Essential Insights: 7 Things You May Want to Know Before Quitting Teaching

Educators contemplating whether to stay or leave the profession often focus only on the positive aspects of teaching that they might regret losing, such as dear students, pensions or summer ‘break.' (We all know it's not a break, and it's certainly not long enough, hence the air quotes.)

Leaving a career that you are passionate about, that you have poured years of training, money, and work into, is not for the faint of heart. It is an identity trip for sure, and it's not a decision to be taken lightly.

However, as someone who has recently gone through this very career change, it may not be what you are expecting. There are pros and cons that you might not have considered.

Here are 7 reasons why leaving teaching may provide you with more mental, emotional, and energetic space.

This blog offers educational content; not medical advice. Please, consult a healthcare professional for personal mental health concerns.

1. Your calendar will likely be more flexible. Other lines of work are not always as regimented as teaching. If you need to attend a dentist appointment, chances are you can make it without months of advanced notice and finger crossing.
2. Increased mental and emotional energy. Most other jobs enforce their work hours and expect you to log off at 5 pm.
3. Bathroom breaks. This one goes without explanation.
4. If you miss work, it's not great; but it's also not the end of the world. You don't need to stress more over sub plans.
5. Lunch break. People actually take a lunch break somewhere around 12-1 pm. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true.
6. Stronger boundaries. You are responsible for your own work, your own families; but NOT responsible for all the other ones.
7. Vacation and PTO. Depending on what kind of job you land, you can take vacations using PTO (paid time off). You don't have to worry about missing that required professional development seminar.

I certainly miss many aspects of the work, like the amazing students, colleagues and families I worked with over the years.

If you are moving into entrepreneurial work, it's true that there may never be as stable a job (and paycheck) as with teaching. And that can be scary. Really scary.

But listen to your body, listen to your heart and mind. If you're ADHD or autistic and feel like being neurodivergent is making your job harder than it already needs to be, please consider joining the Teach with ND community.

You will be surrounded by support that could help make your day-to-day dealings a bit more manageable, whether that's in the classroom, or beyond.

For more tips on managing daily challenges as a neurodivergent teacher, read the Key Neurodivergent Teachers' Guide to Managing Daily Challenges round-up!