What About Job Security? At Least Teaching Is Stable...

The conversation usually goes something like this:

You mention you're thinking about leaving teaching. Someone – often a well-meaning family member – responds with: "But what about the pension? The holidays? The job security? At least you know where you stand with teaching."

And they're not wrong, exactly. There's a monthly salary. A pension scheme. Sick pay. The comfort of knowing what's coming in each month.

But here's the question nobody asks: is it really security if it's making you ill? Is it really stability if you're crying on Sunday evenings? Is it really safe if you're so burned out you can barely function?

Let's talk honestly about what security actually means, and why the "stable" teaching job might be the riskiest option of all.

The Myth of Teaching Stability

Teaching feels stable because it's what you know. It's a permanent contract. A predictable salary. A career that society respects and understands.

But look a little closer at what's actually happening in education:

Teachers are leaving in droves. The retention crisis isn't a blip – it's a trend. According to recent figures, nearly a third of teachers leave within five years of qualifying. That's not because teaching is stable and fulfilling; it's because it's unsustainable.

Birth rates are dropping. Fewer children means fewer teaching positions needed. Schools are already consolidating classes and reducing staffing. The "we'll always need teachers" argument looks a bit shakier every year.

Home education is growing. More families are choosing to educate at home, particularly post-pandemic. That's more pupils outside the traditional system, which means fewer roles within it.

Funding is precarious. School budgets are tight and getting tighter. Redundancies happen. Restructures happen. That permanent contract isn't quite as permanent as it feels when your school needs to make cuts.

Your health is at risk. The real instability isn't whether teaching will exist in ten years. It's whether you'll be capable of doing it. Burnout, stress, anxiety, physical health problems – these are epidemic in teaching. How secure is a job that's destroying your wellbeing?

The "stability" of teaching is becoming an illusion built on an unsustainable model. You're not choosing between secure teaching and risky self-employment. You're choosing between the illusion of security and the reality of control.

What Security Really Means: The VA Model

Let's reframe what we're actually talking about when we say "security."

Real security isn't about having one source of income that could disappear if you lose your job, your school closes, or your health fails. Real security is about having skills, systems, and income streams that you control.

Here's what that looks like as a VA:

Multiple clients, not one employer. Lose one client? It's a setback, not a catastrophe. You still have others. Compare that to losing your teaching job, where your entire income disappears overnight.

Diverse income streams. Client retainers provide your stable baseline. One-off projects add flexibility. Template sales or small courses can create passive income. You're not reliant on a single source.

Transferable skills that remain valuable. Your teaching skills – project management, communication, problem-solving, creativity – work across hundreds of industries. Your value isn't locked into one system.

The ability to adapt quickly. If one type of service isn't working, you can pivot. If one industry slows down, you can target another. Your security grows with your skills and experience, not just your years of service.

Let's be honest: yes, sometimes you'll lose a client. A contract ends. Someone's budget changes. A business closes. That's the nature of self-employment, and it can feel unsettling, especially at first.

And here's another truth: building a VA business takes time. You won't replace your teaching salary overnight, and that's completely normal. That's why we recommend having a financial safety net while you build – whether that's starting your VA business whilst still teaching part-time, doing some supply teaching alongside your first clients, or having savings to cover your transition period. You're building something sustainable, not looking for a quick fix.

The Teacher to VA programme teaches you: how to build a business with enough diversity that losing one client doesn't threaten your livelihood. How to maintain a pipeline of potential clients so you're never starting from zero. How to create systems that give you genuine security rather than the illusion of it.

Building Long-Term Security: What You'll Learn

The Teacher to VA mentorship programme teaches you to build genuine security through practical systems:

Client diversification strategies – how many clients to aim for, how to balance retainers and projects, when to say no to putting too many eggs in one basket.

Financial planning for self-employment – how to manage irregular income, build emergency funds, and use tools like Mettle (a business bank account) to automatically separate your money into pots (tax, pension, savings, emergency fund, business expenses). You build your own safety nets with the same or better protection you had in teaching.

Pipeline management – keeping a steady flow of potential clients so you're never desperate when a contract ends.

Contract structures – protecting yourself legally with clear terms, notice periods, and payment guarantees.

Pension planning – setting up your own pension and contributing from your business income. Many VAs contribute more than they ever did in teaching because they're earning more overall. Plus, you're building a business asset that provides security right now and can grow in value over time.

The Choice You're Really Making

This isn't about choosing between security and risk. Both paths have risk. Both require courage.

Staying in teaching has its own risks: burning out so completely you can't work at all, developing stress-related health problems, sacrificing family time and joy in work, or becoming so institutionalised that leaving feels impossible. Reaching fifty and realising you've spent decades in a job that stopped fulfilling you years ago.

The "safe" choice isn't necessarily the least risky one. Sometimes the scariest thing is staying where you are.

You're choosing between passive risk (hoping an unsustainable situation improves) and active risk (taking control to build something sustainable). Between a single income source and multiple streams. Between capped potential and growing opportunity.

Real security isn't about avoiding all risk. It's about having the skills, systems, and confidence to handle whatever comes your way.

Your Security, Your Terms

Over four months with us you'll learn to build a business with genuine security – multiple income streams, valuable skills, systems that protect you, and control over your career trajectory.

Will you lose clients sometimes? Yes. Will there be uncertain months? Probably. Will you need to be more intentional about pensions and savings? Absolutely.

But you'll be building security on your terms, with your skills, in a model that's sustainable for your actual life.

The community is here. The frameworks are ready. Your version of genuine security is waiting.

Are you ready to build it?