- Former PR professional Justine Tello reflects on a challenging switch to high school teaching in 2024.
- Her career dissatisfaction and lack of clear goals led her to a short-lived teaching role.
- The lessons she learned emphasize intentional career planning and aligning work with personal values.
In July 2024, five years into my career, I made a drastic job switch that I would soon come to regret.
Following about a year of disenchantment at my workplace, I left my job at a public relations agency to become a high school English teacher. I took a nearly 36% pay cut.
I wasn't concerned about my paycheck because I desired a more meaningful and impactful role. I soon found myself underprepared and overwhelmed by the switch, and I left my teaching role after my first semester.
At first, I relied on my savings, my family's support, and my meager earnings as a part-time yoga teacher. My then-boyfriend and I got engaged and were married six months later.
Now, we co-own a small HVAC and electrical company, where I lead the communications and marketing strategy.
There were aspects of my role as a high school teacher that I enjoyed
I loved getting to know the students and having the opportunity to mentor some of them. I learned many new skills while preparing lessons and grading papers.
When it came to my career and my goals, the position didn't align with what I had historically wanted, and I didn't accept the job with a strategy in mind — I accepted it to pursue something new, whether I was prepared for it or not.
Truthfully, I switched careers because I was dissatisfied with my original place of work, feeling stagnant in my personal growth, and lacking interest in my clients' missions. Instead of reframing my perspective or setting a new career goal, I sought a quick escape.
After a year of reflection, I've identified three crucial mistakes that led to my unsatisfying career change.
Mistake 1. Dwelling on past workplace problems
In my final year at my PR agency, I found myself more easily discouraged by problems that were smaller than I initially perceived, or by those that had been resolved yet still lingered in my mind, like a delayed promotion, company layoffs, and a dissonant relationship with a supervisor.
These were challenging, but for the most part, I believe that the company and my managers handled problems well, and things began to smooth out over time.
Unfortunately, my attitude toward my workplace remained negative after a handful of poor, back-to-back experiences. Although I was working with several amazing team members and continued to take on tasks I enjoyed, my dissatisfaction with my workplace persisted.
Mistake 2. Running away from discontent, rather than working through it
I was burned out and a little lonely. I had been working remotely for over four years, which takes a toll on an extrovert like me, despite spending many evenings and weekends with friends and family. I longed for a position that included in-person connections, and I latched onto the idea that I could only solve my issues by switching to a new workplace.
I halfheartedly applied to new PR jobs, but nothing panned out. I applied for a position as a high school English teacher on the recommendation of a family member, not because teaching was my ultimate passion, but because people are, and it felt like a way to contribute something meaningful.
The offer letter was framed as a call to something greater, and it felt like I would be filling a role that desperately needed someone. While I longed to have a positive impact on their lives, I also felt an obligation to accept the position.
If I could step back in time to the middle of my discontent in my PR role, I would try to reframe my perspective and approach my job with a different attitude. Every job can be impactful and meaningful if approached with the perspective of doing your best for yourself and for others.
If I still found my PR job no longer a fit and longed to have a greater impact on the world, the next step shouldn't have been to bail, but rather to determine clear career goals that aligned with my personal values and mission.
Mistake 3. Pursuing a new "calling" over a career plan
I tried to pursue a shiny, new calling rather than develop a solid career plan. It didn't work out because I gave significant weight to one over the other, but the two can fit hand in hand.
It's better to approach a career change intentionally and with an overarching goal, rather than latching onto a new idea and pursuing it blindly. Oftentimes, it's frightening to define our goals and a solid plan, because we feel that once we decide on a direction, we can never change our path. That's inaccurate.
Knowing what I know now, I would've drawn up a clear plan — perhaps including multiple potential pathways — before switching fields. If the desire to teach high school English was lying dormant somewhere inside my heart, it surely would've made itself known in a new-career-ideas brainstorm.
I would recommend that anyone looking to discover their true passion or calling jot down a mix of their skills and interests, and then research which jobs align with both. If a new career of interest arises, pursue it intentionally by identifying existing or gaining new relevant experience and by connecting with people in the field.
Moving forward
I quit my teaching role because of long work hours, emotional exhaustion, and a sense that I was operating in a silo. A few other teachers occasionally offered me encouragement or advice, but I was still required to create curricula from scratch and develop my lessons on my own.
While I would like to change some of my past career choices, I don't regret the lessons I learned and the students and coworkers I met.
I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to discover more about myself through this process — to see where I can change my attitude, set new goals, and achieve greater things in the future. Every failure is a learning experience, and I'll try to make this one count.
