extensive work experience or a master’s degree, you are eligible to teach at the community college level. Computer science instructors are in high demand at the community college level; there are many students who want to pursue computer science degrees, but staff can be hard to find due to the lure of industry and positions at research universities. Salaries for full-time tenure track positions, especially in the Bay Area, are higher than what many people assume, and your work experience can translate to a higher salary based on the salary tables community college districts in California use. With extensive work experience and a master’s degree it’s possible to start off making six figures. It’s not FAANG pay, but it’s not poverty pay, either.

Another major perk: summer and winter breaks, adding up to roughly three months of the year. In particular, because the salary covers 10 months, you can do whatever you want in the summer (though it’s wise to spend some time prepping for the upcoming term). There are few other full-time jobs in America I can think of with three months off per year.

Because it’s a major investment for a college to hire a tenure-track professor, it’s best to get some part-time teaching experience first so you can find out whether or not you like teaching. I did this at San Jose State University, teaching a course on programming language principles and paradigms at night online during COVID while working full-time as an industry AI researcher. I had a wonderful time and I discovered that I enjoyed all aspects of teaching, even grading (okay, I didn’t enjoy dealing with cases of academic dishonesty, but that comes with teaching). If you have experience teaching in the workplace (for example, giving training exercises in Rust or git), then please empathize this in your applications. Community colleges aren’t solely for educating future transfer students; they are also a valuable lifeline for people looking to build their practical skills.