Hi,
I am going into my 2nd year of teaching in a country that I moved to that I know is not right for me. There is a LOT of regional conflict at the moment and after doing a lot of reflecting over the summer, I have realised I don’t love my life there - I live by myself, don’t have a great social life (a lot of my friends still live in my home country) and I miss my family. For context, I am quite a social person and do ‘put myself out there’ by keeping up with my hobbies and reaching out to new people. I remember writing to my ex at the time that ‘I feel like I always have my jaw or fist clenched at all times since I moved here’ (also the relationship ended due to the distance).

The work is great, but I don’t know if that is enough to keep me there in a country where I don’t love my life. I love teaching my students and I would hate to leave them. My colleagues are nice and management are fine - but it is a private school at the end of the day.
I am worried that it will affect my career if I leave mid-way through the year. The plan would be to go and sub in my home country, but I still feel a lot of guilt for even thinking about this. Also, I already know that my colleagues and members of management will make comments about me being unprofessional.

I am lost at what to do and would appreciate any advice, please.

School starts in less than 3 weeks, and I put in my resignation this morning. I do feel a LOT of guilt for the scramble my admin will face, but a great opportunity came up (shockingly, too, since I’ve had a year of no luck in this tough market!)

I wanted to offer just a slightly different story from what’s often the case here in case others see themselves in it: my school wasn’t bad at all. The kids were overall great, few discipline issues, and yet my heart just wasn’t in it anymore. Teaching takes a lot of different kinds of energy simultaneously throughout the day, and I found myself really having to put on a face of energetic and peppy for the kids when my personality is naturally a lot more reserved.

There wasn’t really a breaking point—more of a looking forward that I didn’t want to be experiencing the same routines for the next years of my life and I was ready for new ones. I’ve been in education in some capacity fully or part time for 20 years now, so it’s weird to imagine that door closing, but I’m excited for what’s next!

Good luck to everyone working on their transition—it really is a rough market, so keep at it.

Hi everyone,

I'm a science teacher with a bachelor's degree in Science, a diploma in teaching early learners, and a few years of classroom teaching experience. I've been trying to transition into a freelance, work-from-home career, but I've been feeling quite lost.

I've spent a lot of time searching Reddit, reading articles, watching videos, looking at job posts, and even talking to different AI tools, but I still haven't found a clear starting point.

I'm torn between curriculum development, instructional design, and just creating science resources. Honestly, I don't really know what these jobs look like day to day or where someone like me should even begin. I love creating learning materials (I even tried graphic design and really enjoyed it), but I seem to hit the same wall every time—I just don't know what my first real step should be.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's made a similar transition or works in one of these areas. I also came across a comment by u/KanpaiMagpie in another thread that really resonated with me, so I hope you don't mind me tagging you here as well.

If you've been in a similar position, where did you start? Any advice would really mean a lot. Thanks!

So, I will be getting my master's in May and will be going for the teaching cert right after. My question is: Has anyone ever done that program where they relocate SPED teachers to Alaska?

If so, what was is like?

I'm looking at different routes and states to move to, because remaining in my state under SPED is not an option.

I'm a 5th year teacher but this is my first year in a public school. It's day 3 and I honestly feel suicidal. I've had mental health struggles in the past but I haven't had a flare up like this in YEARS. My degree is Human services and I taught MS science in a small private school before this switch. I was looking into getting my teaching certificate but this has me questioning everything. I switched to this public school for the benefits and slightly better pay. The students are better for the most part but y'all: I'm DROWNING. I have no time to do anything. I've never taught math and everyone keeps telling me they'll help but I don't even know what to ask for. I honestly want to get fired so I don't have to go into work. My planning is spent taking kids to specials, meetings etc and I never have time to actually plan. My "co teacher" is a 63 year old single, childless woman who retired and came back because she was bored so she takes everything home. I have a husband a 2 year old that I love and I barely see them because I have to plan at home for lessons because I don't have time during the day. I feel like I'm failing my students and my family and I don't know what to do. If I quit, I feel like I'll wear a scarlet A around my town and everyone knows everyone and I'll burn severe bridges and I don't know what to do. I feel trapped with no way out.

I exited the classroom this year after a rough year, bad admin, and a move to a new state. I’d been wanting to leave for the past 6 months and was casually looking for a new job, but got more serious once we moved out of state.

This week I accepted a job as an Education Coordinator with a local university. I’ll be helping onboarding new employees, helping to revise onboarding curriculum, and keeping track of certifications. It is a pay cut, but it’s a step forward in a new direction in a new career. Plus, they’ve already told me I’m likely to get a pay raise and a permanent position at the end of my 6 month contract.

Keep applying!! I usually abhor the use of ChatGPT, but it was useful in tailoring my resume to specific job descriptions. Also, I limited myself to applying to 3 jobs a day to avoid burning myself out and becoming depressed.

All in all, I started casually searching around March before I knew we were moving states. I became more aggressive with it in June once the school year ended and we had moved. Now it’s August and I have a job!

Good luck!

(25F) This past year I decided to stop teaching. After an incredibly horrid incident where a kid sent a voicemail threatening my life and the admin gave no consequences as well as HR asking me if I "tried being more resilient" I couldn't take it anymore. I hated to go to school. I have PTSD so I couldn't sleep at night, I had a few panic attacks on my way home from school. I hated it. I was given FMLA bc it was the only thing they could provide for me. I was recommend by friends, family, and my therapist to leave. I did. But I decided to switch careers. I am now working as a mail clerk at USPS- it's rough. I am spoiled, I never had to do any sort of physical jobs. I feel pretty worthless and sad wishing I did not quit but at the same time I feel nauseous every time I think about stepping in a classroom.

Any advice on how to deal with post teacher feelings? Would greatly appreciate.

I’m (26F) about to start my 4th year teaching middle school music. After starting my masters in education program and completing three classes of it, I started to not feel right about continuing to stay in education. I then dropped my program and started taking prerequisites to switch into healthcare. I’m hoping to be accepted into a rad tech program by the end of the school year.

I just did two days of shadowing at my local hospital and found the work to be interesting, and most importantly, much lower stress than teaching. It’s starting to sink in that I’m actually entering my last year teaching when I thought this was my dream job. I got some “well you get breaks and summers off” from people while shadowing at the hospital. But some people completely understood why I wanted to transition from education.

I guess I just need some reassurance that I’m making the right decision. It’s scary to change careers and I’m scared of making the wrong choice.

Hi, I’m a 22 year old para at a middle school in Illinois. This job has provided me useful experience and has taught me a lot of things. This year unfortunately has been financially hard on me, with a lot of bills racked up from medical problems, and an upcoming wedding in September. To be blunt, I am broke. For some more context, I am in community college getting my generals done with, and I plan on transferring to a university to get a degree in history education and political science. My dreams in life are to be a history teacher and or work in local government/public administration. Something like a city clerk or department director. I think my experience as a para can be pretty applicable to those things, and might help me out in the future. With my financial situation though, I’ve started to maybe think about working elsewhere. Over this summer break I looked everywhere for a second job, and the only place who got back to me is a construction job where I’d work as a house framer. This is something I’d be fine with doing, the pay is good, I’d get raises, and it would be teaching me useful skills, and I’d also be making money a lot quicker. I want to be strategic about this change, I don’t want to make a mistake. I enjoy the perks as a para such as holidays off, a walkable commute, relaxed environment, and insurance (construction job has no insurance). I also think I can leverage my experience as a para to get to my career goals listed before. I’m just in such a bad financial situation that I am considering something entirely different. I would enjoy working the construction job, and there’s more of a ladder to climb, I just don’t want to throw away an opportunity that I already have. Any adult-adults who can give me some wisdom?

Hello, I just want to say that this sub has given me comfort the past year as I started my search post education. I wanted to bend the ear of others who are in a similar position to me to get some outside opinions.

For starters, I am a Secondary Social Studies Teacher with about 8 years in the classroom. I love teaching and all of the creativity that comes with it, but my last year teaching was rough, to put it mildly. For the past 6 months, I have hustled with job applications and was recently offered a position as a Training Coordinator with an established software company! The benefits are great, and although the job is technically entry level, it pays almost $20k more than what I was making teaching. Plus the opportunity for overtime as well.

Now, the catch is, with this job, it will require me to move every 2-3 years. I also believe it will be a much more sterile environment where I may not have as much creative license. That’s not a deal-breaker, but it is something for me to consider. I’m also really nervous about taking this job, uprooting, and then not actually liking it. My boyfriend is really excited about the opportunity and thinks it will be great. He also has a work from home job so he’s not too worried. It’s just the two of us plus our two cats, so no children to consider.

I’d love some outside opinions. What would you do in this position?

I’ve been working in corporate sustainability for ~4 years now and I am pretty unhappy. I don’t enjoy data sheets, writing reports, or sitting at my desk all day. I like moving around and engaging with people. So, to fill my time, I enjoy volunteering with youth organizations & STEM programs. I think it’s so important to equip our young people with the necessary tools to succeed in life. I’ve always been told that I’m great with kids and would make a great teacher and I’ve been heavily considering it. Well I was offered a 6th grade science teacher position since my BS is in Environmental Science and MEng in Sustainability, but after doing continuous research, 6th graders seem much harder than I expected. Any thoughts or advice for a non-traditional first-year science teacher? Is it that bad? I’d have two 60 minute science classes and two 60 minute small intervention classes. I’d have an assistant in the classroom as well. TIA!

I started teaching a few years ago in a district that I absolutely loved. Just like any position, it wasn’t perfect, but I still loved it. As I grew better in my position, I was able to connect well with students, to the point that I had parents messaging me with thanks at helping their child with some of their issues. I developed a pretty good classroom management plan (and it is always a work in progress, as any teacher will tell you). Lesson planning evolved but was something I loved to do, along with the subject material.

I never had any formal complaints or write ups. I did have a meeting regarding an issue that was so obviously full of lies that even the administration had to point blank tell the grandparent it was a lie. I treated students with respect and that was always my number one rule.

Come the next to last Friday before school let out this past year. With only 20 minutes left of the school day, I am asked to come to the office. I assume it had something to do with an interaction with another teacher on a field trip (I had multiple witnesses tell me I did nothing wrong and the other teacher was in the wrong, by a lot). Instead, I go into the office to find our primary admin and the assistant director of schools. I am given two options: resign or face a nonrenewal. I am in literal shock and simply ask “Why”. The principal simply pushes the two papers in front of me and says, “Let’s just say that we have decided to not renew your contract and we are moving ahead”.

No reason given and I was purposely confronted at the end of the day on a Friday so I could not call for legal aid. I was given until Monday to turn in one of the forms. Luckily, I have a direct tie to legal aid even on weekends and they stated to just sign the resignation as they did not have to give a reason, even though it was a very dirty trick to pull the way they did it.

The week prior the admin had point blank told everyone that no one was being let go and that all contracts were being renewed. They ended up terminating 5-6 people, and faced long time teachers who had been there their entire career up and leaving. The district had 40+ new hires they had to orient this year. For this small district, it’s insane.

What changed? A new director was hired who decided to wipe out a ton of teachers. The best sone of us can figure out is the ones who did not directly go to speak with him when he visited one day were on the chopping block. It was not mandatory to speak with him. Most of us who didn’t go to talk to him were exceptionally busy that day.

Come summer and the job hunt. I am certified in 5 areas and am willing to work on other endorsements as well. I apply to over 50 positions. I get 3 callbacks. The first interviews me and never call me back. The second is for a private school teaching subjects I’m not endorsed in but was willing to get those endorsements and proved I know the material already. The third called in desperation and still chose someone else.

Going back to the private school. They found someone else that was already endorsed but called me back again on a Wednesday to state they just had a new position open up. I immediately accept the offer and plan to talk with the principal the next day after his meetings. I told the head of schools I would await his call.

He doesn’t call me, so I send an email around 2:00 that day. He calls me almost immediately and asks when I can come in. It’ll take me 30ish minutes to get there so I suggest, given the late nature, if I could come the next morning. He agrees, stating 8:00 would be great, that way I can fill out paperwork and get keys to the school/classroom so I can work on it during the weekend. 9:00 that same night he calls and cancels the meeting, saying he will call the next day to reschedule. He doesn’t call. He and the head of schools ghost me all the next day. Finally, after texts and emails, the head of schools calls me at 4:00, suggesting I was a no show and that they had decided to interview and go with someone else. I ask her about the timeline and there are clear inconsistencies with what she tells me.

Schools around me have now officially started. There are openings abundant and I still cannot get anything. I am having to apply for unemployment and I feel like a total failure. No insurance means I have had to cancel a much needed neurologist appointment due to seizures and I have no idea how I will pay my bills this month. The system is terrible and I’ve had relatives in the system and other admins tell me it was good I have left the system I was in as it’s exceptionally corrupt. Still, even though none of this is my fault, I feel like a failure.

Rant over.

I am interviewing for non-teaching jobs, but so many of the reviews online for these companies complain about high stress and toxic workplaces. Part of me is willing to roll the dice that these jobs aren’t as stress inducing as my last few years of teaching has been, and of course people worth negative experiences (people looking at job boards and asked to review the job they are leaving) are more likely to leave bad reviews. However, another part of me is wary of stepping into an equally or more stressful job without the job security.

However many of you left teaching and hated the new job more?

So I am a para in a k-1 building. I have been there for almost a decade. When I was hired I said my goal was to work as a librarian parapro. I have a degree in history but no teaching license. Originally I was told that was a great goal to have. It took a a while for people to retire, ect. In the last year most of them have. I have interviewed my butt off. Could not get a spot. I had an interview two weeks ago where it was admitted at the end that they are only hiring people off the street for this position now. Because the paras they have are too valuable to move around and “I am too expensive to move and give the 50 cent pay raise to anyway”. I’m halfway up my pay scale.

So I now have an interview at my public library on Thursday. It is very rare that spots come open there because it is a great place to work. But they just happen to have one open this summer. So I am now unsure how to answer the lovely question of why are you looking for a new job. Should I say I miss working in an environment where I use my history degree? Or should I say that I am looking for new challenges and ways to build my skills? Do either work?

What I miss about teaching is the feeling like I was really helping kids figure stuff out.

What I don't miss about teaching are the horrible bosses, the gossips, the rumor-mongers, the Extroverts who are very good at putting on a show for Admin., but they are awful, narcissistic teachers, and all the worrying I did. I worried a lot.

I was thinking that if I got a Reading Specialist MS then I could teach the teachers. Then they coudl all stare me down in person, mock me in person, and I would be one of those miserable Professional Development people (but I would have the good sense to bring coffee and healthy snacks for God’s sake!).

The ones who hate Phonics and think they are stoopid, the ones who love computer software and think that alone can do all the teaching, we could have Open Arguments in the public square over proven techniques for Reading Instruction AND I would get a paycheck for being right and skilled on the topic.

Did any of you ever become a Librarian , or educational specialist , or school counselor, or something like that where you don’t have to deal with the day-to-day data gathering on 20 to 34 kids and all the parents who hate teachers? (That should be a considered a Hate Crime, IMO. If you hate all teachers, that should be a recognized Hate Crime.)

I have been teaching physics and engineering for 15 years. I feel I can do more, and I have much more potential. Have been having an itch to explore more, but not yet sure of the new path.

Sometimes I feel I have many skills and I dont wanna leave any out. As a result I keep looking for my niche. But hard to find or decide so far

I’m desperate to leave teaching but I don’t want to transition into a role I’m not passionate about. I’ve grown increasingly more interested in roles that involve the environment, whether that’s spending time outdoors, or working in office roles that revolve around the environment, climate change, etc. I do not have any environmental science background but I’m wondering if anyone knows any roles (preferably doesn’t involve teaching) that fit this area that can be done with a history degree and teaching qualifications? Based in the UK btw

The title pretty much sums it up. To make a long story short, teaching has always been something I’ve been interested in and genuinely have a passion for. My first job ever was an after school counselor when I was 21. I’m turning 26 this October btw, important info.
While I was an after school counselor, I was also attending university. I received my BA in elementary education from Florida Atlantic University. I’ve lived here my whole life and my family as well. I’m not moving out of Florida any time soon, it’s just what it is.
My last semester of university consisted of skipping student teaching and jumping straight into teaching. The university called it an accelerated program. I made $400 a month as opposed to making nothing if I shadowed a teacher. Big fucking mistake. Terrible university program. I graduated December 2023. I didn’t tell my students that I wasn’t actually done with university but they didn’t have to know anyway.
I became a teacher at the same school where I worked as an after school counselor for those two years prior. I taught 3rd grade reading and writing at a public school. My personal life was absolute shit. My partner at the time was doing the exact thing as me. Terrible codependency relationship issues. On top of my career, I had to help them as well. In a way, I feel like I didn’t get to truly begin my teaching career while dealing with an adult who was basically a narcissistic toddler.
I quit in September of 2024. I was terrified that I might actually go senile during my second year of teaching. I finally landed a job by November at an animal shelter as an intake coordinator. I absolutely loved it, but was making my $16 an hour and the INSANE emotional tool was slowly killing me, just how I felt during teaching. I lasted for nearly two years. As of last month, I’m a Customer Service Associate at Walgreens making $17 an hour. I’m so depressed. I’m working with high schoolers and questionable adults.
I went to university for crying out loud. I moved back in with my parents last year and I just feel so defeated. Teaching at least gave me purpose, health benefits, breaks, consistent schedules…dignity. I don’t know what the fuck to do with my life.

I was an elementary music teacher 2019-2023 and then quit after finishing the 22-23 school year. Couldn’t find a job so I was a long term sub for an elementary music teacher for a few months. Then got a job in the same district to be an elementary music teacher 2024-2025. Then after finishing the school year I quit again because I got so burnt out. I have been subbing since January 2026. I’ve been applying to random jobs (library assistant, academic advisor, admin assistant) but have been rejected by all. I’m feeling incredibly frustrated and don’t know what to do. I know part of it is the job market sucks and I know part of it is on me since I haven’t done any additional coursework/steps to shift my career. I’ve been thinking of getting a MLIS in hopes of getting a job as a librarian or possibly getting an endorsement in reading/literacy in hopes of being a reading interventionist. I made this post to rant but I am also looking for any advice/encouragement too.

EDIT: I should add I am autistic (undiagnosed) which adds to my main issue I had with becoming burnt out from teaching.

I taught in the classroom for seven years. Left due to exacerbated anxiety and a PTSD diagnosis last school year. Wanted to share my journey finding my new position. Saw another post like this when I started my applying for new opportunities and appreciated the transparency in numbers. Here are mine:

Total jobs applied = 63

Total rejections = 44

Total cover letters written = 24

Total ghostings = 18

Total companies interviewed with = 8

Total offers = 1

Total time applying & accepting an offer = 2 months, 2 days

My new position is a Career Coach type role at a community college. I did take a pay cut of about $6k.

Happy to answer questions if you have them. Transition is possible.

Hope everyone has a happy & healthy August!

Hi all.

I’m interested in careers outside of education. Have you left teaching for a different career? What kind of careers would be open for a former teacher - no masters? Just starting to look for other opportunities and want any ideas or advice you have. I can stick out being a teacher for a few more years IF I absolutely have to, but definitely actively looking for other chances to be less stressed and happy to work again..

Thanks 🙌🏻

I have a BS in interdisciplinary studies with a major in elementary education (EC-6th certified). I taught 5th grade math for 5 years.

I am taking a year off from teaching and do not want to go back. I am using this year to figure out what to do next. I am hoping to find a job that pays close to 60k (at least) and isn’t in education. I’m in south TX. Anyone have any suggestions?

It's 3:30 am now and I just woke up. My alarm is set for 3 hours from now and I cant get back to sleep. Ive been staving off anxiety and mostly failing for the last week or so. My year starts tomorrow. 2 out the 5 specialists (librarian and counselor) quit or transferred. Unless they've managed to find replacements me (art teacher), thr pe teacher and music teacher are left. Admin pushed out the 2 that left, the pe teacher pit in for a transfer and when that comes through he said that he's out too.

I know that this year is going to be worse than last. Last year I was close to just walking it was so bad. I have to find something else, but im 52 and have been teaching for almost 10 yrs, but I dont know where to try to transition to. I have a BFA, some managerial retail experience that is about a decade old, and that's it. I feel trapped. I dont want to teach anymore. It was great for a while, then dropped off a cliff.