I quit teaching to work as a restaurant server. I miss the kids, but I make more money waitressing.

• Alexis Fernandez was an English teacher but felt burned out when her job went remote.
• After being laid off from her finance job, she started working as a server and makes more money.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Alexis Fernandez, 26, who quit her job in education to work as a server in two restaurants. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I'm originally from Puerto Rico and came to the United States to attend Vassar College in New York. I wanted to work in higher education eventually, but I was recruited to work at a charter school in the Bronx in 2018. I decided to take the offer and teach middle-school English there in 2018.

I loved being hands-on with the kids and teaching reading and writing; I knew it was a powerful tool. I had also found a strong community in the Bronx, but when the pandemic started and we went remote, I started to feel burned out. Between cultural issues at the school and the hours, demands, and standards, it was just a lot to deal with. I decided to get a master's degree in education online because I wanted to stick with teaching, but I was unsure about which field I wanted to enter. I learned about leadership theory, better communication, and workplace-culture issues.

Working in finance reminded me of my roots

Through some connections, I was eventually offered a position as a financial representative at a firm in the city, where I was selling insurance and studying to become fully licensed to sell insurance. Though this job was different from working as a teacher, it was a great company in terms of culture fit. And it didn't hurt that I worked out of corporate offices with great views. But I was working on commission, and the hierarchy of a corporate company meant that the process of selling insurance and getting customers approved moved slowly, and sometimes, I was on my own to figure out how to reach more customers.

At the same time, I was working with first-generation families and recent college graduates who wanted to build their financial foundations. Working with these people reminded me of where I came from and who I was, and I loved helping them navigate finances. Unfortunately, in the finance world, that's not the way you make a lot of money, even though I enjoyed the work.

Because my insurance job didn't pay well, I also started working in 2021 as a hostess at the restaurant 5 Napkin Burger. I was working from 9 a.m. to about midnight pretty much every day. I held two jobs, one as a financial advisor and one as a hostess. I later switched from working as a hostess to working as a server. I enjoyed working at the restaurant because I was mostly working with people my age.

Then I was laid off; being a server is more fulfilling and offers more security

In November 2022, I was laid off from the insurance company, so I picked up another gig working at Applebee's. I worked mornings at Applebee's before dashing across Times Square to work the night shift at 5 Napkin Burger, where I worked until 11:30 p.m. or midnight.

I'm still in the process of looking for a regular nine-to-five, something in finance and in line with my experience. I've been in talks with someone within my network for a sales and marketing role at a fintech startup, but I want to continue serving at the restaurant. People don't usually associate restaurant jobs with a whole lot of security, but at 5 Napkin Burger, I feel more secure in knowing that so long as I work a certain number of shifts, I will be paid. We're seeing so many corporate layoffs, I'm now vividly aware of how shaky things are, especially if I went work at a startup or another tech company.

I'm OK with working long hours. With teaching, it wasn't so much the hours themselves that were the problem. I faced many challenges but was expected to put in so much effort for such little pay. If I'm doing long hours at the restaurant, each hour is worth something. I once did the math on my teaching job, and based on the hours I worked, I was making less than minimum wage.

I really enjoy serving people and engaging with them. I love being able to create a special experience for people, even if they're only there for 1½ or two hours. There are so many experiences centered on food that are precious and special to me. I grew up loving food and gatherings, and my mother always turned on the Food Network. By doing something as simple as making a recommendation or facilitating orders to give customers the best experience, I'm extremely fulfilled.