Should I switch from corporate finance to teaching?
Burnout and corporate layoffs drive professionals to question if teaching offers a more fulfilling path. Evaluating this transition means figuring out if education is truly the right fit and determining the appropriate certification level before jumping in.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Volunteering or completing observation hours in a classroomDid this help you?
- 2Subbing for a time to test out the professionDid this help you?
- 3Talking to teachers you are close with and researching teacher turnover ratesDid this help you?
- 4Teaching adjunct courses at local community colleges or universitiesDid this help you?
- 5Teaching in upscale or private schools instead of public schoolsDid this help you?
- 6Staying in the current legal profession or looking for better legal work environmentsDid this help you?
- 7Volunteering as a mock trial team coach or legal mentor rather than changing careers full-timeDid this help you?
- 8Staying in the corporate role despite lack of fulfillment and high anxietyDid this help you?
- 9Looking into teaching as a possible alternative and researching local pay and stipendsDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“As a teacher I was looking up law schools this morning. If you dont like the adversarial aspect, you wont like teaching. You're the adversary of 120 kids everyday who dont want to be there and You're held responsible for their behavior and choices.”source ↗
“The unrealistic expectations and admin micromangement is beyond unbearable.”source ↗
“It’s 6 years and I'm done. I'm tapping out at the end of this year if I can make it.”source ↗
“I (26M) am looking to make a change.”source ↗
“I’m feeling burnt out by the rat race that is corporate finance.”source ↗
“I am seeking something more fulfilling in my life.”source ↗
“My role at my last employer was eliminated, so I am currently searching for something new. Should that be teaching?”source ↗
“How do I know if I should jump into a new career as an educator?”source ↗
“How do I know what level to get certified to teach”source ↗
“How can I judge if this is for me?”source ↗
“I’m currently an economist working in the corporate world, and I won’t lie the future of the corporate job market makes me pretty nervous.”source ↗
“My anxiety is through the roof in corporate.”source ↗
“Before I seriously pursue this or make any major decisions, I’d love to hear from people who have been in a similar position. How did you figure out whether teaching was actually a good fit for you?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 11How to switch careers out of academia
- 16Is moving from accounting to corporate finance too stressful?
- 3How to see accounting from a business perspective
- 5Is switching to teaching worth it later in life?
- 8How to transition from corporate to nonprofit work
- 14How to transition from technical work to management with no background