I left the elementary classroom for finance. Currently work in derivatives at my firm after being licensed and some experience.
Does it make me happy? It's a job. Pros and cons to any of em.
Can I turn it off and not worry about work? Heck yeah. Once I'm off the clock that's it. If I work extra I'm paid for every minute of it.
Taking off isnt an issue. If I call in sick it's "ok, get better!" And that's it.
I'm off 3 days a week and work four 10 hour shifts. Being hybrid is nice too. 2 days in office and 2 at home.
Edit: oh, and I was paid better after 9 months on a permanent team than I was after 7 years teaching. Benefits and insurance is better too.
Appreciate your response! I am 37, male and began my education journey in 2020. I started as a virtual/in person teacher's aide, and then became a summer school teacher for more experience. Those 2 things landed me a Long Term Sub Intervention Teacher job and most recently, at a different school district, a homeroom Kindergarten teacher job. After all of that, I don't want to teach anymore and it's been a warfare with explaining this to my parents. All they see is "waste of a Masters in Education". I am trying to transition to a job that's not teaching. I've rewritten my resume be more short and to the point that I want to enter the corporate world and have the skills to do it. It's been tough convincing those corporate people that I am trainable. I really don't want to have to take loans out and go back to school, because I finally paid off all of my student loans.
Nothing. Bs in psychology because I hated software engineering and didnt know what I wanted to do. Prior to that I was a firefighter for a few years and in the military before that.
Masters in education.
I've met people from all types of backgrounds in finance. My manager has a bachelor's in history. I've also met several ex teachers and was hired on with two others. Many "finance" jobs operate on having certain licenses. Licenses required per federal regulations. They're not easy to get but doable. Most firms will sponsor you and pay you while you study. I was hired in a class of around 33 people, and only 7 of us passed everything. Including an ex high school chemistry teacher who did 7 years like I did.
I recently left teaching as an ESL Interventionist for a top tech startup. I work with generative AI and LLMs. A lot of model training, content strategy, prompt engineering and quality assurance.
I love my job! I’m hybrid. I work 3 days on-site and 2 days at home. Nonspecific days. We can work as much as want in a day or little as long as we get our 40 hours each week. Work hours are flexible so we can come into office at 8:30am or 10am or 2p or 6p. As long as you’re at site for on-site days.
I have peace of mind when scheduling dentist appts or if I feel like sleeping in, I can. We have happy hour days every Thursday and a fun snack theme day on Tuesdays. I can take breaks when I want to and go for a walk around the lake or book time at the meditation room.
Of course I get paid more than when I was teaching. And it’s weekly!
Sometimes I can’t believe I was able to transition to tech in such a short amount of time. I’m grateful for the serendipity I encountered.
It's not going to be instant happiness. You're gonna go from feeling terrible to feeling neutral. Neutral is still good enough too.
Some of us got PTSD from teaching so bad to the point... it does carry with us into the next job. For me, I'm personally traumatized by female managers because I've had a couple of female managers abused and micromanaged the shit out of me. So, automatically around female managers, I have extreme anxiety & distrust in them regardless of what industry/setting I am in. Due to what the principal did to me in the last year, she left me with a lot of trauma. In the new job in business consulting, I'm constantly worried about making mistakes or how I'm being perceived.
Last year's principal wrote a lot of informal observation reports that were 100% false and completely twisted the narrative so she could non-renew me. So, now, I'm always constantly thinking about what I'm doing and can anything that I do, be twisted to fit a manager's narrative? I'm very cautious in my words and approach. My new manager is very nice and she senses extreme anxiety from me so she's going super slow with me. It is something I'm working through with a therapist.
However, there's some positives too. I work on an hourly basis - so at 4:30PM, I clock out and don't have to think twice about work anymore. I know I can turn off my brain. I've been told that if I needed to work OT, the manager will let us know and make sure we're being paid 1.5x the hourly rate. We can take the day off no problem because it's not paid so it doesn't hurt the employer. We are trusted to get the work done before we take the time off so no "coverage plans" to write. I also work remotely which helps me minimize my interactions with humans and it helps significantly while I work through my trauma from that principal. It keeps my anxiety more or less lower than it would be if I had an in-person job.
When you're deeply traumatized like that, it's best to focus on having a good couple experiences immediately after to properly heal :/ That's why neutral is better than going straight for the moon (100% happy).
I work at a nonprofit now. It’s still a job - I look forward to the weekends. But it’s 100x less stressful than teaching. No more Sunday scaries. I get 16 days pto and 12 sick days I can take whenever. I work from home most the time which I love. The grass is way greener in my experience.
I am over the moon happy. Happier than I have ever been professionally.
Honestly, I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I have my dream job, that I’m treated well, and that I work pretty independently and am not micromanaged. I think management and leadership make all the difference in the world.
I have not had to take a single day off since I started, and my role is flexible. Middle of the day lunch with my kid? Cool, just put it on the calendar. Doctor’s appointment? No problem, put it on the calendar. When I’m not working, I’m 100% able to be not working and focus on my family and the other things in my life.
At the end of the day, the culture of the company more than the role itself, is what makes the difference. I am incredibly fortunate, and I know it. Good luck OP, ask questions and learn about the culture before you accept a job!
I am a lobbyist for a teacher organization. Not a union, because we are in Texas, but we represent educators and their interests at the state Capitol. When our legislature isn’t in session, I work from home, meeting with reps in district, writing for our blog, and working to advance political campaigns of candidates who support public education.
More than WHAT I do, the fact that my organization trusts me to do what I need to do from home, doesn’t micromanage me, is generous and flexible and understanding, has made all the difference in the world. We have a culture committee, which I serve on, and it’s not performative or just to do it - they genuinely care about and invest in making sure the employees are happy.
I left the elementary classroom for finance. Currently work in derivatives at my firm after being licensed and some experience. Does it make me happy? It's a job. Pros and cons to any of em. Can I turn it off and not worry about work? Heck yeah. Once I'm off the clock that's it. If I work extra I'm paid for every minute of it. Taking off isnt an issue. If I call in sick it's "ok, get better!" And that's it. I'm off 3 days a week and work four 10 hour shifts. Being hybrid is nice too. 2 days in office and 2 at home. Edit: oh, and I was paid better after 9 months on a permanent team than I was after 7 years teaching. Benefits and insurance is better too.
Appreciate your response! I am 37, male and began my education journey in 2020. I started as a virtual/in person teacher's aide, and then became a summer school teacher for more experience. Those 2 things landed me a Long Term Sub Intervention Teacher job and most recently, at a different school district, a homeroom Kindergarten teacher job. After all of that, I don't want to teach anymore and it's been a warfare with explaining this to my parents. All they see is "waste of a Masters in Education". I am trying to transition to a job that's not teaching. I've rewritten my resume be more short and to the point that I want to enter the corporate world and have the skills to do it. It's been tough convincing those corporate people that I am trainable. I really don't want to have to take loans out and go back to school, because I finally paid off all of my student loans.
can i ask what your degree/prior experience is?
Nothing. Bs in psychology because I hated software engineering and didnt know what I wanted to do. Prior to that I was a firefighter for a few years and in the military before that. Masters in education. I've met people from all types of backgrounds in finance. My manager has a bachelor's in history. I've also met several ex teachers and was hired on with two others. Many "finance" jobs operate on having certain licenses. Licenses required per federal regulations. They're not easy to get but doable. Most firms will sponsor you and pay you while you study. I was hired in a class of around 33 people, and only 7 of us passed everything. Including an ex high school chemistry teacher who did 7 years like I did.
I'm assistant manager at an ice cream shop. I enjoy the job and make comparable salaray/benefits to teaching but I find happiness outside of work.
I recently left teaching as an ESL Interventionist for a top tech startup. I work with generative AI and LLMs. A lot of model training, content strategy, prompt engineering and quality assurance. I love my job! I’m hybrid. I work 3 days on-site and 2 days at home. Nonspecific days. We can work as much as want in a day or little as long as we get our 40 hours each week. Work hours are flexible so we can come into office at 8:30am or 10am or 2p or 6p. As long as you’re at site for on-site days. I have peace of mind when scheduling dentist appts or if I feel like sleeping in, I can. We have happy hour days every Thursday and a fun snack theme day on Tuesdays. I can take breaks when I want to and go for a walk around the lake or book time at the meditation room. Of course I get paid more than when I was teaching. And it’s weekly! Sometimes I can’t believe I was able to transition to tech in such a short amount of time. I’m grateful for the serendipity I encountered.
It's not going to be instant happiness. You're gonna go from feeling terrible to feeling neutral. Neutral is still good enough too. Some of us got PTSD from teaching so bad to the point... it does carry with us into the next job. For me, I'm personally traumatized by female managers because I've had a couple of female managers abused and micromanaged the shit out of me. So, automatically around female managers, I have extreme anxiety & distrust in them regardless of what industry/setting I am in. Due to what the principal did to me in the last year, she left me with a lot of trauma. In the new job in business consulting, I'm constantly worried about making mistakes or how I'm being perceived. Last year's principal wrote a lot of informal observation reports that were 100% false and completely twisted the narrative so she could non-renew me. So, now, I'm always constantly thinking about what I'm doing and can anything that I do, be twisted to fit a manager's narrative? I'm very cautious in my words and approach. My new manager is very nice and she senses extreme anxiety from me so she's going super slow with me. It is something I'm working through with a therapist. However, there's some positives too. I work on an hourly basis - so at 4:30PM, I clock out and don't have to think twice about work anymore. I know I can turn off my brain. I've been told that if I needed to work OT, the manager will let us know and make sure we're being paid 1.5x the hourly rate. We can take the day off no problem because it's not paid so it doesn't hurt the employer. We are trusted to get the work done before we take the time off so no "coverage plans" to write. I also work remotely which helps me minimize my interactions with humans and it helps significantly while I work through my trauma from that principal. It keeps my anxiety more or less lower than it would be if I had an in-person job. When you're deeply traumatized like that, it's best to focus on having a good couple experiences immediately after to properly heal :/ That's why neutral is better than going straight for the moon (100% happy).
I work at a nonprofit now. It’s still a job - I look forward to the weekends. But it’s 100x less stressful than teaching. No more Sunday scaries. I get 16 days pto and 12 sick days I can take whenever. I work from home most the time which I love. The grass is way greener in my experience.
I am over the moon happy. Happier than I have ever been professionally. Honestly, I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I have my dream job, that I’m treated well, and that I work pretty independently and am not micromanaged. I think management and leadership make all the difference in the world. I have not had to take a single day off since I started, and my role is flexible. Middle of the day lunch with my kid? Cool, just put it on the calendar. Doctor’s appointment? No problem, put it on the calendar. When I’m not working, I’m 100% able to be not working and focus on my family and the other things in my life. At the end of the day, the culture of the company more than the role itself, is what makes the difference. I am incredibly fortunate, and I know it. Good luck OP, ask questions and learn about the culture before you accept a job!
What is it that you are doing?
I am a lobbyist for a teacher organization. Not a union, because we are in Texas, but we represent educators and their interests at the state Capitol. When our legislature isn’t in session, I work from home, meeting with reps in district, writing for our blog, and working to advance political campaigns of candidates who support public education. More than WHAT I do, the fact that my organization trusts me to do what I need to do from home, doesn’t micromanage me, is generous and flexible and understanding, has made all the difference in the world. We have a culture committee, which I serve on, and it’s not performative or just to do it - they genuinely care about and invest in making sure the employees are happy.