Secondary teachers - what job did you do when you left?

[Dayofrain]

I've been teaching for 20 years. HOD for 14. Large failing secondary. I'm so unhappy and can't take any more for many many reasons. Can't leave until Christmas but want to start thinking of options now.
I don't know where to start. I don't want to work in schools or with young people and their parents. Ever again. My subject area is irrelevant as I have lost the love now. However, as HOD'S and teachers know I have a wealth of transferable skills.
I'm completely institutionalised though and can't imagine a life/way of working outside education.
So I'm really interested in what you did when you left. Links to the best job websites would be brilliant too. Prepared to take the hit and take a bit of a pay cut for my state of mind but would need to stay in the 40, 000 area if at all possible. Prepared to consider new ideas and be flexible.
Please no negative comments about teachers, their pay etc .
Thank you. And apologies as I won't be able to return to this thread until tonight.

Oh @Dayofrain sounds like you are having a tough time. Hang in there.
options:
initially, while you recover, maybe something totally different - supermarket, delivery driver, exam marking?

Then: Educationally charities, Exam boards, publishers, write a book, social media (Miss X’s guide to …) - you could use your expertise but not have to deal with the students and parents …

There is a Facebook group that helps with these things. It’s called Thinking of Leaving Teaching?

Hang in there. Do private lessons help, and build up a reputation. Very slowly walk away. Never work for a big company. Just enjoy the day. Don't rush to the exit

The likelihood is you may need to retrain, and despite what people claim on here about their kids straight out of high school starting on 50k you're not that likely to start at 40k in a new career, especially outside London. That said, there are lots of jobs in the civil service and NHS right now, for instance, though they're just a couple of options.

Major job sites for non teaching jobs - indeed, reed, totaljobs, civil service jobs, charity jobs, LinkedIn....try putting some of your skills into those sites to see what type of vacancies come back and to get an idea of probable salary ranges and qualifications and experience required.

I don't know how much ICT was involved in your job but pretty much any sector now will require good IT knowledge and possibly at least an entry level qualification like ECDL or whatever it's called now.

You're also likely to find non teaching recruitment a bit different in terms of what you need to do at interviews and even how you apply.

Best of luck.

I left teaching in 2006. I did education work in a museum for a while. (Lots of fun but rubbish money - took a 5k pay cut to leave teaching.) Eventually, worked my way into a professional role that focused on skills training for adults. I took a CIPD qualification in Learning and Development. I now manage a training qualification for an industry body - which sounds dry but I'm actually very happy.

I did a Masters in a subject which interested me, nothing to do with my teaching subject. I did it part-time and worked in a part-time job around it. It really reinvigorated me after years being ground down in teaching and navigating a bully headteacher. The MA experience was so refreshing as it broke the old routine, got me actually learning for pleasure again, and I met new people who were not teachers! I loved it. It also led to a new career. I've never regretted it or looked back!

Is there anyway you could consider doing something like this? I had to pay tuition fees but I took advantage of some government funding, a small student loan and also took a 0% credit card - it was well worth it and I paid it all back quickly once I started my new career. Best decision I ever made.

Good luck op. Solidarity ✊

Start looking on websites in your area like at the local university(s) and also the local council(s) - lots of jobs advertised at both

Local government.
You'd be amazed by how many well paid admin jobs are out there.

University lecturing/teacher training/executive or profession education/learning and development roles in organisations. Look at the CPD you’ve done throughout the years. Was any of that particularly interesting or useful and could help you focus your energies? There may be management/learning or curriculum development opportunities in environments where you don’t need to be near kids - e.g. theme parks /zoos/museums. You have a degree so you could easily do a masters or something similar to retrain and go into law, accounting, nursing, therapy, etc.

I work in instructional design at a university. I love my job. It's very flexible. I have 44 days leave a year (including bank holidays). I also get to work in a lot of different areas, so I've learnt a lot. There are many CPD opportunities.

Thanks all for the ideas so far. I'd love to do an MA or work part time but I do need to be working full time in a stable job, nothing risky.

I like hearing about jobs I didn't know existed - instructional design, brilliant, going to look into this. Also the civil service, hadn't thought of that. And working as a trainer in some capacity is good idea. Will look at govt. admin jobs too.

Didn't know about the thinking of leaving teaching FB page, will get onto that.

Worries me that when I had in my notice on the 30th Sept I can't leave until the Xmas holidays. I don't know if there are organisations out there that will wait that long for someone to start, has anyone ever found a new employer prepared to wait such a long time? I feel trapped by my long notice period but can't just resign and hope that I find something else. I have no savings to fall back on and can't have a gap in employment.

Anyway, any more job/employer suggestions gratefully received, however random. Even if not quite right for me I'm investigating everything just in case a random idea inadvertently sets me along the right path.

Stories about teachers escaping and finding success and happiness are a real boost.

I left after 20 years and I'm now a gardener.

Look at didteach.com has all sorts of things - some education related and some not

There’s an excellent FB group called Life After Teaching - Exit the Classroom and Thrive, which is full of ideas.

Good luck.

Are you sure it's 30th September? I thought it was a half terms notice. So more likely 31st October?

I left my last teaching post at Christmas and I never had the interview until mid-October!

The Civil Service generally has a long lead for start dates, and it may feel counterintuitive but they are institutionally flexible around them. Three months from offer to first day wouldn’t necessarily be unusual. It’s frustrating for most people, but could work for you!

Yes! I was just about to suggest this, loads of ideas on there.

Join the ‘Did Teach’ mailing list - I get emailed a weekly list of Edu related non teaching jobs. NFER, other publishers etc. there’s a community on fb as well I think

I think it depends on how senior you are in the school. Some have to give half a terms notice, some a whole term.

Lot of ex teachers in the civil service! Especially the DfE

Local government. There are lots of jobs in education-related areas in Children’s Services. I’m now a Virtual School Headteacher which means I oversee the education of the children in care in my LA. It’s just as challenging in some ways (and there are still Ofsted inspections in local authorities) but it’s a much better work-life balance. It helps massively to have a good knowledge of safeguarding and SEN for many LA roles, so if you’ve not worked in either of these areas in school it would be worth trying to get some experience shadowing the DSL and SENCO.

I moved into HE. I was already teaching for the OU while still working in school and got a F/T job with them and then moved to a London University training staff. Much better than working with young people.

But - have you thought of tutoring privately?

If you're applying for a job in HE then a 3 month notice period is common, so it would be fine.

Environment Agency - Similar great conditions as CS. They waited over 6 months for me as my school wouldn't release me. I knew I had the job in May but advised not to hand in notice until Security Checks were done which was July and started in January. I have met over 10 ex teachers since joining in roles such as admin, training, recruitment and community engagement. I took a pay cut to start with but have already taken promotion and moved up a grade.

Lost the school holidays but dont need them, I'm no longer exhausted and wouldn't even know it was school holidays if I didn't have DD.

Flexi working is fantastic, 7.4 hours a day anytime between 7am-7 pm, don't have to start until 10 am, can take up to 2 hours for lunch. Hybrid working means my WFH days just feels like a normal teacher Sunday.