Teachers in Transition: Career Change and Real Talk for Burned-Out Teachers
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.
Are you a teacher who's feeling stressed out and overwhelmed? Do you worry that you're feeling symptoms of burnout or are you sure you've already gotten there? Have you started to dream of doing some other kind of job or perhaps pursuing a whole different career, but you don't know what else you're even qualified to do? You don't know how to start a job search. You just feel stuck. If that sounds like you, I promise you're not alone. My name is Kitty Boitnott. I'm a career transition and job search coach and I specialize in helping burnt-out teachers just like you deal not only with the stress and overwhelm of your day-to-day job, but to consider what other careers might be out there waiting for you. Join me for "Teachers in Transition." In some episodes, I'll be speaking to stress management techniques and how you can manage your stress on a day to day basis. In other episodes, I'll be talking about career transition. What tools do you need to be successful in a job search when you're moving from one career into a totally different track? These are questions that you need answers to and I can help you find those answers. My name is Kitty Boitnott. Welcome to "Teachers in Transition." Welcome back to episode 87 of Teachers in Transition the podcast and the YouTube channel. My name is Kitty Boitnott. I am the owner and founder of Boitnott Coaching, LLC, and Teachers in Transition this week. The messages short and sweet, and that is, I wish that you have a happy, safe, and satisfying Thanksgiving holiday. This is Thanksgiving week. And as you were listening to this message, it will either be Thanksgiving day or the weekend after Thanksgiving day. Now I already talked last week a little bit about the fact that I'm offering a couple of free webinar presentations on Friday, the 27th of November at 1:00 PM Eastern and Saturday, the 28th of November at 11:00 AM Eastern on the subject of the three secrets of every successful job or career change. And I would invite you to attend that if changing your job or career something you are currently thinking about doing, but mainly what I want you to think about this week is everything that you have to be grateful for, not the things that you have gotten tired of or resentful about like wearing masks and having to stay home in your little bubble. I hope that's where you are. Um, I know a lot of people are traveling this week, but that is not recommended and frankly, just not smart. And people think that they're being careful and wind up sick. Anyway, I found out just this morning that a friend of mine who had been extremely careful , uh, contracted COVID when , uh , some workers came to her house to fix her fireplace. And a couple of weeks ago, she got a call saying that one of those workers had come down with COVID and that she should be tested. She was tested and she was positive. And she said for the next several days, she started to feel worse and worse each day. And last week she landed herself in the hospital for five days. She's home now, and she's recovering and she's grateful, but it's just an example of how easy it is to contract this condition. And in spite of your best efforts and no , no matter how healthy you think you are, other people around, you may be vulnerable. So please, please, please be safe. I wrote a newsletter article this week and I'll offer the link to it in the show notes about how this is a Thanksgiving. Like none other this holiday season is going to be one that we remember for years to come and some with not so happy thoughts, but we have to do what we have to do to get through this. If for no other reason than to honor the people who haven't made it, the over 250,000 souls who are no longer with us because of this disease over 250,000 families who are going to be having this holiday, their first holiday without a loved one. And in some families more than one loved one. So please, please, please be careful. And instead of wishing that you could be somewhere that you aren't be thankful if you're still healthy and you , you have your health be thankful for the people that are immediately in your circle. If you live alone, like I do then figure out ways to connect with people so that you, you maintain your safe space and they, their safe space. This, this week, I'm meeting virtually with my group of friends that we would ordinarily be getting together , um, at the Jefferson hotel for a holiday brunch, we won't be doing that this year. I will also be getting together by phone with my brother and sister who lived several hours away. And we decided , um , months ago that we would forego getting together for the holidays because we want to be careful with one another. So we'll be still connected, but just not together. And it's important to remember that you can be alone and , and not, you can be a part in and not necessarily feel like you're alone. So if you do live by yourself, if you are feeling isolated, if you're experiencing feelings of depression or anxiety, because of this holiday, please don't be bashful about reaching out to someone for help. We're all struggling. We're all working hard to make the best of a horrible situation. And , and as a stress management coach, if you hadn't figured it out this week, I'm talking about stress and stress management. I alternate topics each week between career transition and stress management this week what's on my mind is how we can manage our stress this weekend on into the holidays, how we can take what is admittedly a crappy situation and make the best of it and be thankful if you, like I said, if you have your health, if you are a family who has been hit by, COVID be grateful for that and send light and love to those families who have lost someone. If you've lived long enough to have lost a loved one that you would ordinarily celebrate the holidays with, you already know what that empty chair thing is about. Getting through the first holiday season without a loved one. Those firsts are really hard. Um, I know I went through it when my dad died and the first time we got together for dinner after he, he died in an accident. So literally he was here one day and gone the next and looking at his chair at the kitchen table, looking at his chair in the living room, going out to eat on it when he wasn't a part of the group. It , those first months at first year kids yet, it's not fun. So if you have family that you can be grateful for and be with whether it's virtually or in-person be thankful for this time and be aware that every day is precious and you don't have any days to take for granted. Um, I have , uh , another friend who passed away peacefully in her sleep just two weeks ago. She was only 55. She wasn't sick. It wasn't COVID related. It was apparently just her time, 55 years old, that's young. And she had a lot of plans. It makes me sad to think about how all, all of the dreams that she had. She often referred to herself as a dreamer, and she had all kinds of dreams that she wanted to tackle in her life. This life is precious and we sometimes get so caught up in our day to day routine that we forget. And the main thing that makes life precious are the relationships that we have, her family, our friends, our work colleagues. So recognize that this too shall pass. This situation that started in the spring is going to be dragging out into next spring. At least it is a test of our resilience of our willingness to be responsible, to work together, to help one another, to try to lift one another up and to, to, to not give into resentment that it's not like you would like for it to be life deals you , uh, the hand that it deals you and we have to make the best of it and do what we can with it. So that's the message for this week. Try to look for the good look for the silver linings, concentrate on all the things you have to be grateful for. And if there are changes in your life that you want to be making start making them don't wait, because you don't know how much time you might have left. And it's not, it's not a good idea to keep putting off when you don't have all the time in the world. We just, we have a finite amount of time on the planet. And if nothing else COVID is reminding us of that. So maybe we can be grateful for that lesson. Please be safe, be well happy Thanksgiving. I'll see you next week. So there you have it, an episode of "Teachers in Transition." I hope you enjoyed the information and I hope you'll plan to come back. Please subscribe to "Teachers in Transition" so that you can be alerted of future episodes. And let me know if you have any questions or topics that you would like me to specifically cover in a future episode. I'm more than happy to help with individual questions as well. So email me at KittyBoitnott@BoitnottCoaching.com. If you are interested in finding a new career or just enjoying your life more, this is the place to start. Hi, I'm Kitty Boitnott and this is "Teachers in Transition."
