Are You Ready for a Career Change?

Rev. Dr. Kitty Boitnott, NBCT, RScP

Heart-Centered Career Transition and Job Search Coach 

According to Jan Tegze of "Recruiting Daily," there are 7 reasons why people change their jobs. 

These reasons vary from lack of opportunity to grow and advance in their current position to bad bosses to toxic workplace cultures. Sometimes it is for a combination of those. Other times, people change jobs for personal reasons. The person looking to make a change may want to spend more time with their family and have a more flexible schedule.

The reasons for why people grow dissatisfied and restless are as varied as human nature.

Tegze has identified a few commonalities among individuals he has interviewed over time, however, and he came up with the 7 reasons cited in his article.

I talk to people who are restless, dissatisfied, and looking for new career opportunities, too. Most of the people I speak to are teachers.

If I had to identify 7 reasons why teachers want to leave teaching, it might boil down to these (in no particular order):

1.  Challenges with classroom management and disrespectful children (and unsupportive parents).

2.  Lack of support from the administration when issues arise related to disrespectful children (and parents).

3.  Poor working conditions, including inadequate resources.

4.  Changing guidelines and curriculum every year with little training and support to make sure they can be followed.

5.  Lack of possibility for promotion without going into administration where openings are rare and hard to come by.

6.  Stagnant salaries that are not commensurate with the level of education attained.

7.  Classes that are too large with resources that are stretched way too thin to do the job the way it needs to be done.

I remember when teaching used to be fun.

It was always hard, but I felt like I had a certain amount of professional freedom and efficacy in the "old days." The fun got sucked out of the profession many years ago when the accountability movement became the rage.

Now, don't get me wrong. I believe teachers should be held accountable for their performance. But from the start, the accountability measures in many places were punitive.

The fact is that the system, as it currently operates, sets people up for failure.

And then administrators and politicians wonder why people are fleeing the profession in such large numbers.

On April 3, 2019, an article entitled, "Teacher Shortage is 'Real and Growing and Worse Than We Thought'" was offered in an NEA Today. 

I have also seen articles indicating that Virginia is joining some of the other states where shortages have become critical. Finally, there is some movement that seems aimed at stemming the tide and attracting more teachers to the classroom.

I find all of this more than a little late concern more than a little ironic.

We have seen this shortage coming down the pike for the past 20 years.

Additionally, I went to speak to the Virginia Board of Education back in February of 2017 about the rising rate of phone calls and inquiries I was receiving about my services. I spoke to the BOE because I believe they are in a position to do something about some of the policies that are causing teachers to leave their positions.

I also went to see my local representative in the General Assembly and my state Senator in the fall of 2018. They were both aware of the problem, but little has been done yet to right things, and some of the new initiatives are only now starting. It may be too late.

The thing that motivated me to go to speak to the BOE and my state legislators was a message that I received in the fall of 2016.

I will remember this message for as long as I live. It went like this:

"Kitty. I am sitting here in the parking lot of my school waiting until the last possible second to walk into that building. I have been teaching for 16 years. I am trying to make it to 20, but I am not sure I can make it. It's just too much. I talked to a retired administrator friend of mine who told me to go to the doc to get put on medication. I don't want to have to take meds to do my job. Help."

The sad truth is that many of our teachers ARE taking anxiety medication to deal with the stress and anxiety caused by their jobs.

Policies that have treated teachers and students more like widgets than human beings have created this problem and it is contributing to the teacher shortage.

And yet few administrators or policymakers, including our elected officials, seem to understand the true scope and nature of the problem that they have created with their ill-considered and poorly implemented accountability measures.

I decided a few years ago that the problem was bigger than I was and I was speaking to deaf ears, so I turned my attention to helping people who want to leave their jobs get out of the profession as smoothly as possible.

If you happen to be one of the teachers who has been contemplating making a career change, now is the time to do it.

School is letting out soon, and while it may be too late to make a change before this September, it is not too late to start planning your next move.

I am offering a live workshop entitled, "Are You Ready for a Career Change? Help for the Mid-Life Professional Who is Ready to Change Their Career" this coming Saturday at 2:00 PM EST (June 15th).

If you are contemplating the possibility of making a change sometime in your future, but you don't know where to start, this is the presentation for you.

To register, click here:  https://events.genndi.com/register/169105139238447032/91bd644592.

If you are a teacher or a mid-life professional in the health care field, sales, business, or whatever it is you do, and you are ready for a job or career change, you will want to make yourself available for this presentation.

I will be going live at 2:00 PM EST Saturday, June 15th. I hope you will join me. 

If this isn't something you are interested in, perhaps you could share the link with a friend who would be interested.

Do you have questions? Want to chat about your specific situation?

Then let's talk. Make an appointment for a 20-minute complimentary Discovery Session by going to this link:  http://kittyboitnott.coachesconsole.com/calendar.

I would love to learn more about you and see if I can help you.

One of the things that sets me apart is that I do not treat my clients like they are interchangeable widgets. I get to know them individually and want to help them find their true path for professional satisfaction and happiness.

I remind my clients regularly:  "Work that feels fulfilling leads to a happier life."

I know this to be true. If you are stuck in a job or career that doesn't feel fulfilling, it will cause you to feel stress that can ultimately harm your health, your happiness, and eventually will taint your relationships.

Don't wait until it is too late! 

Sign up for the workshop and find out how you can start getting yourself unstuck. 

Register by clicking here:  https://events.genndi.com/register/169105139238447032/91bd644592.

Until next time.