r/TeachersInTransition

For a little background, I taught 4th grade in another state for the past 3 years and just moved states for my husband’s job. I was hoping to find another job outside of classroom teaching, and have been applying for jobs both in my area such as higher ed, admin jobs, etc and jobs online in ed tech or other online curriculum companies. I have received many rejections during this process which has been ongoing for over a year. Out of all the jobs I have applied to, probably 50+, I have received a single interview for an admin position in my new school district and did not get the job. I just landed a 3rd grade position at a school in the new state I live in. Sister-in-law works at the school and it does have a good community/school culture. However, I was hoping this move was also my out of the classroom to something new but it time is running out and I have no other options. I am nervous about new school, curriculum, anxiety of teaching in another state, the makeup of the students in my class, etc. I am at a loss for whether to accept or keep looking. Any advice is appreciated!!

I’m finally out of the K-12 world. After trying different schools, content areas, and age levels, I can accept that I was never cut out for the classroom. I feel like I made the most of it, did cool stuff, always tried to do education “right”. It’s time to move on and I’m after about a month or two of wrestling with the change….i am at peace with it.

And at least I’m not still paying for my degree, lol.

Good luck to everyone else still teaching. At least you’re getting a summer break 🤷

For context, I am 21 years old & in college for an Elementary Education program. I have done student teaching, subbing, teaching my own Kindergarten class (after a teacher left mid year). While I love children & teaching those who want to learn, I’ve noticed that the behaviors in the classroom are out of control. Even the veteran teachers I student teach under have major issues with behavior students.

This is upsetting to me because, again, I adore teaching the ones who want to learn. But it seems like every class has students who disrupt everyone, & the teacher’s attention always has to go to that student. I’ve experienced such behaviors, including being punched in the head & had chairs thrown at me. From what I’ve experienced, it also seems like parents do not help with discipline.

I’m starting to lose my spark for teaching & I haven’t really even begun. Teachers I’ve talked to have also said they are so burnt out. I’m wondering if this is a career still worth going into.

Also, side note, I recently went on a vacation to PR where there were so many stray animals. I’ve always had a passion for animals & feel more & more compelled to go into a career along those lines each time I see a behavior problem.

I have a conditional offer for a role at a state agency pending background check. I connected with a current employee on LinkedIn and asked about the job. She said it was low stress but a dead end, and that there wasn’t enough work to do. She also said that there was no room for growth (apparently promotions are given to people on the outside). I was pretty pumped about this role but now I’m feeling deflated. I want something more low key but I’m worried that this won’t be intellectually stimulating at all. I know this is one person’s experience, but she said given the choice she wouldn’t choose this role again. For context, I’m a good ten years older than her and have a decade of classroom experience.

What should I make of this? Is this a massive red flag?

ETA I’m still employed by my current district, just on maternity leave this school year.

Hey everyone so maybe you all can help me feel better or give me some advice. I’m currently a second year teacher finishing up the year teaching 6th grade English. Coming into this job I applied to a ton and only was called back by this one, they really liked me and brought me in and it’s been a great fit, I haven’t had any real issues and have done a lot for the school and the district. The only thing that is an exception - I’m a social studies teacher by trade. I did my student teaching in it, got my bachelors in it, and am going for my masters now in a social studies related field. So naturally when I heard an 8th grade social studies teacher was retiring in our school after this year I was instantly excited. No other social studies jobs ever called me back and not many open up (for obvious reasons), so I had a meeting with my principal in the beginning of the year to let her know I was interested. She told me back then she was happy I was interested and that once the teacher who was retiring put in her letter we could start the process. Well, that didn’t happen until last week, long story short I applied, got the invite for my demo, and only had a weekend to prepare it.

I had asked another social studies teacher in the building to help me create the lesson and he was amazing and helped me a ton, and finally when the time came I went and did my demo. Every day before it I was more and more nervous, and during it I could notice myself messing up and getting more nervous and speaking faster and faster. Afterward, I had a sit down q&a with all the admin who watched my demo and I felt like I nailed every single question, overall feeling unsure of my chances.

Today I had a meeting with my principal and she told me she was offering me the job, and before I could have a moment to react too positively she told me that my lesson was terrible and there were so many things I messed up on. It crushed me instantly and we spent the next 15 mins talking about how she’s giving me the opportunity because she knows social studies is my passion, but I need to be open to coaching and more training (which I am don’t get me wrong). So now I’m at home and I finally got the job I’ve wanted for a long time and most people would kill for, but I feel discouraged and sad. Maybe someone out there has gone through something else similar, or just has some advice? I can’t even talk to my other teachers about it because until she announces all switches this year I have to keep it quiet. Sorry for the long rambling and thank you in advance for anyone who makes it this far!

TLDR: I got offered the social studies dream job I’ve wanted for years but also was told that my teaching skills were terrible and that I need to be ready to be coached.

Hi all!

I’ll be a first year teacher this August. I got a really good job. It’s in a well-respected district with a high starting salary. I’ve heard great things about the admin. It’s a brand new school which is really exciting! Overall, it’s a great career opportunity for me and I have no clue how I landed that lol.

The only issue is the school is in a tiny town and about 20 mins from my parents place. I’ve already been living at home so that I didn’t have to go in debt for student teaching and my hometown is less than ideal for young adults. There’s no night life as it’s mostly families and older adults that live here. The closest cities/towns with my demographic are about 30 miles away in either direction. The school is right off the interstate, which definitely helps. Commutes from a more urban area could be 35 mins if I’m lucky (no traffic or weather) but more likely 45 mins to an hour. The good thing is I’d be going against traffic because most people commute INTO the city for work lol. My question— would it be worth it to commute from a more urban area (45+ mins) to the suburbs for my job? Would that be too much of a commute for a first year teacher? Do I quit and get a job closer to where I want to live? I’m only 23 once and really hate the idea of wasting away in my hometown another year, but I also don’t want to give up an amazing career opportunity. Thoughts??

Edit: a 20 minute commute would be awesome but I’m really not considering living with my parents lol. I’ve already done it for 20/22 years of my life and I love them but I need to get out. The question is whether the 45 minute (30 miles one way) commute is worth it.

My husband is an upper school math teacher and he has noticed his students just do not even try to think and has come to the conclusion they have not been trained to think over their years in education.

Thinking, logic, reasoning are indeed skills that need to be oiled consistently in order to continue its effectiveness.

Kids think that they’re just trying to figure out numbers and copying and pasting answers. It’s more than that. It’s an expansion of the mind to work out what it’s capable of so one can take gratification in their own work and life later on.

His thoughts are going back to classical education and throwing out all this new garbage curriculum and starting from the rudiments. Of course there are many factors of the degrading minds in this society, but for the most part, he just wants his students to at least TRY instead of expecting a spoon-fed, convenient answer.

At the beginning of February, I was pulled into the principal office and was informed that I would need to resign or they plan on non-renew me. I am a first year teacher, and the school I worked at is the hardest in the district for behaviors. I've asked multiple times for support and wasn't given any, and was put on an improvement plan, that was never revisited once, nor nothing was given the "support" that I was told I was getting from the plan.

It is now the end of the year, and I have applied to several teaching positions in my district and out of my district, as well as other non-teaching jobs. I have had no luck, and have been rejected by multiple positions without an interview. I know I will get paid through the summer, but I'm getting concerned that I won't be able to find anything before that money dries up.

I am the main provider in my household, and I have taken to Doordash and Uber to make extra cash for support.

Is there any advice anyone can give me that have been in a similar situation?

Hello everyone! I’m a teacher with 10 years of experience and a Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Educational Specialist degree looking to transition into a remote/work-from-home position. I’ve applied to 20+ online school jobs without luck so far, so I wanted to see if anyone has recommendations or knows of companies hiring. It doesn’t have to be teaching. I’m open to other remote roles as well. Looking for something work-from-home making at least $50k/year. Thank you!

Has anyone here actually left the teaching profession? If so, what did you move into?

I’m honestly at a point where I don’t know if I can keep doing this long term. I went into teaching because I genuinely cared about kids and wanted to make a difference, but the reality of the profession feels completely different now.

The burnout is unreal. There’s barely any support, behaviours are escalating, and there are little to no consequences anymore. It feels like expectations for teachers keep increasing while supports keep getting cut year after year.

What’s also been hard is the unprofessionalism and disrespect I’ve experienced from some colleagues/admin. I expected collaboration and support entering this field, but sometimes it honestly feels isolating and toxic.

I’m also exhausted from the instability. I’ve spent a few years supplying/LTOing, constantly trying to prove myself, and it feels impossible to land anything permanent unless you know the right people or get lucky with timing. Meanwhile, I’m carrying huge student loans and wondering if all of this schooling was even worth it financially. I went back to school as a mature student to pursue teaching, so this career path was a very intentional decision for me.

I feel guilty even thinking about leaving because I do care about students, but I’m starting to question whether this career is sustainable for me mentally, emotionally, and financially.

For those who left teaching where did you end up? Do you regret it or was it the best decision you made?

Hi there,

I'm a UK based Geography teacher (secondary) and I am looking to change careers. I love education and the environment and so I am keen to continue to work in these fields but just not in a school (for all the same reasons teachers are leaving). I have worked with a group advocating for a more progressive curriculum and have spoken at conferences and published an academic article with my colleagues.

I'm currently seeing lots of jobs I'm interested in such as 'environmental programme officer', in which I would be working with either schools or the wider community to run a programme to educate on certain issues, whether it be waste sustainability or water etc.

I'm wondering what employers are looking for in terms for experience and if my 5 years as a geography teacher (as well as working with this educational group) is enough to land a role. I see a lot of these jobs talking about experience of outdoor education- although my experience is in formal education, I have run field trips etc and my style as a teacher has also been more unconventional.

Would appreciate any insight into this field as I am quite unsure! Thank you

Howdy folks! I'm a middle school science teacher who has been in the classroom for 8 years. Starting after my 5th year, I realized that the emotional load and behavior management aspects were not sustainable for me in the long term, so I started planning my transition out of the classroom. I have a B.S. in Biology, a single-subject teaching credential, and a Masters in education. I decided to pursue a second Masters degree in MLIS, hoping to work in some kind of library or museum role that leveraged my skills and passion for education, built organically off of my experiences, and would allow me to stay proximate to the aspects of education that brought me joy. Unfortunately, Trump got re-elected right after starting my MLIS program, slashing already limited opportunities in that field. I'm still in classes finishing my degree, but in the meantime have successfully acquired a new position!

My stats:

• Time spent on job search: 5 months
• Applications submitted: 30
• Number of initial call-backs: 4
• Final interviews offered: 2
• Rejections: 11
• Ghostings: 13 and counting
• Offers: 1

What I learned:

Applying for jobs in 2026, as an early-to-mid career candidate, is HORRIBLE and DEMEANING. When I first graduated with my M.A. in teaching and a fresh credential, it seemed the world was my oyster. I got called back for everything. This time around, despite having years of experience under my belt and pursuit of an additional degree, it was much, much harder to get a call back other than rejection emails. A few things I think contribute to this is market oversaturation in my area, economic recession, and AI. If you are planning a transition, understand that it will take time and be prepared to face a lot of rejection.

My tips:

• Decide in advance what your goals and hard limits are related to salary, working hours, location, etc. Only apply to roles that you are willing to take. Be creative- I mainly looked at city roles, university roles, edtech, and museum roles in my area.
• USE AI. I hate generative AI, but unfortunately the reality of the job market right now is that everyone is using it on both the applicant and employer side. I mainly used AI for cover letter and resume revisions- I would paste in the job posting and my own documents, and have it make feedback suggestions to help me tailor my materials to the position. MAKE SURE TO RE-WRITE IN YOUR OWN WORDS, and take the suggestions with a grain of salt! But- you will go crazy after spending hours doing it yourself just to get rejected and ghosted.
• Do NOT apply to jobs through LinkedIn. LinkedIn is great for finding openings, but do not use their "Easy Apply". I do recommend getting LinkedIn Pro during your search and cleaning up your LinkedIn, as recruiters may reach out and employers will definitely check you out. Make sure to turn on private mode so when you look up interviewers, they don't see it!
• I actually got responses (and my new role) through applying on Indeed. I was also contacted by several recruiters after posting my generic resume on Indeed.
• Go directly to company websites for job openings and applications. Look up a list of all companies in your desired area and industry, and check their openings pages religiously.
• Do not apply to any openings that were posted more than 2 weeks prior to your application date.
• When you get an interview: research and prepare thoroughly. Set yourself apart and set yourself up for success. I did this by Googling lists of common interview questions and preparing answers for them. I also copied all of the job responsibilities and qualifications and described my relevant education/experience for each. Come up with good, interesting questions to ask about the company and the role. And, smile, send thank you emails, and always use professional communication.
• Create a spreadsheet to track your applications and their status. I made one that included the job title (with the posting linked), company, industry, salary range, and "status" dropdown (applied, interview process, rejected, ghosted, etc.)

Good luck out there! After all this, I got an awesome role that I am actually super excited about- you got this! The process will likely suck, but you will get there!

I left a week and a half ago. When I'm not asleep (which is the majority of my time these days), I'm a hyper vigilant, anxious mess, that's somehow still lesson planning in the back of my head constantly.

I can financially support myself for about a month and a half before I need to seriously look into employment again. I would like to take that time to regulate and settle myself because even with the boatload of medications and weekly therapy for the last 3 years, I can't slow it all down.

What were some things that you've done to regulate after leaving? How long did you take before you started applying for stuff again? What did you apply for that met your basic needs without putting you into a daily panic mode?

My therapist suggested journaling, meditation, and walks without a destination. What else helped you reset? How did you get yourself out of the daily crisis mode?

This month marks 2 years since I decided to leave teaching. It has been so interesting to watch myself change in that time.
It was interesting to look back at some of these pictures and I was thinking "wow looking at me you wouldn't think how miserable I was" but that makes so much sense- I was fighting so hard to keep it together.
I fought hard to make it work. I thought maybe a school change and a grade changes would help the burnout. My spark was dimly lit at the beginning of each change, but never stayed lit for long. It makes me sad. Being a teacher was all I ever wanted to do. And there were great days, great kids, great friends, great memories. But it was never enough to cover up the internal battle i dealt with every single day.
Since | left teaching, I am lucky enough to continue my work in education and I am loving the work as an Authorizer. My work-life balance has increased greatly.
When I was extremely sick in October and had to miss 2 weeks of work and a work trip, I kept saying to myself
"thank god I'm not a teacher." When I left for vacation and turned into being gone for 3 weeks because I fractured and sprained my ankles, I kept thinking "thank god I'm not a teacher." Not being a teacher has actually afforded me the ability to take care of myself.
Since | left teaching, I get to travel more. My time is actually my time. I remember a day where I craved that more than anything. I craved autonomy. I craved freedom.
I genuinely am a completely different person than I was then, in so many ways.
Left Teaching Hallelujah

Hey I'm a Rising Junior in Undergrad. I will complete my BS in Data Science and International Affairs, a semester early as well.

For some context, I also speak Mandarin at Limited Professional Level and I can be trained to work in ESL OR ENL. I've been a Tutor since Junior Year of High School, so around 4 years of doing that. 1 year of that I worked at an Afterschool Program in DC Public Schools. I am going to work as a Program Assistant at an Education based Non Profit in DC, this summer. I've taken more than the necessary course work for most Social Studies or History based programs, but I will only have around 15 credits from 5 Math Courses. The rest of my Data Science Coursework is mostly focused on Python and R stuff which I won't bore you with.

I know I will qualify for a pretty good Social Studies MAT Program in or near NYC. I am much more worried if I will be a competitive applicant for a Social Studies Teacher in the current environment in NYC.

I guess ChanceMe?

Hi redditors, I need some career guidance and I’m literally so torn between my decision. I have been in teaching 6 years and have been miserable to say the least. If you’ve been a teacher, know a teacher or have even been in a school, I’m sure you know why. I work in SPED high school. It has been so hard that I’ve gone back to school for court reporting. I’ve been in school for a year and a half and have a year and half to go. So I can finally leave teaching once I am certified.

I am new to this district and am considered a probationary teacher, I will also be probation my second year as well. The district sent my intent to come back letter with the deadline to submit 6/30. My plan was to hopefully be done with school by then so I can quit teaching forever. It’s been a slow plan, but I have an end goal.

Union fought for a raise and next school year I will be making 94k.

So what’s the problem? I had been applying to jobs for the past couple years. To no avail. No callbacks no interviews or nothing! Two months ago I got a call for a community college dispatch position. And I decided to go for an interview. They told me they would reach out a week after my interview and I never heard anything.. until now. I was offered the position ! I was in shock. 5 years of applying and this is what stuck!

The thing is this job position is a mid shift 1-11 (4 10s) and also less pay. About a 20k pay cut. I’d also have to stop my evening classes for court reporting seeing I go to school in the evening after work.

I do not know what to do. I hate teaching, it’s soul sucking and has made me very unhappy. However, I’ve worked hard to reach my salary and it’ll finally allow me to have some savings with this raise. Please help 🥲 I have no guidance or really anyone to share this with and I’m really at a fork in the road.

Cross posted in career guidance *

I finally got a job offer today after months of trying. It’s with one of the departments in my state but when they sent me my nonnegotiable job offer, I’ll be about 8k less a year plus pay spread out over 12 months instead of 10. The position is hybrid and I really need to get out of education for my mental health and quality of life but I’m wondering if it’s worth it or should I just keep looking. I’ve been in education for 5 years and I feel like now is the right time to move with my professional experience but not be limited in career moves. From my research it doesn’t look like this department offers much room for growth unless internally, and I have a spouse that will help supplement our income (teacher too, but higher steps and he has masters pay).

Thoughts?

Hello! So I am just now applying to jobs as an intervention specialist in Ohio. I recently found out that I am 5 weeks pregnant. I want to get a teaching job (especially for the insurance) but I’m not sure how it will look. The baby is due at the end of January and I was hoping to take off from Jan to beginning of April before I return giving me 12 weeks with baby. I know some of that will be unpaid but I’m planning on saving all my sick time and personal days.
My question is how will this look for the new school. Is there a chance I won’t get renewed because they’ll be upset that I’m leaving as a first year. Can I even leave that long as a first year? Any advice is GREATLY appreciated especially from teachers in Ohio.