Roles that keep the pension

Coordinates music and arts programs district-wide: curriculum, festivals, instrument budgets, and support for the teachers doing what you do now. The single closest match to your degree and experience.

• Employers: Manatee Schools and Sarasota Schools curriculum departments
• Bachelor’s check: usually bachelor’s + Florida certification + teaching experience; some postings prefer a master’s
• FRS: district employee, regular position
• Watch for: titles vary — search “fine arts,” “VPA,” “arts integration”

Writes curriculum and coaches teachers instead of teaching a class of your own. Arts-integration coaching roles use a music background directly; general elementary coaching uses your classroom years.

• Employers: both districts, district office and school-based
• Bachelor’s check: bachelor’s + certification is the common floor
• FRS: district employee, regular position
• Watch for: a few districts cut coach roles in tight budget years — ask if the position is grant-funded and for how long

Plans and delivers training for teachers and staff — presenting to adults who chose to be there. District PD departments and FDLRS Suncoast (hosted by Sarasota Schools) both hire trainers.

• Employers: district PD departments; FDLRS Suncoast
• Bachelor’s check: bachelor’s for many trainer/specialist titles
• FRS: district employee when hosted by a district
• Watch for: some FDLRS specialist titles require a master’s and ESE certification — those specific ones are out

Runs state and district testing logistics at a school or the district office: calendars, materials, training proctors, data. Detail work with a hard stop at the end of each testing window.

• Employers: both districts, school-based and district-based
• Bachelor’s check: bachelor’s typical
• FRS: district employee, regular position
• Watch for: peak weeks are intense; the rest of the year is steady

Coordinates family events, parent communication, and community partners for a school or the district. Your years of concerts and conferences are the qualification parents respond to.

• Employers: both districts, Title I and student-services departments
• Bachelor’s check: bachelor’s common; some liaison roles are support-pay grade
• FRS: district employee if a regular position
• Watch for: evening events come with the territory

Helps families navigate magnet and choice applications, lotteries, and enrollment. Manatee runs a dedicated choice office; Sarasota has the same function in student assignment.

• Employers: Manatee Schools choice office; Sarasota student assignment
• Bachelor’s check: bachelor’s or experience-based
• FRS: district employee, regular position
• Watch for: January–March lottery season is the busy peak

Runs a school media center: circulation, reading programs, teacher support, and student visits by class — not a roster of your own. Sarasota recently posted this exact title at a new school.

• Employers: both districts, school-based
• Bachelor’s check: technician/clerk titles accept a bachelor’s; a certified Media Specialist usually requires a master’s — know which title you are applying to
• FRS: district employee, regular position
• Watch for: 10-month schedules mirror the school year

Works with students and families on attendance, behavior supports, and connections to services, as part of a student-services team rather than alone with a classroom.

• Employers: Manatee Schools posted this title in fall 2026; Sarasota student services hires similar roles
• Bachelor’s check: bachelor’s typical
• FRS: district employee, regular position
• Watch for: emotionally real work — ask about caseload size

Guides State College of Florida students through programs, registration, and staying on track. SCF’s advisors do developmental advising: career and education planning and strategies for academic difficulty.

• Employer: State College of Florida — Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, Venice
• Bachelor’s check: bachelor’s is the standard floor for advisor/coach titles
• FRS: state college employee — confirm the position is FRS and not optional-retirement eligible
• Watch for: evening hours during registration peaks

Registration Specialist / Testing Coordinator, tutoring-center specialist, admissions and registrar support. SCF’s published schedule puts Registration Specialist / Testing Coordinator at $16.30–$21.90/hr — honest, lower pay than veteran teaching.

• Employer: State College of Florida, including its collegiate schools
• Bachelor’s check: bachelor’s or experience depending on title
• FRS: state college employee in a regular position
• Watch for: compare total compensation, not just hourly pay, against teaching

University advising and academic program support. USF’s advisor description accepts a bachelor’s in a related field plus a year of progressively responsible advising or related experience — teaching counts as related experience; say so.

• Employer: University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee campus
• Bachelor’s check: bachelor’s + 1 year related experience
• FRS: state university employee — do not elect SUSORP if offered
• Watch for: the Sarasota-Manatee campus is in a teach-out transition — ask how the role is funded and for how long

Admissions counseling and recruiting, student affairs, residence life, events, and library support at Florida’s public honors college in Sarasota. Small campus, varied work.

• Employer: New College of Florida, Sarasota
• Bachelor’s check: bachelor’s for most staff specialist titles
• FRS: state university employee — same SUSORP caution
• Watch for: some campus jobs are part-time — part-time regular FRS service is prorated

The state art museum of Florida, run by Florida State University, hires scholastic program coordinators and museum educators to design and run K–12 and family programs, tours, and school partnerships. Teaching experience is the point of the hire.

• Employer: Florida State University at The Ringling, Sarasota
• Bachelor’s check: bachelor’s for coordinator/educator titles; some specialist roles list a master’s as preferred
• FRS: FSU employee — apply through jobs.fsu.edu
• Watch for: one recent education posting paid in the low $40Ks — weigh the pay cut honestly

Children’s and youth programming in the Manatee and Sarasota county library systems: storytime, music and movement, summer reading, school outreach. All the parts of elementary music that happen in a library, with no grades attached.

• Employers: Manatee County Library System; Sarasota County Libraries — Sarasota recently listed a Youth Services Librarian at the Betty J. Johnson branch
• Bachelor’s check: Librarian titles often want an MLS; Library Assistant / Specialist and programming titles accept a bachelor’s — read each posting
• FRS: county employee, regular position
• Watch for: evenings and Saturdays are normal in public libraries

Plans and runs youth and community programs, camps, and events for Manatee County (G.T. Bray and other centers) and Sarasota County parks. Program planning plus people — your concert-season skill set, outdoors.

• Employers: Manatee County Sports & Leisure; Sarasota County Parks
• Bachelor’s check: coordinator titles typically bachelor’s or experience-based
• FRS: county employee — Manatee postings name FRS explicitly
• Watch for: some coordinator shifts include evenings/weekends for events

Records and customer-service specialists — and the standout: elections training staff who teach poll workers. The clerk, tax collector, property appraiser, and supervisor of elections are FRS local employers in both counties.

• Employers: Manatee and Sarasota clerk / elections / tax collector offices
• Bachelor’s check: bachelor’s or experience depending on title
• FRS: confirm the specific office participates — most do; verify on MyFRS
• Watch for: election season overtime in even years

Florida Department of Health county offices and the Department of Children & Families Suncoast region hire health educators, family support workers, family navigators, and eligibility specialists. Many accept any bachelor’s degree.

• Employers: State of Florida — search jobs.myflorida.com (People First) for Manatee/Sarasota
• Bachelor’s check: bachelor’s is the stated floor for many Career Service titles
• FRS: state employee, Career Service
• Watch for: pay is often the lowest in this guide; DCF family work is emotionally heavy — health education is the gentler lane

Florida Virtual School is a statewide public school district. Beyond its (still teaching) instructor jobs, it hires curriculum specialists, literacy coach support, and student & family engagement staff who work remotely from anywhere in Florida.

• Employer: Florida Virtual School — flvs.net careers
• Bachelor’s check: bachelor’s + Florida certification helps for curriculum roles
• FRS: FLVS confirms its employees work under FRS guidelines
• Watch for: instructor roles carry 150–200 students — that is teaching, just from home