School teacher quits her job and finds better work-life balance working for Costco: “I’ve never been happier”
In 2022, a former teacher turned 30, quit her eight-year teaching career, and got a job at Costco.
Sometimes, your dream job is not all it appears to be. At least, this was the case for Maggie Perkins, a former teacher who ditched her role as a middle and high school history educator for a job at... Costco.
“But I no longer find my fulfilment or sense of worth in work alone“, she wrote in a very revealing letter provided to CNBC.
“My priority is to have a clear divide between my personal and professional lives. I want to spend time with my husband and our two kids, and pursue the things that are truly important to me”, she explained.
The average teacher works 48.7 hours per week. Our teachers are expected to do overtime without pay.
— National Education Union (@NEUnion) May 2, 2023
It is time for the government to #PayUp to #SaveOurShools. pic.twitter.com/fVt7iPFqVQ
Perkins explains that her salary, after years at the school, was $47,000. But the effort needed to give her all in such a demanding and underfunded environment was not worth sacrificing her mental health: “I worked 60 hours a week and put in tons of unpaid overtime. Between administrative pressures, testing requirements, and the endurance required to teach during the height of the pandemic, I was exhausted. I felt like I lacked purpose.”
After applying to Amazon and Costco and getting a role with the latter, she worked $18.50 an hour in a 40-hour week. Perkins says that after working on the floor and in the bakery, the management team saw her teaching skills were not being utilised and promptly hired her as a content developer and marketing trainer for the corporate office.
"I’m earning what a teacher with 15 years of experience made at my last school district — and 50% more than what I made when I quit“, she writes.
One of the biggest problems in some schools is teachers feeling that no matter what they do, it isn’t enough or good enough. Cue constant feelings of insecurity and helplessness potentially followed by burnout.
— Tom Rogers (@RogersHistory) June 21, 2023
“My work is no longer my identity. I put energy into my job when I’m there, and I leave work at the office. When I come home, I’m present and able to spend time with my family doing what I love, like being outdoors. I’ve never felt more fulfilled.”
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