How to Quit Teaching in 2024

Wondering how to quit teaching? You’re in the right place. I quit teaching in 2023, and want to enable other teachers who desire the same to also realize that goal.

Quitting teaching takes courage. It’s a career that you likely invested a lot of time to pursue; one that you may have been dreaming of since childhood, that pays you a comfortable salary with decent benefits – not to mention, is also a very rewarding career at times too.

We’re not here to talk about why you’re quitting, and why so many teachers are burning out. Rather, I want to give you useful steps to take before, during and after you quit your job.

According to statistics, more than half of teachers plan or want to quit their jobs, but not all of them manage to do so successfully. Quitting teaching is very hard to do, without the right direction, support system, goal setting, intention and planning.

I hope to give you some concrete tips that helped me, to set you on the right path so that you can lead a more fulfilling life; doing something that suits your lifestyle and interests the best.

So, let’s get to it – how to quit teaching.

Things to Do Before Quitting Teaching

If the above resonates with you, and you’re leaning towards wanting to quit teaching – then here are some things to do before committing to that plan.

1. Make quitting teaching your goal

The most important factor on whether you’ll be able to quit teaching will be if you made a serious goal to quit.

Saying “I might want to quit next year” isn’t enough to turn this desire into a reality. If you want to quit teaching, you need to be serious about that intention, and give yourself a timeline that you will stick to.

Quitting teaching is almost like having a weight loss goal. It won’t happen on its own, and its the right career isn’t just going to fall into your lap.

This is why you should set realistic goals, and commit to a certain timeframe.

I recommend coming up with a timeline right now by which you want to have left teaching. Example -1 year from now? 2 years, or 5?

Figure out how much time you want to give yourself to find a job that makes you happier – and create goals around it to stick to it.

Pro Tip: If you aren’t 100% sure that you want to quit teaching yet, then I recommend switching over to our other article, Should You Quit Teaching?

2. Check in with your therapist or counsellor

Leaving your career is a big life change, and whether or not you feel you need therapy, it doesn’t hurt to connect with a counsellor.

I’d especially recommend therapy if you’re leaving teaching due to extreme stress or burnout, as it can help you process your feelings and cope with the transition.

If you’re someone (like me) who struggles with anxiety or low confidence, then you will bring those feelings into a new career unless you process and learn to navigate them.

Therapy, counselling, a life coach or even some self-help books related to career change can he helpful in improving your confidence in yourself so that you can open yourself back up to possibilities and a new career.

There may be resources for free counselling, and even fully certified online ones that you can connect with. I used Better Help quite a bit throughout my teaching career.

Pro Tip: If you’re under stress or burn out (take our burnout quiz here) then you may qualify for paid sick leave. I’d recommend this to anyone under distress rather than quitting outright, because it gives you the time to reflect and consider all alternatives with a clear mind

2. A lot of reflection

Leaving a job and finding another one takes a lot of courage, thought and things to consider. You likely know deep down that teaching isn’t for you, but you may have many mixed feelings about it too.

In addition, leaving teaching may not work out unless you clearly define what you want to do instead, and what realistic goals you can make for yourself.

Get a notebook, and pen. Scribble out: pros and cons list, your feelings, draw pictures, make ‘to do lists’ and even goal lists – anything at all. This would really help you clarify your thoughts.

Here are a few prompts to get you thinking:

• What parts of teaching do you like and not like?
• Where do you want to see yourself in 5 years?
• What is stopping you from quitting right now?
• If you could imagine your dream job, what would you be doing? If money weren’t an issue, what job would you do for fun and fulfillment?

If you haven’t already decided what you want to to do instead of teaching, then the above prompts are especially important, because they will help you come to conclusions faster about what kind of life you see yourself having.

Make sure you’re writing some of these thoughts down using pen and paper. There’s scientific evidence that pen to paper writing helps you process your thoughts better.

Pro Tip: Meditation would go well in conjunction with journaling!

3. Define what kind of job you see yourself in

Unless you have another job already lined up, leaving teaching means that you’re stepping into the unknown; unsure of what you’ll be doing instead (which can be intimidating, scary and maybe even seem irresponsible to some.)

Decide on two categories. Do you see yourself being:

• Self-employed, with your own business
• Doing something that’s teaching-related, but outside of school teaching
• Finding another job (that isn’t teaching-related at all)

Take a look at our list of some of the best alternative careers here – maybe there is one that sparks an interest.

If you’re not sure, this could even be a good journal prompt. Thinking seriously about this would help you narrow down your goals so that you can find something that suits your lifestyle and preferences better than teaching does.

Other things to consider when considering other job possibilities:

1. Do you see yourself working from home, or going into an office?
2. Do you want to work with people, or solitarily?
3. Do you prefer working with kids or adults (or neither?)
4. What do you want in a job? What would be your dream job?
5. What transferable skills from teaching are you proud of that you could bring to the table in another profession?

4. Read a book (or two) on changing careers

I highly recommend picking up a few books that help people navigate big life changes and help them see what is possible for their lives. Some of these can help you figure out what the right career for you is, if you haven’t already decided.

I’d highly recommend The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks for teachers who are uncertain about their future – want to quit, but have question on what they will do afterwards.

Another book that helped me, which is not specifically about career change, but any goal – was called Everything is Figureoutable by Maria Forleo.

See other books on career change that I recommend here.

5. Use your resources

Make use of the internet. There has never been an easier time to find out about other opportunities available to you.

You can use LinkedIn, Indeed, Facebook groups and even Reddit to help you connect with other teachers in the same boat as you, and find new opportunities.

Here are the communities/resources I recommend checking out (that helped me with my journey in leaving teaching for good.)

Resources for Quitting Teaching

Facebook Groups

If you’re not on Facebook, I recommend using it to connect with other teachers in the same boat and find job opportunities beyond the classroom.

Here are some Facebook groups that I joined when I was thinking of leaving teaching, which I recommend:

For teachers from anywhere:

• Step Away From the Classroom
• Teachers in Transition. –There is a job board once a week where jobs are posted
• Transitioning Teachers – Daily Job Alerts Beyond The Classroom
• Passive Income for Teachers – Life After Teaching
• Female Digital Nomads* for women only (not solely for teachers, but one of my all time favourite groups – its best for people who dream of being self-employed)

For Teachers in Canada only:

• Education Related Jobs for Ontario Teachers. Teaching related, but not school teaching
• Beyond Teaching – For Canadian Teachers

6. Arrange a back-up income

You know your finances better than anyone, but I would recommend that you develop a second stream of income so that you have money trickling in by the time you quit teaching.

When I officially resigned from teaching, I was doing tutoring on the side, and I also had a travel blog. These weren’t bringing in anywhere near enough money to replace my salary when I quit, but within a year, they had fully replaced it.

For most teachers, I think online tutoring is your best bet. It’s easy to get started, and you can start earning money right away. You could also create and sell teaching materials online.

See remote jobs for teachers, and passive income job ideas for more side incomes ideas.

7. Lean on your support system

My husband’s support was a big part of the reason I was able to quit my job, and I don’t believe I could have done it anywhere near as easily without him.

If you have a trusted family member who friend who sympathizes with you, tell them about your goals so that they can do what they can do support you; no matter how trivial.

8. Continue to set goals goals

There are many teachers out there who want to quit teaching, and only a small fraction of those are able to do it. I don’t mean to be harsh or blunt here – but thats the reality.

We talked about setting a realistic time frame goal between when you want to have left teaching and found something else. But, there may be small, tiny additional goals within that larger goal.

Example:

• A back-up savings goal amount
• When to have your side business or backup income stream up and running by
• When to have your resume done
• When to have enrolled in a course or study program by.

The larger goal (quitting teaching, and starting a new career) only works if you stay committed and make sure you’re taking all the small steps towards that

9. Start clearing out your belongings from school

If you’re like me, or most teachers I know, you probably have a lot of stuff that belongs to you at your school. This is especially true if you work in a public school.

I wouldn’t wait until the day you quit to start bringing it home. Instead, I recommend that you start bringing it home in small chunks.

If you’re quitting mid-year, then you might need to decide if there’s anything you’re willing to part with at school, at least until the end of the year.

10. Take care of any unfinished business at work

Aside from items to bring home, you might to think about anything else you need to do your due diligence of work-wise.

If you’re leaving mid-year, you’ll need to make sure that you leave any day plans, IEP information, grades, assessments, anecdotal notes, and other documentation so that a new teacher can take over.

In addition, be sure that you have saved anything you want to keep electronically. Some school boards are very quick to delete your staff email and staff Google drive, if you have one. Be sure that you have copied anything that you don’t want to lose.

Even though I was pretty sure I’d never school teach again, I had worked very hard on my Google slide presentations and didn’t want to lose them. I copied and backed up everything before officially resigning, just to be safe.

Pro Tip: I would not share with colleagues (even if you consider them a friend) about your plans to quit until its official. The risk of it somehow getting around the school is high. I would keep my plans private at work until the resignation is officially sent in.

How To Quit Teaching

How are quit teaching depends on where you live.

Canada

In Canada, resigning from teaching usually has nothing to do with your principal and is normally done through HR.

Where I live in Ontario, all I had to do was log onto my staff account, and submit a notice of resignation.

After this is done, you may receive an exit questionnaire asking you about your experience working for the board. This is purely a formality. I would keep your responses professional.

United States

In the United States, the principal of a school acts like more of a boss that you submit writing to; including sick notes and resignation letters.

A letter of resignation directed to your principal or Human Resources may be required to quit teaching. Find a useful teacher resignation letter template here.

How I Quit Teaching in 5 Steps

1. I had dreamed about teaching for years, but it was very hard in the early years because I was a single parent teacher, and relied on the income to pay my mortgage.
2. Later on, I was married with a second child. I decided to transfer schools instead of quitting, to see if I’d be happier in a smaller school environment with a different role. However, that didn’t work out either; some job stress that came with my new position in addition to some personal losses were causing me extreme anxiety, so I spoke to my doctor, who gave doctor’s note to get some time off work. This helped give me the time I needed to destress, and reflect.
3. While I was off work, I came to the conclusion that I didn’t see myself ever going back. I talked to a therapist, and did lots of reflection through journaling and meditation. I talked to my husband, who fully supported me leaving teaching. I joined online communities and uses resources to help me figure out what my next course of action would be
4. I collaborated to my husband, and we made sure that we had our finances in order. (It wasn’t perfect, but enough that we would be ok.)
5. I officially resigned from teaching soon after, and never looked back.
6. After resigning, I threw myself fully into my goals for the future. Within months, I had replaced my teaching income doing something that I enjoyed much more – tutoring, and blogging.

Quitting Teaching FAQ

Here are the most commonly asked questions about how to quit teaching

How do I quit as a teacher?

Quitting as a teacher takes courage, planning and goal setting. Many teachers want to quit, but only a fraction of them are able to realize this goal. I recommend following the steps in this article, and putting the effort and planning needed into quitting to ensure that you’re able to realize the dream of life beyond the classroom.

Final Thoughts on Quitting Teaching

Quitting teaching isn’t easy, but if you are unhappy, then it is one of the most rewarding goals. I quit teaching and never looked back, and I hope to help others who want the same be able to realize that goal too. Click here to read my article on why I left the teaching profession.

You’re gainfully employed, and that’s not easy to walk away from. Making the switch from teaching to something else is challenging, and it isn’t going to work out unless you set goals and stick to them.

As a sensitive, and introverted teacher, I knew early on that public school teaching wasn’t for me. I realized that I was never going to be able to leave without the right planning, dedication and goal setting. I hope that this article has given you some guidance, and I sincerely wish you the best in making this happen for you too.