Burnt out and teaching?

With so many teachers in the UK and in the international sector feeling incessant pressure from high-intensity inspections, and in the light of Ruth Perry, taking her own life last week awaiting her school to be downgraded in their OFSTED report, I ask the question ‘Why are teachers and leaders staying in these jobs?’

Most teachers enter the profession for their love of children, a desire to help their learning and development or a love of their subject, but with so much pressure from inspections, parents and school leadership to be constantly improving, the workload is becoming unsurmountable for many in the UK and the international sector. The reason that brought these professionals into careers in education, is no longer enough to keep them there as they are burning out, starting to question if the job is really about helping children or pleasing inspection boards, and finding it increasingly difficult to meet the excessive workloads.

The reason why so many do not leave is simple; they do not know what they could do next.

If it is a problem with a specific leadership team, colleagues, parents, students, education system or inspection process, it could be that a move to a new region, country or school could suffice in helping to rediscover a love of the profession. Even a new role within the same school can make all the difference.

On the other hand, if all faith in the education system has been lost altogether and the passion for teaching has vanished, many teachers question what other career they could do if this is where they have focused their time and energy over the years.

There is a culture in education where many believe that once you are a teacher, you are always a teacher, and it is difficult to cross over from the education sector into corporate or any other industry. I strongly disagree.

Teachers have a multitude of transferable skills that can be used in any industry and would be welcomed in most environments. Generally speaking, they should have excellent people and communication skills (many do not but this is a whole other blog!). They also possess excellent time keeping, meeting deadlines, training and development, delivering training or workshops, public speaking, risk assessment, project management skills, auditing, quality assurance, evaluation of self and others, planning curriculum, assessment, analysing data, plus any specific skills linked to subject area such as IT, Design, Computing and tech, website design, sports coaching, languages, editing skills, counselling skills and the list goes on.

How to change career as a teacher

There are four ways to decide what your next move should be:

1. Search by role – decide a role that you would like to do and check you have the correct qualifications. The first step is always going to be to get qualified, so decide if you can do that while working, if you can do it online or if you would have to study full time to qualify. Once you have the qualifications, start looking for roles and apply. Adapt you CV to show the relevant experience you have in that role and highlight how you fit the criteria and job description from the positions you have held during your teaching career.
2. The second way is to research companies you would like to apply for because they perhaps offer great pay and conditions, or they offer remote working opportunities. Contact people from within that company through the website, email, telephone call or Linkedin and make the connection. Explain that you would love to work with them, send your CV and ask if someone would meet with you to discuss possible job prospects.
3. The third way is to write a detailed list of the skills and values you have. For example, if you really value sustainability, it would not align with your values to work with a company that have a huge carbon footprint. Or if you are a vegan, you may not wish to find a job in the beauty industry where they may test products on animals. Similarly, if you know you prefer to work in a team, you can start looking for companies with small teams where you could thrive. Likewise, if you are not comfortable making the first move, networking or putting yourself forward, a job in sales is probably not for you. Once you are clear about the skills and values you bring to the table, you can start to find jobs or roles which require these skills. You can always use recruitment agencies to help with this.
4. The final way is to start your own business or side hustle with something you are passionate about. If you are a PE teacher, why not become a PT? If you are an English teacher, why not move into publishing or editing books or journalism? If you are an IT teacher with a passion for coding, why not help entrepreneurs build websites. Becoming a Coach, Consultant or Freelancer in your field is a great way to use the skills and experience you already have but work 100% for yourself. You chose your office, you choose your hours and you choose the direction of your business.

Do not pigeonhole yourself

My point here is that you are not ‘stuck’ being a teacher if you no longer wish to be. For those who still love the profession and want to remain in education, perhaps a simple school change or change in position is sufficient to reduce burnout and improve your emotional and physical wellbeing, but for so many teachers that I come across now, they want out. They have exhausted all their efforts and energy and still come away each day feeling undervalued, overworked and stressed. If this is you, please know, you have options. There are so many jobs out there that would love the skills you have and the experience you have gained during your years of teaching.

So whether you decide to move into corporate, stay within education but in a different field such as Ed Tech , learning and development, further education or private tutoring, or start a new venture either in your own business or through retraining, there are jobs out there for you. Whatever you decide to do, know that you deserve to be happy at work. You deserve to feel like you bring value and you deserve to be challenged and developed. You deserve to work with people who are empathetic and kind and leaders who want you to achieve your goals and will help you get there.

If you, like so many other teachers out there, are not feeling this way, make a plan. Start with the simple idea that there is more out there and it is possible to change career or jobs at any age. You are not too old, too young or too unqualified to do anything, so sew the seed in your mind that there is a new career out there for you, and this is the first step in making it happen.