Q: I might be at a crossroads in my life and career, or I might just be tired. The pandemic has really taken a toll on my energy in the classroom and my love of teaching. I hear about so many people leaving their jobs and many teachers who are getting out of education. Maybe I should be one of them? I have other interests, but I do not know exactly what other kind of work I would like to do. I never saw myself being a teacher forever, but I also never planned to make a change this soon. And what if this is just the pandemic talking? What if I’m back to normal in a year or two? I also read about people who have quit their jobs and regretted it. How do I go about making this decision? I need to let my school know soon if I plan to return.
A: First, try to tune out what other people are doing, as that’s just noise. Their decisions have little to do with what’s right for you. Without knowing much about you, it’s hard to give you a direct answer, but I think you might want to ask yourself some additional questions — and perhaps consult a career coach. You can begin by challenging yourself to be very specific about what you like, and don’t like, about your current teaching position. What are the elements you find most draining and most energizing? Are the draining elements related to the pandemic and likely to improve? Also, are there jobs (outside of education) that you enjoyed doing in the past? I think it might be helpful, too, to think about why you never considered education to be a “forever” job. What did you envision doing when you stopped teaching? Once you’re able to identify other areas of interest, drill down even further. For instance, ask yourself whether those interests lend themselves to a career, and whether you would need additional training or certifications. If so, it might make more sense to continue teaching while you fulfill those requirements. You might even have access to tuition reimbursement.
Keep in mind that if you’re feeling a sense of malaise, it’s likely due at least in part to the outsized role that work assumed over the last two years. Quite simply, the pandemic made it difficult for everyone to engage in non-work-related activities. By changing your career, you might introduce some much-needed novelty into your life, but you’ll probably still feel tired. In fact, transitioning to an entirely different field might require more energy than staying put. Along those lines, think about whether there is anything you can do, short of quitting, to give yourself to chance to catch your breath or get a change of scenery. If you normally teach or work with children in the summer, for example, could you afford to take extra time off or work in a different field? Does your district offer any long-term leave options, such as a sabbatical? Could you transition to part-time teaching or perhaps try teaching a different grade or subject, move to a new school, or do something in a related area, such as training teachers or writing curriculum?
All of this leaves me wondering: If you’re doing relatively OK (and it sounds like you are), then why make any decision at all, right now? The safest option may be to use the next year to gather information, assess your interests and options, and tweak your routine to conserve energy and bring more balance to your life. In other words, it sounds like you’re at the beginning of an exploratory journey. There’s nothing wrong with wanting change for change’s sake, but you’ll be less likely to have regrets if you take the time to know what you want and why you want it. And as you noted, over the course of the next school year, you might change your mind about what you want.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Phyllis L. Fagell
Phyllis L. Fagell is the school counselor at Landon School in Washington, D.C., a therapist at the Chrysalis Group in Bethesda, Md., and the author of the Career Confidential blog. She is also the author of Middle School Matters and Middle School Superpowers, available at https://amzn.to/3Pw0pcu.
