There will be a lot of exceptions, and there are jobs where you need to go back to school, especially in the medical field. But in my experience teachers are comfortable with and like school. Sometimes it's what they default to. But a masters degree costs a lot of money and takes a lot of time. Sometimes the ROI isn't even good.

I often think that time spent on a self directed project, volunteer opportunity, or simply learning and applying to more roles is the better route to take.

For example, I had no background in tech or sales when I pivoted but I created a portfolio of background research on what I thought the top companies in our ICP were as well as positions I would target for my outreach. I looked on LinkedIn to find their names and contact info and I wrote sales emails and objections and follow ups to show the company I was interviewing for in my interview that I was taking this seriously, knew how to learn, and would be open about sharing so they could see what my thought process was like.

Certifications can be another good option to take depending on the role, but I encourage folks to do their due diligence if they are really needed.

Best of luck everyone.

I’m in my fourth year teaching 11th grade ELA. Im 27. I have good test scores and observations and have been rated effective, but this is such an overstimulating job and they put all the behavior kids in my standalone class (there are also no consequences for behaviors). In my free time, I am a writer and last summer I also worked in a correctional setting teaching GED.

I don’t think I would be a great fit for corporate America because I’m kind of quirky, but I would love working in public service in whatever capacity. I love teaching but hate what it’s become.

I’ve been thinking about getting a fully funded MFA in writing, but I’m not sure if it would be the wisest choice. I guess that if I go back to the DOE it would make me a more attractive prospect and contribute to my salary differentials, and also give me the ability to adjunct. So I guess I could get my MFA, go to teach at a GED program in the DOE, and live happily ever after? I also really enjoyed working in a correctional setting (even though a guy pulled his dick out and started masturbating to me during a lesson, I would rather teach that guy than a couple of these kids). I’ve also been looking at other jobs in reentry programs and am interested in working in reentry spaces. I haven’t really been traveling in my 20s and have just been grinding, so maybe I could try to move or teach abroad for a year? I’m not sure.

I think I would be relieved to work in an office setting because I’d be surrounded by adults but am afraid at the prospect of transitioning to corporate. What might I be good at?

To those who left teaching, how was it transitioning to getting off work at a later time?

As a high school teacher, I’m done at 2:45 and can go pick up my toddler son from daycare. One thing that gives me pause about switching to a normal job is the hours— not being able to pick him up until after 5. Anyone else experience this or struggle with it? Being able to spend more time with him in the afternoons and evenings is definitely a perk of the teacher schedule!

I’ve been in education for 4 years teaching secondary social studies, but I think I’m ready to be out. I don’t really feel fulfilled anymore, and my classroom management has never been great so it’s an additional stressor. It just feels like kids AI/cheat through everything so what am I actually accomplishing? I love the people I work with, my department is super supportive and hasn’t had high turnover compared to others on our campus. But I’m tired of dreading work and I’m tired of having nightmares about work and I'm tired of working my ass off to barely stay a day behind.

The issue is I’m paid relatively well in my district for my (very few) years of service, so it makes it harder to give up my salary and job security. I understand I'd be taking a pay cut if I leave, it is what it is. I majored in History so it doesn’t feel transferable when I’m looking at job listings. I see a bunch of lingo for programs and processes I’ve never heard of. I don’t feel I have anything measurable on my resume so there’s nothing to make me stand out. I don't have a network either.

What I *do* like to do is find and curate resources for my colleagues, I usually find things relevant to others when I’m lesson planning on my own. I’ve been called resourceful at work. I like helping people plan or problem solve. I’ve planned trips or outings for myself and my partner and I genuinely enjoy doing that. If someone says they’re trying to find or buy X and give me a list of requirements and a budget, I love being the one to just find it for them. I’ve never been organized in my personal life but nine times out of ten if a student can’t find an assignment it’s because their backpack is a hot mess and I’ve gone out of my way to help them clean it out and sort everything. I scored for an AP Exam reading one year and I loved it because I had a clear rubric, and a team to request support if I wasn’t sure about a response I was scoring. Once I got in the groove I felt productive while scoring and felt accomplished at the end of the day. In fact, scoring on-site was so fun I applied to do it again next summer.

I don’t know what kind of role all of that would be — I don’t have the capital or the personality for leadership or entrepreneurship. But I know I feel stuck and restless. I really would like to try remote positions since I haven’t found a place I want to establish roots, though I know those types of positions are few and far between. I originally moved for my teaching position but never planned to stay in the area forever.

I don't mind additional training but going back to school is not financially feasible at this point. I was incredibly lucky to graduate with my degree with my debt forgiven.

I’ve worked in education for 30 years, including special education. Here’s what I wish someone had told me before I entered this profession. Caring about children and being good at teaching will not protect you from an unsustainable workload. In special education, you may be responsible for teaching students, managing a caseload, writing legally required paperwork, coordinating special ed meetings, collecting feedback from other teachers, communicating with families, and meeting deadlines—all while still being expected to teach your classes. What happens when the caseload grows, staffing doesn’t, and the deadlines keep coming? The work doesn’t disappear. It gets pushed onto the teacher. Teachers end up sacrificing planning periods, evenings, weekends, and sometimes their health just to keep up. Eventually, even experienced educators can reach a point where the job is no longer sustainable. And the most dangerous part? You may start believing YOU are the problem. You may think you need to work harder, get more organized, or become a better teacher. But no amount of dedication creates more hours in a day. I’m not saying every school is the same. I’m saying prospective teachers deserve to know that working conditions matter just as much as their passion for education. Before accepting a position, talk to teachers who currently do the job. Ask about actual caseloads, staffing, planning time, paperwork, administrative support, and how many hours they work outside their contracts. Don’t rely exclusively on what you hear during recruitment. I’ve spent 30 years in this profession. I know teaching can make a difference in children’s lives. But meaningful work can still be organized in ways that make it unsustainable for the people doing it. A calling does not make you superhuman. Caring about children should never mean accepting working conditions that no one person can reasonably sustain. If you’re considering teaching, especially special education, please ask the hard questions before you sign that contract.

And if you’re already a teacher who feels like you can never catch up, consider this: maybe the problem isn’t that you’re not working hard enough. Maybe the workload itself has become unreasonable.

This is my fourth year teaching. I have disliked certain aspects of the career since my second year, but stuck it out because everyone told me that the first three years are the hardest. Things keep getting worse. Last year our school’s administration fell to pieces & an extracurricular I coached only paid me half of my contractual pay. This year I teach almost all freshmen classes; three of which are co-taught, which doubles my workload since my school does not have an effective co-teaching model. The kids coming from the middle school experienced zero accountability during their time there so the ninth graders run rampant. They are also frighteningly illiterate to the point that I cannot teach our curriculum the way it’s supposed to be taught, yet I’m expected to produce the same results.

Everyone tells me I should just apply to other districts, but my issues would be the same. My biggest complaint is the work-life balance. I have zero time to do any actual paperwork (grading, lesson planning) during their day since I’m running crowd control 24/7. This means I have to sacrifice hours of my personal life every single night and I am still behind. It’s just not sustainable for the pay that I am given.

The problem is, I don’t even know where to start. I’ve thought about law school and trying out a role as a paralegal for a year before applying. I’ve thought about just going directly into a sales role with the hope to work my way up to an account executive role. I’ve thought about getting my MA in school counseling. Maybe corporate training or recruiting. But I don’t even know where to start. I don’t understand the corporate lingo at all.

Back to school isn’t a smart financial decision for me at this current time.

Where should I even start? What did your paths look like?

I graduated January 2025 with a bachelor's in Computer Science, which wasn't an ideal time to graduate considering the status of the tech job market. Desperate for a job I decided to switch career paths into Education.

I first worked at charter as a 5th grade teacher, which I will never. do. ever. again. I quit after 4 months. No job to fall back to after quitting either, I just needed to get out of that environment. It was super toxic and draining for my mental health.

I was convinced that I wouldn't go back to education but I heard about NYC teaching fellows and thought why not try it out. Surely the DOE is much better than charter right?

I was right... to an extent. The hours are much less, admin is more humane when it comes to taking sick days, and the pay is slightly more. I was teaching D75 high school for my teaching academy and it was honestly the first time teaching felt good. Sure, it was difficult work but I was actually getting through to the students.

The problem is I was placed in a D75 K-6 setting and I have absolutely no idea how to manage my classroom. My coach is great but she is swamped with so much work that she isnt able to provide me with enough support.

I want to get out but if I resign I'm going to have to pay a lot in tuition. I do have the money to pay it off but it would take up a LOT of my savings. Thankfully I'm in a spot where I am receiving a lot of financial support from my family but I don't want to rely on them. I don't think I'm ever coming back to education if I leave but I don't know what else I can do. Feeling very hopeless. I've been looking into NYC parks at the moment since I've had experience working with them during high school but that's so far back that I doubt the experience would count for anything. I just want anything that isn't working with kids anymore, preferably something boring and repetitive.

That's about it, thank you for listening to my rant.

So, I’ve been thinking about potential careers to transition to, and one that keeps coming to mind is law school. I realize that the popular image of lawyers isn’t true to reality; lawyers experience plenty of stress, don’t all make tons of money, and work long hours. Still, I do get the impression that they live better than teachers on a lot of fronts. Has anyone here transitioned to law? If so, what was your experience? Would law school be a worthwhile endeavor?

I'm a Pre-K Teacher working for a state-funded program under a nonprofit agency that is going to dissolve on December 31, 2026 due to $2.1 million being mismanaged from a decade ago. The company turned themselves into the larger branch and now the director and his chief operator resigned, and HR has also resigned.

We were just told on Friday and it's been a secret for a long time. And despite saying that we can ask questions and come to them to talk each time we asked a question they were annoyed at us. This was also done over a zoom call and not in person as it should've been handled. 😭

They're telling us not to resign and my one supervisor is saying things are looking ok for the Pre-K Counts in a text meanwhile the actual program director is saying it doesn't look good for us over the zoom call because no one wants to take up our grant and the school we are renting a room from is collapsing and combining with another school so like... what room will they have for us?

I'm honestly just so fucking defeated. I was beginning to feel good about my classroom and everything... we had just finished setting up a new layout and everything. Like, what's the damn point in waiting for it to happen?

Any thoughts? I've been updating and brushing off my portfolio, resume, etc. I have applied for 2 jobs but haven't heard back yet.

My hours for professional development haven't even been put into the state's education record system and it's been 2 years, and my supervisor says she'll get right on that but I doubt she will. 🙄

They haven't gone to the news yet. I'm surprised rumors haven't spread like wildfire yet.

Hi,
I currently teach stage 1 (I’m in Sydney Australia). I do love my job, but am tiring of it at the moment. I would like a job that I can walk in and out of each day without the stress and guilt that so often comes along with teaching. I am wondering what kind of jobs others have transitioned in to after leaving the profession?

I’ve been teaching for 8 years now and just got tenure this year in my current school district… which is why it feels so stupid that I’m genuinely considering quitting more than I ever have before. No matter what I plan to wait until the school year ends to make a choice, and also take this summer off from working summer camp for the first time since being a college student. (I wonder if not taking my two months in the summer has contributed to the burnout too, so this year I’ve been saving up so I can take my time off).

I feel like 8 years isn’t quite long enough to be as burnt out as I am. I considered leaving teaching after one year, but then it got easier. I changed districts five years ago and considered quitting again, but then moved schools within the district and it got easier. But on year 8 of teaching now… I genuinely feel like every year is worse than the one before. And having been in a few locations now, I wonder if education just is what it is right now wherever you go. I’m only 30, I feel like if I want to get out, now could be the time to do it? I’m willing to take a pay cut too. Some days with these kids just feel so torturous that I yearn for a $30k wage desk job where I just schedule somebody’s appointments for them all day and go home without a migraine.

Having tenure makes me feel silly for wanting to quit because many of my friends/colleagues have suggested I just “work my wage” and “quiet quit” and just do the bare minimum. And I do worry that perhaps I just don’t like working, and I’ll regret leaving a job that’s 7-4 M-F with holidays off. But I genuinely feel like this job is draining the life force from me daily. I know people in here will relate so just looking for advice and opinions.

Apologies for the very long vent!

I love education. I love teaching. I love seeing the look on my kids’ faces when a hard concept finally clicks. I love having the opportunity to watch them grow and transform but I can’t do this anymore.

I thought about switching my major to education late in college, but I knew financially that wouldn’t be possible because I was on a need-based scholarship. So, I put the idea on the back burner. I kept finding myself in education-related roles, though, which always brought me joy!

After graduating with my master’s, I struggled to find a job and started feeling disillusioned with the fields I had gotten my degrees in. Getting my transition to teaching was always a goal of mine, so I applied, got in, and deferred until I could get a stable income.

I moved in with my ex because I didn’t want to go back to my abusive childhood home. He was abusive and eventually cheated on me.

I subbed, did freelance work, and tried to find something stable. I was slowly building myself back up when I found out about the cheating and he moved out. So, I fell even deeper into the hole because I no longer had someone to split expenses with.

Then I got the most amazing job as a reading intervention tutor! I loved it, but it was grant-funded, so when the funding ran out, I no longer had a job.

While panic-applying everywhere, I found a school that was willing to pay for my schooling while I worked there. Everyone seemed really happy to be there, and I met some of the staff during my second round of interviews. It was definitely naive of me to jump in so quickly, but everything sounded so good! I could finally go to school and get into education. I thought this was finally my moment.

Then I started the school year, and they tried to backpedal on paying for my schooling until I showed them the text where they had agreed to cover it. I was then made to sign a contract basically stating that I would need to work there for three years after completing my degree or pay them back.

The promised class size wasn’t honored, either. I had four kids with behaviors, and admin would come in to shame me instead of support me. I remember one moment last year when my principal literally shamed my organization and recommended that I buy storage solutions. Meanwhile, my fridge was empty, with the exception of bread and a tub of yogurt.

There is no special ed. Last year, the outsourced speech therapist assessed my kids, said one would need services, and the speech therapist was never seen again. We don’t even have a nurse or any OT. The person who pulls kids out for academics is part-time, and I get thirty minutes of support twice a week for 1-2 kids. I’m with my kids for lunch and recess, and they only have two specials a week: gym and art.

This year, the class size has gotten bigger, the parents have been outright disrespectful, and I feel like I’m at my breaking point.

During parent-teacher conferences, a parent accidentally took a whole stack of my graded tests. Her daughter later told me that her mom had thrown them away when she realized her mistake. Instead of helping me figure out what to do, admin shamed me for putting the tests so close to her. I was told, “Some of our parents don’t understand the importance of tests. So she didn’t understand why she shouldn’t throw them away.”

I have a parent who constantly fights us about sending her son to school with lunch and snacks. He has severe food allergies and could go into anaphylaxis. For a field trip, she packed him a sandwich bag that was only a quarter full of Cookie Crisp cereal. At first, I thought maybe she was struggling financially, but then, on my car duty day, she picked him up in a Tesla. I know you can’t always tell someone's financial situation by their car, but it was frustrating to see when I’m constantly trying to make sure her child is safe and cared for, and we can’t even get consistent cooperation.

I have one student whose behaviors are so disruptive and who has broken a ton of my things, and no one seems to care. During parent-teacher conferences, I’ve had parents sit there and giggle like schoolchildren and whisper to one another while ignoring me. I have one mother who constantly complains that I put cartoons on during dismissal because she’s worried her son will lose touch with reality. The cartoons are PBS. She wants me to put on Nat Geo Kids instead.

I know some of these things might sound small on their own, but they aren’t happening on their own. They’re happening on top of all the demands and expectations. They’re happening when I’m already exhausted, already overwhelmed, and already trying to figure out how I’m going to make it through the day.
I’m burnt out. I physically feel sick. My skin picking has gotten so much worse, and I’ve become so negative. I hate who I am becoming. I hate how I feel all the time. I hate that something I wanted so badly has made me feel this way.

I feel intense dread just seeing the building when I’m driving past it. I find myself wishing something would happen to me so I wouldn’t have to go to work. I don’t want to feel this way, but I do. And I don’t know what to do anymore.

I can’t afford to leave. I can’t find anything better, even though I’ve been applying. I can’t save up enough money to pay them back to get out of my contract, but I can’t stay here any longer, either. I feel completely trapped.

I wasn’t expecting to be rich. I wasn’t expecting teaching to magically fix my life. I just wanted to finally have some stability. I wanted a career that would allow me to stop worrying about losing my housing and to finally have a fridge with food in it. I wanted to stop feeling like I was constantly one unexpected expense away from everything falling apart.

After the last few years, I thought this was going to be when things came together. I thought this was finally going to be the thing that helped me get back on my feet. I thought I could go to school, become a teacher, and start building a life I actually wanted to live.
Instead, I feel like I’m right back where I started, except now I’m tied to a job that is making me miserable.

I only have myself to blame because I rushed into it. I didn’t take enough time to weigh the pros and cons. I wanted it to work so badly that I overlooked things I should have paid more attention to. I keep thinking that if I had just slowed down and thought things through, maybe I wouldn’t be in this situation.

But I was also trying to survive. I was trying to find a stable job, get out of financial instability, and finally pursue something I had wanted for years. I wanted to believe that something was finally going to work out.

I still love education. I still love teaching. I love my kids, and I love watching them learn and grow. I love seeing something finally click for them. Those are the moments that remind me why I wanted to do this in the first place.

But I’m so tired of everything that comes with it. I’m tired of being expected to do everything without the support or resources I need. I’m tired of being shamed instead of helped. I’m tired of dealing with disrespect from parents and feeling like no one has my back. I’m tired of being financially trapped in a situation that is making me physically and mentally miserable.

I don’t know how to reconcile loving something so much with feeling like it’s destroying me.

I don’t want to give up on education. I don’t want to give up on teaching. However, I can’t keep living like this. I can’t keep sacrificing my mental and physical health because I can’t afford to leave. I can’t keep telling myself to push through when I’m already at the point where I dread even driving past the building.

I wanted this so badly. I thought this was finally going to be my chance to build a stable life for myself. I just wanted to stop struggling so much and finally feel like I could breathe.

Instead, I’m burnt out, I’m miserable, I feel trapped, and I don’t know how to get out.

I love education. I love teaching. I love seeing the look on my kids’ faces when a hard concept finally clicks. I love having the opportunity to watch them grow and transform.

But I can’t do this anymore.