I want to leave the classroom but don't know what to do — start here

First — the not-knowing isn't the problem

Teachers shame themselves for not having a plan. They think 'I should know what I want to do by now.' You don't need to know yet. Wanting out is enough information to start with. The plan comes from movement, not the other way round.

Most teachers I work with discover their next chapter by trying things in small low-risk ways while still teaching, not by sitting at the kitchen table trying to think their way to certainty. Action gives you data. Thinking just gives you more thinking.

The four routes most ex-teachers actually take

After working with hundreds of teachers, I see four real-world paths people land on. Almost everyone fits one of these.

**Route 1 — Tutoring.** The fastest, most reliable income replacement for a UK teacher. You already have the skill. The local demand is huge. Group tutoring at £35 per child × 4 children = £140 an hour. Six sessions a week roughly matches an M6 salary. This is what I did.

**Route 2 — Educational consultancy or training.** Curriculum writing, exam marking, EYFS or phonics consultancy, training newer teachers, working for an MAT in a non-classroom role. Slower to build but uses your expertise directly.

**Route 3 — A different industry entirely.** Project management, learning and development, account management in EdTech, recruitment, content writing, marketing for schools or parenting brands. Teachers transfer brilliantly into all of these. Your skills are wildly more portable than school will ever tell you.

**Route 4 — Building something of your own.** Tutoring agency, online course, membership, a brand, freelance writing. Slower at the start, biggest ceiling at the end. Most ex-teachers who've gone this route started with Route 1 first to fund it.

How to actually pick

Stop trying to find the 'perfect' answer. Pick the route with the lowest barrier to entry that you can start this month, while still teaching. For 80% of teachers that's tutoring — because you can run your first paid session next week with one child you already know.

Make a small commitment, not a leap. One pilot family. One Saturday morning group. One paid hour a week. The clarity you've been waiting for arrives the moment money lands in your account from a non-school source. It is a genuinely different feeling.

What NOT to do

Do not hand your notice in before you've tried something. Do not take a supply role 'while you figure it out' — supply pays badly enough to keep you stuck and stops you having time to build. Do not retrain into a totally new field at full cost without testing the water first.

And do not ask the people in your staffroom for advice on leaving. They've already decided to stay. Their answer will always nudge you back. Ask people who have actually left.

What to do this week

One — write down your real monthly minimum (the actual figure you need to bring in to keep your life running, not your salary). Two — pick the route above that feels least overwhelming. Three — take one tiny action today. Message one parent. Message one ex-colleague. Set up a free Stripe account. The action is the medicine.

If you want a structured place to start, The Ultimate Teacher Exit Plan walks you through the financial side first, because that's the bit that keeps most teachers stuck.