Should You Quit Teaching? Signs, Tips + Quiz

If you’ve ever found yourself asking, “should I quit teaching?”, then you’re in the right place.

I asked myself that for years, before I eventually did decide to quit teaching. I spent about 10 years as an elementary public school teacher, before taking the plunge to move on to things were more suited to me.

Deciding whether or not to leave teaching is a huge decision, but I believe that you know the answer deep down. Can you still see yourself teaching at age 60?

If you can’t see yourself teaching long-term, then you might be happier if you move on to an alternate career.

Of course, quitting teaching is easier said than done. Here are some signs that you should quit teaching, followed by some other useful tips, and a quiz.

Signs That You Should Quit Teaching

Here are the main signs that it might be time for you to call it quits with teaching

1. You have little interest in it

Teaching isn’t always how we picture it. Most of us were school students at one point and remember our teachers. Being on the other side of the table is quite different.

I personally do enjoy teaching to an extent (I continued to tutor after I left the school teaching profession) but I wasn’t very passionate about the behaviour management piece that comes with classroom teaching.

2. There are more cons than pros

I made many pros and cons lists when I was deciding whether or not to leave teaching. There were some obvious pros to the profession which made sense, such as:

• decent pay, benefits, pension and job security
• more time off than other jobs
• the enjoyment I got from working with the students

However, besides those list of pros was a lengthy list of cons that to me, outweighed the pros above.

3. Your mental health is suffering

Leaving a job over mental health concerns is completely valid.

As much as there are many ways to improve your work-life balance as a teacher, for many that isn’t enough. Teaching can be an emotionally draining and triggering job, for many reasons (outside of just the workload it demands.)

In my case, my teaching job and many of the realities of it exacerbated my anxiety.

I developed insomnia and felt ‘on edge’ for most of the days, which wasn’t healthy. That was part of what made me realize I needed a change.

Pro Tip: If you’re concerned about how teaching is impacting your mental health, then I recommend taking a doctor-approved paid sick leave before making the (big) decision about whether to quit altogether or not. During your sick leave, you can reflect, and do some of the activities I recommend below to help you make the final decision.

4. The pay isn’t worth it or sustainable

Where I live in Canada, teachers are paid reasonably well. This has worsened with inflation since the pandemic, of course. But even still, they have excellent benefits, great pensions and above-average pay.

However, this isn’t the case everywhere. Some countries are notorious for paying their teachers tragically low – which makes it an unsustainable career to stick with, for many.

Part of determining whether its worth it to be a teacher, is ensuring that you’ll be paid well for your expertise, time and effort.

5. There is something else that interests you more

Have you thought about what you want to do instead of teaching? In my case, leaving teaching wasn’t just about what I didn’t want to do – but what I wanted to do instead.

I was drawn to remote jobs with passive income that would allow me to stay home with my kids and travel at any time throughout the school year.

I also wanted a job that was less tiring, as teaching can be a very challenging job for introverts. A big part of my motivation for leaving teaching was so that I could have a different kind of lifestyle.

It may not even be that you want another job instead. Maybe you simply want a job with a better work-life balance so that you have more time for your hobbies and passions outside of work.

6. You’re burned out

Being burned out can be a temporary state of mind, which you could recover from with some time off and therapy.

However, it can also be very hard to salvage your passion for your career if whatever caused you to burn out in the first place will likely still be an issue.

Issues with lack of admin support, increasingly bad behaviours, difficult parents and workloads aren’t likely to go away anytime soon. So if they’ve contributed to your burnout, then it may not be a sustainable career for you.

Pro Tip: Take our teacher burnout quiz to help determine if you’re truly ‘burned out’

7. You don’t see teaching in your future

Close your eyes and picture yourself doing your job in 20 years from now. How does that thought make you feel?

I realized teaching wasn’t for me the same way I realized my college boyfriend wasn’t for me. I realized that the idea of waking up next to that reality for the rest of my life wasn’t a good thought.

That’s when I knew I needed to make a change now – to prevent looking back with regret later on.

5 Tips to Help You Make the Decision

If you’re still going back and forth on whether or not to leave teaching, then I recommend a few activities to help bring you more mental clarity and make it easier to decide.

1. Take a temporary leave to decide

If your reasons for leaving are burnout or mental health – then take the sick leave first. I can’t stress this enough. Making such a huge decision when you’re not feeling well isn’t a good idea.

If you are so miserable at work to the point of wanting to quit, then it’s time to hit the pause button.

Don’t feel guilty about taking a temporary leave to reflect and make your decision. An unhappy teacher can have a negative impact on students, and they need and deserve someone who currently has the energy and capacity to take them on. You’re helping yourself, but also indirectly the students too, by taking the time you need.

2. Journal

There are proven benefits to journaling with pen and paper. I journaled quite a bit when I was in the midst of deciding whether to leave teaching or not.

Journaling on paper helps you process your thoughts. Whenever I journal, I feel more ‘clear’ and advanced in my thought process than I was before I journaled.

3. Meditate

You can’t argue with the benefits of meditation. Like journaling, meditation can help bring mental clarity and increase your creativity, problem-solving and decision-making – which you will need through going through a major life change such as quitting teaching.

4. Read an inspirational book

I read quite a few books that helped me see beyond my career, and what the possibilities were.

Some career-change books are focused more on mindset and finding your potential, while others are more strategy-based: finding your transferable skills, interview tips, personality tests, etc.

Some of the career change books that I found the most life-changing in my journey of quitting teaching and my journey to self-employment were:

• The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
• Everything is Figureoutable by Maria Furleo

Read this post to see additional career change books that I recommend.

5. Talk to a therapist

A therapist cannot tell you for sure whether you should leave teaching or not. But they can:

• ask questions to guide your thinking
• help you process your feelings
• prompt you to look at the situation from multiple angles.

Fit is important with a therapist, and I struggled to find the right one for me.

Ultimately, I found the self-help books more helpful – but a therapist is proven helpful for many, especially when it comes to big life changes.

5. Take the “Should I Quit Teaching” quiz below

The quiz below is designed to have you reflect on different factors that should go into the decision-making progress, and come up with an idea of where you’re at in terms of sticking with teaching a little longer, or making plans to quit.

Should I Quit Teaching? Quiz

Here is a quiz to help bring to light some of your thoughts on leaving teaching and how you feel about the career. Whether you’re thinking of quitting midyear, or not returning next year -this quiz will help you decide.

Grab a pen and paper and write out numbers 1 through 6. Next to each, write the letter (a, b, c or d) that corresponds with your answer to each question. Afterwards, follow the score sheet to count up your total number of points and read the results below.

1. What was the main reason you decided to become a teacher in the first place?

a) A calling, and passion for education
b) Enjoy working with kids
c) Good benefits and pension
d) It seemed like an obvious choice/lack of ideas of what else to do

2. How do you normally feel at the dismissal bell?

a) Just glad that the day is over
b) Completely drained and depleted of all energy
c) Tired, but not totally worn out
d) Looking forward to getting home

3. Your principal offers you a different assignment for school next year. (A different grade or subject from what you’ve been teaching.) How do you feel about this?

a) Hopeful. Maybe a change is what I need
b) Doubtful. I’m pretty sure nothing can change how I feel about teaching
c) Excited for the new role, as I really dislike my current one
d) Neutral. Feel nothing

4. If you were to leave teaching, would you want an education-related job?

a) Yes, I’d like to still teach in some capacity. Perhaps in a different school district, a private school, tutoring or working with adults would be more rewarding
b) No, I’d want to get as far from teaching, school and education as I can. It’s not for me.
c) Undecided. Would need some time to reflect on that.
d) I’d still like to be a classroom teacher, just not at my current school/board.

5. How strongly do you believe in the possibility of finding a different career?

a) Not strongly. Feel attached to my identity as a teacher and its hard to imagine doing anything else
b) Fairly strongly. I know I have good skills and talents that would allow me to excel in a different job that I’m happier in
c) I already have a pretty good idea of what I want to do instead of teach
d) I want badly to find another career, as I don’t see myself as a teacher. But I have zero clue on what that career would be.

6. When I think of still teaching in 5 years from now, I feel…

a) depressed or disappointed
b) relieved
c) content
d) neutral

Scoring

1. a = 1 b = 2 c = 3 d= 4
2. a = 2 b = 4 c = 3 d= 1
3. a = 2 b =4 c = 1 d= 3
4. a = 3 b = 4 c = 2 d= 1
5. a = 1 b = 2 c = 3 d= 4
6. a = 4 b = 3 c = 2 d= 1

24 to 28 points

Yes, you should definitely quit teaching. You don’t feel that teaching is right for you. You realize that you’re not meant to be there- it feels like you’re a fish being asked to fly. I recommend you start thinking of your transferable skills, and what other careers you could apply them to.

16 to 23 points

You should consider quitting teaching. You may not be ready to fully pull the trigger yet, but you do not enjoy being a teacher. You’re not happy, but you have some hesitancies about quitting which are keeping you there.

11 to 16 points

Classroom teaching may not be for you, but you aren’t so fed up that you’re ready to leave it all together. Try changing roles to see if you find more enjoyment in it again.

6 to 10 points

There’s no denying that you find this role very challenging; most people do. But you are not quite at the point where you want to leave this career just yet. There still seems to be some hope that you may enjoy it more in the future with a different role or circumstance.

Pro Tip: Of course, don’t use this quiz as the only measure of whether you should quit or not. This quiz is meant to guide your decision and reflect on the questions, but not make the decision for you.

Quitting Teaching FAQ

How common is it for teachers to quit?

How common it is for teachers to quit depends on the area. In ares where teaching pays well, it is less common for teachers to quit. However, teaching has a notoriously high burnout rate (especially post pandemic), and it is said that 1/2 of teachers think of quitting within the first decade of their career.

Is it okay to take a break from teaching?

Yes, it is ok -and even recommended- to take a break from teaching if you’re unhappy, struggling with mental health or burnout. Take a break under these circumstances is recommended over quitting, because leaving a career is a huge decision that should be made under a state of mental clarity.

Final Thoughts on Deciding Whether or Not to Quit Teaching

Trying to choose whether to quit teaching or not is a tough decision. Most of us spend several years, and tens of thousands of dollars to become teachers. At one point, you may have thought that it was your dream job. (I sure did.)

However, if all the signs are telling you to quit, and if you score highly on the quiz – then you very likely should quit sometime soon. We have one short, and precious life and I don’t believe in spending the time doing something that makes you miserable.

The main thing holding people back from quitting teaching is finances. Check out our resources in Beyond the Classroom for job ideas, and other ways to support yourself.