A woman has revealed how her life and mental health has improved after she he quit her teaching job and started working at Costco.
The former educator, who goes by the username @millennialmsfrizz, posted a recent TikTok to note that this was the first time she didn’t have time off during the holidays, as she’s now an employee at Costco. However, she said she didn’t miss those winter breaks from school and she still felt “great,” after a full week of work.
“I just worked seven days straight, including Christmas Eve, and I feel fine,” she said. “As a teacher, it was like just surviving every moment that by the time I got to Christmas break. I was so exhausted that I was literally sick. So yeah, feels pretty good to not be a teacher at this time.”
She went on to explain how happy she’s been while working in retail, during her “first year not teaching”.
“I’ve never had this type of energy, everything is better,” she said. “I can’t believe that I ever felt so limited, that I ever thought I couldn’t do something else. I am better now than I have been in my livable memory.”
The Costco employee also emphasised how much her professional life has improved, despite the fact that she doesn’t have winter breaks anymore.
“This is my first year not having a winter break. I do not miss it at all,” she wrote in the caption. “My pace of my work life now is so much better, I am not sick or exhausted like I used to be when I was a teacher.”
She detailed why she didn’t benefit from the brief time off when teaching, writing: “When I was a teacher I used my winter break basically to recover and go into the next semester of just surviving.”
As of 6 January, the video has more than 3.9m views, with TikTok users in the comments praising her for leaving the education field and the benefits of working in retail.
“When retail is somehow less stressful than education, our future generations.....what a world we live in. I’m so glad you’re doing well!!” one wrote.
“I’m so happy for you. It literally guts me that teachers are treated and paid so poorly for all they do and their level of education. Ty for sharing!” another wrote.
A third added: “it’s the mental load and responsibilities. You don’t have that with retail, you show up and do your job, then have nothing to think about after.”
Many fellow teachers also explained how they relate to @millennialmsfrizz’s situation and said that they’ve also left the profession.
“After 10 years as a teacher, I am now an administrative assistant. No more panic attacks, when I finish my day, I have energy for my family,” one wrote.
“I’m a teacher. I sleep [during] almost all of [the] breaks. Then I feel sad that I didn’t do anything else. It’s a vicious cycle,” another wrote.
A third person said: “On my breaks I didn’t want to see family or socialise. I was so over-stimulated. It was depressing.”
Recent data over the years has found that multiple teachers across the country are leaving their jobs. According to a survey conducted by the US Department of Education in September, more than 50 per cent of public schools in the country were understaffed at the start of the 2022-2023 school year. Sixty-nine per cent of those schools also reported that not enough teachers were applying for open positions.
The Independent has contacted @millennialmsfrizz for comment.
