Former teacher explains how quitting her job to work for Costco lists was a great decision

Being a teacher has to be one of the most fun and rewarding jobs in the world. However, the sad reality is that a lot of teachers are overworked and underpaid, which can push many to quit and look for other career options. Maggie Perkins—who goes by @itsmaggieperkins on TikTok—decided to call it quits as a teacher and began to pursue a radically different career path at Costco. She posted a video highlighting the benefits of her career change. The text overlay on the video reads, "Put a finger down former teacher edition."

Perkins can be seen holding up all of her fingers at the start of the video. She then goes on to share all of the amazing perks of leaving her dead-end teaching job. The former teacher states, "Put a finger down if since leaving teaching you have more financial freedom." In addition to this, Perkins shares that she feels more confident, has been revisiting old hobbies and spends more time with her family and friends. She even highlights a few things that she does not miss about her old job like the breaks or having to spend her own money on the job.

Perkins mentions how her new workplace values her skills and provides her with more autonomy. Before she ends the video, she clarifies how not everybody needs to completely quit teaching to find happiness and freedom. She suggests, "Maybe you can set boundaries at your current job and improve your conditions. Maybe you need to try a different school. Maybe a different role within education." Perkins shares that she tried all of these things but still quit her job which broke her heart.

She concludes by saying, "But, I'm happier now than I ever could have been in education." Perkins wrote in the caption, "Do what is right for you. I came out on the other side and my only regret is that I didn't leave sooner." People shared their thoughts about the reality of teaching jobs in the comments section. @jessandmaximusdogboy shared, "Got my first non-teaching job offer! I’ve been told multiple times already that I won’t have to think about work outside of working hours." @lexilou.22 said, "I just told my husband today that I have no regrets at all about leaving. He said I'm a different person. He's relieved to see me happy again."

In a contributing essay for CNBC, Perkins discussed how she no longer felt fulfilled with her work and wanted a better work-life balance. She worked 60 hours a week for eight years and did "tons of unpaid overtime." The educator became quite frustrated with her job and that prompted her to look at other positions, which is when she got job offers from Costco and Amazon. Perkins opted for Costco because she felt that it would be a better fit for her. She revealed that the primary reason for her happiness is the perfect work-life balance that her new job gave her.

You can follow Maggie Perkin (@itsmaggieperkins) on her TikTok page for more updates about her career as a former teacher.