Over the weekend I realized that a week ago today (November 6th!) was my TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY of starting my new job and my career change from being a special education teacher to having a role in influencer marketing and advertising. It’s hard for me to believe that two years have passed. I have to say, some days it feels like this is what I’ve been doing for five years and other days I pinch myself thinking that it wasn’t that long ago that I was doing something completely different and felt unsure of the path I was on.

I say this constantly (mostly to other coworkers and Geoff), but it feels like I’ve lived 5 different lives since that career change. A LOT has happened. People came and went. My company I was originally hired at was acquired in January (if you’ve ever been through that then you know the growing pains you can sometimes feel) and I was pushed out of comfort zone constantly. I realized I had never really updated you guys on life after the career change so I wanted to give you an update and also share a few things that surprised me!

If any of you have gone through a career change (or are thinking about one) leave a comment or send me an email (mackenzienoelmurphy@gmail.com). I’m always down to chat! I’ve also written posts here and here about my career change.

What Surprised Me About My Career Change – A Two Year Check In

1. The Difference in Culture Between a School Environment and an Office

Okay, this one isn’t a complete shock but I have to say, working in an office vs. working in a school are two polar opposite environments. I’m sure that’s to be expected because in schools you have children and in offices you don’t (except for a rare occasion if someone gets stuck without a babysitter and brings their child in) but anyway, it is insane how different it is.

The first week of my new career I saw alcohol bottles on desks which was something I definitely was not used to seeing at school (except for one time when I had a student bring beer in his backpack 😳😂 but that’s another story). People would start drinking at 4pm (usually Thursdays and Fridays). To be honest, I actually liked this change because when you think of “culture,” a school environment doesn’t truly have one in terms of what you would think of other companies. The kids shape the culture since they’re always the #1 priority. In my experience, offices are a more fun place to work. But everyone has a different idea of what’s fun… just my two cents!

2. The Amazing Roles Young People Are In

Maybe it’s because I worked with mainly older people when I was a teacher, but I’m constantly amazed at the roles people in my company (and other companies) are in at such a young age. It’s amazing and so inspiring to me. It’s not uncommon to see people at the Director level and higher at 25.

I sometimes find myself comparing myself and/or feeling like I need to catch up at 29, but truth be told, I’m pretty damn proud of myself. I’ve been promoted 3 separate times in two years and it was due to a lot of hard work and a little bit of timing in my favor, but what I’m most proud of is the first step I took. Just the act of finally deciding to go through with quitting my teaching job and committing to changing my career was the hardest step of all. If you’re thinking about it, just know that’s one of the most difficult steps of the entire path. Surround yourself around people who support you and encourage you to take the leap and the rest will happen.

3. There’s ALWAYS Food and Drinks Around

I don’t know if this is a thing but I feel like the office-15 is a legitimate thing. I never had the freshman-15 but when I started working in an office it was a completely different story. First – you’re sitting all. day. long. It takes a conscious effort to remind yourself to get up and walk around and to get out of the office (especially during winter).

Secondly, there’s constantly food around and almost every work event that happens, revolves around food or alcohol. It’s okay if that’s not your thing- we always have plenty of people who don’t participate, but I’ve always been someone who struggles if it’s around. If it’s there, I will want to participate. So that’s been a struggle for me haha!

4. I Feel Like I Can Be Myself

This one may come as a surprise to you guys. I’m not sure if this is something other teachers feel or if it was just the environment I worked in. When I was a teacher, I felt like I couldn’t ever really be myself. I was constantly “on.” To me it kinda felt like being an actress for 8 hours a day. And obviously any job is a bit like that – there’s a piece of you that you just don’t show at work because there’s a level of professionalism that comes with work. But this felt kind of at another level where it would be mentally exhausting to me.

Obviously a piece of it is just the profession of teaching and what comes with it. You’re supposed to be the best example for children at all times and I found that to be quite exhausting at times – especially having this blog and my social media channels. I consider myself to be a good person and ams someone who typically posts things that are very PG but I always constantly worried that kids would see the things I posted since I worked in a middle school (I had to keep my accounts public for brand partnerships).

5. How My Teaching Background Prepared Me to Be a Manager

I took a supervisor role this past April which was obviously very new to me – it was my first time managing a team. I’m constantly trying to improve my management skills every day, but something that surprised even myself was how my teaching background prepared me for managing a team. A lot of it is the same type of skills – communicating, evaluating behaviors/progress, teaching new processes, etc.

6. My New Life Working at 9AM

This might sound stupid but one of my biggest fears around changing from a career in teaching to a 9-5 life is how the hours would impact my life. I was used to having it fairly easy. Yes, I would wake up reallllly early (I would get ready in the dark for half the year, ha!) but I would also get home at 3pm every day so I really couldn’t complain. So knowing that I would get home at 5 or 6pm (I also have an hour commute each way every day) made me slightly nervous. Would I still have time to do the things I like to do outside of work?

For the most part, yes. I still have time to do things I like to do outside of work. I’m working more hours now my commute is now double what it used to be but the positives outweigh the negatives. It takes more planning on my part to make time for those things. Making working out a priority has definitely been a struggle (I need to just do it in the morning) and I definitely go to less blogging events.

But, I have to say, going into work at 9AM makes me feel like an entirely different person (in a good way). Before, I used to get anxious around 10pm if I wasn’t in bed because of fear of how exhausted I would be the next day and if I’d be able to get through the school day (working with kids when you’re exhausted is not for the weak lol).