After a stint in finance, Elissa Levy put her energy into teaching

“What can physicists do? ” is an interview series that profiles physicists who opted for careers outside of academia.

What were you looking for in a job?

As an undergraduate, my professors told me to get a PhD. But I knew I needed to first learn what else was out there. During my senior year in college, Lehman Brothers collapsed, and the mortgage markets went crazy. I started to think about solving problems in other contexts—why not finance?

I worked for eight years in finance. As time went on, I got a sense of what it takes to be a senior leader in a financial institution: It’s a lot of planning that does not come to fruition. It was frustrating.

I had always thought that one day I’d be a teacher. I’ve been teaching high school for eight years now.

What do you like about teaching?

It’s as amazing as I had hoped it would be. The kids keep me honest and learning. And I’m fascinated by how people learn physics: Often, data will challenge kids’ intuition about things. It’s fun to be part of those experiences.

The biggest shift for me was realizing it’s not about explaining; it’s about getting them to figure it out among themselves.

How do you use physics in teaching?

I use the literal physics content, of course. In addition, the onus is on me to stay abreast of current physics research. The standardized curriculum includes very little from post-1920.

You are involved in many professional organizations. Can you summarize why and what you do with them?

I like to feel connected, so I put in the effort to stay engaged in the bigger community. I lead workshops on topics like “under the hood of machine learning” and “how to get students to figure out for a given date and spot on Earth the times of sunrise and sunset.”

You must have taken a pay cut in moving from finance to teaching.

If you teach in a public school, your income is tight. My husband makes more money than I; that’s why it works for me to be a teacher.

Why are you working on a second master’s degree, in education in leadership and human development?

It will open possibilities for managing structures and spaces: how the school functions, curriculum and teacher development, creating projects …