Tell me about your career change

[DiaDeLluvia]

I’m a teacher in London and looking to leave. Tell me about your experiences changing career. If your story is London or teaching based even better!

What did you go into?
was it a positive move?
did you earn less/more?

thanks!

I trained in hospitality and realised when I wanted a to start a family it was massively incompatible. I left my job as a assistant manager in a hotel (rubbish pay about 15k, but was 20 years ago and live in) I trained in early years during mat leave and set up a childcare business earning about 35k a year. About 15 years later I decided to retrain as a social worker, so a pay cut but felt it would be worth while, it unfortunately co incided with me having some difficulty in family life so after a few years I left and was a sahp for a couple of years, now I'm a librarian 😂😂 I earn 23k

I was a teacher (not London). I left for industry a few years back. It was a really positive move for me - so much more enjoyable. I also couldn't earn anywhere near what I do now in teaching.
What are you qualified in, OP? I was a physics teacher.

I was a teacher, A levels, and lecturer, sport science for a couple of decades.

I left a couple of years too late. It took quite a toll. But I found a self employed opportunity and haven't looked back.

You just have to find your new niche. The freedom from the hourly class change, time to sit and do bugger all as and when I feel like it, has been very satisfying.

I’m a HLTA and am becoming a Probation Services Officer. I haven’t started yet but I had an email this morning to say I’d passed the vetting process. Wish me luck!

OK, mine is still in progress, but I'm doing what a few of my female friends have done which is:

A) identify a high demand skill we have
B) taken an industry recognised qualification
C) gone freelance
D) do service swapping with friends - e.g. I do your marketing, you do my compliance

I'm the third in my friend group alone to go this way. My industry exam is lined up for this week, after which I can start phasing in clients and phasing out employment, hopefully. My girlfriends both earn as much 3 days a week as they did 5 days a week employed, and they don't have to deal with management BS.

I was a teacher but now I'm a specialist advisor to a charity. I didn't have much knowledge about our specific type of service users so I've had to learn a lot. My transferable skills landed me the job.

I love it. It's very satisfying. I earn more money, I WFH, I'm appreciated and I work 9-5 precisely.

Oh I'm just outside London.

@DiaDeLluvia Perhaps you’d find the Mature Study and Retraining board worth a browse?

www.mumsnet.com/talk/mature_students

I was a nurse, left to train as a teacher but didn't teach and now I'm a childminder. If you're early years or Primary, this would be an easy switch for you.

I’m an MFL teacher @BobbinThreadbare123 .

I have thought about staying in education in a different capacity (like primary, early years etc) but I don’t want to do something very similar but worse paid. Mainly because I love so many aspects of my current job that similar but worse paid isn’t motivation to leave.

I just can’t imagine spending the rest of my career in the same job. I have achieved a lot that I am proud of and feel like if I leave now I’m leaving on a high.

So a new industry is what I’m looking for, but I don’t know what exactly. There’s some great advice on here. Will check out the board that was recommended.

You could look at translation work - a predictable suggestion, I'm sure!
Logistics might suit you too - need to have languages for that.
Can you afford to retrain?

I was a corporate lawyer and retrained as a secondary teacher. I am earning so much less than I would have been but I'm also much happier, less stressed and see a lot more of my children.

@Mistonthemountains corporate law must be bad if you see more of your kids as a teacher!

It's completely incomparable how much more available I am to them. I am always home for tea and bed and then maybe do a little bit of work in the evening. How do you find it?

I do get to do bath and bedtime most days but this is with bedtime being later than is ideal. I’m very jealous of my partner whose life just seems so much less hectic and more balanced than mine.