Many teachers ask, “What else can you do?” Some ex-teachers have shared leaving teaching success stories with Thinking of Leaving Teaching about what they do now. As of October 2025, there are over 235 leaving teaching success stories from ex-teachers who got jobs ranging from Academic Developer to Youth Staff Entertainment.
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Special Education
Thanks to the advice of members of this group I have applied for and secured a role in Special Education. It couldn’t be any further than what I am doing now. Hopefully will restore the love that I have lost. Posting anonymously as haven’t yet resigned my current post.
Craig …. simply thank you! Although it is not anywhere near enough. I lurked for a very long time, reading your tips, reading people’s success stories and the general feeling of support to be brave and make the leap of faith to leave. Then I searched for jobs that best suited my teaching skills, made my statement more corporate and BINGO! Well….. today that day became official! I count myself as lucky: one application, one interview, one job offer! The countdown to my new life is in sight. The immense feeling of relief is simply overwhelming right now…. but I did it and to everyone else….believe in yourself and take that leap. For now I’m staying anonymous but at some point in the not too distant future I will share my story to inspire and encourage others to get their lives back. Thank you!
My name’s Kirsty and I’m the owner of diddi dance Central & North Liverpool & South Knowsley. I’m 35, married with 2 gorgeous boys Theodore (4 yrs) and Sebastian (2 yrs). Dancing is my passion and I have always loved passing that on through my love of teaching. With a Master’s in Teaching & Learning, a PGCE in Performing Arts and a Dance Studies BA Hons degree along with over twelve years experience of secondary school teaching and many years of professional dance experience, I have a broad expertise in dance. Since having my two boys I was always looking for places and activities to take them to and this is when I found diddi dance and saw the fantastic opportunity to start my own business doing something I love whilst working around them.
“Owning a diddi dance franchise business has changed my life!
I built up a fantastic career in secondary teaching becoming Head of Performing Arts and National Lead of dance across my trust. However, I felt stuck in a system with little freedom. I left my career to become my own boss and have a better work life balance for my family. I wanted a job which would give them more of my time and allowed me to do the school runs. Finding diddi dance was the best thing that’s happened for me professionally and personally. I’ve always wanted to own my own business and after trying a few little things I realised that being part of a franchise and literally buying a business in a box provided me with the support from head office and the other franchisees to succeed. I am so much happier with my work life balance and job satisfaction. Everything is outlined for you from lesson plans, resources and any help is a click or phone call away. I’ve only been in the franchise for 12 months and already I can see the potential in which I can grow my business financially and be able to work around my family working half my teaching hours! I knew diddi dance was the right franchise for me for their 18 years of research and consistency that goes into all franchisees lessons across the UK. I can honestly say I LOVE MY JOB! It doesn’t feel like work and I have a love for teaching dance again. diddi dance has been the BEST decision for me. Thank you for opening this door of opportunity to me diddi dance, I’ve never looked back!
I left my teaching job at Christmas and started a new advisory teacher role with my local authority. I work with children who have a wide range of hearing loss and the county will be paying for my mandatory qualification (2 year masters level diploma). I will be studying whilst on the job.
To say it has been life changing is an understatement. I still get to work with children and young people and their families. I am learning SO much. There is a LOT of admin but I am trusted to manage my workload, I am leaving the house no earlier than 8.15/30 and I’m home by 3.30 most days – with admin to do at home but you do this when it suits. I am no longer leaving the house before 7am, never knowing when I’ll be home and feeling guilt/shame/anxiety about what has happened at school that day. The workload is still significant but the way you manage it is up to you as a professional.
I am aware that the next two years will be difficult with working full time and studying but I’m excited too. It is different and I’m on my own more, but if you’re looking to get out of the classroom but not completely out of the system, it is worth looking at advisory teacher roles at your local authority. There are a variety of opportunities available.
There are routes out of the classroom that still involve the best bit – supporting children’s learning!
Firstly, thank you so much Craig and your wonderful website and to everyone in this group! I couldn’t have taken the leap out of teaching without it. Best advice…. Go through the ex-teacher website. It first helped me understand the emotional rollercoaster we all go through and then validated the feeling of ‘I’m done’, then I knew I wouldn’t regret my decision. Going through all the CV and application advice was so helpful and the links on interview techniques meant that I was actually offered a better position than what I applied for, we have soooo many transferable skills just make them relevant. Definitely look carefully at your out going’s, there were a few expenses I could get rid of and moved around who paid what bills between my partner and I to continue even with the substantial pay cut I was taking but I know it won’t be forever and I have time to do other things I enjoy to make extra money. I can’t say what the job is because I know staff from my school are in the group but I just needed to say thanks.
I feel after reading so many posts I need to post myself and tell you it’s true what they say! Left a perfectly good paying job at Xmas due to violent incident trauma good mgt but no support from LA etc similar to others etc. had lots of dept responsibilities including DSL. Doing supply so that one foot is out the door while I job hunt. It’s fascinating to say the least and the observations I’ve made are endless. Panicking teachers copying at lunch not eating, teachers trying to educate in corridors but mostly it’s just discipline, mgt around to help or not, parent demands, various insane behaviors and not many options for staff to sort them. Had work every day so far and NO Sunday blues etc haven’t felt this calm in over 20 years! Each morning/evening I am calm and present with my own family. It’s a good ‘for now’ move and I’m even going to exercise class mid week which has never happened in my teaching career EVER. Everyone talks about having more energy for life and family but it’s not until you experience it you really do understand the difference. This confirms that my decision to exit the sector is the right one! If anyone is considering this do try it. Supply gives you a taste of the normal manageable work levels etc that the rest of the world has!
10 years ago my Boogie Beat journey began and what a journey it has been so far! Boogie Beat allowed me to find flexible working through franchising. I loved teaching…but my dream job soon became a job I no longer wanted. After having my first baby, I instantly realised how teaching took over my life. It was a job for a single person. A job that made me lose precious time with my family due to the masses of ‘after hours’ marking, planning and assessing! Being part time didn’t really change the workload whatsoever!! In fact, it felt like I was doing more! At this point I knew I had to look for something to help improve my work, life balance. This is when I found Boogie Beat! I started off running classes alongside my teaching role. It was hard work but I knew it would be worth it in the long run! After a while building up my business, I took the plunge, left teaching and didn’t look back!! No more staying up to the early hours planning and marking, no more worrying about paper work, just quality time with my loved ones and a lot healthier mental health. Now, 3 children later and 5 years on from running Boogie Beat full time, I have two class teachers and business is flourishing!
Well, resigned October 23, left Dec 23, new job sorted (Family Coordinator for the council). Stress levels, workload, medication, all halved. Very big cut in salary but well worth the sacrifice. Thanks to the support and resources on this group.
Hi all. I’m now 9 months into my post-teaching job (I’m now a Technical Officer at the Environment Agency), and my life is 100x better! My mental health is no longer a problem, I have energy to live life properly again, I never work in the evenings, and I enjoy life again. Work related stress is never an issue now! If you’re thinking of taking the leap, do it.
I never post on here despite being a member for over 2 years! It’s been a great source of career help & helped me to feel less alone in difficult times. Thanks so much Craig! Here’s my story in brief… I hope it helps you 💗 I left a couple of years ago after over 10 years of teaching. I also have 2 young children (they were 2 & 5 when I left). I had to go off on sick leave (because I was broken from it) but towards the end of it I started looking at what careers I might like to do (I did a Google search for career quizzes) which helped. I’m currently using supply teaching as a stop-gap between careers. It’s been great to have a super-flexible job, that I’m very qualified to do. I got my confidence back & I get thanked just for turning up! If you can find a school you like and go directly via them for supply. The careers quizzes pointed me in the direction of some careers and I’ve been retraining in the evening while doing supply teaching. Good luck! You can do it! Change can be daunting but it’s also exciting 💜
I was a burnt out primary teacher and I found Little Voices through this group, and am now a very happy and thriving franchisee in the North West ❤️
Jane James of Little Voices responded to the post:
I cannot tell you what a joy it was to speak to you all those months ago and look how you are finishing the year. It was so brave to be curious and pick up the phone – enquire for a prospectus via the website . Amazing things happen when we push our comfort zones ❤️❤️❤️it’s a privilege to work with you 🎭🎶
Hey all, just popping in to say a huge thank you to this group. After realising that teaching might not be the best choice for my work life balance and mental health. I started a new role as a civil servant [were offered administration officer and Executive officer] and am loving every moment. It took me a year of applying to different roles including teaching roles at different schools (154 applications). I was so negative towards my self as all I was hearing was that I don’t have the experience or I was only ever getting feedback from agents wanting me to join a supply agency. A revamp of my CV and applying on Civil service portal I had 5 interviews within 2 weeks and was offered 4 roles. My message is this: don’t give up, you’ve got this! There is light at the end of the tunnel.
I have been a member of this group for some time but never posted before. I have been a secondary teacher for over 20 years. In September I changed school and went from part time to full time. It wasn’t a good move. There was no work life balance and I quickly went from being a fairly confident, strong person to someone who woke up worrying about school, dreaded going in each day and felt physically sick driving to work. Fortunately I have a very supportive family who could see the effect my job was having on me and I resigned in October without having another job to go to. Thanks to Craig’s website and this Facebook page, I spent time reading through the information and thinking about what was really important to me. I knew I didn’t want to teach anymore and made lists of my priorities in life, what I wanted from a job and what my qualities and transferable skills were. I used Craig’s CV template to write my CV and tailored it to suit the type of job I was interested in. I uploaded it to Indeed and set up daily email alerts. A few weeks ago I spotted a job [Administrator at a residential home] that sounded good and which met all of my criteria. I applied online and got an interview. Although I didn’t have up to date experience of the role I was able to take examples of similar scenarios from teaching and use those to demonstrate how I had dealt with situations. As teachers we have lots of skills which we don’t always realise we have, but reading Craig’s website is really useful for helping with this. When they asked why I was leaving my current job I explained it was due to a lack of work life balance and they completely understood. A few weeks later, I was offered the job and started last week. Yes, it is less money but there is no work to take home and I have time to spend with my family and on my own activities and interests. I am not a risk taker and have always erred on the safe side, but I was shocked at how quickly my health and wellbeing deteriorated and no job is worth that. There is a huge sense of relief and it feels as though a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Onwards to the next chapter and a life outside teaching.
I joined this group several years ago now, when I was in a very toxic school and my mental health had been declining over a long while. Just knowing that I wasn’t the only one really helped, so thank you Craig. Two and a half years ago I left teaching completely to work as an Employment Advisor, you’ll find my first success story on here somewhere. It didn’t take me long to realise that an office job isn’t for me. Also when the management changed and things started to feel familiar I had the confidence to stand up for myself, as I now realise it’s not OK to be made to feel less than you are. I also missed teaching. I was fortunate to find a lovely job in an Alternative Provision (AP) , with wonderful, dedicated and kind staff, which I loved, but unfortunately due to finance and restructuring they planned to close my unit and not extend my temporary contract. I found a new job in a new AP which seemed promising but 8 months in I sustained an injury and was unable to work for a few months and subsequently , for the sake of my mental health, I couldn’t go back. Financially this has taken me to the end of 2023. I now stand on the precipice of 2024 less financially secure than I ever have been but looking forward to starting the new term more than I ever have done. I am building up a tutoring base, very slowly, but am hoping this will expand as we head towards GCSEs. I have 2 students starting in January, with one possibly pending. During my time off sick, I have worked on a basic FB page, made myself known locally and started to plan how I can supplement my tutoring with holiday revision groups and masterclasses. I also acquired a student from an AP who I have already started teaching at their home twice a week and additionally , through an agency, acquired a 121 student who I teach at a foster home and have been asked to do extra hours until they are ready to transfer into school. This gives me a secure back up to build the rest of my tutoring business whilst still being paid. I’ve worked out that this month, my first month, if I’m lucky I will be able to bring in almost what I net in a month. Obviously this won’t cover tax on the self employed income or holidays yet, but as I have just begun I feel it’s a positive start to my new business. Next month will be crucial as with February half term my potential income stream will be less but I feel I’ll somehow muddle through financially now I don’t need to turn to gin for sustenance 😉 So it’s scary, but exciting and sorry , a very long post, but I wanted to say that I feel that had all the bad things not happened I wouldn’t have got to here where I am today, knowing I will never go back in to working for someone else in a school permanently again. I might even in time set up my own AP which has always been my dream. I feel the chains have been broken and I can finally stand up on my own. So good luck to all of you in 2024 wherever your hopes and dreams take you. Thank you, thank you, thank you Craig for this page and all of the support on it too. Life is too short to be worn down by toxic people , you deserve more. Happy New Year !
I have been in this group for at least three years. This week I secured a job outside of teaching and I’m going through the inevitable moments of elation, excitement, guilt, panic, what ifs but mostly the relief that there was a job out there and they valued my experience of being a teacher and member of SLT. The success stories in this group have encouraged me along the way, so I thought I should share mine. 🙂
When asked what job they had got, they replied:
It’s a student mentor job at a university. Very excited!
Just wanted to share my success story. I’ve taught since 2004 and loved it for the most part. After covid everything in school seemed to change and everyday was a battle. I began to wonder what else could I possibly do. I felt brainwashed that all I was capable of was being a teacher. My health began to suffer from the long hours and the stress and I decided that enough was enough. I handed in my notice in October to finish at Christmas. People thought I was mad to do it because I had no job lined up. As soon as I had handed in my notice I had friends and family sending me all kinds of jobs links. I applied for one which I thought I had no chance of even getting am interview for as it was an admin officer role and they wanted business experience. But I thought what have I got to lose? Well I not only got an interview but I actually got the job and start in January. I wish id be braver and got out sooner. Don’t hold yourself back because we have so many transferable skills which you just need to word in a more corporate business way.
In response to the question, “Any former music teachers successfully made the leap out of teaching?” Someone wrote this reply:
Yes, I did! I am self employed (which suits me pretty well) with a small PAYE role and I do a combination of primary music teaching (which is PPA cover) and running a private music teaching practice along side working with my city’s music hub, expanding their singing initiatives and (hopefully, I only started recently) running some much larger scale events. I do some performance work too. I love my job and I’m very happy I made the break. The PPA cover doesn’t pay that well but the children are awesome, but private teaching and the music hub is decent enough and so although I haven’t yet matched my UPS 2 salary, I hope to keep growing! You can apply your skills in so many ways, look out for jobs with other arts based and cultural institutions as well as work with schools music services. You get all the joy of teaching and performing without the stress.
It is time for me to say goodbye and thank you. First of all a massive thank you to everyone, reading the posts from people who had got a job outside of teaching kept me going when I thought it would never happen to me (at 52!!). And a massive thank you to Craig for all the help available to apply for jobs and adjust our CV.
Last year I found myself having to care for one of my children whose health was deteriorating quickly. I was worried sick every day I was going to work, but felt that I had to either be able to do the job ‘properly’ (whatever that means) or give it up. After 23 years as a language teacher and Head of Department for 10 of those, I handed in my resignation in January and left in April 2023 with no job to go to. Scary times and very mixed feelings… but I was burning out trying to meet the demands of the job and being a full-time carer… After several applications and rejections, I got an interview with the local council. After delivering a presentation and an interview, I was offered the job and was absolutely ecstatic. I was only out of a job for 2 months, which meant that I did not dig too deep into my savings.
4 months on, I really enjoy my job. I’m a delivery officer. I deliver training for staff, community and professionals. I work from home 4 days a week, and 1 day in the office. I deliver webinars to raise awareness on modern slavery, human trafficking, County Lines to professionals, and I am lucky that I feel that my job is useful and very interesting as constantly linked to news items. I can work around my family’s needs and hospital appointments, and I do not suffer from constant stress and feeling that ‘I am not doing a good job’ anymore. I am also part of a very friendly team who will check on me regularly and are full of praise for my contribution to the team work.
In January 2023, I really thought that life was throwing a massive blow at me, and that it was quite unfair… What else could I do? I have ‘only’ been a teacher all my life… I now think that this has been an excellent move for me. Of course I wish that my child was better, but at least I am the mum I want to be, I do not suffer from uncontrollable anxiety anymore, and I have flexibility to care for my child properly. Yes I took a pay cut, but I feel that I earn a decent salary while being a carer.
I wish everyone good luck, decisions are always the hardest things to do. And when life throws an unfair blow at you, it might turn out to be making you a favour in the long term… Thank you for reading.🙂
I left in April. On paper I took a 20 percent pay drop. In reality I bring about 400 pounds home more per month because the thirty hours I do are counted at .8 of my full time role rather than the .6 (three days) I got paid as a teacher. I’m never EXPECTED to do overtime but if I do I can take those hours back whenever I want meaning I often get a whole day extra holiday a month. I can work from home or in the office, I never miss my children’s assemblies , attended my first ever sports day recently (well the first of my own children). I am happier, healthier, and more present in my own life. I have hobbies that I do in the evening and lots of new friends. Sunday is a relaxing day with my family watching movies or going in walks. I occasionally miss working with children as that was always the very best bit of the job- but the sheer weight of everything else in teaching smothered the joy out of that eventually.
I created a military style plan to leave teaching after years of feeling I wanted out. I set time goals for rewriting my CV (using templates and examples from groups like this) I set time to research on platforms like charity jobs, indeed etc and read up on other jobs- contacted people in those jobs and asked about what they actually did and this helped me narrow down what I really wanted to do next.
I then looked at the minimum we could survive on financially, the maximum hours I could work and then began to apply. I researched loads of interview techniques and wrote out possible answers to different styles of interview questions- I practiced answering these verbally until I could apply to lots of different questions and felt confident when being interviewed.
Once you take the first steps it begins to get easier. But you MUST plan and prepare for this journey and commit to it.
I promised myself in September 2022 that it would be my last September in teaching. It was. Good luck. 🍀
When asked what they did, they replied:
I manage all the rough sleeper services and contracts for my local council. This includes an outreach team, local hostels and supported housing projects. Hard work but very rewarding.
A few weeks ago, I posted anonymously asking for any pointers about an interview for an associate tutor in the prison service. It turns out, it was just a standard teacher interview with lots of behavioural questions (Can you give me an example of…? type questions). Anyway, I prepared really well and came out of the interview feeling SO confident. They said they’d let me know in a couple of days either way but no call came so I started to doubt myself and my abilities because that’s just usually how I feel, professionally.
However!! A week later they rang and said that they were so impressed with me at my interview that they didn’t want to offer me an associate tutor. They have offered me a full teacher/tutor role instead!! I am SO happy! This is something I’ve wanted to get into for years but the time wasn’t right. I saw the job come up before I’d decided to hand my resignation in but just didn’t think I’d get it. Then I had a breakdown and handed in my notice, THEN saw that the closing date had been extended so I applied for it and now here we are! It’s like it was meant to be.
It could still be a few months as I need to complete the screening/security and I’ve been told that that can take sometimes 12 weeks so I’ve also been to sign a contract for supply teaching today. I’m in such a good place mentally compared to 2 months ago!
I just want to say thank you to everyone who has offered support (this wasn’t my only anonymous post) and understanding. It’s been a huge risk to just hand in my notice and leave with nothing to go to and so out of character for me but things are aligning!
In this role, I’m teaching potentially more volatile people. However, I’ll be working 8-5 Monday to Thursday and I finish at 12 on a Friday. With the timing of my classes, I have 4 hours of non-contact time per day. You can’t take anything in and out of prison so there’s also no planning or marking at home. The two interviewers also said that high-level disruption is unlikely as if they kick off, you ask them to leave and if they don’t, they get put behind their doors and have sanctions.
Kate Hughes’ Story (Franchisee, Baby College Oxford)
What is your background? With a music degree and a Teaching Qualification, working with youngsters made perfect sense. I worked as a school teacher before having, and then spending some years at home with, my 3 children. This changed life, and made me look for a job that fitted around family life but also gave me the independence of running my own schedule.
Why did you choose Baby College? Baby College Oxford was something I chanced upon and I have never looked back. I love that Baby college incorporates the latest scientific research whilst teaching parents about the development of their little ones.
How is it going? Since taking over the Baby College Oxford franchise in September 2022, I have opened 2 new venues (to add to the 3 other already healthy ones), met hundreds of amazing parents, worked with local communities to help those that are unable to attend, and I now have around 250 families on my books. It is an incredible feeling when you receive an email from a parent thanking you for making a difference in their lives and for giving them ideas to use at home with their babies.
This job gives you the bonus of earning as much as I did when I was teaching (possibly even more the way I’ve grown the franchise), but with the flexibility to make my own hours. After expanding this summer over Sept/Oct 2023 the business has made me over £8k in just two months!
I get to drop off my kids, do my classes, and still pick them up after it all. It’s a fantastic way of getting the work/family balance life that we all dream of.
Would you recommend this to others? I never thought that I would be running a business of my own, earning a decent salary, whilst being so well supported, and loving every second of it. It was the best decision I ever made and there is so much more to still go on and do! I love my job!!!!!
I had a look back at my last few posts in this group (baring in mind I’d only ever made 3 posts here since I joined in early 2023)… my last post was in October 2023, 3 months after I started my IT Apprenticeship! So much time has passed, and a lot has happened, so I wanted to share some updates:
It’s now been over 2 years since I left music teaching. I’m now a fully qualified (since March 2025) IT Technician/1st Line Helpdesk Engineer. This is currently still an area in demand for anyone who’s looking for a way out of teaching!
I’m now earning the same salary I used to be on when I was a Music Teacher in secondary schools, but without the constant pressure, dread, anxiety, insane workload, feeling of being watched and constantly scrutinised, etc.
My original company was sadly sold to another company, so I’m technically no longer working the same job as what I originally was doing, but I’m still here. I’m still finding this much better than teaching ever was. I couldn’t imagine still being alive by 30 when I was 28 and was already 5~6 years into teaching at that point, just due to the sheer pressure the education industry brought. I’m now 30, and thriving outside of the education industry!
In the time I’ve been out of teaching, I’ve been able to do all these things I love, that I wasn’t able to do as a teacher:
• Return to having blue hair, which I’d had consistently since I was 19 years old all the way until I joined a grammar school that didn’t allow it
• Have public posts of me performing in my many bands like this photo below, dressing how I like without worrying about kids/students/colleagues finding the photos, and finding it inappropriate
• Have NO MORE WORK when I clocked out until I went back into the office the following week
• Work from home on a fixed schedule – this really helps me keep on top of housework, as I can put the washing on in the morning and hang it up during my breaks
• Finally take care of my health – meal prep, exercise, sleep enough, be able to go to the doctors when I needed to, attend other appointments like passport renewals during the working day (without using AL/holiday allowances for the time off)
I wish all of you who are still looking for a way out of teaching the best of luck, and hope you find a good match like I did in the IT sector, after I had a crisis at 27 and decided I was better off starting a new life instead of not being alive at all trying to stick it out in the education sector.
From a mum on maternity leave, to gaining 17 clients upon completion of the 2-hour tutor programme and then replacing her salary in just 6 months, meet Charley Crystal.
Charley was a secondary school English teacher and head of department. She found it increasingly difficult to balance her demanding job whilst raising a young family. Following the birth of her third child, her request to return on a part-time basis was denied so she started investigating creating her own tuition business.
She reached out to us at the 2-hour tutor programme as she wanted a way to continue teaching but with more flexibility and control over her own schedule. She realised she could potentially replace her teacher’s salary by creating her own, online group tuition business.
The support and guidance provided by the 2-hour tutor coaching programme helped Charley to create her own niche group tuition business and market it effectively, supporting English language GCSE students to achieve a grade 7-9.
Charley loves being her own boss and is now able to maintain a better work-life balance for herself and her young family.Building relationships and seeing her students make progress within her programme over time has been highly rewarding and she thoroughly enjoys helping her students increase their confidence with their GCSE English.
Her advice to other teachers in a similar position is to give the 2-hour tutor programme a try as there is ample support, and you can make your money back quickly.
I’ve been working in schools for 31 years and a headteacher for 11. I’ve loved making a difference but the last 3 years became so consuming: working 70 hour weeks, daily migraines, feeling overwhelmed constantly by the lack of support I could provide for staff and children due to limited services, staffing issues and tight finances. Following the death of a family member and serious illness of a child in school I decided to resign in January. No job to go to and no idea what I could do. This group has been a life line. I originally wanted out of a broken education system completely but over the last few month decided to try something within an LA so I could use my experience, skills and still make a difference. I started a new job last week and will support in a local authority with attendance and inclusion. A massive pay cut but it feels right. 37 hours a week, holidays in term time and a great team.
Thank you Craig and everyone else in this group for all your advice and support over the last year. Don’t think I could have been so brave without it. 💕💕
I wanted to add my thanks to Craig for setting up this group and his amazing and helpful website, and share my experiences in the hope they might be helpful to someone else as others have encouraged me. I had been teaching for 23 years and at various times had considered leaving but had no idea what I could do, all I knew was how to teach. I moved schools (we relocated for other reasons) and it was harder than I expected (I’d been in my last school for a long time). The team were lovely and supportive and everyone was friendly but I was just finding it hard. After another evening of tears my husband found Craig’s site and it was an eye opener, suddenly it seemed like there were other possibilities! I read through everything, joined this group and read the other inspirational stories and started looking. After reading advice on various pages (the job search pages are helpful too) I applied for 3 jobs in the CS and was offered interviews for 2. The advice on here and the website and CS about considering your transferable skills is really helpful and exactly what I did- consider what experience you have in a particular skill and describe how you used it; as a teacher you will have many very desirable ones! I was offered a job from the first interview (I also watched lots of videos on interview skills) and have been in post since the start of August. I love it! It’s a completely different pace, there was time to learn and having my weekends and evenings back has been amazing! Although the money is less, it’s manageable and there are always opportunities for progression (and the pension is good too!). Thank you Craig for all your amazing work on the site and group and the inspiration to really consider alternatives and to everyone who took time to share their experiences.
I have a new job with the CS starting on Monday. The wage is very poor (close to minimum wage) and is less than half my last wage in education. I had little choice but to accept the job after a year and a half unsuccessfully applying for a wide range of non teaching jobs.
I would like to thank Craig for his work on the website and this group. The information and guidance provided is excellent and Craig should be commended for his insightful, balanced and supportive approach. Job searching is a lonely process and the site has proved invaluable to me.
Personally, I would not recommend handing in notice and leaving a job without securing another job first, unless you have substantial financial back up. I know people on here have got lucky and found new employment very quickly, and that is great, but there’s no guarantee of this and it won’t be because you are not highly capable and employable. I have found the job market to be a lottery, with many jobs already promised to internal candidates, huge amounts of applicants, very time consuming, lengthy, tough application processes and stiff competition. In my experience, financial instability and stress can be just as dreadful as teaching job related stress. Both are obviously horrid. Without going into gory details, unemployment can be totally dehumanising. I lost one of my best friends to the stress of teaching, so I don’t say this lightly.
I am sharing this perspective from my personal experience and genuine concern for the wellbeing of others.
Once again I would like to thank Craig for all his work and to wish everyone looking for work outside teaching the very very best of luck!
I have been reading the posts since the start of the new term and it saddens me to see so many teachers already feeling so demoralised.
I wanted to thank Craig and this group so much as it is the reason I had the courage to question my job and believe I could look elsewhere and do something other than teach. Now that I have found a job, the least I can do is share my story.
I am a mum of two and in 2 weeks I will be leaving teaching after 15 years and starting my job as a Team Leader for the Environment Agency (full time) with no background in this at all. I thought I would share my story in the hope that it might inspire others who have reached the point where they have had enough.
Firstly I mention being a mum because I have found being a mum of two under 5s and working as a full time teacher almost impossible despite a supportive husband and great colleagues. The problem is the profession, not the school. I feel like I am constantly putting school before my own children even when I try not to, getting them up at the crack of dawn, putting them in wrap around care, relying on grandparents then setting up for an evening of work once they are asleep.
In January I started actively looking for employment and it took me 6 months to find the right job. My new role will involve mainly working from home. I will work flexi-time hours, which I can fit around the school run and, most importantly for me, I can go to things like sports day when I want to and when I finish my day’s work that’s it. No marking or extra unpaid admin. and no setting work when my children are sick and I should be looking after them!
If I could offer any advice on finding a job when you don’t know what you want to do (I had no idea) it would be:
Make your CV non-teacher like and corporate. This is vital.
Don’t apply for 50 jobs. Spend time (a lot of time) applying for just a few that you are really interested in. Don’t send a generic CV. Tailor it to each job. Time consuming but necessary and worth it.
Ignore the titles of the roles. Click on them and scroll to essential criteria and salary. If you meet it then look if you would be interested in it. Often the role puts you off as you have no idea what it is from the title.
Do your homework! If you get an interview, live and breathe it between the time you are notified and your interview and do plenty of research.
Good luck to everyone. The right job is out there and thank you so much to those who have previously answered my questions and helped me.
Lucy Martin has just won one of our coveted top franchisee awards this term with her French, Spanish and Italian Language For Fun franchise, which teaches over 100 adults in Greenwich.
“My quality of life is beyond what I thought possible five years ago.”
As one of those people instinctively attracted to teaching, I never had any doubt after graduating with a languages degree in 2000 that I would qualify as a teacher. The dynamism and ever-evolving challenge of mainstream education, the energy of working with teenagers and the deep satisfaction of sharing my beloved specialism to impact their lives made it the best job in the world….until it wasn’t. I loved being an MFL teacher for fifteen years….until I didn’t. In the final months I found myself morphing into the staffroom cliché: the bitter old cynic ranting about the good old days when children behaved and parents were supportive, enjoying the children less and less, until in 2018 I finally made the decision to get out. A brave move, but also a terrifying one. Desperate by that point to leave, I had no idea what my future would look like but in the coming weeks I allowed myself to fantasise about my ideal job. What did I want for the next chapter in my professional life? To work with my languages – obviously. To utilise my teaching skills – ideally. To make the most of my people skills honed by years of managing adolescents – definitely. I still loved teaching – still craved that buzz of a classroom when it’s going right and everyone wants to be there. But I also wanted to be free from the control, the politics, the endless new policies, and the stress. I craved peace, freedom, room for creativity, space to breathe while doing what I loved – teaching languages – which, let’s face it, was also the only thing I knew. My interior cynic told to suppress this wishful thinking and call round the supermarkets for checkout opportunities. I didn’t listen and keep looking. Which was just as well, because then I found Language for Fun. As a franchisee with Language for Fun, I have all those things on my wish list, and more. I teach the languages I love through a high quality curriculum to motivated students. I’m my own boss and I control my own time. I’m part of a national peer support network. I have access to support and advice, but I’m free to run my business as I see fit and I’ve developed new skills in business development and management. For around 15 hours work a week I earn more than the equivalent of my old part time salary but with no marking or behaviour management issues, and minimal planning. My business is growing and I am present for my children. My quality of life is beyond what I thought possible five years ago. Language for Fun calls its franchise opportunity “Lovely, Lifelong, Livelihoods for Linguists”. Five years in, I can testify to the authenticity of this claim. For this linguist at least, there are no regrets. Thanks to becoming a franchisee in their network, I love being a language teacher again.
I just wanted to share my own little success story.
I’ve been quietly watching this group for a year and had been a teacher for five years. Since the pandemic I’ve found teaching particularly difficult (in a few different schools) and last October everything got too much and I was allowed to leave at October half term. I was ready to jack it all in but convinced myself to give teaching one last go. I went to a brilliant school on agency, really chilled and lovely and got a contract there and my confidence really improved and I looked forward to going to work. Then, the school went through loads of changes and paper planning, regular lesson observations, pressures, ridiculous high standards and unnecessary paperwork all started creeping in and I could feel myself losing it again and I started having panic attacks all of the time. One day in Summer term, I sat in the car park crying for 45 minutes after school and felt so, so bleak and destroyed. That day I thought enough is enough. Luckily, my contract ended on 31st August (it was going to be renewed) and I just walked away from it in July without a plan. I’m the highest earner in my house but my partner and I agreed that this couldn’t go on anymore and we would make it work because the alternative was me being very, very poorly. I applied for every job I liked the look of and I used this group to help me work out financially what could be manageable (which was difficult, seeing as we already struggled with money). I interviewed for a charity and got a job as a project worker, working with children and families. I have flexi time (imagine getting PAID for all the hours you work?!), holidays taken whenever, tea/coffee whenever i want, opportunities to work at home and basically all of the small little things that teaching deprives you of. I’m responsible for managing my own time and case load with an extremely supportive manager, and trusted to do my job. I’m already so much happier and feel like the dark, consuming, overwhelming cloud of teaching is starting to lift 🌥️ Also, I was offered 2k more than the listed salary due to them really wanting me after interviewing, so please don’t be put off by salaries that appear low as there can be negotiation! I have still taken a pay cut but already my quality of life is so much better 🤍 I felt so inspired and encouraged over the last few months reading everyone else’s success stories and believing that there’s a way out so I wanted to share my own ✨
I have been a long time lurker here, and I’m welling up as I write this. After 12 years of teaching, mostly in an independent school I loved, but more recently in rural and deprived schools (following a family move), struggling to cope, I am about to start a new job, in a field I worked in prior to teaching. I just realised I couldn’t do it anymore – that I was never going to replicate the experience I had in my first school. However much I loved my specialism, however passionate I was, in the state sector it was never going to be enough. I was exhausted, overworked and under appreciated. I was expected to magic up resources out of thin air (read – pay for them myself), complete piles of pointless paperwork that kept me away from the children, and work in classrooms where the temperature never rose above 5 degrees Celsius in the winter. Neither teachers nor children were allowed coats indoors, because it apparently didn’t look nice – but the SLT offices were always lovely and toasty. It was outrageous and unbearable – and now I’m off to the Civil Service. I’m so desperately sad to have left education behind, and still wondering if it was the right choice. I’m hoping against hope that this new role works out. Thank you for all the posts I’ve read on this group – you have all helped me to make this decision, and I wish all of you the very best.
I’ve been waiting to write this post for a what feels like years. Because I did it, I got out – in a matter of 6-8 weeks and you can all do it too!
I didn’t have to upskill in anything else or even take a pay cut. All the fear mongering was exactly that. I had 2 interviews and got offered both jobs! I left teaching after 6 years, because at 28 I knew, despite loving the children, that there was more out there for me. And I knew my hard work could pay off elsewhere. So with a lot of determination, a couple of sessions with a career coach and an understanding of what I wanted from a career I applied for jobs with these non-negotiables:
hybrid
A salary of 40k and above
A supportive and good work culture
I have now accepted a role as SDR (sales development rep) for a Tec company. Yes Tec Sales. A base salary of 35k with a commission structure of 10-15k which 100% of SDR’s are achieving and some earning more. And please let me add, a lot of Tec company’s offer an even higher commission but I loved the product and the people so committed to this company with the knowledge I’m getting into a very lucrative career so money will follow.
I’m only 2 weeks in but WOW. The difference in stress. I’m working hard but nothing compares to the teaching exhaustion. I’m socialising, making friends, I’m not isolated in a classroom. The flexibility of working at home 2/3 days a week is amazing and I’d never go back. And you know how amazing it is to know the harder I work, the more I get out? Instead of it just being taken advantage of.
I DO NO WORK OUTSIDE OF MY HOURS. And I actually breath at work. I enjoy my full hour lunch. And I really don’t miss it one little bit!
It saddens me that the job I once loved is the job I’m willing people to get out of but if you were as miserable as me I wish that on no one and want to assure you, it can be better.
(PS: if Tec sales doesn’t get you excited, there were so many education charity jobs that were interested in ex – teachers. My best advice…NETWORK. Get on LinkedIn and chat to people.. message them and ask for a 5 minute google meet to learn a bit more about what you do. I received 2 emails this week from people telling me they had job openings I may be interested in because of this. So many people love to talk about what they do. I recognise being able to move home with my parents was a real privilege and if you can stop paying rent for a month or 2 or rely on a partner that is absolutely a privilege that benefitted me so I am sorry for the people that can’t do that. But you can spend your evenings networking and be out by Christmas! So many companies are willing to wait if they like you.)
So after dreaming about it for years, the final toxic year pushed me to do it!
I’m sat in my own little cafe, after spending this morning piping on cakes, making lattes and bacon butties.
People said I was either incredibly brave or mad, my HT’s parting shot was ‘most new businesses fail in their first year, especially hospitality and catering’
Couldn’t be happier, off the anti anxiety and anti depressants, sleeping well and hair growing back.
If you can….do it.
If you can’t (yet) have a slice of cake and take a deep breath.
My little domain…. (T by the Sea, Victoria Quay, Gosport)
Just wow! My first September weekend in almost 20 years where I have barely anything to do for next week! My lifechanging decisions and opportunities? 🎉Quit my mainstream full time English teaching job. 🎉Secured a 3 day a week job teaching AP students online 🎉Trained as a self-employed study skills support worker for HE students with autism 🎉About to begin a diploma in counselling
Yes – the job is a fixed term mat cover, but I’ve already a whole new skillset in just 3 days and who knows what it may lead to.
Yes – I am still waiting for referrals for the study support role, but I’ve gained some valuable qualifications and certificates for all the training I’ve done (CV update due!)
Yes – going back to study is daunting, and is going to cost me, but in 2 years I will be qualified for independent practice, and can be fully self employed should I wish to choose that route.
Yes – I will have less money in my pocket, but sitting here in my garden without a care in the world, listening to the bees go about their business on a beautiful September Saturday morning, is priceless!
So to anyone in this group who have started this term knowing that this will be your last year, my advice is any or all of this:
✅ Start planning now – map out an action plan (and stick to it) ✅ do some free taster days, courses. ✅ Research jobs/roles ✅ Get your CV sorted ✅ Organise some work experience, shadowing and/or volunteering to expand your skillset ✅ Work out your bottom line income you need to exist – ditch the unnecessary expenses now to start building a financial cushion ✅ Draft your resignation letter and see how it makes you feel 😂
A long post, but hope it’s worth sharing a success story. I know I have friends and ex-colleagues in this group who have had these conversations with me but are still there hating it, and everyone else who is the group for similar reasons.
The biggest and hardest step is to make the decision, but once you’ve done that, the rest just seems to fall into place. 🙏🙌
I came out of teaching after 20 years. Wish I’d done it years ago. Now a mental health social worker working in the NHS. Paid overtime is always available if I want to do it but there is absolutely no expectation to do extra. There’s also loads of flexibility and autonomy. Since changing career I’ve realised just how archaic management in schools really is!
I applied for Think Ahead. You complete a post graduate diploma whilst learning on the job with a bursary. You then are employed by the NHS or local authority, depending on where you are based and complete an MA in the 2nd year whilst working. It’s a fast track course, so full on, but a really quick way to change career!
I’m working on an NHS community mental health team as a work coach. Love it 🙂
I work with folk who have recovered from mental health illness, back into work, when they are ready. It’s person centred and they’re not ‘tied in’. I manage a caseload. I’ve worked with some amazing people in my role. It’s a very rewarding, interesting job.
I just wanted to add to the many positive posts I’ve been seeing here recently as the new academic year has started. In my 6 years as a music teacher I was only ever at school at the start of September 3 times as I’d been going school to school as a long term supply teacher for 4 out of 6 years, and mostly didn’t start until the second half of a term. Music teaching jobs had already become so hard to find by the time I completed my first PGCE (post-16) in 2018, and even more so when I got my second PGCE (secondary) in 2021.
I remember facing numerous incredibly challenging behaviour everyday and thinking “maybe they’d behave better if I was there at the start of their school year instead of halfway through?” then of course I was proven wrong, haha!
Yesterday, I said to my colleague that I was so glad to not be in school and instead was at an extremely supportive IT company, learning how to become an IT engineer, with an incredibly friendly and supportive team. I have not had a single bad day at work since I became an IT Apprentice around 2 months ago, and continue to enjoy learning SO MUCH (ties in with my previous experiences of being a studio engineer geeking out at studio setups and equipment for this).
I have continued doing what I love despite leaving the world of music teaching – I continue to perform in bands on the weekend, and my current employers are not only extremely supportive of this, but everyone at work would ask how my gig went during the weekend, and some would try to come and watch me perform too!
I thought the “honey-moon period” of making the career change dive would have worn off after a month at my new job, but it hasn’t at all – this is my life now, and I’m so much happier compared to before that it’s just insane to make the comparison!
I hope all of you who are considering the change successfully find a career that allows you to thrive, not just barely survive each day, and realise the crippling weight of trying to keep up with the constantly increasing workloads and expectations in school isn’t universal to other jobs.
Update
Hi fellow (ex & maybe soon-to-be-ex) teachers. Just over half a year ago I made the decision that staying in the broken education sector wasn’t worth it anymore, and became an IT Apprentice (Admin-found through the Government Find an apprenticeship service) slightly over 3 months ago. I recently had my 3 months review and had words like “amazingly”, “she should be proud”, “excellent” written about my performance in a brand new career in my report. I never had this in my 6 years as a teacher despite working myself to the point of (almost) death.
I never thought I would ever find any job like this after working at so many different schools, and never seeing real improvement between them for behaviour, workload, micro-management, resources, or effective support. I thought the “honeymoon period” of getting out of teaching would have worn off after a month, or maybe 2 months, and certainly by 3 months… but I was wrong. I was just used to subpar working standards (the ones we teachers are all used to) that any slight improvement feels like a dream.
I’m really lucky I found a company who was willing to give an ex-teacher a new life, and I hope that those of you who are still looking for a way out can find that place that allows you to experience a real healthy, happy working life that doesn’t seem to exist in the education sector anymore.
So, time to share my story to inspire people there is life after teaching. My brother encouraged me to join this group during the last Christmas holidays, when I knew I had to make a change. 22 years teaching, mainly in 2 schools, a bit of supply and a near breakdown in 2013. Took a lot to put me back together after that, but the school I had worked in since 2015 did. However, I could have 22 years of working life ahead of me and I knew, if I stayed in teaching, my physical and mental health would continue to suffer. I’d heard all of the “transferable skills” advice, I just had no idea where to start or what I was good for after so long in a classroom (mainly Y1 & Reception).
One random night in January I was awake and worrying at 3.30am. I started scrolling through the local council job pages, and found one job which involved working with young people, but not in a school setting. There was an open evening the following week, and I met a lady so passionate about her job and making a difference to the young people in her care, I knew I wanted some of that. I applied, was interviewed and got the job. It look several months for all of my DBS checks to clear (they had to go through nearly 30 years of working life!) but the timings worked in my favour, as I could see out the school year with my class.
On 1st August I started my new career in a children’s home as a Residential Children’s Worker. It wouldn’t suit everyone, with shifts, overnights and a pay cut (was on UPS2) but I’ve absolutely loved my first month. I know there are bigger challenges to come, but the team have been so welcoming, the young people have been accepting and the manager has been complimentary. I’ve had loads of training and support. I have been asked to be the new resident’s key worker, so I will have to learn fast. Staff are not expected to do any work outside of their hours, but if you do, you log it as overtime. (I can’t get my head round that!) Extra shifts can bit picked up, and colleagues are willing to swap when necessary. Annual leave is worked out in hours, rather than days. Some weeks I have 4 consecutive days off, others 3.
Am I going to miss anything about school? Yes, of course, especially my classes, my colleagues, my own space to organise. I feel for all of you dreading going back because I’ve been there, done that. I feel like I’m getting my life back, and am even hoping to come off the anti-depressants which have been my crutch off and on for the past 15 years.
There is life after teaching, and I hope you can all find it too, because anyone who has worked in teaching deserves it. Thank you Craig, and thank you [my brother].
Mental Health Charity – Developing & Delivering Training
Hi all. I’ve been lurking here for months now, I joined on the recommendation of my therapist as I hit complete burnout late last year and I was internalising it and feeling a failure so she thought seeing that I’m not alone would help. This group has honestly helped so much. I’ve done some of Nicola’s coaching sessions and I’ve read along with so many of you. I left teaching at Easter with no plan of what I was doing next but I knew I couldn’t carry on. I’ve been desperately trying to get back into the charity sector as I’ve loved working there in the past but it’s so hard and there’s been a lot of rejection. I took up supply as a means to an end in between and got lucky with a lovely supportive agency. I’ve taken then summer to apply for things I like the sound of and I’ve found my dream role working with a mental health charity developing and delivering training for schools and colleges. For anyone else reading here and feeling disheartened, you are not alone, it’s hard but it will get better. Thank you to Craig for running such a great group and to all of you for giving me hope x
Hello lovely people! I have an interview for a job as a course administrator at a university on Thursday! Thank you to the website for helping me fill in my application. I’ll also use it to help me prep for the interview. BUT… What is it like working in a university? Is it all year round or do they close during summer? I don’t think they do but then I’m not sure. Might there be a uniform or will it be office clothes? Is anyone a course administrator and can tell me what a day to day is like? Thank you for any insights. I’ve tried to search but I’m not sure I’m searching for the right words.
They updated their post saying:
I just want to say thank you to this group, the website and all the advice! I got offered a job as a course administrator at a university close to me today! I am so thrilled! They even said I was their first choice because of my experience working with children – they said it would definitely come in handy when dealing with students! 😅 So there ARE jobs that really do appreciate ALL of our experience!
Today is the first day since I was 4 years old, that I haven’t been in school/uni. I thought I would feel anxious, have FOMO, be wondering what is happening…. but I’m really not! Yes, I hoped my ex-colleagues/friends did well, and I did have a sneaky look at the emails to see what I was missing…. and then very quickly closed them down and felt thankful I had left! I started today with a walk in the sunshine with a podcast, a fresh hot pot of coffee before going to my office upstairs. I have some really interesting tasks to be developing in my new role (started in July) and just feeling very thankful that I have taken the leap to leave the school system and hope it is a better place without me 🙂 Good luck to all those back at school this week and to all those starting out fresh. Don’t forget to enjoy a hot coffee!!
Today was the first ‘official’ day of working for myself as a LAMDA tutor, teaching Drama to pairs in a lovely private school. Having taught for 25 years… Day 1 of my school week. Things to be grateful for…
No sitting in a cold, echoey hall being told how to do my job, when there’s lots of work needing to be done to prepare for the school year.
No having to sign up for duty rota.
Deleting lots of emails that no longer concern me.
Getting an early finish because I’ve been doing bits of work (things I enjoy) for the last few weeks.
Having time and space to plan, prepare resources and communicate with the lovely parents of pupils I’m teaching.
No feeling of dread about the hamster wheel I’m about to get on.
The lovely view from my window of the room that is now my new place of work.
Being able to prioritise my stuff and only my stuff, not the list of dictates and paperwork one normally has on the first week.
No worrying about the new form and how the day will go tomorrow. I can think of more. Lots more.
Not ready to post as myself yet… but I am so happy in my new role. I took a huge pay cut, but my monthly pay isn’t affected too significantly at all. I am so relieved to not be at inset day on Monday, and feel I have made one of the best decisions of my career by leaving. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this free on 1st Sept!
I’m not sure I would have gone for it without this group. I feel so lucky. I’m now working in HE (non teaching) and I really recommend it.
New role is working with schools and students to help manage their university transition process. Worth looking at jobs.ac.uk for jobs you may never have thought about 🙂
Well after handing my notice in back at the start of May with nothing to go to, I had my final day today. This last week I have been showered with love and gratitude from my parents. They have blown me away with the depth of feeling they have for myself and my team. I am proud to have served them and their children. I am hopeful that I helped them in some small way. I leave with no ill feeling for the school. Now to my next chapter. Job secured, starting 4th Sept fingers crossed after all checks. Time to take care of mine and watch my own little people grow rather than everyone else’s.
Success story 🥰 it is possible. Believe in the reason and the rest follows. I am so fortunate to have secured a job relatively quickly. My top tip…make yourself memorable. I was asked how had I pushed myself out of my comfort zone with CPD? And the answer I gave was initially professional and then I said ‘oh and I’ve become a farmer’ and launched into a story about how I had got sheep and more than I wanted and all that that entailed. Apparently it was so random and relevant and it let them know who I was. Think outside of the box. It was this that got me my job. I feel sad it came to needing to leave, but I am proud of the teacher I have been. I didn’t change for the system. I kept some part of me still. Good luck to those on the fence and those already done. And thank you to the successes that came before me. They allowed me to see it was possible. Believe. X
When asked what they were doing, they replied:
I’m going to be an apprentice Early Years and TA independent end point assessor.
I have left teaching after 20 years. I have wanted to leave for over 10 years if not longer. I stuck it out because of money but I reached my tipping point. After being trotted on by career climbers, assaulted by a pupil, bullied by SMT, over worked to the point that I sacrificed myself and my own kids I took a stand. It’s took me a while to get the courage to write this post because of PTSD. This group did give me the courage to make the jump so thank you all for that. I am not OK yet but I know I will be eventually. Baby steps. I will be leaving the group soon and any other education related groups. Even the word school or teaching makes me panic. I wanted to post because there may be other people who feel like me. Make the leap, take the pay cut, put yourself first. I am rebuilding. There is another life after.
When asked what they were now doing, they replied:
Working as a trainer for a software company. It’s amazing.
Did an interview for a non teaching post today on Teams. I didn’t get a phonecall before 5pm which most likely means I haven’t got it but again I don’t feel it went well. There were 5 questions, 4 of which were extremely long winded and detailed. I tried to prepare STAR answers to competency based questions and while this was useful I don’t think I really cracked it. I have another interview for Thursday, any tips?
After 13 years of secondary teaching, I will be starting a new career in software engineering with one of the “Big 4” Professional Services firms in September. I don’t have a computer science degree and I have never taught it. I had zero experience in programming languages and coding before I started learning this year. I dedicated every free moment I’ve had in the last year learning how to code. (And that’s tough as a working parent of two preschool humans!)
I decided last summer after a few years of similar thoughts that I was ready to leave the profession. I have been a teacher, a HoD and for the last 7 years a HoY but once I had a family of young children I really struggled with the expectations and workload of teaching. I had already done most of what Craigs website suggested you do before you leave teaching, I had changed schools, dropped down from 1 FTE to 0.8 FTE and then 0.6 FTE.
I first started looking at charities and learning and development roles, I didn’t have much luck. One interview in October with an education charity that didn’t even have the courtesy to let me know i’d been unsuccessful (until after 3 weeks of chasing).
I reflected and went back to Craig’s website and looked at what I needed to do. What was financially viable? What do my skills lend to? What was realistic? Where were my interests?
I’d always had an interest in tech and stumbled across free resources to learn programming languages. I did a few months self teaching Python and then did two evening courses with an organisation called Code First Girls. I then applied for their “degree” course which is an intense 16 week evening bootcamp, with a job guaranteed at the end. I went through an intense interview process with my “Big 4” company including a tech assessment, group interview and 1-2-1 interview, I was told two days later I had been successful, they would like to sponsor me on the course and offer me a job retraining full time in September.
Thank you for this group and website as I used many of the resources to help me figure out what to do and how to perform well in an interview with the STAR method.
I didn’t think anyone would be interested in my experience but turns they are. Tech companies want teachers. They love our skills. The best comment I received in my 1-2-1 interview for this role was “wow, we are dealing with completely different subject matter in our industries but the skill set across roles is exactly the same.”
There are quite a few teachers who are switching careers the same way as I am and there are many who have done it before me on this group.
I know I’m doing this anonymously, but I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone in this group for the advice and support. I have received a job offer for an applications trainer in the NHS – so I will be handing my notice in asap – and starting after Christmas.
When asked how they found the job, they added:
I looked on NHS jobs and saw the posting required a teaching qualification and experience. I then called them up and had an informal chat about the role – which really helped because it both made me more interested and gave me more confidence about applying.
Hi, I’d like to share another success story if I can? I went back to work as HOD for a Design & Tech department in March 22. I immediately hated it, the work life balance was non-existent and all I wanted was quality time with my daughter. Every naughty kid, late night and addition to my workload made me resent everything about a job I had previously loved for 15 years. I started looking for options and found my way to this page, then after a long time thinking, I enrolled in a Diploma in Digital Learning Design. I did this in the dead of night after my daughter was asleep and qualified in May. I actually resigned in March, partly so that my department has a fighting chance of appointing someone good, but also to force my own hand. I didn’t want to bottle it then find myself still miserable in the job in 5 years. I then put myself out on the job market and made 40 applications before 3 interviews came along at once. The learning curve, particularly around CV writing for the business world was steep, but I nailed it. The interview processes were polar opposite to teaching, with weeks between stages and very little contact. It was gruelling, but so worth it. I found myself having to withdraw from two jobs so that I could focus on writing a presentation for the board of directors at the company I really wanted to work for, then 9 days later I got the call offering me the role of Lead Curriculum Development Manager for a skincare brand. I’ll be developing all of the online content for their apprenticeship schemes. On Friday, I walked out of my teaching job with my head held high, knowing I’ve got a lovely quiet summer ahead of me before I start a hybrid work schedule. I can’t wait to get going. I had many conversations with similarly unhappy staff at my school over the last weeks of term, and they all said they’ve been inspired to give it a go. I’d recommend it to anyone and would happily advise on the CV stuff if anyone wanted help.
Just wanted to let you know I have done it. I handed in my notice in May and have now been offered a job as an HLTA in a local school. Less money but also less stress. And no more long commutes. Thanks to Craig for all the advice and everyone else who has shared their inspiring experiences. And now six weeks to enjoy that feeling of relief 😊
I suppose it’s time I share my story. It’s a long one, but I’ll share in any hope of helping anyone else.
I left teaching (of 15 years) when I was made redundant during maternity leave in January 2023. That was my last hit and I wanted out for a while before that. I spent months applying to jobs outside of teaching going for interviews getting great feedback but never chosen. I decided to do a masters in psychology to change career, with every intention of moving onto the edpsych doctorate afterwards. I just completed it and cannot face a further 3 years of research and writing papers, so made peace that’s not my career.
I spent the last few months again applying for jobs inside and outside of teaching, low pay, anything but teaching. Going to interviews and again great feedback but never being chosen. I was applying for anything and everything by this point, using AI to create really quite rubbish cover letters but just going with higher applications and a little less care as I was exhausted and stressed and really needed a job. Last month my landlord told me he’s selling our home of 5 years where my son was born at home, and the home I told him I wanted to buy. I thought I would be in work by the time he wanted to sell. We were now facing homelessness.
I finally applied for a maternity Senco cover role and got the job. I couldn’t accept it as it turns out they wouldn’t agree a 12 month contract that my mortgage application would require. I sat here that day about to tell them I couldn’t take the job, completely about to have a breakdown that life was so stressful on many fronts, when I got a call from the head teacher of a private school in a non teaching role I wasn’t chosen for. He was honest I was honest. The chosen candidate pulled out. I really wanted this job and was excited about it. I negotiated a higher salary and have my 13 weeks holiday with my children and it’s close to my home with a short commute.
When I calculated the difference between my teacher take home and this take home (over 12k lower gross), realising I now save £150 per month on my daughters school buses because their school is next to my school, and less petrol commuting, I’m actually only £50 per month down, with no work to take home, free lunches, of my evenings and weekends with my 3 children! I’ve just been approved my mortgage, we’re buying our home! It’s all finally worked out but it was a slow stressful 18 months process. Who knows if this role will bexz the one I do forever, I know it will be stressful, as after all it’s still education. But it’s removed all my stress and I couldn’t be happier.
When asked what they were now doing, they replied:
Exams officer, so I should be left alone in charge of everything exams and only reporting to one person 😊 exam boards look more stressful than student behaviour though 🤣
I just thought I would share in case anyone is leaving at the end of this term and is having wobbles (like I was a week before leaving). I left teaching at Easter to work at a university in student support. It has been totally transformative and I feel as though, in the words of the Mad Hatter, I’ve got my muchness back! Friday used to be all about getting in, opening the wine and listening to Radiohead. Tonight I don’t even feel like I want, let alone need, a glass (or 6) of wine, and I have been dancing around the kitchen to the BeeGees. To anyone who is making the leap, good luck and I hope you are as happy as I now am 😊
I just wanted to pass on how grateful I am to this group and community. I was really struggling to find my professional progress in teaching (I was a Curriculum Leader for Drama) and felt, like many others, very under appreciated & burnt out. This group inspired me to finally sit down and write my CV (after not having had one for about 10 years!) After that, I began putting in applications for roles I’d never even heard of but was so excited by! This group made me understand how valuable my transferable skills are in other roles and it gave me the confidence to hand in my notice and take a leap of faith.
3 months later, I am now the Events, Communications and Marketing Manager for an Academy, have an incredible work/life balance and can draw on all my years of experience from teaching in a new role that is creative, interesting and the perfect level of challenge and CPD.
This group was a lifeline, thank you. Keep doing what you’re doing!
Just to say, I’ve done it, I’ve left! Just starting my second week as an organiser for the Labour Party. It’s been a strange adjustment, working in a big office with lots of adults, no bells to guide and punctuate my day, no panic that I’m going to be late (meaning 30mins at least before my working day starts)
I have missed the pace in one way, most because I’ve been indoctrinated into working really fast and really efficiently for the past 15 years, that my new role feels a bit slow. However I’m taking the time to do research, learn systems etc.
I didn’t have Sunday night blues the other night. I’m currently (although it will not always be like this) running a million point to do list in my head.
I have taken a larger than I’d have liked pay cut and I no longer get the school holidays, which will feel strange in a few weeks time. But I’m hoping I can drop my kids at school every morning and after working a day can be more available to them, rather than thinking about other peoples kids- which to me is priceless.
Thanks for all the support I’ve found in this group. I set myself the challenge to get out of teaching by the end of the year and managed it by March. I’ve tried to upskill myself with union courses and now I’m out
Wishing everyone trying to get out the best! Take care of yourselves, and remember this is just a job! Don’t be guilted into staying if it’s not for you anymore x
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has posted CV and application tips, and to the admins and moderators of the group. This group has given me courage to keep applying when I felt it was all hopeless and I would have to go back to teaching as I thought I would at least know what to write in the application!
Today I have been offered a new role and therefore will leave the group but didn’t want to leave without a thank you.
Good luck to everyone searching, and also to those still in schools. Just remember what a fantastic job you are doing, and although it feels too much, you are incredible!
Thank you to Craig and this group for helping me on my journey out of teaching; I will be leaving on the 31st August after 23 years of teaching MFL. I’ve known for a long time that I wanted to leave teaching and started the long process of training to be a counsellor quite a number of years ago. I went to evening class and over a total of 4 years did my level 2, 3 and 4 diplomas. The latter was especially challenging teaching full-time, whilst also doing a 100 hour placement for a local charity, and completing all assignments. But I did it, and loved it, and qualified in 2019. Then I set up my private practice, again whilst teaching full-time but limited myself to 3 clients max a week so that I didn’t burn out, with the aim of building up experience. In October 2022, I reduced my teaching contract to 0.7 to see if I could grow my business, which I have. My next steps now I’m leaving teaching? To keep counselling but also in September, I’ve been accepted onto an MSc in Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy. Once this is done, I will be a CBT Psychotherapist and I’m hoping my business will go from strength to strength. Life now feels exciting and I wish you all good luck in following your dreams!!
I worked as a geography teacher in London for 13 years in various roles, including Head of Department and Lead Practitioner for Geography in a multi academy trust. I loved teaching in so many ways, but once my son was born I found it increasingly difficult to have a work-family life balance. I was becoming frustrated with some aspects of teaching and felt that the focus on exams and attainment robbed a lot of the fun out of learning. I tried hard to make sure my students (overwhelmingly from a fairly deprived area of London) experienced trips to rivers, the coast and countryside, and had the chance to ‘run free’ within the bounds of field trips and Duke of Edinburgh expeditions. Having my flexible working request denied and returning to work effectively demoted was the last nail in the coffin. I have always loved being outdoors, particularly taking long meandering walks in the parks or the countryside. My son was a ‘Covid baby’ so when he came along, we had no choice but to do all our exploring and socialising outside. I worried about this at first, but there was definitely a moment when I realised that not being allowed to mix indoors didn’t have a negative effect on him, quite the opposite. Around the same time, I suffered with post-natal depression/anxiety, which led me to learn more about mental health and mindfulness and the benefits of nature for our mental health. I also realised how valuable it is for new mums to have a group of similar people to interact with as more than ‘just’ a mum.
Why a children’s franchise? I’d started thinking about alternative careers, knowing that I definitely wanted to work with children and their families. Nearly every option that appealed to me (nursing, midwifery, social work, play therapy, youth work, counselling) had similar problems to teaching in terms of a tricky work-life balance, yet seemingly similar benefits in terms of job satisfaction. I was really lost as to what I could possibly do. One day, when toddler classes had restarted, I turned to my friend in a Singing/Acting class and said ‘I wish this was my job.’ At the time, I was half joking, but it sowed a seed. As much as I loved taking my son to the class, the reason I took him there was it filled a void in my skill set and gave him something I couldn’t. Realistically I am not cut out to be an Imaginator, however fun it looks. I also definitely don’t have space for all those props in my tiny house. I started researching different children’s franchises. I was still pretty sceptical that it could actually become a viable career and I was scared. I stumbled upon Nature Makers and loved the sound of the classes. I organised a meeting with Faye, who was completely lovely and I definitely felt like we clicked. I also went to one of her classes at Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens (roughly 100 miles away!) with my son. I remember saying to my husband ‘I really hope this is as good as I think it will be because if not I’ll be devastated!’ Thankfully, it was awesome (so was Faye) and I left really inspired and excited for the future. Fast forward six months and I have moved to the other end of the country and set up Nature Makers in the north east. I absolutely love my job and couldn’t be happier.
Having worked as a secondary school teacher of MFL for over two decades, with roles including Head of World Languages, Head of Year, Achievement Coordinator and even Assistant Headteacher; I returned from maternity leave for the second time and realised that the pressured and challenging environment I was in was just no longer for me. It just didn’t fit anymore with the beautiful new world I had been gifted with my two precious girls. I wasn’t sure what was to be my next step, but I knew I needed a route out.
I had never heard of language classes for babies and toddlers (I would definitely have taken my two along, if I had!) and had certainly never considered that buying a franchise was a possibility but Ellie Baker, founder of BilinguaSing Ltd., connected with me on LinkedIn and that was it! There was no message, simply the name of the franchise was enough to pique my interest I thought “Languages? Singing? This is me! What IS this?!” Perfect timing for me and, even despite the uncertainty and lack of security that came soon after with Covid, I have never once regretted the leap I took out of teaching when I bought my franchise back in 2019. I never thought I’d be one of those people who could whole-heartedly claim “I love my job!” but I totally am! As well as treasuring being able to share my love of languages and getting to have fun singing with little ones and their grown-ups during my day, I get to walk my girls to and from school and design my week to suit me and my family!
Just thought I would share my story on here of how I recently got out of teaching and into an office job. I am only 2 weeks in and can tell already my stress is going to be at a much more healthy level.
Christmas last year I realised after 4 years of teaching that the stress was becoming too much. I have never struggled with my mental health but my fiancé started to realise a decline in my mood and the amount of work I was doing at home was only increasing. This cumulated in me at only 27 getting shingles due to stress. 2 weeks off work with a very painful and unsightly affliction made me realise I needed to get out.
I applied for jobs and landed an interview for a junior programming role. I went through the process and got offered the job 4 days after the Easter notice period. I had not handed my notice in and due to being the only qualified a-level computing teacher simply quitting was not an option for the kids sake.
I then made the decision after having to decline an exciting job opportunity to hand my notice in with no job on the horizon.
I saw the year out and interviewed for one last job 1 week after the end of summer term. 2 days before my wedding day I was offered a job as a technical analyst for a software consultancy.
I had managed to land a job outside of teaching, a massive relief.
Point of the story is if you know you want to leave teaching even if you don’t have something sometimes taking that leap can make amazing things happen and worst case scenario you could always be a sub/cover supervisor in the mean time. We have so many transferable skills that make us valuable to many companies.
Many of the stories in here helped inspire me to take the leap so hopefully this story inspires someone else to do the same.
Posting anonymously as my colleagues don’t know I’m leaving yet…but just wanted to say thank you for the suggestions, help and advice posted in this group.
I finally summoned the courage to apply outside teaching for the first time in over a decade and I was (very luckily) successful at my first interview earlier this week. I’m really looking forward to a new challenge and a move away from the classroom!
When asked what the new job is, they replied:
It’s a support worker in children’s residential care 😊
I’ve known I’ve wanted to leave teaching for a while so I’ve tried to take calculated and concise steps towards that goal. I’m not in a position where we have loads of savings, but we’ve been careful and I managed to go part time this year. Although better for my mental health, it ultimately didn’t solve the deeper issues and I knew by December that this career wasn’t for me.
I handed in my notice very early, and I had decided I’d supply until I either found another school or my own business began to grow- which was the ultimate goal.
Since the relief of resigning, I’ve started having less mental fatigue and more boundaries, and actually am using my days out of the classroom to grow my business and it’s becoming really successful, with regular clients- something I didn’t expect. I also managed to be offered a curriculum development position- it’s consultancy work but they’ve already contracted me for a sizeable project that will just about pay the bills… so I may not need to supply at all! This wasn’t even on my radar but it was through connections at school that I was approached and asked about it.
Making the decision to leave was the hardest part but everything else fell into place. It almost felt like I had to make that decision to mentally make room for what other possibilities lay before me. For those of you on the fence, I hope this helps somewhat. It feels really cheesy but I believe everything does truly happen for a reason.
Just want to say thank you to Craig for this group and the website and all the posts on here that have made me brave enough. After a long struggle with my mental health these last 2 years, I finally took the plunge. After 20+ years of teaching I started applying for jobs in the Civil Service. I’ve just handed in my notice and start my new job in a few weeks. I‘m not a great fan of cliches but I really does feel like the weight of the world has lifted! 🙏
Appreciation post for this group. I joined a few months ago when I was demoralised after a tough inspection. It gave me the push and confidence I needed to look for jobs outside of the pressure and politics of my school. I started searching on Indeed and followed the advice on Craig’s website to write my personal statement, which I tailored for each application. I initially applied for 2 jobs, was invited for interview and offered them both. The one I accepted was a Specialist Teacher for a LA, part time (which was important to me), more money and out of the classroom 🙌🏼. I then decided I might like the opportunity to boost my income if needed; so again, using my tailored personal statement, I applied, was invited for interview and offered a job as a casual Independent Family Group Conference Coordinator. I can give my availability weekly, WFH and it pays really well. I feel like such a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, to know I have a clean slate for September. So thank you, I’m so grateful for this group and Craig’s website. Good luck to all who are still on the road to leaving.
I am about to leave the group after successfully moving from thinking of to actually leaving teaching. From September I will be working as an Education Advisor for my local Virtual School. I am excited and nervous but thankful that this group gave me the courage to take the leap. I used the Guardian template to re-write my CV. Searched Indeed, County Council and Civil Service websites using ‘Education’ as a keyword. In total I applied for 5 jobs and got interviews for all. First was unsuccessful, 2nd and 3rd I was offered, 4th and 5th I withdrew as I’d accepted by then. I agree with everyone that, to get your foot in the door, it’s vital to tailor your CV/application form/covering letter to the job and person spec but after that it’s even more important to prep thoroughly for interview. I watched YouTube videos, read policy documents, researched institutions, practiced interview questions and presentations. As I was stepping out of my comfort zone I prepped like I’d never prepped for a teaching/TLR interview – and it paid off! I also think it’s really important to find the job that’s right for you. Don’t try and force yourself to fit because you’re so desperate to get out. If you get it right, your passion and enthusiasm will shine through and that makes all the difference. Good luck to everyone that’s still searching. I hope my post helps in some way 😊
Good evening, I’ve been part of this group for a while and thought I would share my story. I was a secondary school teacher and I handed my notice in January 2022 without a job to go to, despite having a family at home to support but knowing that it would be best for all of us if I wasn’t a teacher anymore. I was lucky though, that we knew my husbands wages would pay the bills and we could just cope if I didn’t get anything and just did supply the next academic year. I did get a job, fixed term job at the local university working as an outreach officer. I wanted fixed term in case I wanted to go back to teaching and they were happy to wait until September for me to start so I still got my summer. It has been a great move. I have had to juggle childcare in the holidays, but it has been easier than I expected especially as we can do flexible working and work from home a number of days a week. I no longer work in the evenings and the weekends are now my own, I have so much more time for the family. I am now about to finish my fixed term position and start my permanent one in the same department with no thought of re entering teaching. There has been a pay drop and I am lucky that my husband was able to financially support me with this.
Good Morning all. I just wanted to share my leaving teaching success story! I left my school (secondary) at the end of the Spring term and have since started a job at the Environment Agency. Two things I’ve noticed the most since starting my new role: 1. I’m not completely tired out at the end of a day 2. I can finish work at 4.30 and not do ANY work in the evenings, or even think about work!
Thank you to everyone who helped me on my journey!
When asked about the job and where they found it, they replied:
I looked on the environment agency jobs portal. I’m a technical officer, the role is generic but they have roles in various teams at this grade. I’m at Grade 4, which is the same pay as M2 currently. Grade 5 jobs are around M6/UPS1 salary currently.
Former Primary school teacher, Francesca Mash said, ‘Buying my Tappy Toes business has been the best thing I’ve ever done. I now have quality family time and every class is a joy to teach!’
Morning! I have an interview today 😬 It’s training/assessing teaching assistants. This is the first interview I’ve had in 20 years and I’m bricking it!!! Teaching broke me and I’ve been on the sick for 6 months. This group and website has been a godsend 🙏 Any kind words of wisdom would be much appreciated 💕 xxx
They later updated this:
Update: I got the job!!!! 😊 Thank you for all of your lovely and supportive comments ❤️ xxx Thank you x
They also mentioned my website:
your website has been absolutely wonderful, thank you so very much xxx
Just wanted to say thank you to everyone that has posted in this group. I accepted my first teaching role 30 years ago. I have had various positions as my family has changed and grown. I’ve been at my last school about 16yrs. This week I have accepted a job for the LA working as business support for the fostering and adoption team. It is for 30 hours a week and mainly working from home. Chasing references and DBS checks and minuting online meetings. I am very sad to be leaving my amazing staff – but not the job. I’ve been on medication for the last few years just to sustain myself. The counselling I had a few years ago told me to leave – but has taken me a good while to have the confidence to get out. I feel so relieved to be leaving but so sad that I am. I have fallen out of love with the only profession I know. But what makes me even more depleted is realising just how many of us feel the same. Where will it end? But thank you all for your wise words and understanding. When the fun stops – stop!
After, 17 years working in the insurance industry, I decided to train to teach. I left my job and went to university to gain a degree and to complete my teacher training. It was a role I was passionate about and truly loved at the beginning. As the years progressed, demands grew and grew, targets were higher and support was scarce. Despite working with a wonderful team, and kids I loved, my school became toxic to me and I felt that I had to leave teaching and try something new. I had no job to go to when I handed my notice in – something that was terrifying as I didn’t know what might happen next.
I posted my CV online and had numerous offers of teaching and supply posts. These were not what I wanted! I applied for a couple of jobs in the private sector and I was invited to interview – so at least I knew I had something to offer.
As I was waiting to interview I received contact from the founder of a local charity. He had heard that I had left teaching and was interested in me joining him and his team. I went for an interview and we spoke at length. The role was as a training manager, developing and delivering sessions and workshops to schools, businesses and community groups. The focus on safety and wellbeing for women – including work around domestic abuse, stalking, coercive behaviour and healthy relationships. Although the post meant a reduction in pay (often a worry I know) it was too good not to take it! So here I am…
I haven’t been so happy or fulfilled in my career for years. I’m valued and appreciated. My days are varied and interesting. At the end of the day I go home and I’m not expected to do anymore. I still get to work with young people – just in a different way.
Training and in particular the charity sector is a great option for someone with the skills that teaching provides.
I’ve been quietly reading so many helpful posts on here for a while. I just wanted to say thank you! Your ideas gave me the confidence to hand in my notice. I had no job lined up but got on with job applications. I accepted a job offer today!
When asked what job they had got, they replied:
I’ll be working in a library including school visits, helping people and working with the community so similar skills to teaching but with new things in the mix. After almost 30 years teaching it is a new chapter!
As a teacher I have always encouraged pupils to use their education to their advantage. I have been a maths teacher for 17 years now and can’t see me working in a classroom for another 17 years or more.
Prior to entering teaching I had a career in football and through this had an interest in the human body and the how the body heals from injury. When looking for a fulfilling career outside teaching, osteopathy seemed the perfect fit. It’s a career where, like teaching I can have a positive impact on the lives of others. This time though I will be improving the health and well-being of others.
The skills developed in the classroom such as explaining maths concepts to students have come in useful when trying to explain anatomy concepts to the patients I’m involved with treating. As a teacher you need a lot of patience and to adapt when things don’t always go to plan. In the treatment room every consultation is different, and you need to be willing to adapt your thinking to the different problems you are presented with on a daily basis.
The ability to study osteopathy part time at weekends at The London School of Osteopathy is just perfect for me, first 3 years I can cope with working full time then naturally taper off to two days a week.
Being able to naturally bring teaching to an end is brilliant and I learn something new every day now. The being a student again is one of the best parts of the osteopathy course. Knowing I will help people again in a different way is similar to guiding students on their learning journey. If you have an interest in osteopathy and know teaching is becoming something which is not what suits. My advice is plan the 5 years retrain and change.
I can’t wait to what the next chapter brings. I will be able to choose to work full or part time, for myself or in a multi-disciplinary practice. A new world of possibilities awaits. And you never know I could go back into teaching but this time teaching osteopathy students like myself!
Thrilled to say that I have been ordered the job of Learning and Development Advisor at a large law film. I am self funding and working towards my level 5 CIPD Diploma in organisational learning and development. I think this helped in really showing my commitment to a career change. There were two stages to the interview process, the first being a traditional style interview question and answer session. The second a 20 minute facilitated workshop as part of a blended learning approach I had to design. I hope that is of some help for others branching into L&D.
Thought I’d share my journey after leaving teaching in August 2022. My story is slightly more unique in the sense that I left to work alongside my husband in the family business (construction related) so I did not go through interview processes. However, what I have noticed is how transferable my skills are to project management! The organisational skills and coordinating projects from cradle to grave is very much the same as teaching. I decided to undertake a 3 day project management course, mostly so I could learn the new semantics but the systems are practically the same (we just use different terminology!)
One of my biggest challenges has been accepting a change in my values as a professional. I really struggled with the concept of profit making and not ‘improving the lives of others’ as directly. So I met with a career coach who gave me a sound piece of advice.
She said that I may never (and many people are the same) find one singular line of work that meets all my needs and requirements as a person. She recommended I take a portfolio approach to my career. This is basically where you break your week up and do 2 or more jobs that give you full time work but meet your needs differently. So since then I have secured freelance work with a training company as a wellbeing and employability coach. I meet my clients out with my business hours and I have found that spark from being a teacher I missed has come back as I am helping people directly again.
The career coach advice to take a portfolio approach to my career has been the best advice I have had. Between the two jobs I can meet all my needs/wants and values. My advice is to perhaps consider what types of jobs meet your needs and then look for part time work in both! This was something I would never have considered!
Just a little encouragement for you all – I left teaching in 2019 and my ‘escape job’ is at a local university as a lab technician in molecular biology. It’s not too glamorous, but it does require a decent amount of grey matter, and we still get a lot of hands-on work with the students, especially during the final BSc year and MSc projects. That ticks a lot of boxes for me. (And I leave my work at work!) Our MSc projects start next week and I was giving an introductory course to a bunch of students today. Lo and behold, I meet an ex-pupil of mine from 4 years ago, who followed my footsteps to study Biochemistry, and is now undertaking her Masters with us! It was a lovely surprise for both of us! 😊
Hello everyone! Just thought I would share my situation with everyone as I have officially left teaching and had a week in my first job! I handed my notice in at my previous school at Christmas as I was starting a new job. Unfortunately the employer of that job withdrew the position but I still applied for other jobs. Luckily I applied for the current job I’m in now which is for HMRC. I absolutely love it, I cannot express how much of a different life I have and I now actually have time for people in my life (this week I actually went out after work two nights in a row because I had no work to do outside of normal working hours!. Previously I was in teaching for 1 and a half years working in a secondary school, my first year was incredibly tough and I changed schools to a fantastic and supportive school but the work life balance was non existent ( I just worked). Some advantages of leaving are; I have my life back, I have met some amazing people in my new job, the workplace itself (HMRC If anyone is thinking of applying) are amazing – they care so much about your well-being and with my role I can use flexi time which means I can work some different hours which is great! Some disadvantages are I am paid less ( but in reality am I for what I was working in teaching?), you don’t get the same holidays however I do get 25 days + all bank holidays including the kings coronation and flexi time in which you can take half days etc, and I do miss being in the classroom as all I ever wanted to be was teach but unfortunately not at the expense of my personal life and wellbeing! I have written this just to give an insight into leaving technically without a job lined up and with some of the benefits but also some disadvantages! 😀
I started following this group a couple of years ago and it gave me so much hope that there was life outside of teaching.
I hit crisis point in September 2021 after a culmination of work expectations becoming unmanageable, not being supported by senior leadership in my role and being told daily to ‘be creative’ to manage impossible and unsafe situations. My daughter was also struggling with her mental health post Covid and it all became too much. I simply couldn’t get out of bed.
I spent several months in complete burnout and eventually tried a phased return, where I was then micromanaged within an inch of my life and got to a point where I didn’t even believe I could make a decision for myself. I’ve never felt so low.
However, I somehow found some strength (pure desperation) and looked for jobs and applied! I actually pulled out of two interviews the day of the interview as they didn’t feel right and I was still too ill.
Eventually I saw a job working as an education service lead in a mental health hospital and I felt excited for the first time in what felt like forever!
I applied, I interviewed, and I got the job!
I have now been in this post for a year and I can honestly say I have never felt so enthused and empowered by a job!
My boss can’t believe how much I’ve done…because no matter what I’m expected to do, it all feels like a walk in the park compared to teaching!
I work sensible hours, my weekends and holidays are my own, I have a team to work alongside who support one another, not blame and point because they’re all so burnt out and bitter that they can’t see any other way of working.
I actually earn more than I did in teaching and I had a leadership role in secondary. The holidays aren’t as good…but I actually enjoy them now so feel as though I am more rested! The pension isn’t great…but at least I no longer feel I’m working for a pension I wouldn’t have lived long enough to receive!
I have only posted anonymously due to knowing some amazing staff who work at the school and not wanting to tar everyone with the same brush! Especially as I know some are in this group.
I spent so much time thinking I’d never be well enough to work again! But I am, and loving life! There is another way! I promise
When asked what the job entailed, they said:
I was employed to set up and lead a service for patients and some community users to learn vocational skills for future employment. I also employ some ex teachers who absolutely love their job too! It’s like the best bits of teaching every day!
Just wanted to send out a massive thank you to this group and the Facebook page. 🙏 After 14 years of teaching and as head of department (and a tough period of a breakdown due to stress) I had my first day in my new job today at the local council in children’s and young peoples services! I loved it!!! 🙌 I just want to say thank you for all the top tips on the Facebook group and the website – I don’t think I would have valued my worth without it!! My colleagues say I’ve been brave and I never really knew how brave I was until today. I went through a period where I questioned my sanity and whether I was doing the right thing; but today I know I’ve made 100% the right decision. No looking back just moving forward into a fabulous job and promising career! If you are in that state of flux my advice would be simple – there is a life out there, know your worth and believe you can! X
When asked how they found the job, they said:
I literally just kept checking the council job sites. When I saw a job that I felt my skills applied to I applied but I spent a lot of time working out the key words from the job/person spec and in all honestly I barely mentioned teaching. I took the bare elements of teaching and twisted them into more “corporate” speak. For example – rather than saying you design schemes of work I would say that I use strategic vision to formulate short, medium and long term plans in line with KPIs and performance objectives. It’s just changing the language! Hope that helps? X
Hi all, I just want to thank the group for helping me to find a job outside of teaching. I’m posting anonymously because my colleagues don’t all know about this yet but I am leaving teaching at Easter, after 12 years in the profession. The stress levels had reached a point where I felt sick walking into work every day and work was coming before my own wellbeing. I felt guilty for ages, thinking I was failing as a teacher, and put off leaving for three years but this year I couldn’t put it off any longer. I am going to work at a university as a senior success and retention officer, supporting international students, and can’t wait for a challenging, 9-5 job. In the interview, I was just myself – I laughed at myself, was chatty, spoke loads about how my experience and skills related to the new post and, importantly, I told them I was aware of the areas I need to improve upon but told them I am an enthusiastic and keen learner, prepared to put in the work to develop them. I also related the role to my own personal experiences so the panel knew that I have empathy for the people I will be dealing with. Apply for jobs that are outside of your comfort zone as well as within it but definitely look carefully at the person spec and required skills. If you have most (but not necessarily all of them), send off an application – you have nothing to lose. And don’t doubt yourself – if a job sounds like something you could do but your confidence is low, remember how skilled and capable you are. I feel a huge sense of relief but also sadness, and I think that’s okay. Good luck, all!
I posted recently about my confidence levels training in a civil service job after 28 years teaching in secondary schools. I really appreciated all the support. I left teaching for all the reasons that are mentioned daily by members on this site. Teaching completely broke me, despite knowing I was born to teach and loving the interaction with most students, it was no longer physically or mentally an option for me. It’s so sad to see the number of really good, caring, conscientious people being forced to leave the profession. I urge anyone thinking of leaving to do so as I wish I’d done it twenty six years ago when the doubts kicked in (and my health was already beginning to suffer). Fear and just loving working with kids held me back. Wow, I am loving my life now; coming to the end of the online technical training and finally it’s sinking in and I just love my team. SLT have been amazing, so supportive (I was able to go for a doctors appointment during working hours😮)and they contacted me to see how I was doing❤️I can’t wait to get back in the office next week when consolidation starts (another three months of practical training with a mentor 1-1). I don’t remember ever getting this kind of support or training in teaching 😢I am finally being respected and the daily dread and anxiety has gone🎉🎉Good luck everyone. There is a beautiful life after teaching.
In further comments, they stated that they found the job on the Government website:
It’s quite a minefield, but just looked up my area and what I fancied doing I’m a DM (decision maker) which quite suits me. I’ll be talking to lots of elderly people. I like the working pattern of hybrid and building flexi.
After roughly 5 years of being a passionate teacher, the job started to take its toll on me and I ended up in a really rough place. I let a lot of people down. But I had no choice, I HAD to put myself first. And I am so proud of myself for doing so.
I took a massive risk, and had to rely on my partner. I admit that I am so lucky and couldn’t of done it without him due to financial commitments e.g. mortgage.
I left teaching in July with no idea what I would do next. I took my CV around some local coffee shops and fortunately, found myself a little job. I had gone from my UPS & TLR pay to a less than £10 an hour, part time job. We moved house in August so our bills had doubled. It’s been a massive struggle. It was still SO WORTH IT. I slowly started to feel myself again.
The customer interaction was great, who knew that making coffee could be more “rewarding” than changing children’s lives? I was getting smiles and “thank you’s” over and over again.
I knew that this wasn’t a long term solution. I worried that I’d never find another job – since all I knew was teaching and every single job advert seemed to want experience in something else. I cried, I panicked, but I persevered!
Eventually, I got an interview for a job I applied for within a charity! (Much, much less £££ than I was on as a teacher) I panicked about what they might ask me – I wrote a post in this group – thank you to those who replied
My references flagged some things that my new employer wanted to speak to me about – again, I worried and all the horrible memories came flooding back. I posted in this group – after reassurance, and I got it – thank you
Monday I started my new job.
My new team seem lovely, the whole atmosphere was friendly and supportive. A complete contrast to what I’ve been used to in school settings.
My role is mostly working from home. Today, my day looked like this:
Wake up, drop partner to the station, go home and have some toast, go swimming and have a shower. Get home, make a coffee and log on at 9am. Complete mandatory training, do a bit of research. Put some washing on, text a couple of friends, sit down on the sofa to eat lunch. Meet with my team (virtually) to check in at around 3.30pm. Finished what’s needed for the day and then went for a little walk.
I know every day won’t be like this, I know there will be good days and bad days, I’m not deluded. But I have a really good feeling.
If you’ve read this to the end, and if your mental health is suffering due to your job as a teacher. It’s not worth your health. I took a massive risk, I let a lot of people down, I heavily relied on others.
Best decision I’ve ever made!
Thank you to the lovely, supportive people on here who continue to offer advice and spread positive vibes.
Personally, I have decided that I want to come off of the group now. I wanted to share my story first. The group has helped me massively in my transition out of teaching – so thank you so much
Thank you so much to Craig for setting up this group, and for all your advice. Today I found out I passed all my checks for working in the Civil Service. 😃😃😃 I will be handing in my notice as soon as I know my start date. I wouldn’t have even have thought of the civil service, or had any clue about how to apply without this group and the advice on the website, so thank you so so much 😁 If anyone is interested… I had a lot of debt and realised that money was the main reason for staying in teaching. I looked at my finances and ended up taking out an IVA. This meant I could take a pay cut and apply for jobs that pay a lot less. I applied using the STAR technique, and also printed out the behaviours and values definitions from the Civil Service website, matching my answers to them. There are loads of YouTube videos on how to answer the behaviour questions- I watched the relevant ones, wrote out prepared answers then learn them before my interview. All the behaviour questions I was asked were ones I had prepared for!! I also managed to get some work experience so I could say I’d had recent experience and not just been in a classroom. I’m going to be working for the Animal and Plant Health Agency, TB testing cows
After 19 years I decided enough was enough. I applied for a university position as a senior educational outreach officer. I got an interview and got the job!!! Yes it’s a pay cut but I get lunch breaks, overtime, the opportunity for hybrid working and flexi time. Totally different world. Thank you so much to this group for the help and support needed xx
Thought it might be useful to share my story as there are lots of questions about project management- many of them focusing on what “I don’t have” rather than the wealth of what you most certainly do have.
For context, science teacher of 20 years with some time in the TA 15 years ago. Just 2nd in dept, nothing fancy. My school was about as good as they get, but I was still driving home in tears most nights. I said to friends that I was simultaneously bored rigid and also stretched to breaking point. I didn’t want to move schools, I wanted to look back on my life and be proud that I had shaken every last drop out of it and hauled myself out of the rut I was in.
During lockdown I set up a little side hustle business. This had grown to the point by Sept 21 that if I tightened my belt tighter than it had ever been I could jump. I worked for a few months trying to grow the business but I missed the safety net of being employed: paid holidays, sick pay, pension, colleagues.
In January the business had a terrible month and I realised how precarious I was. I joined linkedin with no idea what I wanted to do…I just made my CV sound more business-ey by talking about ‘projects’ I had run for the whole school (outreach/ cpd). I’d say don’t be modest. If you read my cv you would believe I had single-handedly been responsible for increasing numbers at my school!
In January, refreshed and READY for a proper new challenge I applied for a CS job. I didn’t even make the first sift but so what, I had started. In linkedin I followed all sorts- NIoT, Academy trusts, the national trust, the DfE, contacts of contacts. Then an advert appeared. My OH had always said I should try to PM but he is in IT and I regularly resort to turning things off and on with some swearing so that was a no-go.
The job was ‘Strategic Project Manager’ for a very large MAT. I only fit about 60% of the advert. The rest was an absolute mystery to me. I didn’t have prince 2 either. I tailored my CV a bit and sent it to the lead explaining that I didn’t have all the skills so rather than waste their time, would they still welcome an application. The answer was a yes and so I applied to the best of my ability given I still had little idea if what the job actually was!
The interview was via Teams and I held so little hope that I was quite relaxed. I talked about my ‘project experience’- about designing, leading a team, communicating and measuring value. You’d never have known that the ‘budget’ I managed was £1500. I asked lots of questions. I didn’t pretend I knew what the job was but I made it clear how I could add value. To my shock, I got it…. about the same money as I was on in teaching (UPS3 +TLR), great pension.
The role involves me managing projects that the MAT see as vital to growing and diversifying. My background gives me some credibility with principals but also means I actually can see what’s needed; for example in opening a free school I can usefully input into staffing, building design, policies. I know that we don’t need an exams officer or to register with a board yet. I stopped the order of exam desks. On the admission events it was easy peasy- talk to and reassure parents… gotcha. My line manager is great and I get constant mentoring, reassurance and praise.
It’s mentally tiring. Probably a bit more so than teaching at times as some days of my ks3 lessons were easy after 20 years. But there is NO EMOTIONAL INVOLVEMENT. At 5pm I’m done. The weekends are guilt free and while I work hard, the toll is nowhere near that of teaching. I don’t need a week off every 6 weeks just to lie in bed. I don’t lie awake worrying any more about unmarked mocks, or a parental complaint.
Teachers work ethic is incomparable. Think what you achieve in your free lesson; you call a parent, plan a lesson, drop down to finance to order books and photocopy your days sheets. I literally had to slow down initially. Turns out other sectors don’t work as though their hair is on fire. I love my employer- their values are great and they have PAID for actual CPD. Several thousand pounds worth, not just Pat from PE giving a session on something I’ll forget by next week. I’ll hopefully promote within the next 18 months and the step up is unlike a TLR where they pay peanuts but expect the skin off your back and your firstborn child.
I WFH most days, getting up at 0830 and logging on for 0900. I have 1-2 days a month in the London office (hotel/ travel paid) which is beyond exciting. I do site visits to my projects on average about once a week. Currently I’m leading on the opening of 2 SEND bases, 2 free schools and other small projects. I’m busy but I love it.
I joined this group last summer (2022). I had returned to teaching in January 2022 after being on my second maternity leave. I actually returned to work early as I felt too guilty about the poor experience the students were having as no proper maternity cover was ever organised. 🤷♀️
During these two terms I felt bullied by the students and my attempts to talk to my team leader were laughed off or he agreed to take action and nothing followed. I was managing to keep on top of my workload despite my sleepless nights (my daughter was only 6 months). I’d sit up marking work until 2/3am, fuel myself with coffee all day, be a grumpy mum all evening and desperate for my kids to go to bed so I could get on with my work… I was anxious, miserable and completely exhausted. I barely saw my boss (I think he started avoiding me).
At the end of the summer term, when you start getting excited about the promise of a new year and reflecting on the highs and lows of the past year. My colleague and I were pulled aside – a student had made a complaint about us (the ringleader of the bully group). Despite telling my boss all year what had been going on he explained he would be investigating this very seriously.
I had no further update until GCSE results day.. I spent the summer worrying and joined this group.. I jazzed up my CV and started applying for learning and development type jobs. I knew I wanted to move to the private sector. I applied for everything and anything that was vaguely interesting. Then in mid August, whilst staying in Pembrokeshire, my lovely father in law who was getting up around 5/6am with me offered to look after the kids whilst I applied for a job. Something I stumbled upon on LinkedIn, but it seemed to call out to me.. I had a teams interview the Tuesday after the bank holiday and was offered the job 10 minutes after we finished. I handed my notice in on the 31st of August and struggled to make it to October half term.
I started my new job for an online apprenticeship provider in November. It is a quality role doing session observations (these are recorded teams calls) getting involved with deep dives, audits etc. I work from home it’s completely flexible and tomorrow my 18 month old is too poorly for nursery, I told my boss this afternoon and he said, do whatever you need to. It’s so refreshing! I couldn’t be happier. It was weird to have so much freedom to start with but I love being able to go to my eldest daughter’s assemblies without planning to have my lesson covered etc and feeling so guilty about it!!
There is life after teaching! Thanks for reading if you made it this far…
When asked if they had any tips for anyone, they replied:
I wasn’t particularly successful on the learning and development front.. but my top tip is be relentless in applying and don’t be afraid or think you are not good enough, if you get invited for an interview for something you applied for on a whim go for the interview anyway, it’s all great practice and exposure to a world you are hoping to be part of!
Happy days! My turn to share a success story. I resigned last May with nothing to go to, but planned to do supply while I found something right for me. I was a faculty lead with 20 yrs experience and I had reached my limit. I found a temporary job with a charity as a training officer and I either work from home or travel round. I have lunch breaks, evenings and weekends, and I feel human again. I’ve just been given a permanent contract and although I don’t know whether it will be a ‘forever job’, I’ve found a world where I feel trusted and valued. January is a tough month for lots of reasons, so please keep going – there is hope and there are many things you can do. Thanks Craig for this site and all the useful advice. Love that quote from Frasier*. Sometimes you really do just have to take a leap of faith.
* Quote from Frasier referred to is, “While it’s tempting to play it safe, the more we’re willing to risk, the more alive we are. In the end, what we regret most are the chances we never took…”
After over 20 years, I left teaching at the end of the summer term. I secured a fixed term position in a completely new role which I started in September. Before Christmas I was interviewed for a permanent position and was successful. Another huge thanks to Craig’s website with advice given about the STAR interview technique which I have used in both interviews.
The pay is lower, i don’t get as many holidays, but like others in this group have said, i’m not exhausted so don’t need the recovery that holidays can give. Weekends are my own, I have the energy to socialise during the week and term time holidays are great. I also haven’t had the back to work dread that many face after a holiday. I really can’t thank Craig enough for setting up this group and particularly the website which has been invaluable in my leaving teaching 🙂
When asked what their current role was, they replied:
I work for an awarding organisation as a team leader of a team producing assessments. I was a middle leader in school and I am not working in my subject area as the skills required for the role focused on leading a team.
So I used to look at the posts on this group and think, “that will never be me, I’ll be stuck in this forever” but I saw this quote one day and every story everyone posted became my survival.
One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through and it will be someone else’s survival guide.
Yesterday I was offered a role outside of teaching. A culmination of over 2 years worth of work and dedication and tears. I leave at Easter and I’m so excited to go back after the Christmas holidays for the first time in years as I know it’s my last term in teaching.
So I just wanted to thank everyone who’s ever posted a success story on here for being my survival guide.
Before everyone asks: I trained over my maternity leave to become a scrum master. I self funded my psm1 and did some work experience over the summer holidays with a company.
A scrum master is a servant leader for a scrum team which is usually a group of developers and a product owner. It utilises coaching, facilitation, mentoring and teaching skills to remove impediments and create a functional successful team. All of the skills I had through 13 years of teaching and could demonstrate using the STAR method examples of how I had utilised those skills in different situations.
I wanted to share my Success Story and thank this lovely [Thinking of Leaving Teaching] group.
I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer last year, I recovered but it knocked the stuffing out of me. I was teaching in FE (definitely easier than secondary, but still tough) and my line managers were Awful.
I realised that the chest pains I was having lifted in the summer and that I was broken and stressed in work and decided not to go back in September and hand my notice in for January.
The first couple of months were a bit panicked – I didn’t get interviews to things I thought I’d qualify for, I felt a bit hopeless. I learned a bit more about hyping up my transferable skills and did some free courses on LinkedIn (as well as improving my profile to play the job hunting game).
I didn’t get the job for the first interview I went for, but they asked me to apply for another role. I was offered the second interview but they didn’t seem great and it was part time. The third interview I had were incredibly encouraging- they recognised all I was juggling with teaching and really valued my experience as well as my skills. They were interviewing for 2 roles over 2 weeks but split the process so they could offer me one of the roles straight away. I’ve accepted. I’m really excited and I am so so glad I put my health and my family time ahead of my sense of obligation to teaching.
You’re all in this group for a reason, be kind to yourselves and find a workplace that deserves you and will treat you well ❤️
When asked what job they were doing, they replied
I’m going to be a Project Officer (fabulously vague) for Learning Resources. My dream job of making resources without having to teach anyone! 😅
I just wanted to take a little time to give my success story to hopefully help others, in the same way reading the site and this group really helped me!
I left a 0.6 teaching role 6 months ago and I now work 0.8 as a HO (Higher Officer) in the Civil Service.
I don’t think I ever posted for advice as I found everything I needed through previous posts and through the website and it was all so, so, so helpful!
Pay – I was UPS2 and for three days my salary was £24k now I am 4 days and my salary is £28k. I chose to do 4 days, but three was an option. My new employer is very flexible. My pension is much better so not really a cut in pay overall particularly- especially hourly! I work my hours and don’t kill myself doing big long days and certainly not weekends.
Flexi –I choose how my day works. It’s brilliant. I’ve been able to attend events at my child’s school, run errands when needed during the day and only last week my youngest was having a really tough morning so I messaged my manager and got the response ‘They’re a worry when they’re not themselves. Don’t worry- that’s what flexi is for’ In my 11 years teaching, on the rare times I needed to have time off I was made to feel like an utterly terrible human being. I have mentioned the baggage I come with from previous negative experiences to my new manager!
Values. The values and culture of an employer was extremely important to me. I worked on recognising what I wanted my new employer to look like, behave like and treat people like and aligned that with the two roles I applied to. I was successful in both interviews and settled on this one after the first role needed a very short notice period.
Star technique – read all the info you can for the techniques when applying. I applied to two roles-was interviewed for both-and was successful at both interviews. The role I am in had nearly 500 applicants for 5 posts. I haven’t had an interview since I began teaching when I was a fresh-out-of-uni PGCE graduate.
Work life balance – I enjoy my new role- there is clear opportunity to progress; I am valued; I am respected and I still work bloody hard! But at the end of my day, whenever that may be, I say goodnight to my team and don’t give it a second thought until the next day.
I hope this helps inspire someone else who may feel stuck, unappreciated or unhappy.
When asked a little more about the job, they replied:
My role is related to project management- a lot of the skills are transferable and I had plenty of examples to hand with leading on subjects in school. Hope that helps.
I have been an active but silent member of this group for a fair while. I think it gave me the boost of confidence I needed to hand my notice in back in May. A weight was immediately lifted from my shoulders and I have taken time to heal and gain perspective knowing that I wouldn’t be forced back into the rut in September. I have been teaching 19 years, 7 of those as a head of year. The last few years have been hard! I have been applying for all sorts, had a couple of interviews and been a lot more calm about it than I probably should have been! But it was what I needed. I have spoken to an agency today and have supply work available (on tap, it seems!) so again, the pressure of finding a job has been lifted. I am going to write the book I’ve always wanted to write – which will hopefully develop into a multi million pound movie franchise- and I will just continue to search for what I really want to do. I truly believe there is something out there and that I made the right decision back in May. It was scary, I was brave, but I’m looking forward to the adventure! Thank you to this group for helping over the years. This is my first and probably last post!
Teaching was sucking the life out of me and I spent every evening dreading going back to work. I longed for weekends, half terms and school holidays and when they eventually arrived I spent the whole time worrying about and dreading the return to work. What a way to live. Looking forward to something and then not even being able to enjoy it. Life is far too short for that!
I handed my notice in one Monday morning after a ”disagreement” with my then headteacher. I had nothing lined up, no real idea of my next steps. After I’d done it, I didn’t even think twice (apart from a few occasions when I was with the kids, because they were never the problem).
I’m now studying a masters in Psychology and waitressing a day or two a week for a bit of spare cash, and I can honestly say I cannot remember the last time I felt this much peace. Yeah, the course is tough but it’s kicking my brain into touch. I’m off of my anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication. I feel like I am living, even though I still have very little actual “free” time. My life feels like mine and I cannot express how pleased I am that I just sacked it all off.
Please, please do not stay in a job or place that is sucking your very soul out of you. You are worth so, so much more than that. Be brave. It’s scary, not going to pretend it isn’t. But what comes after that initial fear is something far more wonderful than the drudgery of living for a weekend that you probably can’t even enjoy anyway.
Thanks in no small part to this group I handed in my notice to leave at Easter with nothing lined up.
I had two interviews yesterday and was offered both jobs! I’ve accepted the role of Training Designer and I’ll be working on training courses for the Navy.
It is a significant pay cut but hybrid WFH, only 37 hours a week and I’ll hopefully never again have to argue with someone about if they can fill up their water bottle 😃😃
I’ve read the posts in this group for ages, but rarely post. But… I’ve been reading the #successstories & thought I’d add my own.
I trained in Primary 20 years ago now, specialising in Early Years. I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with teaching. I tried so hard to manage the stress & the workload. But I fell apart in the end and couldn’t stay. My life turned to antidepressants & meditation to try & put myself back together again.
It took me a long time to recover. I hung on – took a job as a TA then took a (zero hours) contract as a lecturer in an FE/HE college. My finances were (still are 🤣) on the floor.
But now I’m in 4 weeks into a job as an Employment Coach for an Education Charity (and that pay cheque is coming 🤣). I had to do a lot of work on myself to build my confidence again, but I’ve found work that really works for me. Homeworking, flexibility around my kids & I actually feel like they appreciate my skills. I never thought I would find my purpose beyond teaching, but I have found something that fills that void without taking everything.
So no matter how you feel today, there is hope. Have a great evening everyone 😊
This is the first year since childhood that I don’t have to go “back to school” in September.
Since primary school, I’ve been in education – as a student in school, then college, then as a lecturer teaching psychology for almost 20 years. I went part-time in 2016, trained as a coach in 2017, and this year I’m taking a career break to go full-time with my business.
I don’t know that there’s another group of people that would fully understand what this feels like: exhilarating and yet also so very strange.
I’ve been a part of this group for a while and so many stories resonated with me and also motivated me: every single one of the #successstories spurred me on. Thank you.
If you’d told me 10 years ago that I’d be running my own business I don’t think I’d have believed it was possible.
Craig has been posting about all the wonderful resources available here and on his website. I know as well as anyone how easy it is to say: that’s all very well for them, I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t start a business or a new job. Where would I even start?
I’ve been following this group for a while and yesterday was offered a job out of teaching! I’ve been a teacher for 15 years and although the process to getting a job offer has been stressful, I’m hoping it’ll be 100% worth it. To anyone who is considering making the leap but is afraid, my advice is go for it. Life is too short!“
When asked what they were doing, they replied:
“Going into the corporate world! Trying to break into learning and development/ HR so this is the first step in the right direction. I enrolled on CIPD level 5 so I had a professional qualification which seems to have helped.
(T by the Sea, Victoria Quay, Gosport)
(T by the Sea, Victoria Quay, Gosport)
xxx
I’m a DM (decision maker) which quite suits me. I’ll be talking to lots of elderly people. 
