In this post, I’m writing about my transition from public ed to edtech — and three reasons why I’ll never go back.

I’m writing this post during my duty-free, hour-long lunch break (gasp!), fresh off the high of a new sale (literally, the call ended 11 minutes ago) — and I just have to say: I will never, ever go back to working in schools.

Don’t get me wrong: I loved my decade as a public school teacher. Yes, I griped and complained about my job at times frequently, especially toward the end of my teaching career, but that’s normal. No one has 100% job satisfaction 100% of the time.

Anyone who says otherwise is bold face lying.

But several months ago, I transitioned from public education to edtech. At first, the career switch was absolutely terrifying. I vividly remember sitting in my cubicle on my first day, feeling so uncomfortable and so out of place. I even remember asking myself, “What in the world have you done?” and genuinely wondering if it was too late to ask for my old job back.

Almost six months have passed since then, and I can confidently say I have fully adjusted to my new career. This career pivot — from public school teacher to international edtech sales consultant — may be more than the best career decision I’ve made in a long time. It may be the best overall decision I’ve made in a long time.

I wish I could list all the life improvements this career change has brought about, but for the sake of time (and the fact I have other things to do today), I’ll focus on these three for now:

1. Greater work-life balance. As a teacher, I constantly found myself thinking about school. Even if I wasn’t sitting at home actively lesson planning, there was always a little, nagging voice in my head wondering, “Do you have enough planned for today/tomorrow/next week?” Working in Sales, I am never left with nagging thoughts like this. When I shut my computer for the day, I shut work-related thoughts off, too.
2. My day is not micromanaged by a bell. Working in schools is very rigid. Every minute of your day is pre-planned and dictated by the bell. With my new job, there is so much daily flexibility. In fact, I get to set my daily schedule. I get to pick when to sit down and focus. I get to pick when to have meetings. I get to pick when to take a lunch break, and (again – gasp!) when I can refill my coffee or use the bathroom.
3. The burnout is gone. If you spend a decade doing anything, you’re bound to get burnt out. As a public school teacher, I had reached that point. In edtech, no two days are the same. With leads constantly opening, closing, and negotiating, you live in a permanent state of flux.

Believe it or not — this post is not meant to be a dig at public education. When I said, “I will never, ever go back to teaching,” I didn’t mean it in a negative way because I didn’t hate teaching. Instead, I meant I will never, ever go back because I found a much better-fit job and wouldn’t trade it for a thing.

Welp, my five-minute warning alarm just went off, so I ought to get cleaned up and get moving back to work. But I’m wondering: Are you a teacher looking to leave the classroom? How has your experience been? Or have you made a drastic career pivot, too? What was that experience like?