Why Are Teachers Quitting — And What Career Options Exist Beyond Teaching
Discover why teachers are quitting, what’s driving teacher burnout, and what options exist if you’re a teacher or former teacher considering a different career path.
For many educators, teaching has never been “just a job.” It is a passion, an identity, a belief in the power of learning, a commitment to students and to making a difference.
That’s why the number of teachers leaving the profession shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s a clear indication that something isn’t working.
Teachers aren’t quitting because they stop caring. They’re leaving because the conditions of teaching (and the education system) have become increasingly challenging and unsustainable.
The Center for American Progress (CAP) shows that 70% of early-career teachers (those with five years of experience or less) reported in 2025 that they have already left or are actively considering leaving the classroom. This finding clearly highlights the strain facing the teaching profession.
In this blog post, we’ll explore why teachers are quitting, what’s driving teacher burnout, and what options exist if you’re a teacher or former teacher considering a different career path (without abandoning your passion, identity, or impact).
Why Teachers Are Quitting
1. Teaching Has Become Unsustainable
Why is teaching no longer sustainable? Why are so many teachers leaving the profession? It’s not because educators lack resilience. It’s because the system increasingly relies on it.
Today’s teachers are expected to:
Meet increasing academic standards with fewer resources
Address students’ academic, emotional, and behavioral needs
Navigate constant policy changes and accountability measures
Do a lot of their work beyond contract hours
Over time, a heavy workload combined with low pay, lack of support, and constant pressure takes a toll. When a system relies on personal sacrifice to function, burnout becomes inevitable. And the profession eventually loses its people.
2. Teacher Burnout Is a Systemic Issue
Teacher burnout is often framed as a personal problem, something that can be fixed with stress management, self-care, or mindset. But research and lived experience tell a different story.
Teacher burnout is rooted in structural issues and is driven by:
Chronic overload
Lack of professional autonomy
Limited decision-making power
Emotional labor without adequate support
Educators are highly skilled at managing complexity. What wears them down is the lack of agency within systems that increasingly control how, when, and what they teach.
3. Teachers Want Flexibility and Freedom
Another key reason teachers are leaving teaching is a growing desire for flexibility and professional freedom.
Many educators want:
More control over their time, schedules, and workload
Flexibility in where, when, and how they work
Opportunities for career growth (and ways to apply their skills beyond the classroom)
This isn’t about teachers abandoning students or losing their passion for education. It’s about recognizing that educators are education experts, problem-solvers, and leaders whose skills extend far beyond the classroom.
The Bigger Question We Should Be Asking (Instead of Why Teachers Quit)
The real question isn’t why teachers are quitting. It’s why are so many thoughtful, committed professionals reaching the same conclusion at the same time.
Until teaching offers sustainable workloads, professional autonomy, flexibility, and trust in educator expertise, attrition will continue (regardless of how much teachers care).
Teacher Identity: “If I Leave Teaching, Who Am I?”
For many educators, the decision to leave the classroom is both professional and personal. Questions like “Should I leave teaching?” are often followed by “And if I do leave teaching, who am I?”
Teaching is closely tied to a teacher’s identity, and considering other career options brings guilt, grief, or a sense of letting others down.
Leaving a role, however, doesn’t have to mean leaving your values or passion behind. And it doesn’t take away from the impact you’ve made as a teacher or the impact you’ll continue to make. There are many ways for teachers to evolve and make an impact on a wider scale in education.
Choosing a different path isn’t “quitting” education. It’s responding to reality and to change. And you’re allowed to do that.
What to Do If You’re Considering Alternative Careers for Teachers
1. Start by Listening to What Isn’t Working
Instead of beginning with the question “Should I leave teaching?” (a question that can be loaded with emotions) start by paying attention to what your day-to-day experience is actually telling you.
What parts of your job drain you most? When do you feel most overwhelmed, and when do you feel even a small sense of relief or joy?
You can also name conditions: What helps me (or would help me) thrive, and what makes everything harder than it needs to be?
Maybe you’d like quiet, autonomy, flexible hours, or the ability to focus without constant interruption. If you catch yourself imagining a different pace or environment (working in an office, a café, or even just alone in a quiet room) those are clues pointing toward what feels sustainable – where you can do your best work and feel more like yourself again. Reflecting can help bring you clarity on what you’d like (and not like) in your next role.
2. Recognize How Transferable Teaching Skills Are
Teachers often underestimate how valuable their skills are. Teaching builds a rare combination of technical, interpersonal, and strategic skills, and many of these transferable skills are in high demand.
Educators bring strengths and skills, such as:
Communication and facilitation expertise
Project and time management
Interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution
Curriculum, writing, and content design
Leadership, organizational, and systems thinking
These skills translate well into remote education jobs, such as:
Curriculum development and instructional design jobs
Learning and development, training, or facilitation jobs
Education consulting jobs
Academic or instructional coaching jobs
EdTech jobs
Education nonprofit jobs
Online teaching or online tutoring jobs
Exploring alternative careers for teachers isn’t betraying teaching or education. Think of it as an expansion of your impact and a way to reach even more students and improve education at a greater scale. You can apply your expertise while gaining more flexibility and autonomy.
3. Remember: You Can Love Teaching and Still Leave the Classroom
This can be a hard truth for educators to accept.
You can love students, believe in education, care deeply about learning, and still decide that the classroom (as it’s currently structured) is no longer sustainable for you.
Leaving doesn’t minimize or erase the impact you’ve made so far as a teacher. The great news is that staying in education doesn’t require staying in the classroom. You can carry your expertise and skills forward and continue to be an educator in new and exciting ways.
Get More Clarity and Career Support
If you’re an educator wondering whether to stay, shift, or step away from teaching, know that:
You’re not alone. You’re not required to sacrifice your well-being. And you have options. Education needs experienced educators in many spaces.
At Educator Forever, we’ve helped thousands of teachers learn how to apply their skills and expertise to flexible new careers in education. These teachers have gone on to become curriculum developers, education consultants, instructional coaches, online teachers, education writers, education business owners, and more.
Join the Educator Forever Network, a course + community of educators creating sustainable, flexible, and fulfilling careers beyond the classroom. Through the Network, you’ll gain access to job leads, workshops, coaching, and more.
You’ll learn all about your career possibilities beyond the classroom, gain clarity on the right path for you, discover exactly where to find flexible jobs in education, and you’ll get the support you need to help you land those jobs. You’ll also enjoy live group calls every week to get the accountability, motivation, network/community, and support you need.
Join the Educator Forever Network so you can start the exciting next chapter of your career!
FAQ
Is teacher burnout the main reason teachers are quitting the profession?
Teacher burnout is one of the primary reasons educators leave the profession, but it’s largely driven by systemic factors. Chronic overload, lack of support, emotional labor, low pay, limited decision-making power, and constant pressures contribute to long-term exhaustion. Without structural changes, burnout continues to push teachers out of the classroom.
What are the best alternative careers for teachers?
Many teachers enjoy careers in curriculum development, instructional design, learning and development, education consulting, EdTech roles, instructional coaching, and more. These roles allow educators to apply their expertise and stay connected to education while gaining greater flexibility, autonomy, income, and career growth.
Are teaching skills transferable to other careers?
Teaching develops highly transferable skills, including communication, project management, leadership, interpersonal, and organizational – just to name a few. These skills are in demand across the education world, including at EdTech companies, education publishers, textbook companies, curriculum houses, education agencies, education nonprofits, museums and cultural institutions, virtual schools, startups, and more.