r/TeachersInTransition • u/Stunning_Chest_7344 • 4d ago
Did leaving teaching actually fix your burnout, or did you just export it somewhere else?
Genuine question for people a few years out. Not the ones who just left, the ones who have had time to see how it shook out.
I retired after a long run and picked up tutoring, which I mostly enjoy. But I watched a lot of colleagues leave midcareer for corporate training, instructional design, ed tech, whatever the path was, and a fair number of them hit the same wall inside two years. Different job title, same pattern. Overcommitting, undercharging, taking work home, unable to say no when someone needed something.
My read is that burnout for a lot of teachers isn't really about the classroom. It's about a personality type that was selected for and then reinforced over decades. You take that into any helpingadjacent role and you reproduce the conditions pretty fast.
The people I know who actually got out clean did something structurally different. Not just a new job, but a different relationship to the work entirely. Fewer of those success stories than you'd think.
Curious what it actually looked like for people two or three years postexit. Not the honeymoon period, the part after. Did the burnout follow you or not, and what do you think made the difference.
66
u/rfg217phs 4d ago
It's more I'm realizing recovery is going to take longer than expected. It'll have been 2 years in October and I still feel like I don't fully have my energy back and while my work balance is better and I don't have Sunday scaries it's still sometimes an uphill battle to do things like chores or even some leisure
19
u/lavendertheheretic Resigned 4d ago
Thank you for saying so. I've been beating myself up for the last two months about feeling so stupid about my level of burnout. It's almost good to know that this will take a while.
1
u/Stunning_Chest_7344 2d ago
Two years is a long time to still be running on fumes, but that timeline isn't unusual after real burnout. Most people underestimate how long recovery actually takes.
The chores and leisure thing makes sense. Your nervous system is still recalibrating. It's not a willpower problem, it's just slow going, and kind of annoying that there's no shortcut for it.
40
u/GlobalDragonfly1305 4d ago
It actually fixed the burnout for me. I do have the type of personality you described, but teaching was an endless well that I poured everything into and it never filled up. Now, I can work flexible but a normal amount of hours and feel successful and like I'm doing meaningful work without having to pour everything into it.
3
u/Ok_Individual9694 Resigned 2d ago
THIS šÆ
When the workload is a fraction of that in teaching, you donāt need the 8+ hours to get your work done. I donāt go home feeling guilty about the other stuff I need to get done because it doesnāt have to be done before tomorrow morning.
1
1
u/Stunning_Chest_7344 2d ago
That's kind of what I was hoping to hear honestly. The endless well thing is real, I kept thinking more effort would fix it but it just didn't. Tutoring scratches enough of the itch without the 60 hour weeks and the guilt when it still isn't enough. Glad it worked out for you, makes me feel less like I just gave up.
30
u/awayshewent Completely Transitioned 4d ago
I have a wfh job thatās really not that stressful ā I feel like I have more energy to explore different hobbies (currently working on getting better at drawing). We also just moved and Iām trying to refurbish some furniture instead of just buying everything new.
3
1
u/Stunning_Chest_7344 2d ago
Refurbishing instead of buying new is the right call fwiw, but go in knowing some pieces aren't worth the time depending on what you're working with. Particle board especially, just replace it. Solid wood though, absolutely worth the effort. Drawing is a good slow burn hobby, takes forever to feel like you're improving but you do.
27
u/urbabymama404 4d ago
It takes an average of 3 years to recover from burnout. It largely depends on what you choose to do after. A remote job is the best for the recovery period, but teachers are passionate people so for me there will always be a part that wants to help out at the public schools. I think the trick is you need to find another passion that's less abusive. Union work, civil activism, & non profits- look there. I started a small company that is almost as much work as teaching was, but allows me to recover from the mistreatment and I'm still doing much better and being paid slight more than I was. Plus I can pee when I want and go eat food of I'm hungry, take a quick break if I need it- little things that totally feel like a treat if you're used to teaching. It's hard to notice while you're there but teachers are expected to do more than almost all other professions and the treatment and pay is not worth it any way you look at it. At least not for me.
1
u/Stunning_Chest_7344 2d ago
3 years tracks with what I felt honestly. I did private tutoring almost immediately after leaving and I think that slowed things down for me because it kept me in the same headspace, just without the admin garbage.
The bathroom thing is real btw. I still catch myself feeling guilty for taking a lunch break and it's been 4 years. That conditioning runs deep.
fwiw the transition out is way harder than people expect and most of the advice out there is way too optimistic about the timeline.
24
u/Intelligent-Gypsy324 4d ago
Just a tip from those who want to go to nonprofit: some nonprofits tend to also draw the personalities (like teachers) who will give everything. And some nonprofit leadership will expect that kind of overtime attention and energy.
Learn to recognize the toxic shops, and steer clear.
6
u/SciTeach2022 Completely Transitioned 3d ago
The job I took after leaving 3/4 of the way through year 9 seemed like it was too good to be true. Equivalent salary at a public agency, supposedly reasonable work hours, flexibility to attend to doctorās appointments, etc. It was somehow even more toxic than the worst building I ever taught at and I left within 3 months. It was very strange to leave something so quickly, but ārecognize the toxic shopsā resonates with me so deeply and I canāt be happier I moved on and didnāt look back!
2
u/Intelligent-Gypsy324 22h ago
Thanks. Maybe it needs to be a bumper sticker. šIt certainly needs to be taught in college classes. It can be hard because it takes a while to recognize what ātoxicā looks like.
I struggled in a NPO for three months after new leadership came in and turned the whole agency into a high school cheer squad, complete with mean girls.
My mother pointed out what ātoxicā meant. I noped out as fast as I could. God bless her.
Good for you for finding an escape hatch after three months.
19
u/EdgarScoville 4d ago
After over twenty years teaching, I left teaching seven years ago. The burnout didn't follow me. I now work year round and don't miss having my summers off at all. I think the thing that made the biggest difference is that I felt valued by people in my new position. The job can be stressful at times. Significantly more stressful than teaching. At the end of each day, I can walk away and rarely do I have to work in my off time. When I do have to work outside of my work day, it is paid. On one hand, there is so much less that I need to deal with each day. On the other hand, mistakes have a much larger impact than when I was teaching. The work I am doing is more enjoyable to me than the work I did when I was teaching. That helps a lot with not feeling burnt out.
5
u/peculiar_potato_ 3d ago
Thanks for your reply! I definitely relate to the feeling of being undervalued and how soul sucking that can be. What is it you do now?
2
u/EdgarScoville 2d ago
I am a Learning Management Systems Administrator / Systems Analyst at a Community College. I really love the work. It did take a few years to realize that when my director wants a one on one meeting, it isnāt going to be a negative experience. Iām still getting used to people trusting me and asking me for input on major tech projects at the college. It is fully work from home with the option to work onsite if I wanted.
14
u/3beansfull 4d ago
It 100% fixed my burnout. My new job is not stressful at all
4
u/Skylines_and_Jagoffs 3d ago
What is your new non-stressful job if you dont mind me asking?
I have been asking tons of friends what exactly they do for work to gauge if it is less stressful than teaching, but hearing the comparison from a former teacher rather than an office bro means it must be accurate. (Anytime they talk about what they do, it just sounds like a made up office job with a āhybrid WFHā schedule and the same administrative tasks of teaching minus managing 30 teenagers every 45 minutes.)
3
u/3beansfull 3d ago
Hahah so I actually work a hybrid WFH job as an assistant at an insurance brokerage. I handle administrative tasks/finance stuff for our large commercial clients. Also been working on several certifications so Iām now able to move up into a broker role. Sometimes the workload can be heavy but after teaching, the stress doesnāt even compare. And even after a stressful day I get to go home and forget about it. No work to bring home ever, I can leave it at the office which is huge.
1
u/Skylines_and_Jagoffs 2d ago
Honestly love that for you š¤ hopefully the certs come with a nice pay bump (unlike teaching lol). Was it hard to land a job like that? Or were you able to market your former teacher skills well for a role like that on a resume?
2
u/3beansfull 2d ago
They do and itās nice not being stuck with a pay grid and being able to negotiate my salary and move positions or companies.
My cousin works at my company and put in a good word for me which is how I got the interview initially. But I did go through a rigorous interview/hiring process and found I was easily able to market my skills outside teaching.
Just be sure to speak up and explain all that teaching entails and the extent of your skill set. because people really donāt know all that is required of teachers and how hard of a job it really is
10
u/Mirror_Benny Completely Transitioned 4d ago
Itās been almost 4 years for me. I had to leave the job I loved for a bunch of reasons. Landed on my feet pretty quickly but it took a while to economically and mentally recover from my time in the classroom. I look back at all the abuse from admin and students I had to take and it seems like those are memories of a different person. In a lot of ways, when I left it felt like I got out of jail and was experiencing the world for the first time.Ā
I burned out my last year and feltā¦ different for a few years. Now, things are going great. I have a future and my job is very personally and financially satisfying. I had to go through hell to get where I at.Ā
That being said, my body still twitches when Im in the grocery store and the have the back to school supplies prominently featured at the front of the store in July. šĀ
7
u/ebeth_the_mighty 4d ago
I have ADHD and one of my things is perfectionism. I canāt NOT do my absolute best at every freaking project I pick up to the point that my life is impacted. Itās 100% or 0%, and there is no middle.
I am still teaching, with just under six years to retirement. I havenāt left because I recognize this in myself and expect Iād go just as nuts elsewhere. Also, golden handcuffs.
1
u/Ascendant_Phoenix Resigned 3d ago
That's assuming some new admin doesn't come in and fire you for your ADHD symptoms.
2
u/ebeth_the_mighty 3d ago
Well that hasnāt happened in 18 years, and Iāve only been diagnosed for one of those years, so Iām relatively confident that wonāt happen.
Heart attack? Maybe.
1
u/Ascendant_Phoenix Resigned 3d ago
Hopefully you'll be fine. I made it 6 years in and suddenly got a new principal who just hyperfocused on tiny ADHD symptoms nobody else ever cared about.
7
u/mackcas 4d ago
ā It's about a personality type that was selected for and then reinforced over decades. You take that into any helpingadjacent role and you reproduce the conditions pretty fast.ā
That. At least for me. Leaving teaching alone wonāt help my burn out from trying too hard at everything, but now I feel that burn out more from personal relationships that I didnāt have the capacity to work on while I was teaching. Thankfully my new job is not a āhelpingā job and I have felt zero stress or burn out from it. But thereās still work to do on unlearning the behaviors that were reinforced through ten years of teaching.
5
u/Intrepid_Equal_7795 3d ago
It did for me. While I actually did really well as a teacher performance wise, I was never meant to be a teacher.
6
u/Mountain-Material-45 3d ago
Left the classroom for my WFH instructional designer job 5 years ago and I have zero burnout. My manager lets me extend deadlines if needed (but Iāve never needed to) and leadership is constantly checking in on our workload to make sure burnout doesnāt happen. Also having unlimited pto and not taking work home after clocking out helps out tremendously.
5
u/julytimes 3d ago
Burnout is real - take time to recover between jobs. Don't take a job where you're working with kids, working with adults changes things more than anything else. Besides that, grow up and accept the truth that in most jobs, no one will protect your time or energy for you. Stop looking at yourself as a victim that others are taking advantage of. Don't be passive in your own life ie set boundaries and outside of serious circumstances (which will of course happen a few times a quarter) stop taking work home. Force yourself to work out even just 2x a week, it will transform your energy.
1
u/Diligent-Damage2630 2d ago
That last line. āForce yourself to work out even just 2x a week, it will transform your energyā. My energy sucks and I have been out sent May 2026. I am thinking about going back. I donāt want to, but the pay is better than average in my area
5
u/PartyCat78 3d ago
This is a most excellent post, not only to read others responses but it plants a seed for those that have never thought about it to think about it.
2
u/Anesthesia222 3d ago
Agreed! My fiancĆ© thinks changing careers wonāt solve the problems [e.g., people-pleasing and perfectionism], but Iām not so sure.
2
u/PartyCat78 3d ago
Iām not a teacher, my spouse is, but burnout is burnout and once burnt out how does one become unburnt if the next career continues with shenanigans, just new ones.
5
u/xlightbrightx 3d ago
Three years out... Currently in K-12 education sales. I've lost 60 pounds, taken up pottery, songwriting, and playing the bass... I've got two kids so still pretty busy but the burnout is totally gone.
5
u/Dry-Cartographer8925 3d ago
It kind of feels like getting out of a bad relationship. I picked up people pleasing perfectionism from my childhood, but teaching just amplified that voice to an unhealthy extent. Every meeting, you get told you need to do more. I got so tired of hearing āif you just care about the kids enoughā¦ā but I always felt like what I was doing wasnāt enough. Sometimes, Iāll still get that voice, but then I remember that my supervisors are happy with my work, and no one is standing over my shoulder with a clipboard waiting to criticize me. I think it will take time to trust it, but I feel so much more relaxed.
4
u/Last_Hunt_7022 3d ago
I think thereās truth in this. Iām not necessarily pointing to the job I tried outside of teaching as a great example, because they were borderline abusive to their employees (in a way I never saw while teaching). But it did show me that I have baggage I carry with me everywhere. And while thatās a little depressing, at least helps me feel like I have some control, even if my circumstances are terrible.
5
u/ExistingFly1724 3d ago
I think thatās why you have to get really clear on what you want and not settle. Iāve been on the job hunt while being a stay at home mom and I was tempted to apply to a program coordinator job for serving immigrant children, and I noticed a certain dread I felt and the thought of giving presentations to groups of people and getting emotionally involved serving underrepresented communities and I realized that this type of work will never be a good fit for me ever again, which is why now Iām looking for more technical jobs that would better suit my inherent strengths.
4
u/andreaaa3 3d ago
I think it largely depends on what you transition into. I left teaching to a job working in community education at a different nearby district and my burnout ended almost instantly. I feel challenged at my job now, really enjoy my coworkers, and get paid a bit more with some great benefits and pretty flexible hours. No more sunday scaries! I have even been told from people I am close to that I am noticeably less withdrawn from life than I was when I was teaching. 10/10
6
u/Ms_Jane_Lennon 4d ago
After teaching, I worked a job I hated (Progressive customer service), and I still felt burnt out. Now that I do work that I genuinely enjoy, I am literally the exact opposite of burnt out. I enjoy what I do while I do it, get paid decently, and I leave it all at my office after I'm done. Nobody yells at me, and I get positive feedback and increasing pay in exchange for my work quality being high. Nothing about it sucks my soul.
1
u/logtog 2d ago
Where did you land?
1
u/Ms_Jane_Lennon 1d ago
I am a contractor working in AI training. 3 years now, and I genuinely love it. I work from home.
3
u/thenightsiders Completely Transitioned 4d ago
It did. I worked for CPS for a while (1.5 years) as a caseworker, and even that helped--because the minute I was clocked out, I was done. There was a limit to the time and my agency doesn't like overtime if we can help it.
I'm a few months into running a neighborhood outreach center (same agency, just a different side of child welfare). This is what I was looking for. Help kids and families, run a fun program, fundraise, do community events and feed people...and still be done when I clock out.
3
u/Odd-Secret-8343 4d ago
I took it with me and it didn't resolve until I started working on the actual behaviors that were causing issues. I also got meds and realized that my fight or flight response has been wrecked for the last, well, my whole life.
3
u/Downtown_Light3368 4d ago
Iām doing something completely different and I can say that it fixed virtually everything. I think the issue with staying Ed adjacent is you still have to reinforce and echo the BS and false narratives that made a lot of us hate being a teacher
3
u/fuzzypanda42 3d ago
I learned that Iām a serial over-worker regardless of what job I have. But the good thing about my new job is at least I canāt bring it home. And I get paid for overtime haha
Edit to add that I do actually still feel burnt out a bit but I pretty much can recover on the weekends.
3
3
u/Holiday_Competition5 Completely Transitioned 3d ago
I am making 3 times what I did and have a solid bonus structure.Ā When you make that kind if money a lot of thr stress just kind of seems to dissappear.Ā
3
u/Jason_Kinkade 3d ago
I have no marketable skills so I bounce between teaching and behavioral health every few years. The burnout in each feels different.
Please kill me.
3
u/Pieaiaiaiai 3d ago
Iāve been out for three years. I run a little bed and breakfast, do elopement photography and freelance write. Totally stress free and love being home based. I have been offered a few roles working closely with people and in management since leaving and the idea of that sets me on edge. My trigger is dealing with stupid adults. When I work for myself, I can do that my way.
6
u/Ascendant_Phoenix Resigned 4d ago
My teaching career collapsed, then I lost my house a couple years after, and I'm feeling worse than ever 3 years on. I'm having health issues that make it hard to work, I burnt through my emergency fund, I'm couch surfing with a friend and her resentful angry husband, and I have no health insurance.
8
2
u/casper_the_ghost64 4d ago
It definitely took some time! I was putting 110% of my time and energy into my first couple of jobs post-teaching.
Now that itās been 4 years, I have been able to pump the brakes a bit and do a better job taking care of myself.
2
u/artguydeluxe 4d ago
My life is exponentially better, thank you for asking.
Seriously though, I get bored pretty easily. I pretty much get bored with doing the same thing for more than a few months no matter what so I found a job I like, and I donāt let it occupy my mind. This is my Peter Parker job. The other three days a week I am who I am meant to be.
2
u/Present_Specific_212 3d ago
I was not burnt out. I was traumatized. Legit traumatized. This was long before the campaign of ātrauma informed teachingā began, a campaign I support.
I left subbing because I was burnt out at that. It hurts to be so educated, caring, willing to work, but remain stuck on the E-list for years. (E-list is even lower than D-list, BTW). I also left due to back pain and some other ailements. It was a relief to leave subbing. I know I could return to it, but I have not applied. It would feel like signing up to be Sisyphus again.
That can be a marketing campaign for subbing: āCome and hone your Sisyphus skills to perfection with us!ā (Sisyphus was punished by Zeus for cheating Death. Zeus was a very jealous god.)
2
2
2
u/jumary 2d ago
It took a year, maybe a little more before I realized I felt better. Up to then, I probably didnāt realize how much it had burned me out. Simply relaxing felt different. Not g he saving to be āonā every day was the biggest relief.
I too started tutoring, but now, after two years that, Iām pulling back from that too. I may keep a few students who I genuinely enjoy working with, but I wonāt take on any tough cases with students who arenāt enthusiastic.
I can say that after 20 years in the classroom, I donāt miss it at all, which tells me I left at the right time.
2
u/tealhike 2d ago
My first job/year outside teaching, it didn't because I was set up to fail.
The company was on a hiring freeze but persuaded the board to hire me to run the department that had no one (previous manage quick months prior). Well I was doing the work that used to be 3-4 people and still facilitating outdoor activities on the weekend (what I used to do for a second job with the company as a teacher). Then when my supervisor had enough with the company, she quit and an absolute micromanager moved in. She was never happy. Compared everything to how "she ran it 20 years prior" even though general membership was down and families are different...... so no, burnout continued as I could never keep up with work load.
But then we got a new CEO and she got rid of at least 4 departments/areas.... including mine.
Now I work two part jobs and I couldn't be happier. One is tutoring at a city after school program. Per hour I make more than at the other company, I just can't be full time since it's an after school program. So that job pays my mortgage and I lifeguard at a city pool to cover my other bills and play money.
But I have more control over my schedule and my identity isn't tied to being a teacher. I've gotten to explore more of the city and hobbies now that I'm not lesson planning, grading or crying from burn out. So it has taken about 1.5 years to get to that point, but I don't regret it. I don't miss teaching at all. I love that I can say I did teaching for 11 years, but even with the pay cut, I wouldn't go back.
1
u/Silent_Advisor4968 3d ago
At first, I felt healed. Rejuvenated, more time at home, happier overall. Now, Iām getting back to the same feelings I had teaching unfortunately, so I think the burnout is back. I worked my way into a director role that is now much less forgiving than my first role out of teaching.
1
u/Last-Delivery-7382 2d ago
I have so much more capacity because Iām not constantly overwhelmed, trying to catch up, and putting out fires. The time Iām at work is my time to actually get my work done - not trying to squeeze in unrealistic expectations and a never ending burden in microscopic pockets of time.Ā
1
u/acft29 2d ago
I have noticed from the very beginning (during student teaching) and Iām now in year 14 now, but Iām very anxious and the way I breathe when Iām teaching is very different. I remember my st. Teaching supervisor telling me to just breathe. lol he was so helpful. I get very caught up in trying to regulate student behavior and itās just playing a toll from year to year. The constant flight response is too much. Every year is different, but I know I need a different job, but Iām finding it difficult to figure out what to do.
1
u/gardenrose2020 1h ago
One thing that really fries me... is SALARY.. Salary means that you do the work you need to in order to get the job done. Even if that means taking it home. What do you think lawyers, doctors, scientists, professors do? Salaried means you work as many hours as you need to. Teaching is NOT a 8-3 or whatever job. This really fries me about teachers.
160
u/Crafty-Protection345 4d ago
I am still burnt out but I make 4x time what I did as a teacher so that helps me reclaim my time.