Why I Switched from Teacher to Web Designer

Both teaching and web design are creative endeavors.

Both careers allow me to create presentations, engage my audience, and guide others to success- whatever that looks like.

Teaching Background

I’ve always enjoyed working with children and teaching them the fundamentals in life. I loved teaching my 1st graders in OKC, my 6th graders in Enid, and college-bound teens in Italy. I was excited to wake up at 3 am each morning and teach all my littles online who were in China while I was in America when  I worked for VIPKid. Then, I joined an online virtual middle school where I thrived in teaching struggling students to read and write. I also created materials for other teachers to implement in their classrooms to help their students. I’ve led professional development at the local, state, and national levels in writing.

Then I decided to step back into the classroom- against the warning of other teachers who said not to work for this particular school district- because despite their higher-than-average paychecks and high level of technology- the kids were atrocious. They did not know how to behave if their life depended on it. It wasn’t violence in the school- that I had dealt with before and knew how to navigate it. These kids were so horrid they drove off 3 teachers in the first month of school. They drove away a fantastic scientist who came to teach them science- despite her fun and engaging science experiments- but they still couldn’t behave, and their antics drove her away the same fall she was hired.

Wondering what these antics were that could make others and myself leave a glorified, top-tier school in Oklahoma. These kids are from some of the wealthiest families in Oklahoma, most of whom live a country club lifestyle. They treated teachers like they were something to be used and abused. Moms fought with teachers and administrators about their daughters being allowed to wear Lulu Lemon shorts despite them being against the dress code for their shortness- booty shorts to be precise. Parents fought with teachers over grades- they wanted their children to have “A”s despite them refusing to do any assignments. Some of the worst offenders threw pencils, erasers, and even books at teachers. The disrespect was deeply engrained in the students. I lasted until December of 2022.

Diagnosis

I was diagnosed with SAD (Social Anxiety Disorder) when I first began teaching in 2008, and I was pregnant with my third child. The doctor told me to manage my stress levels because he couldn’t give me any medication for it. I had so many “heart attacks” over the years- just anxiety attacks- that I thought I was just having those again. When I finally went to the doctor, the doctors discovered I had a pleural effusion with a partially collapsed lung and pneumonia. They also found that my heart was three times larger than it should have been. This school, with all the ideal technology, the wealthy kids, and what should have been a dream job, was literally killing me. I turned in my resignation agreeing to stay on until the end of the semester, giving them plenty of time to find my replacement, before the Spring semester began.

Knowing my health condition, one would've thought the children would behave better in class. Nope! They got worse. I never had anything thrown at me- but they pushed all other boundaries. I had to be out for a doctor’s appointment, so I had an actual substitute teacher for the day- most subs avoided this school. She left during 4th hour, didn’t tell anyone, and didn’t return- the 5th hour didn’t let anyone know. Instead, they used it as a social hour and even posted pics on social media showing off what they were doing. Then, they were surprised when most of them got in trouble with administrators- a timeout in the “in-school suspension” room was their punishment. Fast forward to my next attempt at teaching in person.

I hired on to my local school district’s Jr. High. But despite my half year of rest and recuperation, my health had deteriorated far beyond what I realized- my heart was normal again- thank the Lord! But my mobility was limited because, at any given time, my legs would seize up, and I couldn’t walk or had to walk with a cane. I was afraid to use my cane after what I had gone through the previous year in the other school- kids took my cane and used it like they were sword fighting.

The students in my town behaved far better than I had anticipated. As much as I wanted to teach them and work there- I couldn’t. My health and body wouldn’t let me. I am still going through testing to find out what’s going on with my body, but in the meantime, I had to find something I could do from home.

The Turning Point- from Teacher to Web Designer

I discovered Coursera and Code Academy. I began taking classes online, learning how to code. I used my writing skills and Master’s degree to obtain an AI LLM training job with Global Logic. Even though they require a Masters, Global Logic paid dismally. Teachers are poor- and I was making less working for them. So, I began expanding my skills to learn everything I could about website design, SEO content writing, and digital marketing.

This has been an exciting journey as I’ve learned to mesh my creativity and writing skills as a teacher. My lesson planning skills are immensely helpful in planning out project timelines. My writing skills are a great asset as I create content and combine that with my AI training skills to include SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in my content.

Our team of web designers' greatest asset is our creativity. Those I chose to include in my business are full of creativity. They know how to do social media marketing organically and have a broad reach through their followers- something I’ve not yet mastered. I am a trained photographer, but we also design in-house images and graphics, or if time is prohibitive, we can use AI to generate the needed image.

This path has been a game-changer for me. I thought I couldn’t work and take care of my family, but God opened doors to me that I didn’t even know existed. Ideally, the next chapter in my life is filled with happy clients who have also had their lives blessed through our work.