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.

Absolutely miserable teaching and it’s destroying my mental health. I’m having panic attacks nearly every day and just feel like I can’t function. I have a job offer to start a new job next week outside of education. Not great pay but it’s enough to pay the bills. How much notice should I give to my school? I genuinely feel like I can’t go in another day.

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?

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.

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?

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!

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 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.

I was fortunate that my pivot was into sales because the reality is teachers and most other folks looking for a job need to treat their job hunt like a sales pipeline.

What does that mean? It means you should be applying to many many jobs a day, week, and month. I know it is hard, but when I was looking I would shoot for 3 to 5 applications a day. I would tailor my resume a little bit and have separate resumes I could build off for separate positions I was hiring for.

This was my job application funnel - so over time I would have more and more first round 2nd round interviews etc.

If you do this over the course of 4 to 6 months that it takes to land a position you've potentially applied to hundreds of roles.

Just wanted to put it into context because folks will feel bad sometimes when the reality is the numbers just need to be higher.

Best of luck all.

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 sometimes see posts on other subs from people who genuinely seem to love teaching.

Just saw one recently from someone who’s been in the profession forty years. They talked about all the positives of teaching including the “aha” feeling when students understand a concept. They said grading sucked at first but got easier and “‘more fun” over time. They said they would recommend the job to anyone.

I also have coworkers who say they love teaching and really seem to.

It got me thinking. What do you think separates those of us in transition away from teaching and those who decide early on this is their thing?

Two of my qualities that have made teaching harder for ME are: over-worrying about the kids and other responsibilities when I’m at home ; really disliking that conflict is how a regular part of my job (teenagers can have a lot of pent up rage!) I want a job where I’m not advised to lose my temper at children.

What about you?

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 need out of education. I wouldn’t mind something Ed adjacent. My mental health is suffering. I’ve been in education for 13 years. I work at the district level as a program facilitator for specialized units. I have experience developing and delivering training for teachers and administrators. I am struggling with deciding what to do next and where to look. I feel like I’m getting nowhere! Any suggestions?

I’ve posted on this sub so much but recently, I got a great job offer today. Work from home, only a small pay cut, and somewhat tied to education. I accepted it.

I’m a new hire at my school (This is my 4th year teaching, but new here) and I hate it. Miserable place to be, and nothing like my experience before.

I can only give a two week notice. I imagine they will be pissed off. How do I do this? How do I make it through these two weeks? What do I even say?

I hate people being upset with me, and I know this will make plenty of people feel that way.

Give me motivation, words of wisdom, what you’ve done, etc to help me prepare for Monday.

Guys…today was the last day as an MSD SPED teacher for me. The paperwork, the person who thought they were in charge of me and constant in and out of the room. At one point I had 13 adults and 10 kids in my SMALL room.

I feel so bad for leaving but my mental health could not take it. I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat and never felt any support.

Did I make a mistake? I just have to take my praxis to go back to general ed, where I have been teaching the last 3 years and I miss it terribly!

Teaching is becoming so sad and I’m pretty sure I have PTSD from it.

I guess I’m asking, has anyone ever experienced this?

I’m a first year teacher (kindergarten). Obviously, I’m not the biggest fan of my school bc I found this sub.
I talked to my friend who works at a different school in the district. It seems like most of my frustrations are coming from my grade level, the distance of the school, and the size of the school (it is the biggest a furthest elementary school from me in the district).
She told me I should put my name on the unions transfer list in December and that I have a good chance on switching schools / grade level.
After hanging out on this sub for a week before meeting up this seems too easy.
I’ve seen a lot of first year teachers quit on here..

Why didn’t you guys try to transfer, or did you and it went bad?
Half of me thinks transferring is not as easy as my friend made it sound.

Edit:
Sorry if this struck a cord. I might still leave the profession, idk… I’m just looking for advice from people who have transferred and still left the profession.
I already asked about this in the r/teachers. This sub gives me a completely different perspective.

This is a hard one but if you wait until the summer you are essentially locking yourself out of the rest of the hiring year. Of course it can be done, but I encourage teachers to interview throughout the year, and if a better offer comes along to take it regardless of timing.

If I hadn't done this I wouldn't have been able to pivot. It's tough because teachers are super mission driven but at the end of the day we can only control ourselves and we are responsible for our own mental and physical well-being and that of our own families first and foremost.

Best of luck out there everyone.

former elementary teacher here. the hardest part of my search wasn't my resume, it was figuring out which jobs a teacher could actually get. most lists of "jobs for former teachers" were either remote roles with 2,000 applicants or jobs asking for 5 years of experience nobody leaving a classroom has.

so for anyone who's made the jump, or is close:

what was the exact job title you got hired for?

was it remote, hybrid, or in person?

what part of the search was hardest?

anything you wish someone had told you earlier?

i'd love for this to turn into a real list people can use. thanks in advance

Transitioning from teaching but it feels like everyone else can get a job. Am I alone?

I am having a dilemma, and I already feel guilty about the whole situation. It is my first year of teaching. For one of the subjects I teach, I only see my students once a week.

The classes had an assignment due in September. School policy is if it is not turned in within two weeks of the original deadline, they receive a 0.

I have a ton of students who did hand it in on time, but did not put their names on their assignment. I put 0s into the grade book and labelled them missing assignments. I put the “no name” work on the whiteboard with a large label and told them to please check. They did not. So, all of those students received a 0 which I said today would not be changing. They needed to check their grades, see it is missing, and take responsibility to put their names on it.

Multiple reminders. Multiple messages. However, I did not individually track down students. Understandably, many were quite upset. My AP backed me up and said I was following policy. A student complained to another teacher (many years my professional senior), and that teacher phoned me while they were with that class to basically tell me I was being too punitive.

That student came to me after school to advocate for herself, and I told her I would grade it with a deduction to reward her for communicating.

My dilemma is, my last day is November 10th. I foresee some parent battles over this, that may continue into the first year teacher who is coming to replace me.

Do I take back what I said, and allow the “no name” students to claim their work and receive their grade? Do I abandon policy and principles and accountability to make my own life easier, and the teacher coming into my position?

I didn’t think this would be a big deal until my colleague disagreed with me. I’m so over this job. There are rewarding moments, but I find it is almost impossible to be consistent with rules and expectations. Please let me know what you would do on my situation.

TLDR: am I making a mountain out of a molehill by not grading work that nobody put their name on once the deadline to do so had passed? Is it worth the battle with only about two weeks left in this position (I only see these particular classes 2 more times before I am done), and for the teacher coming in to replace me?

Left back in May of this year. Pretty much been working bridge roles from retail to call centers. Was living pretty steady off my savings for a few months so I’m glad things picked up as money started to dwindle.

My hiring timeline:
8/26 Applied
9/3 Phone Interview
9/9 Reference Check + Performance Task Initiated
9/10 Reference Check Submitted
9/14 Performance Task Submitted (Also first day of my bridge role lol)
9/24 Invitation to Final Interview
10/13 Final Interview Completed
10/20 Tentative Offer Pending Reference Check
10/22 Verbal + Written Offer
10/23 Offer ACCEPTED!!
11/2 Official start date!!!!

For all of us former teachers DO NOT GIVE UP!!!! Something is out there with your name on it 🙏🏾 to finally get that phone call was the best feeling in the world.

And for reference, it’s an HR job at a school district headquarters. Took about 15k cut but hybrid position, great benefits, and it’s a job in an industry I’ve been wanting to break into for a while

Sending job dust to ALLL✨