<prompt> Human: I saw something along these lines posted here about a bit over a year ago and realized that as a high school teacher there was no way I could make it far down the flow chart. I realized I needed a change and this sub made me feel motivated. I own a house, had a car paid off, 401k, etc but those things were more of a reflection of luck and if I didnt have family contributions I wouldnt have had any of it while being a teacher. I made 2990 a month and drove Uber to make around 3500 a month. I got engaged and my motivations changed. If I wanted to pay for my own honeymoon I needed a new job. If I wanted to support my wife while she went back to school to further her career, I needed a new job. If I wanted my kids to have no problems paying for college, I needed a new job.Getting a job out of the classroom and into a totally different industry is an entirely different post. Feel free to ask me questions if thats a situation you are in. But in short, I landed an inside sales job at a software startup focused on student success at the collegeuniversity level. Its perfect.And it pays.This is a 12 month comparison of my paychecks. Green 2017. Yellow 2016.Once I hit my stride, Ive seen paychecks that equate to a 75 raise. I dont need to have a second job and honestly, Im less stressed than when I was a teacher. When I compare number of days off from being a teacher to now, its really only about 2 weeks difference. We got married. We had the honeymoon of our dreams. My wife is going to take 15 hours this fall and has a path to graduate December 2018. For the first time in my life I can follow the savings flow chart, take care of my family, save for a newused car, and sleep easy at night. So, Thanks. EDIT: typosAlso lots of people were asking for more info on how I did this so I wrote out a short version of the story.The first step for me was talking to everyone I knew about what they did and how they got their job. I figured out generally which direction I wanted to go service oriented, mission driven start up. The amount of people that said oh I have a friend that works at X. Maybe you could talk to them? I did. I talked to everyone. I talked about 10 different people that I was directly connected with and about 5 more from random LinkedIn messages. Not many of them were fruitful but I always felt encouraged and sometimes discouraged. I was stuck though. I didnt know if I should go back to get a certificate that made sense for me. I had a background in math and thought a cert in data science might help me get a job. It was a very frustrating time. I was told by some people I would have to start at the bottom and prove myself. I was told to start in customer service for a tech company and take a pay cut. I was told that I should shoot for 70k when I thought Id be happy with 60k. Lots of mixed messages so ultimately I realized I would have to focus on the company on not the job. WHO DID I WANT TO WORK FOR? So I applied for a job and got immediately rejected. I applied for a different role that made much more sense and got a phone interview but then rejected. I then applied for a third job that seemed like a better fit a month later and went through a 5 round process where I had to make a mock sales call and write emails to a mock prospect. It was uncomfortable at first but I realized the process of preparing for it was enjoyable so maybe I could be good at it. And I got it. I had to quit 2 weeks into the school year and it was tough. Everyone was actually really cool about it and I helped find my replacement and train him. I definitely burned a bridge or two but thats ok. I realized that if I waited until May-July to look for jobs I would likely miss out on lots of opportunities. I committed to finding something that was the best for me. It felt like online dating and it was so stressful. But now I have two doors open. I can always go back to the classroom and now I have proven I can do other things as well. Im just glad I can still be part of the education world Ive worked in and get paid what I currently need.  <response>: A job with less stress that pays better is worth its weight in gold. My last two jobs stressed me the fuck out and had me dealing with way too many emergency situations that werent the your emergency is not mine kind. It was more the I need police intervention or I dont have enough staff for this place to function and now cant get my work done kind.So happy I left both. Anxiously awaiting next year when great pay finally catches up to less stress. 