Bite the bullet and leave teaching...?

[Bethany83]

Hello,
Thank you for reading. I know this is a personal decision but as I am feeling VERY torn, I thought Mumsnet wisdom may help me in reaching one. I am 41 and have always worked as a teacher. I know I can not and do not want to work in this job until I am 68 which would be the reality. I am deciding whether to leave at the end of this academic year and re train come September. I have a plan of what I would like to do and it would be related to my degree subject. The problem is right now I am in a job at a lovely school with lovely colleagues and I am worried I am making the wrong decision if I leave BUT I also know I won't be in this career forever and I also feel the stress of teaching affects me greatly and therefore logically I should get a wriggle on and leave to start anew in September. Not sure if anyone has an advice...experiences to share.
Thank you in advance.

I can only speak for myself. And my husband. And both of my best friends.

We do not regret leaving. At all.

There is no amount of money that would entice me back to the classroom. As it happens, I get paid more than M6 now anyway.

Honestly I agree with the poster above. I know absolutely no one who regrets leaving the profession even if their original exit plan didn't pan out. In the end every single person I know who has left has found themselves in a happier place and many have said they wished they'd done it sooner.

I do not regret leaving at all, and I actually quite liked being a teacher! I earn so much more 4 years after leaving, and I work hybrid which helps my life a lot

Thank you all for your responses, they are very encouraging indeed and I appreciate them. Hearing that I will not have any regrets in your opinions is helpful for sure. I think I need to be brave and go for it even if I am not completely sure about leaving right now, I know I want to leave at some point and am only getting older so perhaps I need to be brave and make this academic year my last. Thank you.

Another here with no regrets! I still work in education but a different role and I love it!
I used to dread back to school in January whereas now I am happy to go back.
hope it all works out for you

No regrets at all!

I left 4 years ago. Best thing I ever did.

You don't fully appreciate the toll it takes on you until you leave and reflect.

I left last summer and luckily could afford a break in employment. I hadn’t realised how much teaching had destroyed my physical and mental health, sleep patterns, stress levels etc. Absolutely no regrets leaving.

I taught for 10 years and DH was so relieved when I said I had had enough. I moved into HE and never, ever regretted it.

Just do it. You can always go back. You’ve got time now, anyway, before resignation date, to make plans and ensure that what you are thinking will work out, and if it doesn’t - well, you can do something else!

Teacher of 31 years. At 55 I took early retirement- could not take the pressure anymore. I did not have a financial plan. I'm now doing supply in a pleasant environment however, I want a nice office job that allows me to chat and drink tea. Even.though there is some instability i don't regret making the move at all. I do.only have myself to consider though.

Thanks all, appreciate your responses which have also ALL been of the same encouraging viewpoint X

I’d be interested to know what you all now do for a living?… i feel financially trapped in teaching

I'm still in teaching but I work as a supply teacher which I enjoy as it's all the nice bits of teaching and none of the politics plus everyone is always happy to see you which is very different to how I felt as a regular teacher.

Others who I know who have left the profession entirely do an assortment of stuff including working in an office, a manager at a supermarket, selling cars, working in a bakery and two now work in children soft play type venues.

Same here, I am desperate to leave teaching but can’t think of anything else that would pay close to UPS 3. I’m the main earner in my household, so definitely feel stuck financially 😞

I felt the same as you. I have left and how I never had to go back-it's become a relentlessly horrible job!

There’s a great Facebook group called ‘Life after teaching - Exit the classroom and thrive’ with lots of really helpful guides where others have translated teacher things we do in to more corporate language. There’s also sample CVs and statements that people have uploaded as to how they filled in application forms.

I found it really useful.

If you search the group there’s lots of info about what people have gone on to do next.

It is sad though how many people are
desperately looking to leave teaching.

Good luck!

I’m handing my notice in this term after 25 years. I love it, I’m good at it, I will be hard to replace but it’s time and I’m done. Have a plan. Scared but doing it. Good luck OP.

I left 6 years ago. Not one moment of regret.

I left around six years ago, and I wouldn't go back. I loved the children (apart from, let's be honest, two or three of them!), but the adults around them made it hard work, and the pressure was immense!

I now work on a farm, in a much nicer area of the country, and earn far more than I ever did in teaching! Yes, the hours are long, but I don't spend as much time working, I don't take work home, my weekends off are my own, I earn more, I'm not crying every day, and I am SO much happier! The only thing that I miss is the children. I often wonder how they are doing, and hope that they're all OK.

I did 15 years and have now worked for an exam board and the exams regulator for longer than that. Not a single moment of regret. Love my job now and the flexibility as well as the much better work-life balance.

Is part time an option? Would it give you some breathing space to build a new career alongside your existing one?