Should I Stay or Should I Go? The big question for many Teachers
For many teachers, this becomes a question that goes around again and again.
Perhaps you have reached the point where you are wondering whether teaching is still the right career for you.
Maybe you love some aspects of the job but feel exhausted by the demands placed upon you. Perhaps you are simply curious about what else you could do.
Whatever has prompted the question, you are certainly not alone.
Every year, tens of thousands of teachers enter and leave teaching in England. In 2025/26, around 41,000 FTE teachers joined state-funded schools, while around 38,600 left in the preceding year. And of the teachers who qualified ten years ago, only around 58% are still teaching today.
So if you're sitting in the staffroom wondering, “Should I stay or should I go?”, you're certainly not alone. Behind those statistics, however, are thousands of individual stories, circumstances and decisions.
And the decision to stay or leave teaching is rarely a simple one.
Why is teaching so attractive?
Teaching remains an incredibly attractive profession for a number of obvious reasons.
It can offer variety, purpose and the opportunity to make a genuine difference to other people's lives. There is the satisfaction of seeing someone develop, overcome a challenge or achieve something they didn't believe was possible.
There is also the opportunity to work with people every day, to be creative, to solve problems and to continually develop your own knowledge and skills.
For many teachers, there is simply the feeling that what they do matters.
But teaching can also be demanding. Workload, accountability, changing expectations and the emotional demands of the role can leave even highly committed teachers questioning whether they can, or want to, continue.
That is where the “stay or go” question can become particularly difficult.
What if I decide to go?
One of the things I regularly notice when working with teachers considering a career change is that they often underestimate just how many transferable skills they have developed.
Years spent teaching don't just give you experience of delivering lessons.
You have probably developed an impressive range of skills, including:
Communication – explaining complex ideas clearly and adapting your communication to different audiences.
Presentation skills – confidently speaking to groups and holding people's attention.
Leadership – motivating, supporting and guiding others towards a goal.
Organisation and time management – managing competing priorities, deadlines and multiple demands simultaneously.
Problem solving – responding quickly when things don't go to plan and finding practical solutions.
Relationship building – developing positive relationships with pupils, parents, colleagues and other professionals.
Coaching and mentoring – helping people identify their strengths, overcome barriers and develop their potential.
Resilience – continuing to perform under pressure and adapting to changing circumstances.
Project management – planning, coordinating and delivering complex pieces of work.
Emotional intelligence – recognising what other people need and adapting your approach accordingly.
Assessment and analysis – interpreting information, identifying gaps and using evidence to make decisions.
Adaptability – adjusting your approach to different people, situations and constantly changing circumstances.
These are not skills that disappear when you leave the classroom.
They are skills that employers value across a huge range of professions.
Where can teaching take you?
I have worked with clients who have successfully moved from teaching into a wide variety of careers.
These have included moving into e.g. training, learning and development, HR, recruitment, project management, education consultancy, training, sales, charity work, coaching, operations and management.
Some have moved into completely different sectors. Others have stayed close to education but moved away from classroom teaching.
There isn't one “right” career to move into after teaching.
The important question is not simply:
“What job can I do instead of teaching?”
A much better question is:
“What do I want my working life to look and feel like?”
What parts of teaching do you enjoy? What drains you? Which skills do you want to continue using? What would you like more, or less, in your working life?
These questions can help you identify whether you need to leave teaching altogether, move into a different role within education, or perhaps make changes that allow you to stay in the profession in a way that works better for you.
So, should you stay or should you go?
For some people, the answer will be to stay. For others, leaving teaching will be exactly the right decision. And sometimes the answer is simply “not yet.”
You don't and shouldn’t make a decision based on one particularly difficult week, and you don't have to stay simply because you have invested years in your career.
Equally, you don't have to leave just because you are currently struggling. Sometimes a change of school, role, responsibilities or working environment can make all the difference.
The key is to make the decision consciously rather than reactively.
If you are currently asking yourself “Should I stay or should I go?”, perhaps the most useful place to start is by understanding what you really want next.
And remember: leaving teaching doesn't mean leaving behind everything you have achieved.
Your experience, knowledge and transferable skills come with you.
If you would like support in deciding whether to stay in teaching, explore other options within education, or take your career in a completely new direction, please get in touch. I would be very happy to help you explore your options and work out what could be right for you.
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