Leaving Teaching After 20 Years in Education: Here’s What I’ve Learned
After 20 years in education, I need to leave teaching. Like so many other educators, I was tired. I was frustrated. I was overwhelmed. I hit the proverbial wall. My mental and physical health was nearing an all-time low. I no longer had the energy to beat back the constant roadblocks thrown up by the school system I was employed by to support and educate the parents and students enrolled in this broken system.
As I sat at my desk, I wiped away tears, took some deep breaths and thought, “Okay, I’m not going to teach anymore. Now what?”
Well, I’ve been transitioning since May of 2022. While I haven’t landed that next job, I have learned a lot about myself, what it takes to transition, and my work ethic.
You don’t have to be a teacher forever
This is the weird thing that I don’t think anyone but an educator - past or present - could understand. I thought I had to be in education forever. I didn’t think I was qualified to do anything else.
People change careers all the time. My high school Physics teacher left a 20-year job in a research facility to become a teacher. I have a friend who, after years in sales, just completed a rigorous training and is now a flight attendant. My cousin was a professional actor for decades and is now in the final stages of obtaining his Ph.D. and becoming a school psychologist. Yet somehow, I couldn’t fathom that I could ever be anything but a teacher.
The first thing I learned was that I don’t have to be an educator forever, and neither do you. There is a vast community of “transitioning teachers,” and another of “transitioned teachers.” These were terms I’d never heard of until I dusted off the stale LinkedIn account.
Around the world there are teachers forging new career paths every single day. If they can do it, so can you.
Be intentional with what you do next
Intentional is defined as doing something with intention, or on purpose. There are a multitude of careers out there for transitioning teachers to explore; sales, project management, customer success, writing, editing and instructional design just to name a few.
You cannot effectively pursue new careers in all the aforementioned fields simultaneously. Do your research. Pick a lane. Upskill in your lane. Tailor your resume to your lane. Network in your lane.
Work smarter, not harder, at your goalsDoing research and upskilling to support a new career path takes time. Sending out resumes tailored to individual job opportunities takes time. Networking and building your profile on LinkedIn takes time. These are all things you need to do. But you do not need to do all of them all the time.
Set long-term goals. Set short-term goals. Create a weekly plan and do your best to stick to it. It’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole of LinkedIn. There is a lot of “noise” on there, and you don’t need to listen to all of it. Learn how to utilize LinkedIn with focus and tune out all the extraneous information.
Sending out five resumes customized to specific roles that you are qualified for and following up with an email or an outreach to a connection at those specific companies will manifest greater returns in the long run than sending out 25-30 identical resumes to any and every opportunity that flashes across your screen in a given week. This isn’t easy. In the beginning there were days when I felt like I was playing a game of Whack-a-Mole at the arcade. I felt I wasn’t making progress on anything because I was constantly doing a little of this and a little of that and then getting distracted by the squirrels running by.
I persevered. I honed my skills. This got easier for me, and it will get easier for you too.
Your network is everything
Network with previous colleagues. Network with friends and neighbors. Network with those in the field you have your sights set on.
Six degrees of separation isn’t only for Kevin Bacon. Everyone you know is likely six degrees or less away from someone who could offer you an amazing job opportunity.
Networking isn’t only about making connections. It’s about learning from and supporting each other on the journey. There are a lot of professional communities out there. Find yours and lean into it.
You have value
In May of 2023 I received a job offer outside of the school system. It is part-time. It is contractual. I will need to find a side hustle. But I am no longer a teacher.
Imposter syndrome is real. There were days when I reverted to doubting I would ever be qualified to do anything but teach. There are still mornings where I wake up in a panic because I’m not sure I’m capable.
But I have a new boss. I have new coworkers. They believe in me, and they believe I bring value to their organization. Their belief helps me to believe in myself. My journey as a transitioning teacher is not over. In many ways it is just beginning.
At times it will no doubt be a bumpy ride but with the lessons I’ve learned this year and my always-growing sense of self-worth I know I will succeed.
