I quit teaching for better mental health: former teachers share the jobs they got after teaching
- Since 2020, teachers have been more vocal about quitting their jobs.
- Educators are leaving the classroom for easier roles at stores, restaurants, and cruise ships.
Many teachers are burning out and quitting their jobs. They're putting years, and sometimes decades, of experience behind them to find less stressful work.
In some cases, educators are leaving the classroom and applying for positions with higher pay. In other instances, they simply want peace of mind and a pleasant working environment. These five ex-teachers share what finally made them leave — and the jobs they took after quitting.
This teacher left her job and went to work at Costco
Maggie Perkins got burned out as a teacher and quit her job, after eight years. Perkins loved being a teacher, but felt like every time she caught her breath, something else would be added to her plate.
"I'd be added to a committee, or I'd be sent a student with behavioral problems, or I'd have to plan a field trip," she told Insider. "I've talked to so many teachers in the last few years, and it's the same story everywhere: We do so much unpaid work outside of working hours."
When she stopped teaching in Georgia, Perkins got a full-time job at her local Costco as a membership clerk. She's now working in Costco's Washington state office as a corporate trainer and said it's the first time in her professional life that she's stopped looking for other jobs.
Laura Lara quit teaching and made $450K in revenue covering scars and stretch marks with tattoos
In 2022, Lara made $457,000 in revenue working full-time, for herself, as a paramedical tattoo artist. She got her masters in education from the University of Texas in El Paso and was planning to become a principle, before she quit teaching in 2020.
Lara told Insider that she loved teaching, but after seven years as a high school teacher she realized she wasn't making any money. "I started to realize that maybe I wasn't as happy as I thought I was in the education profession," Lara said.
The former teacher said she now gets to change people's lives. She covers up stretch marks and helps women feel more confident. Lara also helps cancer patients who have scars from surgical treatment and does areola tattoos, pro bono, for women who've had mastectomies.
A former daycare worker, who also taught English online, quit to work on a cruise
Kailey Milhorn taught English online to kids in China and worked at a daycare, before she became a cruise-ship member for Royal Caribbean. "Although I was making a good $4,000 a month between the two jobs, it was rough and I knew I needed something different," Milhorn told Insider.
She wanted to find a job that allowed her to travel and do something new everyday. Working on a cruise ship became the perfect option. Milhorn said no two days are alike. She mainly works with kids on the ship, but also greets guests and has even bartended for an adult group.
Milhourn said taking this cruise-ship job is the greatest decision she's ever made in her life.
Holly Acre left her six-year teaching career for a more flexible job in tech
Holly Acre felt overworked at her elementary school. During her six years as a teacher, Acre taught both kindergarten and third grade. Her classroom size ranged from 20 to 23 students and Acre worked at what is considered a high-poverty school.
"The way you teach students who live in poverty is different because you need to make sure their basic needs are met before they can learn," Acre shared with Insider. "I had to really rethink what I thought teaching was."
Eventually, Acre started experiencing burnout and stress. She then went into a state of fight or flight, which led her to her new role as an account executive in the tech industry. Acre now makes $20,000 more than she did as a teacher, and gets to work from home.
This former middle school teacher quit and earned more as a waitress
Alexis Fernandez was recruited to work at a charter school in the Bronx, in 2018. But after the pandemic started in 2020 — and her class became remote — she started to feel burnt out. "Between cultural issues at the school and the hours, demands, and standards, it was just a lot to deal with," Fernandez told Insider.
She said she faced many challenges teaching middle school English, but was expected to put in a lot of effort for such little pay. Ultimately she left her teaching role and became a server while she searched for a full-time job in finance.
"If I'm doing long hours at the restaurant, each hour is worth something," Fernandez said. She also shared that she was making less than minimum wage when she added up all the hours she worked as a teacher and earns more as a waitress.
Read more: I quit teaching to work as a restaurant server. I miss the kids, but I make more money waitressing.