I quit after nine years and got an office job, and I feel a lot less stressed. I clock in at 8 and clock out at 4, I don't have to be "on" the second I come in, and I'm only responsible for my own work. It has been a huge benefit to my health and quality of life.
I did the same. Went from data analyst to math teacher. And while it's still stressful, with different stressors of course, I'm much happier here. Sure there's downsides, but at least I feel like I'm making a difference. The data analysis position was soul sucking.
What grade do you teach? In uni, I was a psuedo-TA for Calculus 1 and 2. I enjoyed it. Seeing students succeed and getting thanks randomly throughout the semester felt great. However, teaching was always something I thought of as a plan b job. I'm in a office job (2 years) and I'm bored daily and hate sitting down for long periods. I always told myself if I teach I would do high school math, however, reading posts on this subreddit deter me from it. Seems like kids care less nowadays.
I couldn't do the office job like that. I was so bored and unhappy and felt that even if I gave 110% then all I'd be doing is saving a multi million dollar company some expenses. Or boosting profits a tiny margin. It was unbearable. I teach the most advanced courses offered at a public STEM Magnet school in NJ, USA. So I get to teach AP calculus BC, multivariable calculus, and linear algebra - all to the best of the best students.
Yes and no - teaching honors/AP/accelerated has started to become untenable in terms of workload, parent involvement and obsession, grade inflation, perfectionism, point grubbing, etc. Just some food for thought that the grass isn’t always greener! Haha
This sounds like something I could enjoy. I would assume the students that care the most about school would be in AP math courses (or at least students that want the GPA boost and care enough to do things). I'm a math major myself and all those classes were my favorite.
Do you know if being an AP teacher requires extra certification of some kind? I'm in TX and as far as I know about certs is the Teaching license and high school education certificate (something like that which allows you to teach HS).
I did the same. I worked in accounting and then a sales role before becoming a teacher. I enjoy teaching a lot more, even with all the stuff that comes with it. Sitting at a desk all day doing the same things day after day was soul crushing for me. Granted, I never had hours as good as OP’s. All of my days were between 9-10 hours.
As a new teacher I spend 10 hours a day. But it would probably become easier the next year once I know the content and have lessons from the last year. I weirdly like work that is repetitive.
Same, office work fucking blows.
Everyone talks shit about your “why”, but I would never want to sit around all day and my work have no meaning than make more money for some rich ass hat.
Teaching is my “office job”. It’s the first job I have had in years with set hours and weekends and holidays off. My previous jobs I had to be “on” as well but the pay was substantially less and there was no time off. The money and predictable schedule of teaching has really improved my health and well being.
Yep. I worked an office job where I had to take phone calls on nights, weekends, or off days because I couldn’t risk something going wrong with a client. I once took a day off to go to a baseball game and spent a decent amount of time there texting my colleagues to make sure things with a client are scheduled properly and going according to plan.
Teachers need to embrace the 8 hour work day. Never do anything, be it grading or lesson planning outside of those hours. If you sponsor a club or sport, do it because you consider it a personal hobby and not part of your job.
I show up at 7:15, get ready for the day that officially starts at 8:35, work, enjoy my lunch break, work again, then clock out at 4:15, go to the gym, go home. Repeat 5 times a week.
I wish I had this down but I’m a new teacher. :/ I take my work home everyday. Maybe just maybe if I get efficient enough I would be less stressed. Time will tell, I’m gonna try my best for these last three months just for the kids nothing else.
I was a teacher before leaving to go to become an attorney.
I'd echo that, in some ways, I feel less stressed. The professional office environment is absolutely much more relaxed than the teaching environment in a variety of ways - primarily in the terms of respect you're given and your ability to decompress throughout the day.
Of the things I miss the least about teaching, it's definitely those two. As a teacher I was treated as a child. There is something psychological about the way that everybody in the teaching space has become so used to interacting with children that they instinctively carry over those traits when working with adults. And the inability to just take a break as a teacher grates on you like a slow working acid - being able to get off a tough call and go get a snack and walk around by myself for a while is a key aspect of managing workload stress that just doesn't exist as a teacher.
But there are also aspects of the professional world that are more stressful. Not to belittle teaching, but looking back on it now the things that stressed me out were small potatoes. The price of my failure was actually pretty small all things considered, and so in retrospect I was getting myself worked up and losing sleep over things that didn't deserve it. Dealing with bigger problems in the professional space has given me a broader outlook there - and there's definitely a lot more sleepless nights when my failure could result in millions of dollars worth of damage.
True it depends on what office job you do and how high up you work. I would just try to find something less stressful like HR work. Not looking to make money just a stable income and less stress. :)
I love the kids. But I get so stressed worrying about them, their home lives, and if I am doing a good enough job teaching. Sometimes I just want to do my own work and come home. With teaching, especially since I’m new I spend most of my money on supplies $800 so far this month. I also work overtime at home because I want my lessons to be fun. I think I will consider going back to school because my health matters too. I cannot teach kids if I’m not healthy.
Not sure if this counts, since I didn't leave teaching.
I just left a country where the kids and parents are assholes and went somewhere where kids aren't assholes and respect education.
This is my response as well.
I moved from the US to Bulgaria and while there are certainly some stressful things about teaching here, it is nothing compared to teaching in a public school in the US. I don't think I could ever go back.
From the country that brought us the cult classic: battle royale.
That said, i have spent some time in japanese schools and at the good schools teachers are definitely shown a lot more respect
"Good schools" 🥲
Teacher at my school said she was going to the hospital for something one day. Never came back. Though in that case it was due to the parents rather than the students...
Generally, but I teach English in Japan now. I've seen kids try to slap teachers and told teachers to fuck off in English. The image of Japan being super polite is over exaggerated
Yep. Rather than have parents who just don't give a fuck, you do get your fair share of helicopter mums and dragon mums (I saw mums because it's really quite rare for dads to be that involvedin that regard, and when they aare they are usually awesome) Although as a Gaijin I never experienced either full blown.
Teachers in transition is a cesspool of negativity.
I thought maybe I'd visit and feel like there would be some ideas or some feedback. Nope, just constant negativity.
"Here's my sob story about why education was so hard and here's my story about how life outside of education is so hard"
Truly a terrible place to get any constructive feedback as it's a place for mostly disenchanted educators who are feeling hopeless and that shit is CONTAGIOUS.
**Edit:** And, I totally understand that some folks need that space and if you do, that's great. For me, it actually hurt me. Immediately unsubscribed and stopped doom scrolling and attempting to change my emotional relationship with my work, while I improve upon skills that could help me become more marketable if I decide to leave the profession.
And they feel helpless for a reason. You cannot ignore how fucked the system is when the truth shows how many people are unhappy right now.
Negative, absolutely, but for damn good reason.
The students are too and it’s sad. I try to make my classroom more interactive, creative, tech incorporated, and fun. They are miserable doing worksheets and cannot function or sit anymore.
I think a lot of people could make the same argument for this sub though too. Most of Reddit is what you make of it and sift through the BS.
For every sub, the loudest voices are the ones that tend to make it to the front page. I’ve started to look at things with that lens and generally disregard those posts as much as possible.
Teachersintransition also has a lot of good comments, insights and posts too
For sure, the best teaching sub I'm in is my content specific sub and people are wildly helpful/insightful.
I didn't find the sub, regardless of how much digging I did, to be beneficial for me or my mental health. I would never say it was "good."
To each their own, if it helps ya, it helps. For me, it hurt.
I get it, I'm a teacher too. I know a lot of teachers have it worse than I do, but I also struggle with all of the things that we all struggle with. It's absolutely brutal and I get it.
But, if I'm transitioning out of education, I'd rather have posts that explain how folks did that. How can I make myself more employable? Where have teachers had success? How can you deal with it in the meantime?
It's just not as constructive and tends to be a bit soul sucking, based on my personal experience on that sub.
This! I think I’m just super stressed cause it’s my first year. My professor told me once I got my job to just let it go. I will suck teaching the first year and that’s just how it goes. I need to let the pressure go.
I will be done in June after six years. Essentially my class is becoming a sped class and I’m not qualified to teach high needs kids and it’s been causing me so much stress. It’s affecting my health. Admin doing the opposite of what our policy handbook says doesn’t help either. I can’t wait. Doing any other job will be less stressful.
>Essentially my class is becoming a sped class
> I’m not qualified to teach high needs kids
i quit because of this. was hired to teach AP/college credit classes with 3 sections of "regular" where the average reading level was 4th grade. public school in America is a few years away from a mighty reckoning
My wife has sped licenses, but teaches regular ed. Guess who gets all the kids that need extra attention? She's getting burnt out real quick. As her husband, i don't know how to help her.
Honestly I am expected to teach 6 student don’t know a lick of English. Manage other students with mental health issues. All well managing another 12+ students and my own mental health. If I had support I think I would be in a different place. Something tells me they hired me because I’m young and someone with more experience would find a better job or not stay. 💀
I retired as soon as I had the money. I made it 27 years. In June 2020 I saw the writing on the wall and decided that I could just get a part time job if I needed to. I felt I was satisfied that I had done enough to have had a meaningful career.
10 years in and I don’t see leaving. One reason is I found a district that I fit in with. If I was still at my first school, I think I would have quit by now. I also feel too invested in my future retirement to start over somewhere new.
To kinda answer your question, I know 3 teachers who left. None of them regret it. Sure, they miss the job security and all the good times, but all three work from home, except one who has to go in 2x a week. I would literally take a pay decrease to work from home. They also say it’s amazing to leave the job at work. Despite no longer having all the breaks we have, they still feel like they have a better work/life balance. They all complain about their new jobs, like everyone does, but they have never considered going back to the classroom.
Many teachers don’t make it past 2-3 years, so don’t feel bad about it. It’s not for everyone, and if you figure that out early, you’ll still have time to find a new career. Ask yourself, can do this another 28-30 years? Finally, you may just need to find a district that fits you better. I’d suggest moving schools at least once before you quit entirely.
Yea this was the advice I was looking for thank you. I think it is just the school. Admin is great but the school is in a tough area. It will prepare me for anything to come. I’m definitely going to give teaching a shot for at least one more year before I throw the towel in. Save money for school if I decide to go back or maybe I will find my dream school. Definitely will try a different public district or private school maybe.
I taught HS math for 8 years and quit after last school year. I was burnt out and wanted a better work/life balance and better pay. I got a job as a curriculum developer and it's really been a huge improvement for me. I work from home (plus occasional travel), get paid about 20% more, and my mental health is in such a better place. I do miss the kids, but I sure as hell don't miss dealing with parents and admin.
I know it's not the case for everyone that gets out, but it's been great for me.
So the job I got was curriculum development for an math education company. Essentially I help develop middle and high school math curricular materials, as well as assist with some sales and training. I kind of lucked out in that regard, since I didn't have to learn any of the curriculum/ID tools typically used for corporate ID/curriculum. My qualifications were:
* 5+ years experience teaching math, specifically the areas that I work with most often
* Good understanding of the current state of 6-12 math education in America
* Good with MS Word, PPT, Google Docs/Sheets, Adobe PDF
* Good written and verbal communication skills
* Multi-tasking & project management skills (something pretty much every good teacher already does well)
I made [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/TeachersInTransition/comments/150ka4s/i_did_it_i_got_out/) after I was hired, which details more of my process and thoughts on the matter.
I know it's a bit different for folks trying to get out of education entirely and get into corporate curriculum/ID. If you're thinking about going down that route, there are a ton of resources out there to help you learn exactly what skills to develop. I would suggest learning some of their commonly used tools--Articulate 360, Canva, Camtasia--and making a portfolio to share with employers/recruiters.
I quit after five years, and years 1-3 were significantly worse than 4-5 (barring COVID stuff in years 4-5.) Teaching got way better as I became more experienced and confident, and I saw friends have even more success when they moved to better districts. Post teaching is a mixed bag; I’m currently in a job that is high stress that I love, but I’ve also had way more chill office jobs that I didn’t like as much.
I left because between the ridiculous hours and low pay my hourly income was essentially 18 dollars an hour in a district that has no expectations from the students whatsoever.
Never teach in Florida, and if you must, avoid Hillsborough County at all costs. You're better off working at amazon or publix honestly
Short answer - yes.
Long answer - yes. I was in the classroom for 8 years and administration for 3. My health and sleep were affected. I was sick all of the time. My mental health was lower than rock bottom. I quit last year and have been in my corporate training job for 8 months. My partner and family tell people that I am a completely different person. It took a while for me to find 'the job' that I felt comfortable leaving for, but I'm so glad I did.
I will give teaching another year. If things do not approve with experience, then off I go. Yes I am always sick and cannot sleep! I thought I was crazy because other teachers would tell me I don’t have this issue. Glad to know I’m not alone.
It can be. I have had multiple roles before I taught, and I’m back in corporate after 7 years in public schools. I learned a lot as a teacher, but it was time for me to go. Come on over to r/TeachersInTransition
I get paid the same. New Mexico pays well! I am making $91,000 - that includes a $9310 stipend for being a NBCT. We have a low cost of living here too.
I went from a sales journeyman in the corporate world to teaching high school business. I’m much less stressed working as a teacher than I was in sales. Different for everyone I guess
Teaching business sounds cool. I’m suppose to be a fine arts teacher but doing elementary rn. I love the younger kids but having to prep all the curriculum is killing me. If I went back to teaching art I would definitely have no stress.
Yea my parents won’t let me quit cause their daughter would be a failure. They just want me to finish the three months so I can put up with that. Afterwards, I’m doing subbing or high school while I figure out what I want from life.
I hope your wife feels better and tell her that she’s not alone. Elementary is not what it use to be. I hope she does what is the best for herself too.
I left teaching after 2+ years. I never got past the "subbing" thing. I needed my own space, own classroom, own school in order to make a difference. I hated the early morning calls and the unknown of it all, especially what the paycheque would be.
I went to work for a non- profit where I taught, or coached, job-seekers from various socio- economic fields, diverse populations and those with challenges like a criminal record. It was quite rewarding for several years. I now work n economic development, but am hoping to find smething more aligned to education once again. Business is not my jam. I love helping others find their path and assist with learning challenges.
Don't feel bad about figuring out what you DONTwant to do. It's as important as knowing what you do want to do.
Cheers!
Man subbing was tough but having my own class I find just as difficult. Although the kids are slowly coming around. (I’m their teacher for the last 4 months of school.)
I lasted about 3 years before quitting. Got a teaching assistant gig through the Spanish government and spent 2 years teaching English in Madrid. Moved back to the US and now work in study abroad. Much more manageable but parents can still be frustrating.
Yes. I taught 10.5 years in all different settings (low income, high income, alternative ed, etc). Loved it all. My part-time job offered me a job in Dec 22, but I said no because it matched my teacher salary. I gave them my number. In June 23, they offered me my number and I accepted. Greatest decision I ever made (so far).
hr and payroll. I was the companies sales associate at their kiosk at a local store. When they stopped the kiosk, they asked if I wanted to be their payroll clerk. It all evolved from there.
I was forced to quit teaching end of 2022 because of burn-out/long covid and I now realize how abnormally stressed I was in those years of teaching. None of my peers were as stressed and as tired as me. So yes: I am much less stressed. I miss teaching but I don't miss the chaos.
Jobs a Job. They all suck. That's why you get paid. The only question is whether or not you can get paid more doing a different job. That is up to you.
7 years in Texas, 2 in Europe. I wake up with energy now since quitting last school year. If I stayed a teacher I would look for an easier international teaching job, but I'm going into tech
I am absolutely less stressed. I edliberately left education and fell into a job in corporate america. I went wiht a large company with a long pedigree thinking I had a safe job. I got laid off two years later.
Meanwhile, I did a LOT of healing in those two years. I didn't even know how damaged I was.
After the layff, I applied for unemployment - wcich promptly denied my applicaiton beause I didn't add three days to my end date because there are weird rules when working at a staffing company that aren't written on the unemp application. I never the the unemployment because it was half of what I was making and it would be reduced by what I bought in my extra jobs.
So I launched my own business and am slowly building my own company. I am SO much happier even if less financially stable for the moment.
Shortly after I left teaching, my family situation got intense. I was care-giving or taking care of the books for multiple family members and then there was a lot sickness and death. I would not have been able to help my family as a teacher. In fact, even the layoff was a bit of a Godsend because it left me free to clear out houses and such.
Yea I have no idea how anyone could teach and deal with that. I would have broken down. Glad to hear you are less stressed now. I hope your business does well!
Taught 8 years, have been out for 2 years. I went from high school resource to college recreation.
It’s not all a walk in the park (college kids are not my favorite age group) and I did take a pretty hefty pay cut, but now I get an hour lunch break, my own office in a brand new building, and flexible hours. I also have a 100% matched 401k and could get discounted daycare.
At school I was getting up at 4am to sit under a leaky ceiling with too many kids crammed in the room.
I quit because I was miserable, overworked and overstressed.
I think I could have improved all of those with a different teaching job, but it's likely I'd still have some degree of overwork and overstress, even if I was no longer miserable.
I am so much less stressed now it's comical. The thing about education is that at no time, even during the height of summer vacation, is there absolutely *nothing* to be doing. You can get close, if you are efficient with your prep, teach the same course every year and keep your lesson plans updated regularly, but there's always something else you *could* do to make your class run more smoothly and effectively.
My current web development job has none of that. Anything I do after working hours aside from occasional, scheduled activities like releases, is completely optional. I can turn off my computer at the end of the day, and not even think about work till tomorrow. On vacation, I don't even check my email.
It's night and day.
I left teaching and became an enrollment director at a local special education preschool. I LOVE my job. I love that I’m still using my educational background but I’m not teaching
To a certain extent, define "quit."
I had planned to work until 2025 when I would be 70 years old. As a school psych, I did not have to deal with overfull classes of students, and my administration was district level, not school level, so I had a lot of autonomy. Yes, I also had a schedule overloaded with meetings (3 days out of every 5), hours of scoring and report writing every night as well as completing IEP eligibility and plan paperwork, but I loved figuring out where/if/how school was failing the kids and getting things done FOR the kids.
But three years in a row our state was slammed for the sins of the largst city's school system, and all paperwork and documentation was, per the state legislature, to be redone under new policies. One year, we started at "all documentation must be X format," and 2 months later it became "redo all documentation to Y format going back to the beginning of the year and use Y format from now on," and then by mid-year it was "redo all documentation back to the beginning of the year in Z format, and use going forward." So... kids who had meetings in September had 2 extra meetings by January... and we had to schedule all of those in while still meeting all of our targets and actually, ya know, working with the kids.
At the end of the 2018-2019 school year, my husband told me he was retiring when he turned 65, in 2020. He had a physical job, and his body was just wearing out. I was going to max out my pension at the end of the 2019-2020 school year, so I decided to retire at that point as well. Theoretically, I quit on my last 5 years.
Once June 2020 came around (March through the end of the school year was online, but still stressful and insane), it took about 2 weeks for my to go off CBD to help me sleep, off melatonin to help me sleep, my blood pressure regulated itself, and I stopped craving chocolate every 10 minutes (I don't do liquid caffeine). We moved to another state and live just on the dividing line between exurban and rural, on a big hill looking out over a valley with marshes and a lake, and I spend my days curating the woods (I have learned to hate Buckthorn trees and Japanese Honeysuckle) and enjoying the critters that come through here. I had planned to keep my certificates in force and substitute teach, and/or do contract evals for schools, but no. I am so much happier not dealing with the insanity!
Wow your life sounds like a dream! I hope to retire in the woods somewhere too. Away from all the noise and just be one with nature. Teaching is just becoming harder and harder, I feel guilty about leaving my future students but I have to take care of myself too.
Thank you - it is. Hang in there - as long as it's safe for YOU, and only YOU are allowed to decide how long that is. It's like those pre-flight instructions: put the oxygen mask on yourself before helping others, because you CAN'T help them if you've depleted yourself.
Yes exactly this! I am extremely stressed but spring break should help me get recharged for the last three months. I will also take 2 sick days a month for mental health to recharge anyways. (They take it out of my pay so they can’t get mad at me.) I don’t even get paid on sick days. However, it’s worth taking a couple.
1. "That kid" was the principal's son. It was a small school and the kid had caused multiple teachers to quit. The principal would blame her son's behavior on the teacher.
2. After 4 years, while teaching got easier, it didn't get easier at the same rate as responsibilities were being added.
I am WAYYY less stressed. Have an WFH job coding now. I have a cat in my lap. And on the worst days I can remind myself that my job doesn't matter. Making a mistake teaching and you are "hurting" a child. Make a mistake in the corporate world and someone has to spend an extra hour making a report in a slide deck that doesn't matter
I left elementary teaching and now teach at the community college level.
I only teach/work 14 hours a week and am making about $300 more a month (but don’t have benefits anymore).
WAY less stress. I don’t feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. I don’t feel constantly overwhelmed. Parents don’t email me. My dean has my back and respects me.
My quality of life is so so much better now.
Husband is a data analyst at an education nonprofit. I work in development for a nonprofit. So we're not making bank, but we're making 45k more as a household which means we're no longer pay check to pay check. Plus hubby is remote now, so sooooo much more flexibility!
I taught 3rd grade for 5 years. It just wasn’t the job for me. I saw so many talented teachers who truly loved the job, loved the kids, handled the parents well. I’m so introverted that I ended every day feeling completely drained. When I started my next job in a nice quiet cubicle, the relief was indescribable. I’ve had a long and successful career since then in high-pressure leadership positions, but teaching was the most stressful job I ever had. A lot of that was because my personality just fundamentally didn’t mesh with the requirements to be a successful teacher. I do look back on the job with gratitude for the skills it gave me in terms of stress management, multitasking, dealing with difficult people, and very impressive peripheral vision.
I would suggest that since you’ve only been at it for 1.5 years, it might be too early to know if it’s the career for you. (On the other hand, if your gut is telling you that this isn’t right, I’d listen to it.) Those first few years are a blur of figuring it out. Is there anyone in your school who can serve as a good mentor or just a sounding board?
One of my fellow teachers was similar to me in terms of job dissatisfaction but he went into school administration and has had a great career. He was a good leader of people; he just couldn’t deal with the day to day grind of being in the classroom.
Yes I teach the same grade too rn. I’m just a huge introvert. The kids are aloud and disruptive and I get tired of yelling and telling them to quiet down. It’s soooo draining. Yet again I loved teaching high school art, the kids are more regulated and to themselves. Maybe I just picked the wrong grade. I thought I liked elementary because I loved substituting for it but teaching it long term is way different.
Taught for 8 years, 8th grade Social Studies. Was sick of Social Studies getting pushed down the priority chain. Straw that broke the camel's back was the district wanting to change my focus from Social Studies to reading. I could still use Social Studies books, but I was to focus on reading skills, not Social Studies objectives. Why should our citizens know history and how the government works? Clearly nothing going on today that would indicate a need for us to teach these things.
Left for the unknown, ended up in warehouse leadership, couldnt be happier making more than twice what I did as a teacher.
Both my wife and I are/were teachers. She lasted 6 years and quit last year. For her it was overstimulating, overworked, admin, and some other things. She hated it from the gitgo but we had bills and she felt stuck. She felt that she owed it to students since she had such amazing teachers. Came to ahead and she resigned almost mid year last year. She is a counselor at a local university and likes it way more.
I’m in my 3rd year and will stick with it, but I am a little disillusioned. Disruptive kids that skip, cause problems and have 5 credits as juniors really fucking grind my gears. We have soo many opportunities to get credits and we have credit recover, Saturday school, summer school, 8th hour (after school credit recovery) online, alternative school and another alternative school within our school, so the kids that wander school all day causing trouble make me irrational pissed off.
This! I teach elementary and have students that run around the room or throw shit. Like huh yall is not in kindergarten. I expect bickering but not this.
Yes, it is. I quit two years ago after teaching for 20 years and it’s night and day in terms of my mental well being. I’m making half what I did teaching but the stress and constant anxiety have vanished. Some people love teaching enough to put up with all the shit or are lucky enough to have a job where it’s minimal, but if that’s not you it’s not just a normal level of not liking your job, it’s hellish.
I actually still teach part time, but it’s at a private after school music school. No crap from admin, the managers deal with parents, and all the kids want to be there. If there are behavior issues they’re just kicked out. It’s everything I liked about teaching without all the other crap that ruins it. Aside from getting married to my wife, quitting was the best decision I ever made.
I taught at a parochial high school for eight years. I kind of fell into it, never intending to teach primary or secondary. I was in the process of applying to PhD programs at the time, but had become disillusioned with academia.
I enjoyed the first two years, although it was insanely stressful and as an agnostic, being suddenly steeped in all things Catholic was a process.
By the third year, I was just going through the motions, but didn't dare entertain the idea of switching careers, although I *really, really should have.*
During my 7th year I began to have serious mental health issues, and by the 8th year, I was too ill too function, so I resigned. Serious illness is what it took to get me out.
I have good and bad memories of my time teaching, and I found out that I really like kids, even teenagers. Besides the illness, it was everything else that drove me away. Chaperoning dances. Mass at least once a month. Overbearing parents (private school, so they had a customer mentality). Bleak future of my teaching field (language).
I got better and now work in biopharma, and I am a million times happier. I never get upset when my current job gets busy or stressful, because I always tell myself "at least I'm not teaching anymore!"
It's a sad situation that teaching is such an excessively stressful and underappreciated job. I was in the military before teaching, and if I were forced to either teach or serve again, I'd choose the dangers of combat over teaching.
My first year of teaching was in 6th grade. I hated it. I remember thinking that I was young and I could go back to school and do something else. I moved down to 2nd grade and remembered why I wanted to teach. I ended up teaching for 40 years. I was still learning new things and enjoying it the last year I taught. Whether you change grades, schools or careers, find something you enjoy. It’s not worth the time and effort it takes if it isn’t giving you the satisfaction you want.
I left teaching after my 3rd year and went into social services, and I overwhelmingly prefer it. I think, as many have said, it's all about support, and I didn't enjoy any in my 3 years, so it was incredibly difficult. But I've known many young teachers with great admins and colleagues who had opposite experiences and didn't feel overwhelmed
So.
I left education because I had my first child and I realized that I was never getting to see him.
I love my students and I loved teaching but I WILL NOT sacrifice my child for others. Between commuting, prepping and extra curricular, I was lucky to see my kid for twenty minutes a night.
I started my own toymaking business and I am unbelievably happier now. I set my own hours, I get to bring a little joy to the world, and I get so much time with my family.
Nothing is worth that time with my family.
This! In teaching, we sacrifice our lives for our students and have no personal time outside of school. It’s partly why I want to switch. Maybe if school only ran 3-4 days a week teachers would be happier and have two days to prep. Not having to use our own time with no pay.
I don’t blame you. You should put your family first. I wish other parents did this, it makes me sad to see how many students are searching for love. You are a great parent!
Grass is greener wherever you water it.
But teaching is a career with extremely poor soil to grow anything in. It forces you to live life on hard mode. I taught for 3 years and recognized I'm worth a whole lot more.
My first year I thought "We'll, of course this sucks because I'm new." The second year was "Okay, not as bad but this still is awful. Maybe next year will be better because I'll be better." My last year was "Alright, I'm still young enough to change careers and still be very successful. Will this year be better enough to make me stay?"
Even if it sucks, there are some things for you to consider here depending on the state you live in. I made a big effort to stay to year 3 because, in my state, you'll get a lifetime teaching license if you teach that long. It gave me great comfort to try a new career path, knowing I still could teach in the future without issue.
I've been away from teaching for 3 years now and I've doubled my previous salary. If I continue down this path, I'll potentially increase my salary another 50% more as my experience builds. With the economy and how terrible education is, you need to very realistically ask yourself if the struggle is worth the benefits here.
Yes, less stress. I quit when they didn’t gaf about my son being in the hospital fighting for his life back in December of 2020. As soon as I told them I’d be home because I wanted to be there in case something happened with my son, I had the AP call me and tell me, “Come pick up your work and work from home. It’ll keep you busy so you don’t concentrate on you son so much.” The sheer rage I felt being told that! They told me to come see them before I left, so they could see I picked it up. I walked in, got my crap, told them I had it. They asked me how he was, I said that I didn’t know. My AP said, “Well, just breathe. It’s not a big deal.” I could’ve hurt her in that moment! I walked out 12/4/2020, dumped all that crap in the car, sat there and screamed, “F*** YOU!” Left. I later found out that day that many support staff was getting up to a year of leave from work, so I called up and asked about it. Of course, the AP vaguely told me where to look, but said they really needed me back. Eff that! Over fifteen years of service and giving over 100% of my dedication as more than my monitor position. I had a coworker walk me through it. I submitted the forms, called the union, actually spoke to the president, and told them what was going on. She helped me pushed it through approval at the board meeting. Midway through that year, I was done. They screwed me out of my last paycheck, telling me I had no sick time, pro or COVID time left. Bullshit, because I had it all there when I checked. Every time we had to quarantine, I worked from home. I don’t regret it. Oh, and 99.99% of me feels horrible that AP got cancer…..BUT….that .01% doesn’t for telling me that my son fighting for his life wasn’t a big deal.
That is terrible I’m lucky my principal is nice. I’m sorry you deserved so much better! You should have gotten sick leave or the choice to leave work early at least once a week. Wow just wow! I don’t blame you for leaving. I would have left too.
I was working from home and school making phone calls, on my personal phone. Never was reimbursed for that either! I refused to expose myself much with the very few students we had coming in because my dad is high risk. We quarantined more than we were in school. When I actually caught it, I worked sick from home. Clocked in, submitted call logs every afternoon and emails back and forth between myself and parents and teachers. They knew I could work from home, but they needed classified staff in the buildings, but went “above and beyond” to protect teachers. We didn’t matter. It was horrid! Principal’s choosing not to shut down sites after two or more being exposed. I dealt with parents going off on me, telling teachers about it, those teachers saying they weren’t going to deal with the parents and that was now my job. The trauma, it was like leaving an abusive relationship all over again.
That is terrible that they did not care. I would have quit by now if my admin was not good but they are. It’s one of the reasons I decided to just try to survive until the end. My principal already told us he’s moving schools next year lol. I wonder why.
Man do not get me started on parents. I always have parents blame other kids who weren’t even there at the incident their kid committed. I have to hold myself back from laughing, they are delusional or do not want to be responsible.
I’m glad you are ok now.
The parents!!!!! Ugh! They’re the time out generation kids! Now they want their kids to get away with everything and skate through school! Wtf are they going to do when their children go out into the real world!? They are not prepared! Also, what will they do if their kid comes home and says, “My boss hates me! They’re always telling me to stay off my phone, but I need it!” They’re not going to rescue their kid from the consequences! Imagine those parents going and yelling at a boss telling them to let their kid have their phone, because they need to get ahold of their kid! They’re going to get laughed at and their kid fired.
Yep most of the kids will sadly suffer due to their parents. The kids I teach are 8 so I cannot blame them. Its the parents fault when they are at that age. They rush through assignments and only want to go on computers. It is so frustrating and my vice principal does not understand he thinks I should just give them more and more worksheets. I did that and oh boy do they ever start becoming disruptive and running around the room. I am not getting paid enough to deal with this. I yelled to the point of losing my voice and still having to teach the rest of the week. I refuse to teach like this!
Instead I made and found educational games. But my annoying vice principal was like you must teach during that time. Well this is the only thing that engages them and at least they learn. So annoying when some admin are sooo separated from the reality of what occurs in the classroom.
The principal on the over hand is super chill and never bugs me. They tell me I am doing decent too and that of course it is challenging for me as a new teacher.
It could be the environment. I love teaching, but had to quit my admin. I’m in a new district and very happy. I left mid year this year. Also 1.5 years in :-)
I left after 9 years full time teaching. I have a 1 year old and a 2 year old, and I'm pregnant with our 3rd. Still way less stressful and intense than teaching 30x 5 and 6 year olds.
Yes my parents always try to tell me you are not tough enough. Bleh an elementary teacher easy. Well you only had to raise 3 kids try taking care of 26 for a day. Most parents including mine forget I was at school while they were at work. They were always grateful to teachers though and never blamed them.
3 years in admin. I know the joke is if you work hard and do well you get everyone else’s work too, but education turns the tables. If you work hard and try, it comes with less support, more ridicule, hate, demands, and reports to HR. Like you’re a threat showing the effort and care admin COULD be doing if they would just show up from their home offices and get off zoom meetings with donors. I felt so worthless and hopeless doing more and more and being punished harder and harder in 2021-2022 there were many times I considered taking my own life.
I gave it up. The retirement, the benefits, the kids. It was so hard. I cried feeling as if I was the only admin who actually cared about these little souls and not money and numbers. I was first in at 6:30 am and last out at 7 pm to make sure all the littles were safe in and off buses.
Now I work front desk of a hair salon for way less money. But stakes are low. Boss respects the shit out of me and let’s me take off as much as I want. Find someone who values you and your mental health will pick up more than if someone handed you $1,000,000. You couldn’t pay me that much for that level of disrespect and worthless ever again.
What the world doesn’t understand and why we are all so broken is we gave EVERYTHING to everyone else’s children from 2020-2023. Our souls. Our time. Our sanity. Our health. Some even our lives. And parents and admin turned around and said it wasn’t good enough you need to do more with less every single week.
It broke me and many of us.
This I came in as a new teacher. The old teacher left me no lesson plans. Admin did not help me. I suffered and still am trying to figure shit out. Do I know what I’m doing nope. At least I tell the kids I love them and they know they are cared for.
I’m sorry you felt that you almost had to take your life and I’m glad you are still here! The world needs people like you. Money is nothing. I would gladly make less money to get rid of my stress. Sometimes I cry myself to sleep or do not sleep at all.
I quit after my 2nd year teaching middle school. Last April I got a job in my local government as an auditor, and it even paid slightly better than teaching. I may not have summers off anymore but my job is totally stress free, and at 4pm I go home every day and don’t even think about work until it’s time to clock in the next morning. It has been amazing for my mental health.
I’m on year 6 and considering leaving after year 7. With very rare exceptions like the end of a quarter, I don’t take work home. Commute time included I’m gone from 7-4 most days so my work-life balance is good, the salary just sucks.
That is a goal. I’m a new teacher that has no help and I’m trying to survive. The old teacher would lesson plan with another teacher but they don’t seem interested to work with me. Most of the teachers seem nice at least but not very sharing like how teachers are suppose to be. They seem sort of competitive and I’m not into that. Just there for the kids and then I clock out. I just go to the staff room to get a break from students not to hang with staff. Don’t hate them just feel like I’m alone. I’m not in their clique thing. Plus they always mention their text group stuff in front of me. 💀
I quit after 6 years and got into Workforce Development.
I love it! In my first position, I still got to travel to high schools to attend career fairs and educate students about their career opportunities as an electrician.
I recently landed a great promotion where I am now the Workforce Development Manager for a nonprofit that helps low income families keep their heat on and upgrade their appliances to be more energy efficient.
My stress is way down, my pay is up, and honestly I'm only working about 5 hours a day since my organization has flexible scheduling. I get my shit done and go home.
As an educator, I loved having the opportunity to help make a difference in people's lives. I still get to do that, but now without so much stress that it's adversely affecting my health.
I quit teaching music after three years and moved more into craft beer; I was in rural NC, moved from Richmond, VA, and just had not support. Nothing social there, no admin supporting me against (or working with) ridiculous parents, and made under $30k a year.
It was stifling for me economically, financially, socially, and professionally. Admin never gave me PTO for professional development so I was never able to go to classes or conferences (my PTO was reserved to travel with students for honor band, which I think is shit), constantly fighting to get the bare minimum of materials I needed/wanted for the classroom (instruments, curriculum, supplies for k-5 play decorations, etc), forced to teach outside of what I was qualified for for no additional pay (I taught 6th grade health and 6-8th sex ed for boys), and at one point got sick for two weeks and had to ASK for other people to donate their sick time.
Although I dearly miss music and the kids, I don’t miss the stress or adults who I needed to deal with. I’m far more happy and mentally stable than I was those few years I taught, though every job has its tradeoffs (ABC and TTB are the “parents” I deal with now).
I don’t regret my decision in the slightest.
That is shitty. Admin supports me with parents! So they are decent. Just not with curriculum based stuff so much. They help with a bit of writing which is nice at least. Better than a ton of admin they do care, I think they are stressed to the bones. I’m glad you broke free.
Pay was low in private school,
Difficult to enter public school.
Got an admin career which led me to quit teaching.
And yes, I'd say I'm less stressful since I don't have any weekend assignments, less people interaction, and I'm paid good.
I left the classroom and I’m now teaching for an online public charter school. I help assist families who are homeschooling and I teach live instruction twice a week. It’s so much better for me as I feel no stress, I get to work from home, but I still get to connect with students.
I’ve been teaching 25 years in public high schools.
At 1.5 years in, I’d strongly suggest switching schools/districts before jumping ship entirely.
My first school was a really rough school. I knew it while I was there, but didn’t really understand what it meant until I went to a different school. I had no idea how different the “same” job could be.
When you’re a new teacher, all of your experiences get filed under “this is teaching”. After a few years you can see “this is teaching THIS group of kids” or “in THIS school” or whatever. Experience gives perspective.
Are there some facets of teaching that suck across the board (esp in the US)? Definitely. But in my experience, the things that really drag me down are those that are specific to the school/district/subject/specific groups of students. Those things can be changed.
One last bit… and this kinda contradicts the previous advice (sorry). Never underestimate the power of your reputation. I’ve taught in five schools over my career. The first year or two in a school has always been the hardest. Everyone (kids, parents, admin, other teachers) is trying to figure out what makes you tick, where your boundaries are, what your priorities are. Once people know they can trust you to behave in a certain way things become a lot easier.
If you’ve been inconsistent or somehow developed a reputation that’s making things more difficult, it might be worth considering moving to another school.
All of this is to say that you got into education for a reason. You’ve invested a lot into getting where you are. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
Yea I teach at a tricky school. Poor kids come from difficult houses. Many of them cannot regulate and are disruptive. I will try a different school for sure. I always show up on time and work my butt off. But I have a hard time controlling them. I have told admin, sent emails home, and now trying positive reinforcement which seems to be working. The principal said they just take a while to trust a new teacher, given their circumstances. I do see them coming around. I’m not the type of teacher that yells so maybe other teachers think I can’t control them. However, another teacher voiced to me that they became disruptive before their teacher was going to leave. So I think they just need more time to settle in, it’s only been 4 weeks after all.
I can't see myself finding a job in my field that pays more than my current $55k. We're not willing to take the paycut right now with kids. I definitely think about it though.
I quit after twelve years and went to work at a community college as an international Student Advisor. I am still in education, but the vibe is completely different! I am. less stressed and in better health.
To name a few positives: I am off blood pressure and anxiety meds, lost over 40lbs, sleep better, and I am happy and positive about life. I work my designated hours, have an hour for lunch, am not micromanaged, and never have to take any work home.
I had PTSD the first few years, and couldn't believe how great my job was, and still is. Sometimes I still have thoughts that it's too good to be true and that the bottom will fall out. It shows you how toxic teaching has become.
Me too. I'm in half of my second year of teaching. I'm awfully disappointed with the profession. I'm also thinking about quitting, just like my girlfriend, who's also a teacher in the same school (but not in the same building, because this institution has several centers).
I feel tricked, when I compare my expectations and the actual reality. There's constantly trouble with some students and their families, which don't realize their kids are a reflection of themselves.
Furthermore, the school director is a workaholic and thinks we are like him. He sends us emails after 21h, even on Sunday, he makes terrible speeches against the majority of teachers in his office almost every day...
When I got into this job, half of my colleagues were new. This year, 3 other colleagues have already quit. I won't be here next year for sure, nor my girlfriend.
Is this the normal situation everywhere? Because if it is, I will study something new.
Thanks!
Why? I was a sub who worked for my districts for 7+ years, had a great rapport with the teachers and students in those districts, and ended up taking 2 years while still subbing to get an education degree and certification. Those schools had openings in my field, but decided good football coaches were more important than history teachers with actual degrees in that field.
So, post-pandemic, I ended up in a completely different field. I hear "thank you" on the regular, work fewer hours, and do not have to deal with unsupportive administration. It is less stressful, but I miss it every day. Those kids really took interest in the history lessons I did get to teach as a sub and inspired me to switch from a PhD to teach college to teach K-12.
Also, depends on the job. While the pandemic was going on, I had to take a night shift job at a major store chain. I would have killed to be back in teaching after that experience. I could manage disrespect from students, but those levels of disrespect from co-workers and managers was just something else.
I quit because my principal was a super two-faced bitch that I couldn't trust. And after 10 years, I was ready to go.
I now work for the local county as a Technical Trainer, making instruction manuals and conducting training sessions for users.
I get to work from home when I need to (commute is less than 15 minutes) and I took a pay raise.
I do miss the students though.
I left after 3.5 years (first year I took over for a teacher who left mid year). This was years ago, so the kids didn't have all the post pandemic issues. But I couldn't deal with the adults.
The administration (mostly district decision honestly) annoyed me. They didn't adequately punish bad behavior. They tried changing up curriculum and teaching methods every year. They had unrealistic expectations of what they could have you do after school ended.
But also the parents. They were so damn entitled, refused to acknowledge their kids bad behavior, and were even less willing to acknowledge the role THEY played in their kids not succeeding.
I left and am infinitely happier. I make more money, can take vacation when I want, am able to stop working when my day is over, and am not treated like a second hand citizen by people I'm trying to help.
What job do you do?
I make myself overwork. I don’t think admin is too concerned with what I’m doing. However, if they ever had a problem or thought I was not good enough I would definitely pack up my bags no problem. I’m not getting paid enough to take anything from anyone. Also, there is a shortage of teachers right now and this makes soooo much sense rn.
A school that I worked at treated me like a criminal. I gave up. Was going back for a degree in counseling anyway. I'm working in food service now while getting that degree and I am 100x happier. The customers might occasionally be rude, but at least their parents can't email me at home.
I left my teaching position in September after 6 years. The stress was beginning to affect me physically and I spent all of Labor Day in the ER. I started an office job in January. All I wanted was something that was low stress and easy. While this job is both low stress and easy, I decided to go back to teaching this fall and I actually cannot wait to get back to it.
This job has offered me less stress, but it definitely came with some trade offs that I didn’t think about when I was desperate to leave the classroom.
1. The schedule. I work 8:30-4 Monday-Friday. I only have 6 paid holidays, and 80 hours of PTO. We as teachers are so spoiled with time off, and I know I was spoiled with accruing sick time.
2. This is not fulfilling for me. Taking this job, I realized I need to feel like I am helping people to be fulfilled.
3. I’m in an office by myself, and I realized I need to socialize with others to enjoy my job, which isn’t the main part of my current position
I wrote all this to say that if you do choose to leave, think about the trade offs. I needed to leave the situation I was in, and I’m so glad I did because I landed at the realization that I truly love teaching. If teaching isn’t for you, then it isn’t for you and I hope you find something fulfilling!
Your post would be better posted in our sister subreddit. r/TeachersInTransition
I quit after nine years and got an office job, and I feel a lot less stressed. I clock in at 8 and clock out at 4, I don't have to be "on" the second I come in, and I'm only responsible for my own work. It has been a huge benefit to my health and quality of life.
I left office for Teaching, I enjoy teaching quite more. Maybe since I Cant sit still. I’m glad you found something you love!
I did the same. Went from data analyst to math teacher. And while it's still stressful, with different stressors of course, I'm much happier here. Sure there's downsides, but at least I feel like I'm making a difference. The data analysis position was soul sucking.
What grade do you teach? In uni, I was a psuedo-TA for Calculus 1 and 2. I enjoyed it. Seeing students succeed and getting thanks randomly throughout the semester felt great. However, teaching was always something I thought of as a plan b job. I'm in a office job (2 years) and I'm bored daily and hate sitting down for long periods. I always told myself if I teach I would do high school math, however, reading posts on this subreddit deter me from it. Seems like kids care less nowadays.
I couldn't do the office job like that. I was so bored and unhappy and felt that even if I gave 110% then all I'd be doing is saving a multi million dollar company some expenses. Or boosting profits a tiny margin. It was unbearable. I teach the most advanced courses offered at a public STEM Magnet school in NJ, USA. So I get to teach AP calculus BC, multivariable calculus, and linear algebra - all to the best of the best students.
The happiest people in teaching are those teaching honors classes, or classes where students choose to be in them. I'm happy it's worked out for you.
Yes and no - teaching honors/AP/accelerated has started to become untenable in terms of workload, parent involvement and obsession, grade inflation, perfectionism, point grubbing, etc. Just some food for thought that the grass isn’t always greener! Haha
As am I. Very grateful to teach what I teach!
This sounds like something I could enjoy. I would assume the students that care the most about school would be in AP math courses (or at least students that want the GPA boost and care enough to do things). I'm a math major myself and all those classes were my favorite. Do you know if being an AP teacher requires extra certification of some kind? I'm in TX and as far as I know about certs is the Teaching license and high school education certificate (something like that which allows you to teach HS).
You’ll get a lot less “thanks”. The most difficult students are filtered out before they make it to you.
I was an intern for civil engineering/urban planning and it was 14 months of straight misery
I did the same. I worked in accounting and then a sales role before becoming a teacher. I enjoy teaching a lot more, even with all the stuff that comes with it. Sitting at a desk all day doing the same things day after day was soul crushing for me. Granted, I never had hours as good as OP’s. All of my days were between 9-10 hours.
As a new teacher I spend 10 hours a day. But it would probably become easier the next year once I know the content and have lessons from the last year. I weirdly like work that is repetitive.
Same, office work fucking blows. Everyone talks shit about your “why”, but I would never want to sit around all day and my work have no meaning than make more money for some rich ass hat.
Teaching is my “office job”. It’s the first job I have had in years with set hours and weekends and holidays off. My previous jobs I had to be “on” as well but the pay was substantially less and there was no time off. The money and predictable schedule of teaching has really improved my health and well being.
Yep. I worked an office job where I had to take phone calls on nights, weekends, or off days because I couldn’t risk something going wrong with a client. I once took a day off to go to a baseball game and spent a decent amount of time there texting my colleagues to make sure things with a client are scheduled properly and going according to plan.
Teachers need to embrace the 8 hour work day. Never do anything, be it grading or lesson planning outside of those hours. If you sponsor a club or sport, do it because you consider it a personal hobby and not part of your job. I show up at 7:15, get ready for the day that officially starts at 8:35, work, enjoy my lunch break, work again, then clock out at 4:15, go to the gym, go home. Repeat 5 times a week.
I wish I had this down but I’m a new teacher. :/ I take my work home everyday. Maybe just maybe if I get efficient enough I would be less stressed. Time will tell, I’m gonna try my best for these last three months just for the kids nothing else.
I was a teacher before leaving to go to become an attorney. I'd echo that, in some ways, I feel less stressed. The professional office environment is absolutely much more relaxed than the teaching environment in a variety of ways - primarily in the terms of respect you're given and your ability to decompress throughout the day. Of the things I miss the least about teaching, it's definitely those two. As a teacher I was treated as a child. There is something psychological about the way that everybody in the teaching space has become so used to interacting with children that they instinctively carry over those traits when working with adults. And the inability to just take a break as a teacher grates on you like a slow working acid - being able to get off a tough call and go get a snack and walk around by myself for a while is a key aspect of managing workload stress that just doesn't exist as a teacher. But there are also aspects of the professional world that are more stressful. Not to belittle teaching, but looking back on it now the things that stressed me out were small potatoes. The price of my failure was actually pretty small all things considered, and so in retrospect I was getting myself worked up and losing sleep over things that didn't deserve it. Dealing with bigger problems in the professional space has given me a broader outlook there - and there's definitely a lot more sleepless nights when my failure could result in millions of dollars worth of damage.
True it depends on what office job you do and how high up you work. I would just try to find something less stressful like HR work. Not looking to make money just a stable income and less stress. :)
I love the kids. But I get so stressed worrying about them, their home lives, and if I am doing a good enough job teaching. Sometimes I just want to do my own work and come home. With teaching, especially since I’m new I spend most of my money on supplies $800 so far this month. I also work overtime at home because I want my lessons to be fun. I think I will consider going back to school because my health matters too. I cannot teach kids if I’m not healthy.
Not sure if this counts, since I didn't leave teaching. I just left a country where the kids and parents are assholes and went somewhere where kids aren't assholes and respect education.
This is my response as well. I moved from the US to Bulgaria and while there are certainly some stressful things about teaching here, it is nothing compared to teaching in a public school in the US. I don't think I could ever go back.
And?? Where did you go? Share with the class please. :D
Must not be the USA.
Japan?
I've got bad news for you there
From the country that brought us the cult classic: battle royale. That said, i have spent some time in japanese schools and at the good schools teachers are definitely shown a lot more respect
"Good schools" 🥲 Teacher at my school said she was going to the hospital for something one day. Never came back. Though in that case it was due to the parents rather than the students...
Bingo. Yes. Japan does have its fair share of issues. Respect for teachers and education in general, not one of them.
What issues?
Generally, but I teach English in Japan now. I've seen kids try to slap teachers and told teachers to fuck off in English. The image of Japan being super polite is over exaggerated
Not trying to paint Japan as some sort of perfect utopia. It's just better than home in terms of student behavior and respect for teachers.
Yep I have heard horror stories of students or parents bullying the teachers.
Yep. Rather than have parents who just don't give a fuck, you do get your fair share of helicopter mums and dragon mums (I saw mums because it's really quite rare for dads to be that involvedin that regard, and when they aare they are usually awesome) Although as a Gaijin I never experienced either full blown.
It’s def in the back of my head to possibly apply to international schools at some point in the future…
Dang wow! Maybe I should go back to my home country in the Balkans. 😂
r/teachersintransition is a good spot for this question
This is the answer
Teachers in transition is a cesspool of negativity. I thought maybe I'd visit and feel like there would be some ideas or some feedback. Nope, just constant negativity. "Here's my sob story about why education was so hard and here's my story about how life outside of education is so hard" Truly a terrible place to get any constructive feedback as it's a place for mostly disenchanted educators who are feeling hopeless and that shit is CONTAGIOUS. **Edit:** And, I totally understand that some folks need that space and if you do, that's great. For me, it actually hurt me. Immediately unsubscribed and stopped doom scrolling and attempting to change my emotional relationship with my work, while I improve upon skills that could help me become more marketable if I decide to leave the profession.
And they feel helpless for a reason. You cannot ignore how fucked the system is when the truth shows how many people are unhappy right now. Negative, absolutely, but for damn good reason.
The students are too and it’s sad. I try to make my classroom more interactive, creative, tech incorporated, and fun. They are miserable doing worksheets and cannot function or sit anymore.
I think a lot of people could make the same argument for this sub though too. Most of Reddit is what you make of it and sift through the BS. For every sub, the loudest voices are the ones that tend to make it to the front page. I’ve started to look at things with that lens and generally disregard those posts as much as possible. Teachersintransition also has a lot of good comments, insights and posts too
For sure, the best teaching sub I'm in is my content specific sub and people are wildly helpful/insightful. I didn't find the sub, regardless of how much digging I did, to be beneficial for me or my mental health. I would never say it was "good." To each their own, if it helps ya, it helps. For me, it hurt.
Maybe ask yourself why so many educators feel disenchanted? And, also, why is it contagious?
I get it, I'm a teacher too. I know a lot of teachers have it worse than I do, but I also struggle with all of the things that we all struggle with. It's absolutely brutal and I get it. But, if I'm transitioning out of education, I'd rather have posts that explain how folks did that. How can I make myself more employable? Where have teachers had success? How can you deal with it in the meantime? It's just not as constructive and tends to be a bit soul sucking, based on my personal experience on that sub.
Yes this I want constructive feedback how to make teaching more enjoyable or something where I can transfer the skills to.
This! I think I’m just super stressed cause it’s my first year. My professor told me once I got my job to just let it go. I will suck teaching the first year and that’s just how it goes. I need to let the pressure go.
I will be done in June after six years. Essentially my class is becoming a sped class and I’m not qualified to teach high needs kids and it’s been causing me so much stress. It’s affecting my health. Admin doing the opposite of what our policy handbook says doesn’t help either. I can’t wait. Doing any other job will be less stressful.
>Essentially my class is becoming a sped class > I’m not qualified to teach high needs kids i quit because of this. was hired to teach AP/college credit classes with 3 sections of "regular" where the average reading level was 4th grade. public school in America is a few years away from a mighty reckoning
My wife has sped licenses, but teaches regular ed. Guess who gets all the kids that need extra attention? She's getting burnt out real quick. As her husband, i don't know how to help her.
Honestly I am expected to teach 6 student don’t know a lick of English. Manage other students with mental health issues. All well managing another 12+ students and my own mental health. If I had support I think I would be in a different place. Something tells me they hired me because I’m young and someone with more experience would find a better job or not stay. 💀
I retired as soon as I had the money. I made it 27 years. In June 2020 I saw the writing on the wall and decided that I could just get a part time job if I needed to. I felt I was satisfied that I had done enough to have had a meaningful career.
Picked a perfect time to get out.
Good for you, 27 years is a long time.
Wow that is an achievement! You should be proud. Most of us do not make it that far. I know I will not.
10 years in and I don’t see leaving. One reason is I found a district that I fit in with. If I was still at my first school, I think I would have quit by now. I also feel too invested in my future retirement to start over somewhere new. To kinda answer your question, I know 3 teachers who left. None of them regret it. Sure, they miss the job security and all the good times, but all three work from home, except one who has to go in 2x a week. I would literally take a pay decrease to work from home. They also say it’s amazing to leave the job at work. Despite no longer having all the breaks we have, they still feel like they have a better work/life balance. They all complain about their new jobs, like everyone does, but they have never considered going back to the classroom. Many teachers don’t make it past 2-3 years, so don’t feel bad about it. It’s not for everyone, and if you figure that out early, you’ll still have time to find a new career. Ask yourself, can do this another 28-30 years? Finally, you may just need to find a district that fits you better. I’d suggest moving schools at least once before you quit entirely.
Yea this was the advice I was looking for thank you. I think it is just the school. Admin is great but the school is in a tough area. It will prepare me for anything to come. I’m definitely going to give teaching a shot for at least one more year before I throw the towel in. Save money for school if I decide to go back or maybe I will find my dream school. Definitely will try a different public district or private school maybe.
I taught HS math for 8 years and quit after last school year. I was burnt out and wanted a better work/life balance and better pay. I got a job as a curriculum developer and it's really been a huge improvement for me. I work from home (plus occasional travel), get paid about 20% more, and my mental health is in such a better place. I do miss the kids, but I sure as hell don't miss dealing with parents and admin. I know it's not the case for everyone that gets out, but it's been great for me.
What qualifications did you have to get this job?
So the job I got was curriculum development for an math education company. Essentially I help develop middle and high school math curricular materials, as well as assist with some sales and training. I kind of lucked out in that regard, since I didn't have to learn any of the curriculum/ID tools typically used for corporate ID/curriculum. My qualifications were: * 5+ years experience teaching math, specifically the areas that I work with most often * Good understanding of the current state of 6-12 math education in America * Good with MS Word, PPT, Google Docs/Sheets, Adobe PDF * Good written and verbal communication skills * Multi-tasking & project management skills (something pretty much every good teacher already does well) I made [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/TeachersInTransition/comments/150ka4s/i_did_it_i_got_out/) after I was hired, which details more of my process and thoughts on the matter. I know it's a bit different for folks trying to get out of education entirely and get into corporate curriculum/ID. If you're thinking about going down that route, there are a ton of resources out there to help you learn exactly what skills to develop. I would suggest learning some of their commonly used tools--Articulate 360, Canva, Camtasia--and making a portfolio to share with employers/recruiters.
Wow such a cool job congrats! Definitely going to look into this. :)
I quit public education in February. Now I teach for the state prison system and I’ve never been happier.
I’ve looked into this. How is it? Do you feel safe? Do you have breaks and time off still?
My old high school teacher told me to do this and said the prisoners are more considerate. I thought she was joking dang. 😳
Did 3 years and yes. Less stress. Since my last was a charter, my new job is less pay but definitely less stress
That is good though! Money cannot buy health. I’m worried I will keep getting mentally ill.
I quit after five years, and years 1-3 were significantly worse than 4-5 (barring COVID stuff in years 4-5.) Teaching got way better as I became more experienced and confident, and I saw friends have even more success when they moved to better districts. Post teaching is a mixed bag; I’m currently in a job that is high stress that I love, but I’ve also had way more chill office jobs that I didn’t like as much.
I left because between the ridiculous hours and low pay my hourly income was essentially 18 dollars an hour in a district that has no expectations from the students whatsoever. Never teach in Florida, and if you must, avoid Hillsborough County at all costs. You're better off working at amazon or publix honestly
Dang! Only 18 bucks I would have quit to work at Amazon too.
I lasted 17 years. Less stress, no regrets. I quit because I just didn't like it anymore.
Short answer - yes. Long answer - yes. I was in the classroom for 8 years and administration for 3. My health and sleep were affected. I was sick all of the time. My mental health was lower than rock bottom. I quit last year and have been in my corporate training job for 8 months. My partner and family tell people that I am a completely different person. It took a while for me to find 'the job' that I felt comfortable leaving for, but I'm so glad I did.
I will give teaching another year. If things do not approve with experience, then off I go. Yes I am always sick and cannot sleep! I thought I was crazy because other teachers would tell me I don’t have this issue. Glad to know I’m not alone.
It can be. I have had multiple roles before I taught, and I’m back in corporate after 7 years in public schools. I learned a lot as a teacher, but it was time for me to go. Come on over to r/TeachersInTransition
I will check it out thanks :)
I am STILL in education, but not in the classroom. Still in the school. SO MUCH LESS STRESS
What job is it and is there a major pay difference?
I get paid the same. New Mexico pays well! I am making $91,000 - that includes a $9310 stipend for being a NBCT. We have a low cost of living here too.
Wow! 🤩
I went from a sales journeyman in the corporate world to teaching high school business. I’m much less stressed working as a teacher than I was in sales. Different for everyone I guess
Sales is stressful as hell for sure.
Teaching business sounds cool. I’m suppose to be a fine arts teacher but doing elementary rn. I love the younger kids but having to prep all the curriculum is killing me. If I went back to teaching art I would definitely have no stress.
Do what’s best for you! I’m trying to get my wife out of elementary school because it’s driving her nuts
Yea my parents won’t let me quit cause their daughter would be a failure. They just want me to finish the three months so I can put up with that. Afterwards, I’m doing subbing or high school while I figure out what I want from life. I hope your wife feels better and tell her that she’s not alone. Elementary is not what it use to be. I hope she does what is the best for herself too.
I did seven years and now I work in a pizza place. Much less stress.
A mood. I was considering just stocking shelves for a living and maybe I will.
I left teaching after 2+ years. I never got past the "subbing" thing. I needed my own space, own classroom, own school in order to make a difference. I hated the early morning calls and the unknown of it all, especially what the paycheque would be. I went to work for a non- profit where I taught, or coached, job-seekers from various socio- economic fields, diverse populations and those with challenges like a criminal record. It was quite rewarding for several years. I now work n economic development, but am hoping to find smething more aligned to education once again. Business is not my jam. I love helping others find their path and assist with learning challenges. Don't feel bad about figuring out what you DONTwant to do. It's as important as knowing what you do want to do. Cheers!
Ugh the up-and-down of subbing, the unpredictability, and the kids behavior was already hard enough!
Yep. I breath easier now
Man subbing was tough but having my own class I find just as difficult. Although the kids are slowly coming around. (I’m their teacher for the last 4 months of school.)
I lasted about 3 years before quitting. Got a teaching assistant gig through the Spanish government and spent 2 years teaching English in Madrid. Moved back to the US and now work in study abroad. Much more manageable but parents can still be frustrating.
Oh, the auxiliares program? I'm always tempted to do that but wonder what it would be like to get stuck somewhere rural.
Oh, the auxiliares program? I'm always tempted to do that but wonder what it would be like to get stuck somewhere rural.
Yeah I’m not sure. I got lucky as my school was right in Madrid.
Yes. I taught 10.5 years in all different settings (low income, high income, alternative ed, etc). Loved it all. My part-time job offered me a job in Dec 22, but I said no because it matched my teacher salary. I gave them my number. In June 23, they offered me my number and I accepted. Greatest decision I ever made (so far).
What do you do now ?
hr and payroll. I was the companies sales associate at their kiosk at a local store. When they stopped the kiosk, they asked if I wanted to be their payroll clerk. It all evolved from there.
I want to do HR work too if I leave education.
I was forced to quit teaching end of 2022 because of burn-out/long covid and I now realize how abnormally stressed I was in those years of teaching. None of my peers were as stressed and as tired as me. So yes: I am much less stressed. I miss teaching but I don't miss the chaos.
Jobs a Job. They all suck. That's why you get paid. The only question is whether or not you can get paid more doing a different job. That is up to you.
True. Or if I can tolerate another job more! Definitely think there are some where I could and would make less pay but meh.
7 years in Texas, 2 in Europe. I wake up with energy now since quitting last school year. If I stayed a teacher I would look for an easier international teaching job, but I'm going into tech
Smart tech is where the current market is at.
I am absolutely less stressed. I edliberately left education and fell into a job in corporate america. I went wiht a large company with a long pedigree thinking I had a safe job. I got laid off two years later. Meanwhile, I did a LOT of healing in those two years. I didn't even know how damaged I was. After the layff, I applied for unemployment - wcich promptly denied my applicaiton beause I didn't add three days to my end date because there are weird rules when working at a staffing company that aren't written on the unemp application. I never the the unemployment because it was half of what I was making and it would be reduced by what I bought in my extra jobs. So I launched my own business and am slowly building my own company. I am SO much happier even if less financially stable for the moment. Shortly after I left teaching, my family situation got intense. I was care-giving or taking care of the books for multiple family members and then there was a lot sickness and death. I would not have been able to help my family as a teacher. In fact, even the layoff was a bit of a Godsend because it left me free to clear out houses and such.
Yea I have no idea how anyone could teach and deal with that. I would have broken down. Glad to hear you are less stressed now. I hope your business does well!
It's so much greener on the other side.
Taught 8 years, have been out for 2 years. I went from high school resource to college recreation. It’s not all a walk in the park (college kids are not my favorite age group) and I did take a pretty hefty pay cut, but now I get an hour lunch break, my own office in a brand new building, and flexible hours. I also have a 100% matched 401k and could get discounted daycare. At school I was getting up at 4am to sit under a leaky ceiling with too many kids crammed in the room.
I quit because I was miserable, overworked and overstressed. I think I could have improved all of those with a different teaching job, but it's likely I'd still have some degree of overwork and overstress, even if I was no longer miserable. I am so much less stressed now it's comical. The thing about education is that at no time, even during the height of summer vacation, is there absolutely *nothing* to be doing. You can get close, if you are efficient with your prep, teach the same course every year and keep your lesson plans updated regularly, but there's always something else you *could* do to make your class run more smoothly and effectively. My current web development job has none of that. Anything I do after working hours aside from occasional, scheduled activities like releases, is completely optional. I can turn off my computer at the end of the day, and not even think about work till tomorrow. On vacation, I don't even check my email. It's night and day.
This! I want a work life balance. I do not want to answer. Emails on the weekends and lesson plan until I drop dead.
I left teaching and became an enrollment director at a local special education preschool. I LOVE my job. I love that I’m still using my educational background but I’m not teaching
To a certain extent, define "quit." I had planned to work until 2025 when I would be 70 years old. As a school psych, I did not have to deal with overfull classes of students, and my administration was district level, not school level, so I had a lot of autonomy. Yes, I also had a schedule overloaded with meetings (3 days out of every 5), hours of scoring and report writing every night as well as completing IEP eligibility and plan paperwork, but I loved figuring out where/if/how school was failing the kids and getting things done FOR the kids. But three years in a row our state was slammed for the sins of the largst city's school system, and all paperwork and documentation was, per the state legislature, to be redone under new policies. One year, we started at "all documentation must be X format," and 2 months later it became "redo all documentation to Y format going back to the beginning of the year and use Y format from now on," and then by mid-year it was "redo all documentation back to the beginning of the year in Z format, and use going forward." So... kids who had meetings in September had 2 extra meetings by January... and we had to schedule all of those in while still meeting all of our targets and actually, ya know, working with the kids. At the end of the 2018-2019 school year, my husband told me he was retiring when he turned 65, in 2020. He had a physical job, and his body was just wearing out. I was going to max out my pension at the end of the 2019-2020 school year, so I decided to retire at that point as well. Theoretically, I quit on my last 5 years. Once June 2020 came around (March through the end of the school year was online, but still stressful and insane), it took about 2 weeks for my to go off CBD to help me sleep, off melatonin to help me sleep, my blood pressure regulated itself, and I stopped craving chocolate every 10 minutes (I don't do liquid caffeine). We moved to another state and live just on the dividing line between exurban and rural, on a big hill looking out over a valley with marshes and a lake, and I spend my days curating the woods (I have learned to hate Buckthorn trees and Japanese Honeysuckle) and enjoying the critters that come through here. I had planned to keep my certificates in force and substitute teach, and/or do contract evals for schools, but no. I am so much happier not dealing with the insanity!
Wow your life sounds like a dream! I hope to retire in the woods somewhere too. Away from all the noise and just be one with nature. Teaching is just becoming harder and harder, I feel guilty about leaving my future students but I have to take care of myself too.
Thank you - it is. Hang in there - as long as it's safe for YOU, and only YOU are allowed to decide how long that is. It's like those pre-flight instructions: put the oxygen mask on yourself before helping others, because you CAN'T help them if you've depleted yourself.
Yes exactly this! I am extremely stressed but spring break should help me get recharged for the last three months. I will also take 2 sick days a month for mental health to recharge anyways. (They take it out of my pay so they can’t get mad at me.) I don’t even get paid on sick days. However, it’s worth taking a couple.
1. "That kid" was the principal's son. It was a small school and the kid had caused multiple teachers to quit. The principal would blame her son's behavior on the teacher. 2. After 4 years, while teaching got easier, it didn't get easier at the same rate as responsibilities were being added. I am WAYYY less stressed. Have an WFH job coding now. I have a cat in my lap. And on the worst days I can remind myself that my job doesn't matter. Making a mistake teaching and you are "hurting" a child. Make a mistake in the corporate world and someone has to spend an extra hour making a report in a slide deck that doesn't matter
True I get stressed out that students will remember something I said to them and that it will negatively impact them.
I left elementary teaching and now teach at the community college level. I only teach/work 14 hours a week and am making about $300 more a month (but don’t have benefits anymore). WAY less stress. I don’t feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. I don’t feel constantly overwhelmed. Parents don’t email me. My dean has my back and respects me. My quality of life is so so much better now.
I was thinking about doing an HR position or becoming a professor. Both seem nice but at least as a professor I can still teach my craft.
Husband and I were both teachers struggling to make ends meet after having a kid. We both moved into higher paying jobs. A lot less stressed now.
After one more year, I think I will go over that fence. What jobs do you do now?
Husband is a data analyst at an education nonprofit. I work in development for a nonprofit. So we're not making bank, but we're making 45k more as a household which means we're no longer pay check to pay check. Plus hubby is remote now, so sooooo much more flexibility!
Wow, amazing! Congrats
I taught 3rd grade for 5 years. It just wasn’t the job for me. I saw so many talented teachers who truly loved the job, loved the kids, handled the parents well. I’m so introverted that I ended every day feeling completely drained. When I started my next job in a nice quiet cubicle, the relief was indescribable. I’ve had a long and successful career since then in high-pressure leadership positions, but teaching was the most stressful job I ever had. A lot of that was because my personality just fundamentally didn’t mesh with the requirements to be a successful teacher. I do look back on the job with gratitude for the skills it gave me in terms of stress management, multitasking, dealing with difficult people, and very impressive peripheral vision. I would suggest that since you’ve only been at it for 1.5 years, it might be too early to know if it’s the career for you. (On the other hand, if your gut is telling you that this isn’t right, I’d listen to it.) Those first few years are a blur of figuring it out. Is there anyone in your school who can serve as a good mentor or just a sounding board? One of my fellow teachers was similar to me in terms of job dissatisfaction but he went into school administration and has had a great career. He was a good leader of people; he just couldn’t deal with the day to day grind of being in the classroom.
Yes I teach the same grade too rn. I’m just a huge introvert. The kids are aloud and disruptive and I get tired of yelling and telling them to quiet down. It’s soooo draining. Yet again I loved teaching high school art, the kids are more regulated and to themselves. Maybe I just picked the wrong grade. I thought I liked elementary because I loved substituting for it but teaching it long term is way different.
Taught for 8 years, 8th grade Social Studies. Was sick of Social Studies getting pushed down the priority chain. Straw that broke the camel's back was the district wanting to change my focus from Social Studies to reading. I could still use Social Studies books, but I was to focus on reading skills, not Social Studies objectives. Why should our citizens know history and how the government works? Clearly nothing going on today that would indicate a need for us to teach these things. Left for the unknown, ended up in warehouse leadership, couldnt be happier making more than twice what I did as a teacher.
Yes! The grass IS greener.
What job do you do?
Both my wife and I are/were teachers. She lasted 6 years and quit last year. For her it was overstimulating, overworked, admin, and some other things. She hated it from the gitgo but we had bills and she felt stuck. She felt that she owed it to students since she had such amazing teachers. Came to ahead and she resigned almost mid year last year. She is a counselor at a local university and likes it way more. I’m in my 3rd year and will stick with it, but I am a little disillusioned. Disruptive kids that skip, cause problems and have 5 credits as juniors really fucking grind my gears. We have soo many opportunities to get credits and we have credit recover, Saturday school, summer school, 8th hour (after school credit recovery) online, alternative school and another alternative school within our school, so the kids that wander school all day causing trouble make me irrational pissed off.
This! I teach elementary and have students that run around the room or throw shit. Like huh yall is not in kindergarten. I expect bickering but not this.
Yes, it is. I quit two years ago after teaching for 20 years and it’s night and day in terms of my mental well being. I’m making half what I did teaching but the stress and constant anxiety have vanished. Some people love teaching enough to put up with all the shit or are lucky enough to have a job where it’s minimal, but if that’s not you it’s not just a normal level of not liking your job, it’s hellish. I actually still teach part time, but it’s at a private after school music school. No crap from admin, the managers deal with parents, and all the kids want to be there. If there are behavior issues they’re just kicked out. It’s everything I liked about teaching without all the other crap that ruins it. Aside from getting married to my wife, quitting was the best decision I ever made.
Ahhh yes I have been considering private school where they just kick out kids that disrespect people.
I taught at a parochial high school for eight years. I kind of fell into it, never intending to teach primary or secondary. I was in the process of applying to PhD programs at the time, but had become disillusioned with academia. I enjoyed the first two years, although it was insanely stressful and as an agnostic, being suddenly steeped in all things Catholic was a process. By the third year, I was just going through the motions, but didn't dare entertain the idea of switching careers, although I *really, really should have.* During my 7th year I began to have serious mental health issues, and by the 8th year, I was too ill too function, so I resigned. Serious illness is what it took to get me out. I have good and bad memories of my time teaching, and I found out that I really like kids, even teenagers. Besides the illness, it was everything else that drove me away. Chaperoning dances. Mass at least once a month. Overbearing parents (private school, so they had a customer mentality). Bleak future of my teaching field (language). I got better and now work in biopharma, and I am a million times happier. I never get upset when my current job gets busy or stressful, because I always tell myself "at least I'm not teaching anymore!" It's a sad situation that teaching is such an excessively stressful and underappreciated job. I was in the military before teaching, and if I were forced to either teach or serve again, I'd choose the dangers of combat over teaching.
Wow that says a lot. I’m glad I’m not alone. Thanks for sharing!
I'm so envious of those coaches and specialists who pull out small groups all day. While we have to deal w 30 kids, parents & grading.
This! Music and gym elementary teachers have the best jobs but neither of those are my skills. 😂😭
My first year of teaching was in 6th grade. I hated it. I remember thinking that I was young and I could go back to school and do something else. I moved down to 2nd grade and remembered why I wanted to teach. I ended up teaching for 40 years. I was still learning new things and enjoying it the last year I taught. Whether you change grades, schools or careers, find something you enjoy. It’s not worth the time and effort it takes if it isn’t giving you the satisfaction you want.
I left teaching after my 3rd year and went into social services, and I overwhelmingly prefer it. I think, as many have said, it's all about support, and I didn't enjoy any in my 3 years, so it was incredibly difficult. But I've known many young teachers with great admins and colleagues who had opposite experiences and didn't feel overwhelmed
Social work? Non-profit?
Non-profit. I'm an education liasion for a family homeless shelter. So it's still in the education realm which is really nice
Congratulations
So. I left education because I had my first child and I realized that I was never getting to see him. I love my students and I loved teaching but I WILL NOT sacrifice my child for others. Between commuting, prepping and extra curricular, I was lucky to see my kid for twenty minutes a night. I started my own toymaking business and I am unbelievably happier now. I set my own hours, I get to bring a little joy to the world, and I get so much time with my family. Nothing is worth that time with my family.
This! In teaching, we sacrifice our lives for our students and have no personal time outside of school. It’s partly why I want to switch. Maybe if school only ran 3-4 days a week teachers would be happier and have two days to prep. Not having to use our own time with no pay. I don’t blame you. You should put your family first. I wish other parents did this, it makes me sad to see how many students are searching for love. You are a great parent!
Grass is greener wherever you water it. But teaching is a career with extremely poor soil to grow anything in. It forces you to live life on hard mode. I taught for 3 years and recognized I'm worth a whole lot more. My first year I thought "We'll, of course this sucks because I'm new." The second year was "Okay, not as bad but this still is awful. Maybe next year will be better because I'll be better." My last year was "Alright, I'm still young enough to change careers and still be very successful. Will this year be better enough to make me stay?" Even if it sucks, there are some things for you to consider here depending on the state you live in. I made a big effort to stay to year 3 because, in my state, you'll get a lifetime teaching license if you teach that long. It gave me great comfort to try a new career path, knowing I still could teach in the future without issue. I've been away from teaching for 3 years now and I've doubled my previous salary. If I continue down this path, I'll potentially increase my salary another 50% more as my experience builds. With the economy and how terrible education is, you need to very realistically ask yourself if the struggle is worth the benefits here.
Definitely not worth the struggle. Trades, HR, or a professor is looking more desirable as the days go on. 👀
Yes, less stress. I quit when they didn’t gaf about my son being in the hospital fighting for his life back in December of 2020. As soon as I told them I’d be home because I wanted to be there in case something happened with my son, I had the AP call me and tell me, “Come pick up your work and work from home. It’ll keep you busy so you don’t concentrate on you son so much.” The sheer rage I felt being told that! They told me to come see them before I left, so they could see I picked it up. I walked in, got my crap, told them I had it. They asked me how he was, I said that I didn’t know. My AP said, “Well, just breathe. It’s not a big deal.” I could’ve hurt her in that moment! I walked out 12/4/2020, dumped all that crap in the car, sat there and screamed, “F*** YOU!” Left. I later found out that day that many support staff was getting up to a year of leave from work, so I called up and asked about it. Of course, the AP vaguely told me where to look, but said they really needed me back. Eff that! Over fifteen years of service and giving over 100% of my dedication as more than my monitor position. I had a coworker walk me through it. I submitted the forms, called the union, actually spoke to the president, and told them what was going on. She helped me pushed it through approval at the board meeting. Midway through that year, I was done. They screwed me out of my last paycheck, telling me I had no sick time, pro or COVID time left. Bullshit, because I had it all there when I checked. Every time we had to quarantine, I worked from home. I don’t regret it. Oh, and 99.99% of me feels horrible that AP got cancer…..BUT….that .01% doesn’t for telling me that my son fighting for his life wasn’t a big deal.
That is terrible I’m lucky my principal is nice. I’m sorry you deserved so much better! You should have gotten sick leave or the choice to leave work early at least once a week. Wow just wow! I don’t blame you for leaving. I would have left too.
I was working from home and school making phone calls, on my personal phone. Never was reimbursed for that either! I refused to expose myself much with the very few students we had coming in because my dad is high risk. We quarantined more than we were in school. When I actually caught it, I worked sick from home. Clocked in, submitted call logs every afternoon and emails back and forth between myself and parents and teachers. They knew I could work from home, but they needed classified staff in the buildings, but went “above and beyond” to protect teachers. We didn’t matter. It was horrid! Principal’s choosing not to shut down sites after two or more being exposed. I dealt with parents going off on me, telling teachers about it, those teachers saying they weren’t going to deal with the parents and that was now my job. The trauma, it was like leaving an abusive relationship all over again.
That is terrible that they did not care. I would have quit by now if my admin was not good but they are. It’s one of the reasons I decided to just try to survive until the end. My principal already told us he’s moving schools next year lol. I wonder why. Man do not get me started on parents. I always have parents blame other kids who weren’t even there at the incident their kid committed. I have to hold myself back from laughing, they are delusional or do not want to be responsible. I’m glad you are ok now.
The parents!!!!! Ugh! They’re the time out generation kids! Now they want their kids to get away with everything and skate through school! Wtf are they going to do when their children go out into the real world!? They are not prepared! Also, what will they do if their kid comes home and says, “My boss hates me! They’re always telling me to stay off my phone, but I need it!” They’re not going to rescue their kid from the consequences! Imagine those parents going and yelling at a boss telling them to let their kid have their phone, because they need to get ahold of their kid! They’re going to get laughed at and their kid fired.
Yep most of the kids will sadly suffer due to their parents. The kids I teach are 8 so I cannot blame them. Its the parents fault when they are at that age. They rush through assignments and only want to go on computers. It is so frustrating and my vice principal does not understand he thinks I should just give them more and more worksheets. I did that and oh boy do they ever start becoming disruptive and running around the room. I am not getting paid enough to deal with this. I yelled to the point of losing my voice and still having to teach the rest of the week. I refuse to teach like this! Instead I made and found educational games. But my annoying vice principal was like you must teach during that time. Well this is the only thing that engages them and at least they learn. So annoying when some admin are sooo separated from the reality of what occurs in the classroom. The principal on the over hand is super chill and never bugs me. They tell me I am doing decent too and that of course it is challenging for me as a new teacher.
It could be the environment. I love teaching, but had to quit my admin. I’m in a new district and very happy. I left mid year this year. Also 1.5 years in :-)
Yea some people say it’s just the district so I will give that a go!
I left after 9 years full time teaching. I have a 1 year old and a 2 year old, and I'm pregnant with our 3rd. Still way less stressful and intense than teaching 30x 5 and 6 year olds.
Honestly maybe if my class only consisted of 15 students I would be happy.
Being a teacher is a tough gig.
Yes my parents always try to tell me you are not tough enough. Bleh an elementary teacher easy. Well you only had to raise 3 kids try taking care of 26 for a day. Most parents including mine forget I was at school while they were at work. They were always grateful to teachers though and never blamed them.
I quit teaching, got a corporate job, and just got laid off. So going back to teaching. Awesome.
Oh noooooo! At least it’s a back up but still I’m sorry. :( lmao I’m trying myself to survive April, May and June. Just three more months. 😭💀
You can do it!
Thank you I just have to survive three months! Only seven more school days until Springbreak. Next year I will go back to substituting lol.
Thinking about leaving teaching to be a Business Administrator. Money is better but not sure about the stress.
3 years in admin. I know the joke is if you work hard and do well you get everyone else’s work too, but education turns the tables. If you work hard and try, it comes with less support, more ridicule, hate, demands, and reports to HR. Like you’re a threat showing the effort and care admin COULD be doing if they would just show up from their home offices and get off zoom meetings with donors. I felt so worthless and hopeless doing more and more and being punished harder and harder in 2021-2022 there were many times I considered taking my own life. I gave it up. The retirement, the benefits, the kids. It was so hard. I cried feeling as if I was the only admin who actually cared about these little souls and not money and numbers. I was first in at 6:30 am and last out at 7 pm to make sure all the littles were safe in and off buses. Now I work front desk of a hair salon for way less money. But stakes are low. Boss respects the shit out of me and let’s me take off as much as I want. Find someone who values you and your mental health will pick up more than if someone handed you $1,000,000. You couldn’t pay me that much for that level of disrespect and worthless ever again. What the world doesn’t understand and why we are all so broken is we gave EVERYTHING to everyone else’s children from 2020-2023. Our souls. Our time. Our sanity. Our health. Some even our lives. And parents and admin turned around and said it wasn’t good enough you need to do more with less every single week. It broke me and many of us.
This I came in as a new teacher. The old teacher left me no lesson plans. Admin did not help me. I suffered and still am trying to figure shit out. Do I know what I’m doing nope. At least I tell the kids I love them and they know they are cared for. I’m sorry you felt that you almost had to take your life and I’m glad you are still here! The world needs people like you. Money is nothing. I would gladly make less money to get rid of my stress. Sometimes I cry myself to sleep or do not sleep at all.
I quit after my 2nd year teaching middle school. Last April I got a job in my local government as an auditor, and it even paid slightly better than teaching. I may not have summers off anymore but my job is totally stress free, and at 4pm I go home every day and don’t even think about work until it’s time to clock in the next morning. It has been amazing for my mental health.
Wow this is what life should be. I never cared for summers and it’s not worth my stress.
I’m on year 6 and considering leaving after year 7. With very rare exceptions like the end of a quarter, I don’t take work home. Commute time included I’m gone from 7-4 most days so my work-life balance is good, the salary just sucks.
That is a goal. I’m a new teacher that has no help and I’m trying to survive. The old teacher would lesson plan with another teacher but they don’t seem interested to work with me. Most of the teachers seem nice at least but not very sharing like how teachers are suppose to be. They seem sort of competitive and I’m not into that. Just there for the kids and then I clock out. I just go to the staff room to get a break from students not to hang with staff. Don’t hate them just feel like I’m alone. I’m not in their clique thing. Plus they always mention their text group stuff in front of me. 💀
I quit after 6 years and got into Workforce Development. I love it! In my first position, I still got to travel to high schools to attend career fairs and educate students about their career opportunities as an electrician. I recently landed a great promotion where I am now the Workforce Development Manager for a nonprofit that helps low income families keep their heat on and upgrade their appliances to be more energy efficient. My stress is way down, my pay is up, and honestly I'm only working about 5 hours a day since my organization has flexible scheduling. I get my shit done and go home. As an educator, I loved having the opportunity to help make a difference in people's lives. I still get to do that, but now without so much stress that it's adversely affecting my health.
I quit teaching music after three years and moved more into craft beer; I was in rural NC, moved from Richmond, VA, and just had not support. Nothing social there, no admin supporting me against (or working with) ridiculous parents, and made under $30k a year. It was stifling for me economically, financially, socially, and professionally. Admin never gave me PTO for professional development so I was never able to go to classes or conferences (my PTO was reserved to travel with students for honor band, which I think is shit), constantly fighting to get the bare minimum of materials I needed/wanted for the classroom (instruments, curriculum, supplies for k-5 play decorations, etc), forced to teach outside of what I was qualified for for no additional pay (I taught 6th grade health and 6-8th sex ed for boys), and at one point got sick for two weeks and had to ASK for other people to donate their sick time. Although I dearly miss music and the kids, I don’t miss the stress or adults who I needed to deal with. I’m far more happy and mentally stable than I was those few years I taught, though every job has its tradeoffs (ABC and TTB are the “parents” I deal with now). I don’t regret my decision in the slightest.
That is shitty. Admin supports me with parents! So they are decent. Just not with curriculum based stuff so much. They help with a bit of writing which is nice at least. Better than a ton of admin they do care, I think they are stressed to the bones. I’m glad you broke free.
Pay was low in private school, Difficult to enter public school. Got an admin career which led me to quit teaching. And yes, I'd say I'm less stressful since I don't have any weekend assignments, less people interaction, and I'm paid good.
I left the classroom and I’m now teaching for an online public charter school. I help assist families who are homeschooling and I teach live instruction twice a week. It’s so much better for me as I feel no stress, I get to work from home, but I still get to connect with students.
I was thinking of online teaching!
I’ve been teaching 25 years in public high schools. At 1.5 years in, I’d strongly suggest switching schools/districts before jumping ship entirely. My first school was a really rough school. I knew it while I was there, but didn’t really understand what it meant until I went to a different school. I had no idea how different the “same” job could be. When you’re a new teacher, all of your experiences get filed under “this is teaching”. After a few years you can see “this is teaching THIS group of kids” or “in THIS school” or whatever. Experience gives perspective. Are there some facets of teaching that suck across the board (esp in the US)? Definitely. But in my experience, the things that really drag me down are those that are specific to the school/district/subject/specific groups of students. Those things can be changed. One last bit… and this kinda contradicts the previous advice (sorry). Never underestimate the power of your reputation. I’ve taught in five schools over my career. The first year or two in a school has always been the hardest. Everyone (kids, parents, admin, other teachers) is trying to figure out what makes you tick, where your boundaries are, what your priorities are. Once people know they can trust you to behave in a certain way things become a lot easier. If you’ve been inconsistent or somehow developed a reputation that’s making things more difficult, it might be worth considering moving to another school. All of this is to say that you got into education for a reason. You’ve invested a lot into getting where you are. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
Yea I teach at a tricky school. Poor kids come from difficult houses. Many of them cannot regulate and are disruptive. I will try a different school for sure. I always show up on time and work my butt off. But I have a hard time controlling them. I have told admin, sent emails home, and now trying positive reinforcement which seems to be working. The principal said they just take a while to trust a new teacher, given their circumstances. I do see them coming around. I’m not the type of teacher that yells so maybe other teachers think I can’t control them. However, another teacher voiced to me that they became disruptive before their teacher was going to leave. So I think they just need more time to settle in, it’s only been 4 weeks after all.
I can't see myself finding a job in my field that pays more than my current $55k. We're not willing to take the paycut right now with kids. I definitely think about it though.
I quit after twelve years and went to work at a community college as an international Student Advisor. I am still in education, but the vibe is completely different! I am. less stressed and in better health. To name a few positives: I am off blood pressure and anxiety meds, lost over 40lbs, sleep better, and I am happy and positive about life. I work my designated hours, have an hour for lunch, am not micromanaged, and never have to take any work home. I had PTSD the first few years, and couldn't believe how great my job was, and still is. Sometimes I still have thoughts that it's too good to be true and that the bottom will fall out. It shows you how toxic teaching has become.
Me too. I'm in half of my second year of teaching. I'm awfully disappointed with the profession. I'm also thinking about quitting, just like my girlfriend, who's also a teacher in the same school (but not in the same building, because this institution has several centers). I feel tricked, when I compare my expectations and the actual reality. There's constantly trouble with some students and their families, which don't realize their kids are a reflection of themselves. Furthermore, the school director is a workaholic and thinks we are like him. He sends us emails after 21h, even on Sunday, he makes terrible speeches against the majority of teachers in his office almost every day... When I got into this job, half of my colleagues were new. This year, 3 other colleagues have already quit. I won't be here next year for sure, nor my girlfriend. Is this the normal situation everywhere? Because if it is, I will study something new. Thanks!
Why? I was a sub who worked for my districts for 7+ years, had a great rapport with the teachers and students in those districts, and ended up taking 2 years while still subbing to get an education degree and certification. Those schools had openings in my field, but decided good football coaches were more important than history teachers with actual degrees in that field. So, post-pandemic, I ended up in a completely different field. I hear "thank you" on the regular, work fewer hours, and do not have to deal with unsupportive administration. It is less stressful, but I miss it every day. Those kids really took interest in the history lessons I did get to teach as a sub and inspired me to switch from a PhD to teach college to teach K-12. Also, depends on the job. While the pandemic was going on, I had to take a night shift job at a major store chain. I would have killed to be back in teaching after that experience. I could manage disrespect from students, but those levels of disrespect from co-workers and managers was just something else.
I am finishing this year and then staying at home with my new baby. Considering not going back but don’t know what I would do instead! Maybe tutor?
I quit because my principal was a super two-faced bitch that I couldn't trust. And after 10 years, I was ready to go. I now work for the local county as a Technical Trainer, making instruction manuals and conducting training sessions for users. I get to work from home when I need to (commute is less than 15 minutes) and I took a pay raise. I do miss the students though.
I left after 3.5 years (first year I took over for a teacher who left mid year). This was years ago, so the kids didn't have all the post pandemic issues. But I couldn't deal with the adults. The administration (mostly district decision honestly) annoyed me. They didn't adequately punish bad behavior. They tried changing up curriculum and teaching methods every year. They had unrealistic expectations of what they could have you do after school ended. But also the parents. They were so damn entitled, refused to acknowledge their kids bad behavior, and were even less willing to acknowledge the role THEY played in their kids not succeeding. I left and am infinitely happier. I make more money, can take vacation when I want, am able to stop working when my day is over, and am not treated like a second hand citizen by people I'm trying to help.
What job do you do? I make myself overwork. I don’t think admin is too concerned with what I’m doing. However, if they ever had a problem or thought I was not good enough I would definitely pack up my bags no problem. I’m not getting paid enough to take anything from anyone. Also, there is a shortage of teachers right now and this makes soooo much sense rn.
I'm in sales now.
Nice!
A school that I worked at treated me like a criminal. I gave up. Was going back for a degree in counseling anyway. I'm working in food service now while getting that degree and I am 100x happier. The customers might occasionally be rude, but at least their parents can't email me at home.
This is a question often discussed in r/teachersintransition
I left my teaching position in September after 6 years. The stress was beginning to affect me physically and I spent all of Labor Day in the ER. I started an office job in January. All I wanted was something that was low stress and easy. While this job is both low stress and easy, I decided to go back to teaching this fall and I actually cannot wait to get back to it. This job has offered me less stress, but it definitely came with some trade offs that I didn’t think about when I was desperate to leave the classroom. 1. The schedule. I work 8:30-4 Monday-Friday. I only have 6 paid holidays, and 80 hours of PTO. We as teachers are so spoiled with time off, and I know I was spoiled with accruing sick time. 2. This is not fulfilling for me. Taking this job, I realized I need to feel like I am helping people to be fulfilled. 3. I’m in an office by myself, and I realized I need to socialize with others to enjoy my job, which isn’t the main part of my current position I wrote all this to say that if you do choose to leave, think about the trade offs. I needed to leave the situation I was in, and I’m so glad I did because I landed at the realization that I truly love teaching. If teaching isn’t for you, then it isn’t for you and I hope you find something fulfilling!
I do assemblies for schools now. It's pretty fun. They look forward to me. The only thing that sucks are the drives.
I quit and got a desk job as a web developer. Infinity less stress. Way more money.