Deeply regret quitting my job…
Hi everyone,
I’ve never posted on Reddit before, but I recently made a huge life change and I really need some unbiased advice from people who don’t know me personally.
I recently left my Front Office job at an elementary school. This October would have been 5 years there. I genuinely loved so much about that job, the kids, parents, staff, and the sense of community. I worked 8–4 with no break, but I had a lot of responsibility and basically ran the entire campus. I had my own desk, my own space, and everyone knew me. I knew everyone and everything happening on campus. I was genuinely loved there, and people were really emotional when I announced I was leaving.
The reasons I wanted to leave were mainly:
the pay never increased,
there was no room for growth,
leadership/management had become disorganized and judgmental,
and there were going to be major changes next school year (construction, moving classrooms, staff leaving, etc.) that I knew would eventually fall onto me.
A few administrators were already leaving, and I knew their work would probably end up becoming my responsibility too. So despite loving the environment, I felt burnt out and stuck.
I started looking around just to see what else was out there and ended up finding a “3rd in charge” position at a daycare I had actually worked at years ago. The job sounded appealing: higher pay, supposedly less stressful, and more leadership-oriented. The schedule is 9:30–6:30 with an hour break, about a 15-minute drive away.
The role was described as front office work with some support in the kitchen, classrooms, and buses when needed. I thought I’d mostly be at the front and occasionally helping elsewhere.
But after starting, I feel completely blindsided.
It’s been one week, and I’ve spent most of my time doing classroom support. I do NOT want to be in classrooms with little kids all day. The daycare itself feels run down, the employees seem unhappy, turnover is high, and leadership is completely new. The classrooms are chaotic, and honestly, I feel like I was job baited a little bit.
I’ve already talked to management about my concerns. They say they’re trying to keep me at the front more often, but there are constant staffing gaps in classrooms that they need me to fill. The owner is also really strange about the front desk, whenever she comes around, I basically have to hide in a classroom because she doesn’t like seeing too many people up front. The whole environment just feels off.
Meanwhile, I can’t stop thinking about my old job. I know it had flaws, but I felt respected there(not by management). I had stability, confidence, relationships, and purpose. Now I’ve been crying all week, barely eating, and feeling genuinely depressed over this decision.
To make things worse, when I gave my old school my two weeks notice, they got angry and told me I’m ineligible for rehire because apparently the handbook required 4 weeks notice. I honestly didn’t know that rule existed. So now I feel like I burned a bridge at a place I truly loved.
I feel like I left something really good just for a few extra dollars.
I wanted:
less stress,
higher pay,
and a leadership position.
Instead, I feel miserable and trapped in classrooms all day.
I know realistically my options are either:
stick it out and hope it improves,
continue talking to management and try to shape the role into what I was promised,
or
start looking for another job entirely.
But emotionally, I just feel devastated and embarrassed that I may have made such a huge mistake.
Has anyone else ever left a job they loved thinking the grass was greener somewhere else? Did things get better, or did you move on again? I really just need honest advice right now.