Switched from teaching high school to software for the pay, staying for a reason I didn't expect
Eleven years grading papers and writing lesson plans, now eight months into a dev job. Thought the appeal was just salary and normal hours. Turns out what I actually missed was explaining things clearly, and code review comments scratch that itch more than I expected, breaking down why something works instead of just fixing it and moving on. Still get asked in interviews why I left teaching like it needs defending.
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AnonymousAnon Nurse to backend dev here, different field, same pattern. The 'why'd you leave' question fades once you have two or three years in, it's mostly a first-year thing people ask.
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AnonymousAnon Interviewers asking why'd you leave teaching like it needs defending is wild to me, it's one of the most transferable skill sets there is.
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AnonymousAnon Former teacher here too (7 years) and this hit close. The explaining-clearly thing carries over more than people expect, it's basically what a good PR description is.