r/TeachersInTransition

This is my 3rd and hopefully last post to this group as I am anticipating a job offer (yayy).

The new position is not in education and would need me to put in 2 weeks notice which puts me leaving the classroom with 9 instructional days left.

I’m totally fine leaving early as I’ve had significant mental health problems.

Here is the issue. Telling my principal I am leaving and giving two weeks. I have OCD and my superbowl of anxiety is any conflict especially one where I feel the other side will not be supportive.

I want to leave on a good note and I am making sub plans for those 9 days and putting in my grades so no one else has to. I am hoping this puts my principal at ease and that she is more understanding.

Here is where I need help. How do I give my notice without being overly emotional, feel like throwing up, experiencing heart palpitation’s, or feel like I’m doing something wrong. I know I should not care but I never want to leave someone in a bad position. What are your tips for having a healthy and productive conversation where you don’t feel like a child talking to an authority figure but rather an adult making a good decision?

Long story short, I’m nearly 2 years out of leaving teaching and I’m in a job that I love now. That being said, when I was a teacher I taught in a lot of averse and underfunded environments. During my three or so years teaching I had to pick up contracts in which the teachers I was covering for had to leave due to having nervous breakdowns and in my last contract was an “emergency sub” covering high needs classrooms (I needed the money at the time). Lots of violence, fights, lockdowns, weapons, cops getting involved a few times, etc. My therapist a few months ago referred me to another psychologist who specializes in occupational trauma and they’ve now floated the idea around that I may have PTSD and it’s been suggested EMDR therapy would be really beneficial for me.

My two main questions are 1. Is PTSD something that can happen to teachers in these scenarios? I feel a little silly saying that and I don’t want to take away from or diminish the struggles of people who are paramedics or first responders that see REALLY intense stuff. And 2. If anyone has done EMDR therapy before, was it something that was beneficial? It’s gotten better in the last while, but I still struggle with rumination over the things that happened and intrusive memories of some of the really bad events I experienced. My next appointment is this week and I’m just looking for some guidance.

Basically you teach the kids 3 to 4 days a week, the parents pay monthly (about $900) as though it’s a private school… so they get the perk of specialized/private education but their children are just considered homeschooled. If you get 10 kids that’s nine grand a month, you can go outside, parks, field trips etc… the kids are generally a lot more behaved.

I want out.

Experience timeline (100% education)

- May 2021: Graduated university

- Sep 2021: Substitute at ES

- Jan 2022: PE teacher at MS

- Jun 2023: Left PE at MS

- Fall 2023: Unemployed (sad)

- Jan 2024: Sub, new school every day

- Mar 2025: PE teacher at HS

Give me recommendations of where to start a new path for the mean time as I save money and go back to school to be a dietitian for the next 2-3 years.

Please, ANYTHING that isn’t education. I use my work laptop to scroll Indeed lol.

I just want to use my mind and actually deliver some sort of result, not merely attempt to teach kids who’d rather me leave them alone all class.

Thanks for the input for those who take their time to contribute.

Im 29 years old and have a decent job in shipping/assembly at a manufacturing 5 min away from my house. I work with my brother and a great flexible boss. We have a medium sized farm we run on evenings and weekends. In the winter I coach basketball at my hometown school 30min away. I used to be a sub at this school for 3 years but haven't in a couple when I got the assembly job.

The school has called and offered me a 7th-9th grade math job with me going through the American Board program. I'm very on the fence.

Pros of taking job:

-I enjoyed subbing (obviously didn't have to do any real work but did enjoy teaching the kids and bring with them)

-summers off and much more random days off than current jobs (very helpful for farming which is a huge priority)

-my mom works at this school but will retire soon

-head basketball coach and other former teachers really pushing for me to take it saying they think I'd be great at it

-I drive there for nearly half the school year for basketball.

-I enjoy math and was good at it and could potentially switch to science following a teacher retirement because my current science degree.

-current job sort of a dead end it is what it is job with no really chance of moving up

Cons:

-pay decrease around 350 a month by my math (tough with a baby due in 2 months and daycare costs coming)

-current job very flexible and close to home allows me to come home for lunches (would be very nice with wife on maternity leave)

-extra driving everyday means leaving at around 715am and potentially not getting home until after 8 or 9pm with farming and then coaching in the winter (really tough spot to put my wife in)

-current boss is amazing and let's brother and I leave early during busy farm times and its no issue to take a phone call or run an important farm errand during work hours

-having to do all the American Board test this summer with a fresh newborn baby is an added layer

I have strong pros and cons both ways. I don't know how much after hours workload would be. Mostly concerned with the harvest in september- early november. We currently work until 10pm or later now. There's not much time to grade or prepare then. There would be a prep and study hall periods which would help. And potentially a T/A could be acquired to help.

There is a potential to maybe push back a year and go for the science job. There would be less testing because of my college credits I'm told.

Please share any advice or thoughts. Everyone I've talked to just goes "yeah thats a toughie" so I'm looking for real world experience and advice. My wife is leaning towards staying because of money and flexibility but I don't know if I want to be in shipping/assembly for the next 10 years or more.

Any ex-teachers that went the Project Management route without having to take a certification course?

I hear a lot of people say it's unnecessary, as others that it helped them get some interviews at least.

5 more weeks and then I’m free. I start my new job in the summer. I’m so impatient though these five weeks are going to feel like forever. Anybody else counting down the days lol

I am in my final year of university and i know that i dont want to do this. My dad suggested I continue even if its just for "one year" but i know i cant.

I can not handle the stress, pressure and mangaging so many children. I am always exsausted by half day i wsnt to go home by lunch time.

I have 1 month until i have finished my placement (teaching as a trainee) and i know i want to do something else what can i do instead. I am starting to feel both desperate and missrable in life and in general.

I am a 4th year school counselor and I’m leaving my school at the end of the school year. This is my 1st year at this district and it has been horrible. I received my contract for the 26-27 school year last week and it is due this coming Friday. I am not signing it and I’m resigning at the end of the school. I know I need to tell my principal but I’m nervous to do so. I have known since the second week of this school year that I would not be returning, so I’m excited about it but also anxious. I don’t have a job set up yet but I know I cannot stay here. Any motivation or inspiration or helpful words would be appreciated. Thanks in advance ❤️

I am getting very tired of my job…

The only thing that keeps me motivated each day is my co-teacher & some amazing kids. We teach the same subject, just with different groups, at the middle school level in a language elective.

One of the main challenges is the lack of accountability within the school system. There is very little follow-through from administration, and students are perceptive—they quickly recognize when expectations are not consistently enforced. In many cases, it feels as though decisions are driven more by parent pressure than by clear academic or behavioral standards.

This inconsistency extends to staff as well. For example, there are teachers who do not follow the curriculum and even provide students with answers prior to assessments. Despite administration being aware of these situations, there is little to no action taken. Similarly, some teachers leave early or do not fully meet their responsibilities, and again, there are no clear consequences. Students notice these patterns and talk among themselves, which further undermines expectations in the classroom.

Another difficulty is the culture among staff. There tends to be frequent commentary on what other teachers are doing, which creates unnecessary tension and daily distractions. Combined with student-related challenges, this contributes to an overall environment that is mentally exhausting.

The most significant issue, however, is student behavior. It is not necessarily extreme misconduct, but rather a consistent lack of accountability. Many students resist responsibility, avoid effort, and expect accommodations such as using notes for all assessments. When confronted about behavior, they often deny it, even when it is directly observed. This creates a constant dynamic of managing behavior rather than focusing on instruction.

At this point, the majority of the job feels centered on behavior management, with only a small portion dedicated to actual teaching. Despite this, the students who are engaged and respectful continue to make the work meaningful.

I’m honestly not sure how much longer I can keep doing this. I think I can push through for another year or two while I work on getting certifications and building skills in other areas, but I don’t see myself staying in this role long-term.

What also worries me is the lack of stability. Our staff is being significantly reduced—this year we had three world language teachers, and they’re cutting it down to just one. That makes it hard to feel secure or confident about the future here. At this point, I feel like I need to start planning my next step rather than trying to make this situation work indefinitely.

Kept saying that sentence for three years straight. Every time someone asked why I was still teaching with no planning period, 40 IEPs, and a para who quit in November. Every time I worked through lunch or stayed until 6pm because there was no other time to call parents or finish paperwork.

'It's for the kids.'

That phrase is how they get you. It's how admin justifies cutting support staff. It's how parents justify sending emails at 9pm expecting a response by morning. It's how the system runs on your unpaid labor and calls it a calling.

I didn't realize I was stuck until I ended up in urgent care with chest pain in January. The doctor asked what my job was like and I started listing things (no bathroom breaks during the day, covering two classrooms when we had no sub, being told to 'just differentiate' for 12 different reading levels with zero resources) and she looked at me and said 'that's not sustainable.'

It sounds obvious now but I'd never heard anyone say it out loud like that.

I started actually looking at what the job required versus what I was getting paid and supported to do. I took one of those career assessment things called coached and realized I'd been defining myself by a job that was actively breaking me.

The turning point was reframing the guilt. If a job requires you to sacrifice your health to do it correctly, that's not a calling. That's just a bad job with good marketing.

I'm not saying everyone should quit. I'm saying stop letting 'for the kids' override the fact that you can't pee for six hours or that you're developing stress rashes or that you haven't had a real weekend in months.

Hi everyone. I’m finally leaving teaching. Not quite as expected and now that it’s here, it is bittersweet with my students. Long story short, I am pregnant and due in the next few weeks. After a bunch of district changes due to budget cuts, my role of 5-8 chorus between two schools is being absorbed into K-8 general music and choir and I was moved to a totally new school. I declined of course but it definitely messed with me more than I thought. I’m going to miss my students a lot, but that’s about it. I don’t have a job lined up but I’m going to stay home with baby for a few months and then figure it out. I’m so excited!

Here’s the thing: I literally have 3 days of work left and I’ve been stressing so much about maternity plans that I’ve been slowly chipping away at for a couple of weeks. I have to make 4 weeks worth of plans for both schools. Both schools do not have the same sub and one of them doesn’t even have a long term sub who has filled in so it’ll be random people covering. We already completed concerts so I’m leaving computer things and projects but planning between two schools is such a huge challenge. The sub will not teach music really because they are just a warm body at this point.

I feel deep in my soul that I shouldn’t even need to do much of this but there is this stupid expectation of “well it’s the right thing to do” from my coworkers but who the hell is paying me overtime for all this planning?? Am I wrong for thinking that? I definitely saved it for last minute but I’m not going to plan months in advance when I’m already busy enough when I work. I just want to set the kids up with less chaos if possible when I’m gone as the last good thing I can do for them but this is so much planning.

What are your thoughts about leaving plans, even when not returning??

Hi there! I am a first year teacher, resigning from my current position after this year. Everyone thinks I’m returning except for coworkers very close to me. I was offered a contract but have not signed. What do I need to do to resign? Can I just not sign it? It says the deadline is April 24. Sending an email is giving me anxiety because it’s a very toxic administration. Thanks for any help.

Hi everyone,

Hope you are well. So, I just recently came back to the States after years abroad, but I'm feeling lost and unsure what path or career to take next. I'm considering teaching (elementary school), but I'm not sure if I'll like doing this here in the States, especially if I need to get my masters. I've been applying to jobs, but no answers yet. Anyone else who has been abroad, what path did you eventually take after coming back? Or what kind of jobs would you advise to look into (with no prior experience but only teaching)? Thank you.

This is my third year in a row getting laid off by my district. I love teaching and thought it was a sustainable career but I have never experienced anything like this. How can this be the norm?

Going through this multiple years in a row has taken a huge toll on my mental and physical health.

I am not in a place financially where I can move or accept a job that doesn’t cover my living expenses. I feel like I’m going to lose everything. I don’t know what to do and really need some advice and support. 😞

Did you go through a grieving process when you left? I've been going through this for a week and have honestly been on cloud 9 about 90% of the time. I am wondering if I should expect a big feeling of dread or regret later on? Everything about it has felt so right and exciting so far. What started as "maybe I will just look and see what's out there" has quickly snowballed into notifying my principal (although I haven't officially submitted any paperwork yet); telling colleagues, friends, and family; looking at jobs and now I have applied to 5 and updated all my documents; starting selling some of my teaching gear . . . I haven't felt this alive and free in a long time!

I have 15 years invested in the MA state retirement system as a special education teacher with my own classroom. If I stay 12 more years and purchase some years I withdrew (for 100K) then I am estimated to have a pension of 110K per year. I just don’t know if I can stay that long. I feel like I’m just going to through the motions and not really living. I am definitely feeling burned out and feel like my school is not a positive place to work. It’s weighing on me. I’ve thought about leaving to work at an independent school where salary would be 80-100K (a 20-30K pay cut) or pursuing another field outside the MTRS. I do not pay into SS in my state and have a supportive spouse with a healthy retirement nest egg (800 K in early 50’s). Any wisdom from teachers who are enjoying their pension or those who have left?

My wife & I are/were(?) teachers at the same school. I was teaching elsewhere but a position opened up and through her I got an interview & got the position just over 4 years ago. The original headmaster who hired us has since retired.

Yesterday we were both called into the office & told our time there was done & we wouldn’t be getting contracts for next school year. Obviously we are devastated and stressed. We both loved that school, but my wife especially loved that school. She wants to stay in education, but I’m not sure about myself.

My favorite part of teaching is the schedule. Done at 3 everyday, breaks, and of course summer allows us to sound so much time together and with our children. What jobs would you recommend to a transitioning teacher like myself whose main priority is being home with his family? I don’t mind working, but I’ve done a 10-6pm job before and that’s just not going to work again, I need to be able to have meaningful time with my family.

Hi everyone! I apologize if this is not the correct forum, but was instruted to this one....I am 26(F), I live in NY, and I am getting my BA in English Lit. & Language with a minor in Psych (with a certification in museum studies & an anthropology membership). I am graduating next month. It should be an exciting time, but I'm just feeling totally upset. I was GOING to go into a museum career, but I was getting anxious because many who are attempting to go into the career, or are already in the career, do struggle financially and with finding jobs in such a competitive and slim job market. I was then advised by an adivsor to go into library sciences (they stated that those skills could be transferable to museums and have back-up plan of library). I got into different two dual-degree programs. A MA/MS in Art History and Library Sciences and a MA/MS in History and Library Sciences. But I have been now struggling about if librarianship jobs will also be difficult to find or be able to support me.

My friend is an Earth Science teacher for middle school, and we had a very late-night discussion on what I should do with my career path, since I have not felt any excitement for my future as of right now, just very depressed She stated that getting an MA in Education and/or English Education (grades 7–12)... since I have an English degree...would be beneficial. She was walking me through all the steps and certification stuff. I was wondering if pursuing education and/or teaching English is something that would be beneficial. Not opposed to younger education either, but job market is harder were I am located. I asked another forum and someone stated I should just change my career path entirely to something in a field I have not previously studied that would be more benefical and it was "sadly on me for not doing my due diligence"...so I'm a little anxious and upset here.

Any advice on the teaching aspect (sorry to talk about the library aspect at such length) would be greatly appreciated!

TL;DR: Graduating with an BA English Lit. & Language degree May 2026. Deciding between museum work, library science (accepted into dual MA/MS programs), school librarianship, or teaching. Worried & looking for advice.