The following panel emerges from last year's well-attended roundtable on PhDs teaching in independent schools and John Rosinbum's experience as a career diversity consultant over the past two years at the annual meeting. It is clear that most historians have little understanding of the range of positions, experiences and opportunities available in K-12 education. Most envision teaching at elite high schools as the only option. Even those who look to public education are intimidated by licensing requirements. There are many different schools in many different settings in K-12 education. Graduate students possess the skills, with a little on-the-job training, to work in curriculum design, administration, college counseling, museum educator and much more. This roundtable will explore these topics.

As the job market continues to tighten, more recent PhD's are looking to K-12 education as ways to stay engaged with their discipline and pursue their love of teaching. Scholarly societies like the AHA are acknowledging this reality with greater support for and engagement with K-12 teachers. Yet graduate students and their advisors have little understandings of both the reality and the range of positions within K-12 education. This panel will explore the diversity of experiences in K-12 education with PhDs from around the country. Each panelist will briefly talk about how they entered K-12 education, their career and the benefits/drawbacks to working in K12. This will leave ample time for questions from both the chair and the audience. We envision a robust education that we hope will reveal and critically explore the varying careers in K-12 education