Teachers in Transition: Career Change and Real Talk for Burned-Out Teachers

Hosted by Vanessa Jackson

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Oct 2026

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Burned out in the classroom? You’re not alone—and you’re not stuck. Teachers in Transition: Career Change and Real Talk for Burned-Out Teachers is the podcast for educators who’ve given everything to their students—and now need to give something back to themselves. Hosted by Vanessa Jackson, a former teacher who transitioned into the staffing and hiring industry, this show blends honest conversations, practical strategy, and deep emotional support. Vanessa knows exactly how burned-out educators can reposition themselves and stand out to recruiters because she’s been on both sides of the hiring table. Each episode offers real talk and real tools to help you explore what’s next—whether that’s a new job, a new identity, or a new sense of peace. 💼 Career advice for teachers leaving education 💡 Practical job search tips, resume help, and mindset shifts 🧠 Real talk about burnout, grief, and rebuilding You’ve given enough. It’s time to build a life that gives back. 👉 Learn more at https://teachersintransition.com

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November 4, 2026Episode 32428 min

Pt 2 of Starting a Cleaning Business while Still Teaching - with Victoria Westcott

Send us Fan Mail Could starting a cleaning business be your next move beyond teaching? In Part 2 of our conversation, Victoria Westcott of Cleaning Company Blueprint returns to talk about building a business while you still have your teaching paycheck—and what running that business actually involves. We get into pricing, insurance, finding reliable cleaners, and the chicken-and-egg question of whether you find your first customer or your first cleaner first. We even talk about house keys, because apparently my brain was not moving forward until we settled that detail. Victoria also shares how paying people fairly, giving useful feedback, and backing up your team can help build a business people want to work with. Cleaners want to be treated like humans and trusted to do their jobs. Teachers, I suspect that needs absolutely no explanation. In this episode: Starting a cleaning business while you’re still teaching Using competitors’ customer reviews to understand what people want Setting prices without racing to be the cheapest company in town Planning for insurance, background checks, taxes, and overhead Finding reliable cleaners through paid test cleans and constructive feedback Handling cancellations, injuries, and unexpected scheduling changes Setting boundaries when a cleaning job starts turning into a moving service Putting your teaching skills to work outside the classroom Resources mentioned: Cleaning Company Blueprint — Victoria’s website, newsletter, and business resources Cleaning Company Blueprint on YouTube — videos about starting and running a cleaning business Name My Cleaning Company — the market research and business naming tool discussed in the interview Listen to Part 1 — how Victoria got started and why teacher skills translate to entrepreneurship What Comes Next? You don’t need a resignation letter in your desk drawer to start exploring. If teaching isn’t working for you anymore, but every possible next step comes with seventeen questions, book a free discovery call with Vanessa . Bring the questions. Bring the “this might sound ridiculous” idea, too. We’ll talk about where you are, what you want to change, and how I can help you move toward work that fits your life. Teachers in Transition helps educators explore career change, job-search strategies, stress management, and life beyond the classroom. Whether you want to find a job or create one, you have skills worth taking with you. Keep in touch and support the show Know a teacher who keeps saying, “I can’t do this forever, but I don’t know what else I could do”? Send them this episode. It might give the two of you something new to talk about—and a possibility they hadn’t considered. Follow Teachers in Transition on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so you don’t miss a conversation. If the podcast has helped you feel less stuck, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and tell me what’s helped. I’d love to hear what you’re taking into your next chapter. If you’d like to support the podcast financially, you can do so for as little as $3 a month. Visit the Teachers in Transition podcast page and select “Support the show” to learn more. Your support helps keep these conversations coming, and it is always appreciated. Have a question or something you’d like to share? Get in Touch with Vanessa: 💌 Email: Vanessa@teachersintransition.com 📱 Call or Text: 512-640-9099 📅 Book a Free Discovery Call: teachersintransition.com/calendar 🧭 LinkedIn: 🔗 Bluesky: @beyondteaching.bsky.social 📸 Instagram & Threads: @teachers.in.transition 👍 Facebook: Teachers in Transition 🐦 X (Twitter): @EduExitStrategy The transcript to this podcast is found on the episode’s homepage at Buzzsprout (transcription services provided by Aliceapp.ai) Support the show

October 28, 2026Episode 32326 min

Burned Out on Teaching? Start a Cleaning Business Without Doing the Cleaning — with Victoria Westcott, Part 1

Send us Fan Mail Thinking about leaving teaching but not sure what comes next? Starting a cleaning business may be one path to self-employment—and you don’t have to be the one doing the cleaning. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, former teacher Victoria Westcott talks with Vanessa about how she and her sister built a local cleaning company during the pandemic. They get into the teacher skills that transfer to entrepreneurship, how to research your local market, why transparent pricing and online booking matter, and how to find reliable cleaners. Victoria also explains how she and her sister divide the work, what she looks for when hiring, and why a business owner’s day can fill up with busywork if they don’t focus on what matters. She shares a 22-day plan for getting started. And yes, there’s a rubric. Former teachers will understand. In this episode: How Victoria and her sister started a cleaning company Teacher skills that transfer to customer service and business operations How to research your local market before starting a cleaning business Why online booking and transparent pricing help customers Finding cleaners and building systems that support workers and clients How business partners can divide responsibilities Making room for more time outside of work Resources mentioned: Cleaning Company Blueprint Cleaning Company Blueprint on YouTube Free cleaning business market and name tool 22-day cleaning business guide and checklist Foxquilt cleaner insurance program Indeed Part 2 of Vanessa’s conversation with Victoria is coming next week, with more of the story and practical details about starting and running a cleaning business. What Comes Next? Thinking about leaving the classroom or exploring what could come next? Book a free conversation with Vanessa , or learn more about Teachers in Transition . Teachers in Transition is a podcast for burned-out educators exploring career change, job-search strategies, stress management, and life beyond the classroom. Host Vanessa Jackson spent 25 years teaching before moving into the hiring world. Now she helps teachers find work that fits their skills and their lives. Keep in touch and support the show If Teachers in Transition has helped you feel less alone, given you something useful to try, or helped you imagine what might come next, there are a few ways to help the podcast keep reaching teachers. Rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or share this episode with a teacher who might need it. The podcast is independently produced, and listener support helps cover hosting and production costs. If you’d like to chip in, you can become an optional supporter for as little as $3 a month at the podcast support page . It’s always appreciated and never expected. And if you’re thinking about leaving the classroom and want help sorting through your options, I’d be glad to talk. Book a free discovery call , email me at Vanessa@Teachersintransition.com , or call or text me at 512-640-9099 . Support the show

October 21, 202625 min

Careers After Teaching: Become a Dog Trainer with Joe Dickinson

Send us Fan Mail Looking for careers after teaching that let you keep doing what you love—without staying in the classroom? Becoming a dog trainer might be a career change you haven’t considered. In this episode of Teachers in Transition, I talk with Joe Dickinson of Western States K9 College about how your teaching skills can translate into a dog training business. And before you think, “But I teach people,” that’s actually the point. A big part of dog training is teaching the humans. Breaking skills into manageable steps, explaining something three different ways, tracking progress, and keeping your cool when things get spicy? Teachers have some experience with that. Joe shares how the college combines dog training, behavior education, and business support to help students prepare to work for themselves. We talk about learning at your own pace, building a business while you’re still employed, and exploring dog training as a side hustle, a second career, or a next chapter after teacher retirement. Naturally, my Rottweilers make their way into the conversation. We also discuss anxious dogs, measurable progress, and why small steps can make a difference on either end of the leash. In this episode, we explore: Why teachers’ transferable skills are such a natural fit for dog training and client education. What Joe’s online dog trainer certification program includes, from training and behavior to business development. How support with pricing, branding, websites, and marketing can help with the unfamiliar parts of working for yourself. How a gradual transition could let you explore a new career before leaving your teaching paycheck. Why observing specific behaviors tells us more than simply labeling a dog “anxious” or “reactive.” How teachers approaching retirement are preparing for a business beyond the classroom. Connect with Joe + save $500 Explore the courses at Western States K9 College and use promo code teachersintransition for a $500 discount . You can also find information about the full certification program, individual courses, and scheduling a conversation with Joe on the website. Have questions about whether this path fits your goals? Email Joe at joe@westernstatesk9college.com . Need help figuring out your next chapter? You don’t have to have your next job title picked out before you ask for help. If you know something needs to change but aren’t sure where your teaching skills could take you, book a discovery call with Vanessa . We can talk about your experience, your possibilities, and what a career outside the classroom could look like for you. You’re also invited to Career Clarity: From Questions to Coordinates , my free career mapping workshop on Monday, October 26, 2026, at 7 PM Central . We’ll explore what matters to you, what you do well, and how those pieces can point toward your next chapter. Register on the Teachers in Transition homepage . If this conversation opened a door you hadn’t considered, share it with a teacher who loves dogs. Follow Teachers in Transition on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so you don’t miss an episode, and if the show has helped you, I’d appreciate an honest rating or review. Your teaching skills translate everywhere, and you are valuable. Connect with Vanessa 💌 Email: Vanessa@teachersintransition.com 📱 Call or Text: 512-640-9099 📅 Book a Free Discovery Call: teachersintransition.com/calendar 🧭 LinkedIn: 🔗 Bluesky: @beyondteaching.bsky.social 📸 Instagram & Threads: @teachers.in.transition 👍 Facebook: Teachers in Transition 🐦 X (Twitter): @EduExitStrategy Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form The transcript to this podcast is found on the episode’s homepage at Buzzsprout Support the show

October 14, 2026Episode 32133 min

Interview with Jessi Dall - Queen of the Tutorpreneurs

Send us Fan Mail You may be ready to leave the classroom without being ready to stop teaching. What if the part you love - building relationships, making learning click, and helping students grow - could become the foundation of your next chapter? In this episode of Teachers in Transition, Vanessa talks with Jessi Dall, founder of Sophos Speech and Academics, about her journey from classroom teacher to tutoring business owner. What began with a few students and word-of-mouth referrals grew into a team that, at the time of our conversation, included about 50 contractors and served approximately 400 students each week. Jessi shares the unexpected moments that helped her grow, including a parent who helped her establish a business and an early maternity leave that pushed her to learn how to hire and delegate. We talk about networking through real relationships, finding your first tutoring clients, and charging for your expertise without apologizing. We also explore how teachers can use their specialized skills in academic coaching, individualized instruction, and helping parents navigate educational systems. Jessi is candid about the work involved, including the shift to after-school hours and the business skills she learned along the way. If you still love working with students but need a different way to do it, this conversation offers a practical look at one possible path beyond the classroom. In this episode: Building a business without a business background or a perfect plan. Finding clients through relationships, referrals, and school partnerships. Learning to hire, delegate, and match tutors with students. Recognizing the value of your expertise and charging confidently. Exploring opportunities in executive function support, dyslexia-focused instruction, and parent consulting. Creating individualized learning experiences within a world of standardized instruction. Understanding the schedule changes and learning curve of a tutoring business. As discussed in the interview, check your school and district rules before offering paid tutoring to current students or arranging services on a school campus. Connect with Jessi Dall Jessi welcomes teachers who want to ask questions and explore possibilities in tutoring and educational support. Email: jessi@sophosacademics.com LinkedIn: Jessi Dall Website: Sophos Speech and Academics In Arizona? Tutoring opportunities: Join the Sophos team Explore your own next chapter You do not have to figure out your teacher transition alone. If you want help identifying your strengths, exploring possibilities, and building a plan for what comes next, schedule a free Discovery Call with Vanessa . Website: Teachers in Transition Email: Vanessa@teachersintransition.com Call or text: 512-640-9099 Support the podcast Know a teacher who still loves teaching but needs a different environment? Share this episode with them. You can also help more teachers find the show by following Teachers in Transition and leaving a rating or review on your listening app. Teachers in Transition is independently produced. If these conversations have helped you, or you believe other teachers need access to this resource, please consider supporting the podcast . Listener support starts at $3 a month. Sharing this episode with a teacher who needs it helps, too. Connect with Vanessa 💌 Email: Vanessa@teachersintransition.com 📱 Call or Text: 512-640-9099 📅 Book a Free Discovery Call: teachersintransition.com/calendar 🧭 LinkedIn: 🔗 Bluesky: @beyondteaching.bsky.social 📸 Instagram & Threads: @teachers.in.transition 👍 Facebook: Teachers in Transition 🐦 X (Twitter): @EduExitStrategy Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form The transcript to this podcast is found on the episode’s homepage at Buzzsprout Support the show

October 7, 2026Episode 32028 min

Teacher Burnout: Making Room for Self-Care Without Guilt

Send us Fan Mail Teachers don’t need another reminder to practice self-care. They need room in their lives to do it. If getting through the school day leaves nothing for your health, your family, or your own life, that cost belongs in the conversation. In Part III of our Teacher Health series—The Response—Vanessa Jackson explores practical ways to care for yourself without adding more guilt to an already overcommitted life. We talk about asking for workplace accommodations, protecting recovery time, and why being able to endure something doesn’t mean you should keep enduring it. Plus: a simple morning hydration habit from Vanessa’s grandmother and job interview tips for teachers changing careers. Learn how to use the STAR method, pause before answering, and stop oversharing without becoming stiff or impersonal. In this episode: Why struggling with self-care doesn’t mean you lack commitment. The cost of pushing through pain and fatigue—and why your life after school matters. Requesting reasonable accommodations, including access to a chair, and where to find federal guidance. The realities of sick leave, substitute plans, and saving days for sick children. Small opportunities for nutrition, movement, quiet, outdoor time, connection, and guilt-free naps. Gretchen Rubin’s Obliger tendency and how outside accountability can support your own goals. A teacher hack: start your morning with eight ounces of water. Interview answers that stay focused: clarify, pause, use STAR when it fits, and let your answer stand. Keeping family and health information private when interview questions are open-ended. Free Career Clarity workshop Monday, October 26, 2026, at 7 PM Central Who am I if I’m not a teacher? What else can I do? Join Vanessa to explore those questions and begin finding a direction that fits your skills and your life. You don’t need to arrive with a career picked out. Find registration information at Teachers in Transition . Prefer a conversation? Book a free discovery call to discuss where you are, what you’re considering, and whether coaching could help. You don’t have to have it all figured out before we talk. Resources mentioned: EEOC: Reasonable accommodation and undue hardship under the ADA —includes an example involving lupus, fatigue, and a stool at work. Federal ADA regulations: Definition of disability —includes consideration of pain, effort, and how an activity is performed. Gretchen Rubin’s free Four Tendencies quiz . CDC: Water and healthier drinks —background on hydration for this week’s teacher hack. EEOC: Pre-employment inquiries and disability . EEOC: Pre-employment inquiries about marital status and children . Research: Association of stress-related disorders with subsequent autoimmune disease . NIAMS: Living with lupus —includes information about stress and flares. Catch up on the Teacher Health series: Part I: Teacher Burnout, Career Clarity & the Power of “Nope” — Episode 318 . Part II: What Teaching Costs Your Family, Even When You’re Home — Episode 319 . More interview help: Explore the interview-question series in episodes 216, 217, 218, 219, and 221. Search by episode number in the Teachers in Transition episode archive . Know a teacher who needs permission to pitch the guilt and take the nap? Share this episode. Follow Teachers in Transition on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for more support with teacher burnout, career change, and building a life beyond the classroom. Until next time, take care of you. Help keep this podcast on the air. Teachers in Transition is independently produced. If these conversations have helped you, or you believe other teachers need access to this resource, please consider supporting the podcast . Listener support starts at $3 a month. Sharing this episode with a teacher who needs it helps, too. Connect with Vanessa Jackson 💌 Email: Vanessa@teachersintransition.com 📱 Call or Text: 512-640-9099 📅 Book a Free Discovery Call: teachersintransition.com/calendar 🧭 LinkedIn: 🔗 Bluesky: @beyondteaching.bsky.social 📸 Instagram & Threads: @teachers.in.transition 👍 Facebook: Teachers in Transition 🐦 X (Twitter): @EduExitStrategy Until next time, remember: You’re not starting over. You’re taking everything you’ve learned and built—and deciding where you want to take it next. The transcript to this podcast is found on the episode’s homepage at Buzzsprout Support the show

September 30, 2026Episode 31926 min

What Teaching Costs Your Family, Even When You’re Home

Send us Fan Mail What does teaching cost when you’re managing to keep up? Last week, we looked at the demands teaching places on your brain, your body, and your life. In Part II of our teacher health series, we ask what those demands cost when they accumulate year after year. The answer isn’t always a dramatic breaking point. Sometimes it’s the margin you no longer have for an ordinary bad day, the break you spend recovering, or the parts of your life that keep getting whatever is left of you. In this episode of Teachers in Transition , Vanessa Jackson talks about the quieter costs of teaching, including a conversation with her daughter that changed how she understood her “family-friendly” career. Having time with the people you love and having yourself available to them may be two different things. In this episode: Why getting through an extraordinary workload doesn’t mean you’ve recovered from it The familiar teacher experience of getting sick as soon as a school break begins How shrinking margin makes ordinary life harder to absorb The opportunity cost behind every “yes” you give to work What Vanessa’s daughter helped her see about the cost to their family Why a job search can feel like an obstacle course when you’re already exhausted How to translate teaching experience so employers outside education can recognize your skills A Teacher Hack that may give you back some time each week: curbside grocery pickup In the Career Transition and Job Search segment, Vanessa also discusses a TikTok résumé story and the conversation it sparked about applicant tracking systems, unclear job descriptions, and the work candidates do before a hiring manager ever sees them. If you’re applying outside education and hearing nothing back, difficulty navigating the hiring process is a different question from whether you’re capable of doing the job. Links mentioned in the episode Watch the TikTok résumé video Listen to “Bravado” on Rush’s official YouTube channel Ready to talk about your next step? Vanessa offers several kinds of support for teachers, whether you’re just beginning to consider leaving, making a transition plan, or actively applying for jobs. Book a free discovery call to talk about where you are and what would help. Help keep this podcast on the air. Teachers in Transition is independently produced. If these conversations have helped you, or you believe other teachers need access to this resource, please consider supporting the podcast . Listener support starts at $3 a month. Sharing this episode with a teacher who needs it helps, too. Connect with Vanessa Jackson 💌 Email: Vanessa@teachersintransition.com 📱 Call or Text: 512-640-9099 📅 Book a Free Discovery Call: teachersintransition.com/calendar 🧭 LinkedIn: 🔗 Bluesky: @beyondteaching.bsky.social 📸 Instagram & Threads: @teachers.in.transition 👍 Facebook: Teachers in Transition 🐦 X (Twitter): @EduExitStrategy Until next time, remember: You’re not starting over. You’re taking everything you’ve learned and built—and deciding where you want to take it next. The transcript to this podcast is found on the episode’s homepage at Buzzsprout Support the show

September 23, 2026Episode 31827 min

Teacher Burnout, Career Clarity & the Power of “Nope”

Send us Fan Mail What does teaching actually demand from your brain, your body, and the rest of your life? In this episode of Teachers in Transition , Vanessa Jackson kicks off a new three-part Teacher Health series by examining the hidden demands of teaching—from the constant decision-making and emotional regulation of the classroom to the physical demands, rushed lunches, delayed appointments, lost sleep, and all the ordinary pieces of life teachers have to squeeze into whatever time remains. Because one difficult day isn’t necessarily the problem. It’s the accumulation of it all. We also introduce a new occasional segment, Networking Works: How Connections Actually Work in the Wild, and look at why successful networking during a teacher career transition isn’t necessarily about knowing someone who can get you a job. Sometimes the most valuable connection is simply someone who knows someone you should talk to. Then, in Career Transition & Job Search, we turn career clarity upside down by asking not only what you want from your next career, but what you already know you don’t want. Using the idea of negative space, Vanessa walks through a different way to look at the five areas of personal inventory: environment, work style, the work itself, people and purpose, and life and logistics to help teachers begin identifying what their next career actually needs to look like. In this episode Perspective Pivot: Teacher Health — The Demand (2:17) Why the cognitive, emotional, and physical demands of teaching matter; the problem with constantly operating at 110%; and what happens when extraordinary effort simply starts looking like Wednesday. Networking Works (11:27) Why your network is bigger than the people you know directly—and the better question to ask instead of, “Who do I know who can get me a job?” Career Transition & Job Search: Negative Space (14:04) How to build a personal career inventory around what energizes you, what fits your actual life, and what you never want your next job to require again. Career Clarity Workshop + Next Steps (25:15) A free career clarity workshop is coming in October. More details soon! Resources & Links Teachers in Transition: TeachersInTransition.com Ready to talk about leaving teaching? Book a free Discovery Call with Vanessa through the Teachers in Transition website. Coming Next Next week, Part 2 of the Teacher Health series asks: What does all of that accumulation cost? If you’re a burned-out teacher, considering leaving teaching, exploring jobs outside education, or trying to figure out what comes after the classroom, follow Teachers in Transition so you don’t miss the next episode. Teachers in Transition is hosted by Vanessa Jackson, a former 25-year educator and career transition coach helping teachers recognize their transferable skills, build career clarity, and move toward work that fits their skills, values, and lives. Topics: teacher burnout, teacher health, leaving teaching, teacher career change, career transition for teachers, jobs after teaching, teacher stress, teacher workload, decision fatigue, career clarity, transferable skills for teachers, networking for career changers, jobs outside education, life after teaching Connect with Vanessa Jackson 💌 Email: Vanessa@teachersintransition.com 📱 Call or Text: 512-640-9099 📅 Book a Free Discovery Call: teachersintransition.com/calendar 🧭 LinkedIn: 🔗 Bluesky: @beyondteaching.bsky.social 📸 Instagram & Threads: @teachers.in.transition 👍 Facebook: Teachers in Transition 🐦 X (Twitter): @EduExitStrategy The transcript to this podcast is found on the episode’s homepage at Buzzsprout Support the show

September 16, 2026Episode 31725 min

Leadership: When Nobody Has Your Back

Send us Fan Mail What does good leadership actually look like — especially when the people underneath you are under pressure? In this final installment of the Four Horsemen of Education series, Vanessa explores the Fourth Horseman: Leadership — and more specifically, protective leadership. There’s an important difference between a bad leader and a good leader who makes a bad decision. Good leaders listen, learn, admit when they get something wrong, and think about how their decisions affect the people who have to carry them out. Using what Vanessa calls the “Hook Principle,” we look at one of the most important responsibilities of leadership: taking care of the people who have less power than you do. That applies at every level. Teachers need administrators who will back them. Principals need districts that will back them. And the good leaders who continually absorb pressure to protect the people underneath them need support too. Because good leadership can’t fix every problem in education. But it can determine whether the people trying to do good work feel supported — or whether they’re standing out there alone. And when that protection disappears, the Fourth Horseman has left the building. TEACHER HACK: DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT If it wasn’t documented, it didn’t happen. When an important conversation, request, expectation, or decision could matter later, get it in writing. Follow verbal conversations with calm, factual emails. Keep dates, details, and appropriate documentation concerning your own employment. The goal isn’t to be sneaky. The goal is to make sure you can establish what happened if you ever need to. CAREER TRANSITION & JOB SEARCH: BE AVAILABLE Teachers have good reasons for protecting their privacy online — but LinkedIn is different from Facebook or Instagram. If you’re preparing for a career beyond teaching, people in your target industries need to be able to find you and connect with you. LinkedIn’s 2026 labor-market research found that job seekers are 3.6 times more likely to be hired by a company when they’re already connected to an employee there before applying. Those connections aren’t vanity numbers. They’re part of your job-search strategy. At the same time, you don’t necessarily need a giant green OPEN TO WORK billboard announcing your plans to your current principal. The goal isn’t to be invisible. It’s to be visible to the right people. LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED LinkedIn — 2026 Labor Market Report: https://economicgraph.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/economicgraph/en-us/PDF/linkedIn-labor-market-report-building-a-future-of-work-that-works-jan-2026.pdf Hook: “Take Care of everyone Smaller than You” https://youtu.be/yrmYE-XzH5U?si=2R9IP4RfgaUHQmId&t=88 Finding Nemo — “Swim Down” scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6178Ac90S4&t=233s Ghost Rider — Carter Slade’s Last Ride: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsgEdYjoqUI SUPPORT INVISIBLE EXCELLENCE Invisible Excellence: The Hidden Value of Teachers Beyond Teaching is about bringing the extraordinary skills, expertise, and value of teachers into the light — and helping teachers recognize what they already bring to the table. The book is currently in its presale and crowdfunding phase. If you believe teachers need this message, Vanessa would love to have you join the mission and help bring Invisible Excellence into the world. Please Support Invisible Excellence and explore the campaign: https://books.manuscripts.com/product/invisible-excellence-the-hidden-value-of-teachers-beyond-teaching/ WORK WITH VANESSA If you’re thinking about leaving teaching but have no idea what you would do instead, Vanessa’s got your back. Teachers in Transition helps teachers identify what they want next, translate their existing skills into language employers understand, and build a strategy for moving forward. Schedule a free Discovery Call: https://teachersintransition.com/calendar Explore Teachers in Transition: https://teachersintransition.com SUPPORT THE PODCAST If this episode made you think of another teacher, please share it with them. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to help this scrappy little indie podcast grow. You can also leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and help more teachers find Teachers in Transition. You are more than your classroom. Your skills are more valuable than you’ve been led to believe, and there is life beyond teaching. Connect with Vanessa Jackson 💌 Email: Vanessa@teachersintransition.com 📱 Call or Text: 512-640-9099 📅 Book a Free Discovery Call: teachersintransition.com/calendar 🧭 LinkedIn: 🔗 Bluesky: @beyondteaching.bsky.social 📸 Instagram & Threads: @teachers.in.transition 👍 Facebook: Teachers in Transition 🐦 X (Twitter): @EduExitStrategy Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form The transcript to this podcast is found on the episode’s homepage at Buzzsprout Support the show

September 9, 2026Episode 31625 min

Accountability: More Work, Less Authority

Send us Fan Mail Do you ever feel like teachers are the only ones held accountable for things in education? So does Vanessa. In this episode of Teachers in Transition , Vanessa continues the Four Horsemen of Education series with Horseman #3: Accountability. Teachers are increasingly held responsible not only for their own work, but for student behavior, parent communication, missing assignments, interventions, testing outcomes, and systemic failures far beyond their control. And when consequences are repeatedly removed from students, they don’t actually disappear. Someone else ends up carrying them. Vanessa explores how education created an increasingly standardized system while simultaneously expecting teachers to individualize everything inside it. She also looks at what happens when students get fewer opportunities to struggle, fail, recover, and learn to carry responsibility for their own choices. Along the way, we talk about online gradebooks, impossible parent communication expectations, standardized testing, A Wrinkle in Time , Scantrons, AI, and one of Vanessa’s favorite sayings: If we don’t have a consequence, we don’t have a rule. Career Transition and Job Search: Track What Matters If you’re applying for jobs and feel like nothing is working, simply counting applications won’t tell you what needs to change. Vanessa explains how an application tracker and a networking tracker can help you diagnose where your job search is breaking down. Are you struggling to find appropriate jobs? Getting no interviews? Getting interviews but no advancement? Reaching out to people but getting no responses? Different problems require different solutions. Trackers help you figure that out. Want copies of the trackers? Email Vanessa at Vanessa@teachersintransition.com . Teacher Hack: Drop-Down Menus This week’s Teacher Hack is a tiny spreadsheet skill that can save time and make your trackers much easier to use. Learn how to create drop-down menus in both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel so you can stop typing the same categories over and over again. Use them for job-search trackers, interventions, inventory, student progress, accommodations, forms, and any other spreadsheet where you repeatedly enter the same information. Ready to Think About What Comes Next? If you’re considering leaving education but aren’t sure what your experience translates to—or even what you want to do next—Vanessa can help you identify your transferable skills, explore where you might fit outside education, and build a strategy for your transition. Schedule a discovery call at: https://teachersintransition.com/calendar You can also send questions by email or leave a text or voice message using the contact information. And if this episode made you think of another teacher, please share it. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to help the podcast reach teachers who need it. Until next time, remember: The person you need to be most accountable to is you. Connect with Vanessa Jackson 💌 Email: Vanessa@teachersintransition.com 📱 Call or Text: 512-640-9099 📅 Book a Free Discovery Call: teachersintransition.com/calendar 🧭 LinkedIn: 🔗 Bluesky: @beyondteaching.bsky.social 📸 Instagram & Threads: @teachers.in.transition 👍 Facebook: Teachers in Transition 🐦 X (Twitter): @EduExitStrategy The transcript to this podcast is found on the episode’s homepage at Buzzsprout Support the show

September 2, 2026Episode 31529 min

Resources: The Hidden Cost of Pencils

Send us Fan Mail Teachers have been told to “do more with less” for decades. But eventually, less produces less—and teachers have quietly been making up the difference with their own money, time, creativity, and stress. In this episode of Teachers in Transition, Vanessa continues the Four Horsemen of Education miniseries with the Second Horseman: Resources. She examines how teacher generosity became an unofficial funding stream for education, why a single pencil is not really just a single pencil, and how teachers became institutional shock absorbers for poorly prioritized spending. Then, in the Career Transition and Job Search segment, Vanessa turns to ghost jobs: postings for positions employers may not be actively trying to fill. Every application consumes finite resources—including time, attention, energy, and hope. Understanding the dysfunction behind ghost jobs can help transitioning teachers build rejection resilience and stop interpreting every unanswered application as a verdict on their value. IN THIS EPISODE: • Why “doing more with less” is no longer sustainable • How teachers personally subsidize classroom operations • The difference between teacher generosity and institutional responsibility • Why school spending is often a prioritization problem • What ghost jobs are and why employers post them • How ghost jobs consume applicants’ unpaid labor • Why networking can reveal information a job posting cannot • How to protect your confidence and build rejection resilience Read More about GHOST JOBS: Inc.: The End of Ghost Jobs: Why Companies Could Soon Face Huge Fines for Fake Listings https://www.inc.com/chloe-rosenberg/can-state-lawmakers-exorcise-the-hiring-market-of-ghost-jobs/91395784 Forbes: 1 in 7 Job Postings Are Ghost Jobs https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelwells/2026/04/09/1-in-7-job-postings-are-ghost-jobs-new-study-reveals-here-are-3-steps-to-avoid-fake-job-ads/ Job Application Insights: Ghost Jobs on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/posts/job-app-insights_the-job-search-by-the-numbers-what-the-data-activity-7427084888153145344-2ZTy/ WORK WITH VANESSA: If your job search is consuming your time, energy, and hope without producing results, you may not need to work harder. You may need a stronger strategy and help separating what you can improve from the dysfunction you cannot control. Schedule your free discovery call: https://TeachersinTransition.com/calendar SUPPORT INVISIBLE EXCELLENCE: The crowdfunding campaign for Invisible Excellence: The Hidden Value of Teachers Beyond Teaching is nearing its halfway point. The book only goes to press if it receives enough support to cross the finish line. Find the campaign link at: https://books.manuscripts.com/product/invisible-excellence-the-hidden-value-of-teachers-beyond-teaching/ Campaign ends September 19, 2026! Share this episode with a teacher who needs to hear that the system’s lack of resources - and the hiring market’s dysfunction - are not evidence that something is wrong with them. Connect with Vanessa Jackson 💌 Email: Vanessa@teachersintransition.com 📱 Call or Text: 512-640-9099 📅 Book a Free Discovery Call: teachersintransition.com/calendar 🧭 LinkedIn: 🔗 Bluesky: @beyondteaching.bsky.social 📸 Instagram & Threads: @teachers.in.transition 👍 Facebook: Teachers in Transition 🐦 X (Twitter): @EduExitStrategy The transcript to this podcast is found on the episode’s homepage at Buzzsprout Support the show