By Lorna Boulton

I’m Lorna, a 23 year old ex-teacher from Greater Manchester, UK. I know I’m quite young to be an ex-teacher but I realised pretty quickly teaching isn’t quite right for me, so I decided to leave and try something else and I now currently work at the University of Manchester as an Assistant Undergraduate Technician. After I completed my PGCE I only worked as an NQT for 3 months so I’m not going to pretend I know everything about teaching, but I feel I know enough to know what I do, and don’t, miss and what I have learnt from my experience in the classroom. One of the toughest things I have ever done is leave teaching but I have learnt a lot since leaving the profession that I don’t think I would have had the opportunity to learn if I stayed.

Here are 10 things I have learnt since leaving teaching a year ago:

1. I was not a failure for leaving.

Despite this being first on my list, this lesson took me the longest to learn. I felt overwhelming guilt for abandoning the children I taught, children who needed the stability of school more than anything. However, I constantly had to tell myself I didn’t leave because I wasn’t a good teacher; I left because I needed to, for myself and my own well-being. I couldn’t see a future whilst I was a teacher so I left. Simple.

2. Other jobs don’t expect you to work above your pay grade for free.
   If you work in a managerial role you actually get paid a wage equivalent to the work you are doing and the responsibility you are taking on. This is an almost foreign concept in teaching, where you are expected to do much more than your job description for little to no extra money.

3. It’s normal to be asked to work outside of your contracted hours (on occasion).
   It’s also normal to be actually paid for this extra time and work. In almost all teaching jobs there is no such thing as paid over-time, but in any other job flexi time or paid over-time (Sometimes even paid above the usual hourly rate) is a norm.
   
4. Teaching isn’t the only job that isn’t based in an office.
   There are tons of interesting jobs out there that allow you to work outside of an office environment. Many jobs also provide opportunities to train and help others. Just because you aren’t a teacher anymore, doesn’t mean you can’t teach! (Plus you usually get actual breaks – and time for lunch – during the day, as well as weekends/days off too).

5. I wasn’t alone in how I was feeling and how I was treated by staff and students.
   Although I should feel less alone from learning this, it just makes me feel angry that so many people are getting away with treating others like crap in a professional environment just because they are in a higher position. Even worse that these people are teaching the next generation how to behave.

6. More money doesn’t always equal a better life
   More money doesn’t always equal a better life (I’m earning roughly £10,000 per year less than when I was a teacher and I’ve never been happier, I have time to live my life rather than work through it).
   
7. I should always put my health first.

Since leaving teaching my mental and physical health has improved a lot. As a teacher my diet consisted of little actual food and mainly sneaking a chocolate bar or a packet of crisps in between classes. I lost almost 2 stone from not having time to eat, however, now I start most mornings with a bowl of cereal and I get a full hour for lunch. I also rarely get panic attacks; constantly get uninterrupted nights of peaceful sleep and haven’t had any sick days since I left the profession.

8. If you really enjoy your job you will be happy to wake up every morning.

As a teacher I worked 10-12 hours 7 days a week. I hated waking up every day, even on the weekends, as that meant working on an impossible number of tasks, not seeing my family or friends and being stuck on a laptop all day. Now I have a different job I don’t mind if I have to work extra hours or get up early and I rarely have to set more than 1 alarm to wake up. I enjoy my job and it makes getting out of bed 10 times easier!

9. Just because you’re not a teacher doesn’t mean what you’re doing isn’t significant.

When I left teaching, on top of the guilt, I also felt that whatever career I went in to next wouldn’t matter and that I wouldn’t be contributing to society in any way. In my new job I’ve learnt that just because I’m not in a classroom doesn’t mean I’m not helping people, that people still rely on what I do and the skills I have. Although I’m not paid as much as when I was teaching, my job still matters to me and the people I work for actually telling me that means more than I ever thought it would.

10. Your job is not the most important thing in your life.

My whole life I was made to feel that the only thing that mattered, that the end goal, was to choose a career and get a good, well-paid, respected job. When I first became a teacher I felt happy and accomplished, but part of me also thought, is this it, have I completed life? Since leaving teaching I have discovered life is much more than your work, you might spend most of your waking hours there but it doesn’t have to become you. Find a hobby, plan a trip, bake a cake, meet a friend for a coffee, go to the cinema, stay in an eat pizza. Enjoy your life, it’s a blessing, not a chore.

~~~

Sorry to be cheesy, but I would like to finish this post with a quote from my favourite film:

“Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.” – Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Hello, Shifters! Today’s Transformation Tuesday piece is brought to you by Libby Serkies.

Libby earned a bachelors in math and secondary teaching license and holds a masters in adult education and training. She began teaching high school right out of college. Very quickly, Libby found that students carried the weight of a great deal more than just books.

So, Libby left the classroom and started working in social services in schools, addressing mental health and substance abuse issues affecting students for about 8 years. Then, she spent 4.5 years performing on-call crisis intervention counseling.

Libby’s next SHIFT was to corporate training which stayed at for 6 years.

“As a corporate trainer working for a hospital based addiction recovery center, I earned all the certifications of an addiction therapist and was sometimes called upon to carry a caseload of clients, facilitate group therapy, run work-place smoking cessation groups, respond to community & media requests, represent the organization at conferences, and also develop and/or present workshop sessions at national & international conferences.”

“It was while employed here that I began grad school. While still in grad school, I returned to education – I became the director of an adult education program. This program served adult students in GED, ESL, and Citizenship classes. I supervised a staff of 60 teachers & support staff, wrote and oversaw the spending of state and federal grants, and served on various community boards. I served as the director of this program for 3 years, but missed working with teachers in a more direct way so I left this position and went to work for a public university.”

While at the university, Libby began “doing professional development throughout my state working with adult ed teachers to prepare them for changes coming to the GED tests. I focused on helping teachers prepare for the changes to the math test in particular. I did this for 5 years and absolutely loved this job.”

“While doing PD in this role, I also presented frequently at state and national conferences. Because of my popularity as a presenter, I was commissioned by a publishing company to author a resource book for teachers of adult ed math students. This has been one of the biggest highlights of my career!”

“However, the state in which I lived and worked – Illinois – was without a state budget for more than 2 years and several of the programs and teachers I supported were losing their jobs because the programs could not stay open without funding. During the no budget phase, I was looking for work outside the state of Illinois and I was heavily recruited to come to Nevada and teach in public schools again.”

“So I prepared and took several Praxis’ tests to ensure my qualifications to get licensed in Nevada. I taught for 2 years in a Title I high school before moving to a high performing middle school where I taught for 1.5 years before leaving.”

“I am now an Instructional Excellence Coach for Catapult Learning; I will mentor and coach teachers & their supervisors in mostly non-public schools throughout the western US (including Hawaii!)

Why did you go into teaching? “I had always loved math, and school. I loved school as a matter of fact. My favorite day of the year was not Christmas, but rather it was the day I got new school supplies. I had always known I would be a teacher.”

Why did you decide to leave teaching? I have become disillusioned by the emphasis put on testing students. I have seen the light go out in my students’ yes with one high stakes test after another. I love math because there is so much to explore and discover – but the emphasis on testing means there is little time for discovery.”

How did you discover your current role? I had been contemplating a move out of the classroom for about a year. I had begun using some formal search engines, but found Indeed.com was the best for my needs. I was searching for titles such as “learning & development,” “education manager,” and other such titles. I applied for my current position on October 15th, and was contacted on the 18th to schedule a phone interview as the first step in the interview process. This was the most thorough interview process I have ever gone through! I had 3 separate phone/Zoom interviews speaking with supervisors and people currently in the role in other parts of the country, then I had to complete a performance task and unpack it with the person who is now my boss, followed by an in-person interview here in Las Vegas with 2 state supervisors. Next I traveled to the east coast where the organization is headquartered and over the course of a morning I had 4 more in-person interviews with others in the organization.”

What is your favorite part of your new role? “My favorite part of my new role, apart from the exceptional people on my team, is that I get to affect the learning of students who have struggled to make educational gains by supporting, mentoring, and coaching their teachers and administrators.”

What is your least favorite part of your new role? “I haven’t found anything I don’t like yet!”

What advice would you give to someone transitioning from another career into your role? “Re-frame the things you have done & the skills you have as a teacher into qualities an employer will value: problem-solving, adaptability, creativity, and how to function as part of a team, for example.”