A Real Guide From Someone Who Actually Did It
Career Change for Teachers
If you’re a teacher who lies awake thinking “I can’t keep doing this,” you are not failing. You’re being honest. Teaching is one of the most demanding professions in the world, and more than half of educators report serious burnout. Thinking about a career change is not giving up — it is showing up for yourself with the same clarity and courage you bring to your classroom every single day.
I’m Monica Sherwood. I was a special education teacher in New York City. I left. I became a UX designer at an edTech company. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, I wrote and published a middle grade novel with Little Brown Books for Young Readers. I’m not here to sell you a fantasy. I’m here to share what actually worked.
You’re not alone!
I found this very illuminating report from the Learning Policy Institute that I recommend everyone read. It’s where lots of the data I share in this section comes from.
Teacher turnover remains high nationally.
Between 2020–21 and 2021–22, 15.1% of U.S. teachers moved schools or left the profession: 8.0% moved schools, and 7.1% left teaching.
Turnover rates have been largely stable over the past 2 decades but are now about 27% higher than in the early 1990s—an increase driven primarily because the rates of teachers leaving the profession increased by more than 50%.
These numbers are not an indictment of teaching. They’re an indictment of a system that has asked too much of teachers for too long. If you’re reading this page, you already know that. What you want to know is what comes next.
74% of educators who moved or left did so voluntarily for reasons other than retirement.
270K+ teachers are projected to leave the profession every year for the next three years.
62% report frequent job-related stress, vs. 33% of similar working adults.
Why Teachers Leave Teaching
Compensation that doesn’t match the workload. Low pay is consistently cited as the top driver of teacher attrition, but it’s inseparable from the workload that comes with it.
Lack of administrative support. When teachers feel unsupported, unseen, or micromanaged, the work becomes untenable regardless of their love for students.
Emotional and physical exhaustion. Differentiated instruction, behavior management, IEPs, parent communication, professional development — all before 8am. The cumulative toll is real.
Loss of autonomy. Scripted curricula, high-stakes testing, and shrinking professional discretion have left many teachers feeling like operators rather than educators.
Watching great colleagues leave. When the people you respect most vote with their feet, it is hard not to pay attention.
Teachers who reported lower levels of satisfaction had more paperwork and administrative duties, longer work hours, larger class sizes, or test-related job insecurity were more likely to leave the profession.
Leaving teaching is never just about one thing.
If you’ve been trying to explain your feelings to people who have never stood in front of a classroom, you know how hard it is to articulate.
Here’s what the research says — and what teachers who’ve made the transition actually report:
What to do before you leave teaching
Deciding to leave teaching is complicated. The path to become a teacher, while sometimes difficult, is usually pretty straightforward..
Typically, leaving isn’t.
After going through it myself, and coaching many other former teachers navigate the decision to leave the classroom, here are some key key steps worth taking as you weigh your options around quitting.
Get honest about what you want to leave vs. what you want to find.
Are you running FROM teaching, or running TOWARD something? Both are valid — but they lead to different decisions.
If you are running away, you may jump into the wrong next thing. Take time to identify what fulfillment actually looks and feels like for you.
Calculate your financial runway.
How many months of savings do you have? What’s your exit plan if your transition takes longer than expected?
Many teachers leave with 6–12 months of savings and find that’s enough — but knowing your number removes the panic from the process.
Check your contract and obligations.
Mid-year exits can have consequences. Review your contract for notice period requirements, any penalties, and how your benefits and pension contributions are affected.
Start quietly before you leave.
The best career transitions are built while you’re still employed. Start exploring, networking, and building skills before you announce anything. This is not disloyal — it is smart.
Be mindful about who you share your plans with.
Not everyone will understand your decision, and not everyone has to, either. While you’re in the early stages of planning what’s next, be cautious about who you confide in. You don’t need naysayers.
Your Transferable Skills
I rarely heard that the skills I developed while teaching would be useful in any other industry. This made me feel stuck when considering career change options.
Now that I’m on the other side, I can confidently say that the skills you’ve been developing in the classroom are genuinely rare in the corporate world.
Most professionals have never managed 30+ humans with 20 different needs simultaneously, in real time, without a script.
You do this every day.
The lessons you learn dealing with co-teachers, co-workers, grade teams, principals, coaches, and parents are invaluable.
I really encourage you to find confidence and power in this. It’s not something that people who haven’t been teachers can ever fully understand, so it’s up to YOU to present and prove it to people in the position to hire you.
Your Skills Are More Valuable Than You Think
Curriculum Design → Instructional Design & Content Strategy
In the classroom:
You design learning experiences that meet diverse needs, align to standards, and actually engage people.
Outside the classroom:
Instructional designers, learning & development specialists, UX writers, and content strategists do exactly this — and earn $65,000–$110,000+ for it.
Here are four commonly transferable skills teachers have — and how they map to careers outside the classroom to get you thinking:
Data Analysis & Assessment → Analytics & Research
In the classroom:
You track student data, identify gaps, adjust instruction, and report outcomes to administrators and parents.
Outside the classroom:
Market researchers, UX researchers, data analysts, and program evaluators use these exact skills — often with much better tools.
Public Speaking → Communications, Training & Sales
In the classroom:
You present complex information clearly to a skeptical, distracted audience. Every. Single. Day.
Outside the classroom:
Corporate trainers, facilitators, sales professionals, and product marketers cite presentation skills as their most valued asset.
Stakeholder Management → Project Management & Consulting
In the classroom:
You manage relationships with students, parents, administrators, specialists, and colleagues simultaneously.
Outside the classroom:
Project managers, consultants, and account managers are valued precisely for this ability to navigate complex human systems.
Want a deeper breakdown?
Read 4 Transferable Skills Teachers Have (and Don’t Know It)
5-Step Career Transition Plan
This is the framework I wish I had. It’s not a magic formula — but it is a sequence that actually works:
1
Audit your energy, not just your skills.
Make two lists: things that energize you in teaching, and things that drain you. The goal is to carry the first list into your next career and leave the second behind. This is different from a skills inventory — it’s about designing work that fits you.
2
Research careers that use your transferable skills.
Instructional design. UX research. Corporate training. Curriculum development. Educational consulting. Edtech. Content strategy. These are not compromises — they are evolutions. Start with LinkedIn’s job descriptions and read them like a teacher reads student work: look for patterns.
3
Take one online course. Write one portfolio piece. Complete one freelance project. Do one informational interview. You don’t need a full portfolio before you start applying — you need enough to have a real conversation.
Build proof before you need it.
4
Network like a teacher, not a networker.
Teachers are already experts at building relationships. You don’t need to “network.” You need to have genuine conversations with people in roles that interest you. LinkedIn is the tool. Curiosity is the strategy.
5
Apply before you feel ready — and iterate.
Teachers are already experts at building relationships. You don’t need to “network.” You need to have genuine conversations with people in roles that interest you. LinkedIn is the tool. Curiosity is the strategy.
Want to dive deeper?
The Career Transition Toolkit walks you through each of these steps with worksheets, resume templates, and reflection prompts designed specifically for teachers making this transition.
My Career Change Story
I taught special education in New York City. I had a master’s from Hunter College. I knew how to build IEPs, differentiate instruction, manage a classroom of kids with wildly different needs — and do it all while smiling for the parent who stopped by unannounced.
And then one day I realized I was building lesson plans at 11pm, eating lunch at my desk, and dreading Sunday evenings. Not because of the kids. Because of everything around the kids.
I didn’t quit dramatically. I built a bridge. I started learning UX design in the evenings, connecting my instructional design skills to the language of product and technology. I did informational interviews. I built a small portfolio. And eventually, I got a job in edTech — in an industry I cared about, using skills I’d been building for years without knowing it.
Somewhere in that transition, I also finished the novel I’d been writing. The Ice House was published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers in November 2021. The teacher in me never left — she just found new rooms to work in.
I made mistakes. I doubted myself constantly. And I would do it all over again.
That experience is what I poured into the Career Transition Toolkit. It is the guide I wish had existed when I was sitting at my desk at 11pm wondering if this was all there was.
Career Options for Former Teachers
Where Do Former Teachers Actually Go?
Instructional Designer
You already design learning. This is the same skill with better tools and pay.
UX Researcher
You know how to study how people learn. UX research is the same skill applied to products.
Corporate Trainer / L&D
Teaching adults in a professional setting. Same craft, less grading.
Curriculum Developer
Building learning content for publishers, edTech companies, or nonprofits.
Educational Consultant
Supporting schools, districts, or organizations with expertise in education.
Content Strategist / Writer
Your communication skills are a superpower in content-driven industries.
EdTech Specialist
Working within technology companies that serve education.
Author / Creative Professional
Using your subject-matter expertise and storytelling in written or visual form.
There is no single answer — and that’s the point. Here are the most common (and most fulfilling) destinations for teachers who make the leap:
Frequently Asked Questions
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Most teachers who plan intentionally make a full transition within 6–18 months. The biggest variables are: how much time you can dedicate to the process while still teaching, whether you need additional training or certifications, and the competitiveness of your target role. Many teachers take a school year to build skills and credentials, then land a job the following summer.
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In most cases, no. Many of the most popular career transitions for teachers — instructional design, UX research, corporate training, content strategy — can be entered with a portfolio of work, not additional degrees. Short online certifications (Google UX Design, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning) can fill specific gaps, but they are rarely the deciding factor. Your experience and how you frame it matters more than any certificate.
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It depends on your contract and your circumstances. Mid-year departures are harder to navigate professionally, but your mental health is not a small thing. If you need to leave for your wellbeing, give as much notice as you can, document everything in writing, and consult HR about your obligations. There is no universally right answer here — only the answer that is right for you.
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Probably parts of it. Most teachers who leave the classroom do not miss the system — but they do miss the students, the relationships, and the meaning. The good news: many careers available to former teachers keep you close to education in ways that are energizing rather than exhausting. You get to choose how much of the classroom to carry with you.
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Be honest and forward-facing. Avoid leading with complaints about the system (even if justified). Instead, frame your decision around growth: “I loved the work of designing learning experiences and building relationships, and I’m excited to bring that to [X field] where I can [specific reason relevant to the role].” Employers respect self-awareness and intentionality far more than a polished non-answer.
Related Resources
More resources for teachers in transition.
I Want to Leave Teaching: 5 Steps to Take Right Now
The companion blog post to this page — with tactical, immediate steps.
4 Transferable Skills Teachers Have (and Don’t Know It)
The skills you already have and how to position them on your resume.
Thinking of Quitting Teaching? Here’s What to Do Next
For the teacher who knows something has to change but isn’t sure what yet.
Get the Career Transition Toolkit
The step-by-step system for planning and executing your career change.