According to June 2024 government figures^[1], 43,500 teachers left the state-funded teaching sector in 2022/23. The many reasons given for leaving include pay, stress, student behaviour, a toxic school climate, lack of support and burnout. This disillusionment with teaching as a job for working mums is reinforced by a study conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research in January this year, which found only 45% of teachers in the UK reported being satisfied with their jobs. This dissatisfaction can lead to a lack of motivation, decreased engagement in teaching and a decision to leave the profession. 

Glance through the Salesforce case studies in Success Stories on the Supermums website and you’ll notice many have come to us from the teaching profession seeking well paid careers for women. This is unsurprising as ex-teachers have numerous transferable skills. These include facilitation, influencing and communication capabilities, planning and training skills, performance assessment and conflict resolution – to name but a few! As well as time spent in front of a class, teachers’ experience includes liaising with senior staff, parents and other stakeholders, nurturing, motivating and supporting students to foster a joy of learning. 

“There’s no more Sunday night dread” 

Ex-teachers who have retrained with Supermums for more flexible jobs for mums returning to work include Kate, a Pre-School Manager who, on discovering just how expensive childcare is in the UK started exploring flexible jobs for mums so she could generate an income while working around her son. 

Now an Associate Salesforce Consultant with Supermums, she says, “I’m happy where I am. Education took a lot out of me – managing children, teams, people and Ofsted inspections. My work life balance right now is in a really good place. I’m not overwhelmed. I feel happy about going to work and there’s no more Sunday night dread.” 

This need to protect mental health may go some way to explaining why, according to Department for Education figures^[2], some 14,000 teachers call in sick every day. A toxic school climate, stress, perceived lack of support and deteriorating student behaviour are all among factors cited as reasons for quitting. 

Relocating from one country to another, often because of a partner’s job, is another reason behind a career change. Former teacher Sherrian upskilled for a Salesforce Administrator job after moving to the UK from South Africa with her husband. She says, “I would say the best thing about the course was the flexibility – only a few hours a week of contact time allowed me the flexibility around my children. I was able to do the course work in the evenings and weekends, and so did not cut into my time with my children, which is exactly what I was looking for.” 

Soma worked as a Primary School Teacher in India for five years before moving to the Netherlands for her husband’s job. She then relocated again, this time to the UK, and heard about Supermums via a friend on Facebook. “I looked at all the success stories on the website and booked a call with a Career Coach. That really helped me believe I could do this. “I had no tech background or experience so I needed to know that doing another course would lead to getting a secure job to support my family and give me a good work-life balance.” 

She discovered that teaching had given her many transferable skills that made her a great fit for a Salesforce administrator job. “I decided to go for it and do the Supermums Salesforce Admin course as it came with work experience, a personal mentor and support from the trainer and my cohort to really succeed.” 

“When I was doing my work experience, my now manager shared a job with me on LinkedIn that aligned with my skills, I applied and got the job!” Today, Soma works as a Junior Salesforce Administrator for Cloud Please in London. 

“I wanted a new challenge, a better salary, something where I could work from home.” 

Catalina had been a Spanish teacher for almost 15 years when she heard about Supermums through a friend on a Facebook.

She explains her reasons for upskilling for a tech career: “I wanted a new career, a new challenge, a better salary, something where I could work from home.” 

She now works for a Ebury, a financial services company in Spain, as a Project Manager in the technology department and as a Salesforce Consultant in the Salesforce team. 

Catalina says, “After completing the Salesforce Admin course, I started my job and saw that I needed business analysis, consultancy and project management skills. I could transfer my teaching skills, especially when you’re a project manager as you need to guide people, and make them comfortable with Salesforce, so I had that skill, but I also needed the other skills. 

“The assessments in the Salesforce Consultancy Skills course were the best things for me, because you get all the theory but then you have to present it. I am a teacher, I’m used to presenting and having audiences, but to present to a client was very challenging and it was the thing that made me learn the most.” 

Catalina is glad she switched career paths: “I work full-time remotely from home. The working hours are fixed but there is flexibility. The best thing about my job is the ability to transfer my teaching and coaching skills; working with young people and being able to help to improve processes.” 

If you’re looking for a career that allows you to work hours that suit you and fits around family life, find out more about Salesforce careers here.