Tech Savvy Mama

Parenting in the Digital Age

From Teaching to Blogging: How I Found a Job I Love Doing Every Day

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This post is sponsored by Corning® Gorilla® Glass 

Do you go to work doing something you love every day? Virtual high fives if you said yes but if you hesitated or groaned at the thought of your current employment situation, you might be holding yourself back from living your best life.

As a creature of habit who likes stability, I know what it’s like to be fearful of the unknown but have come to realize that the biggest leaps of faith can provide the biggest rewards.

Ten years ago I was splitting my days between teaching part time and parenting two little kids when I fell into blogging. Encouraged by a friend, I started what I thought was just going to be a hobby. Blogging was a way for me to share what I knew about technology with fellow parents but also served as a way for me to connect with others in the parenting space beyond my own community and well outside the walls of my school.

I loved sharing the knowledge I had as a teacher with my online audience. I thrived on making new friends through the blogging community and connecting with companies that I never would have imagined working with as a classroom teacher. I was fulfilled both personally and professionally and felt I could continue down the path I had forged for myself for a long time. At least until the path changed course and staffing cuts at my school reduced my part time hours even more.

Suddenly my life felt like a Choose Your Own Adventure book where I could:

  1. Stay put and work fewer hours which would allow me to be with my kids more
  2. Take more classes to become certified in teaching English language learners, a position my principal was trying to fill
  3. Leave the school in search of another part time position with the same hours

Each option had pros and cons. There were no clear benefits and drawbacks to any of my choices. I reached out to those I knew in the school system about any possible openings at their schools. I pondered making the leap to blogging full time. I threw out an idea to a company I had been working with about being their full-time manager of their online parenting community. I didn’t know what my future would hold but I knew I had to take charge of my employment situation. I couldn’t sit back and let things happen. I had to be proactive.

The end of the school year came and I packed my things into a box and started working remotely as an online community manager, promoting discussion among parents about digital safety topics and sharing my expertise on their blog. It was a dream job until the company slashed its budget and with it, my position.

Having taken a leave of absence from the school system, I knew I had a safety net. It was comforting to know I could always go back to teaching but in those short 8 months, I had a taste of what it meant to be an entrepreneur. I found I liked writing and working remotely. Being confined to a school no longer seemed in the cards for me but the prospect seemed scary. Here I was – an overeducated woman with a couple of advanced degrees – and I was going to walk away from education to pursue the unknown.

Just like Jenn, I found a way.

“I remember when you were leaving the classroom,” a friend recalled one night when we were having dinner. “You were entering into a space where there were so many unknowns and it’s SO COOL to see how you’ve created your own job.”

Ten years ago I never could have imagined the job I have now. As Jenn says, “It’s a journey, not a destination” and my work journey may has not followed that linear path like I once thought it should but I get to do what I love each and every day and there’s something to be said for that.

Get inspired to do what you love by watching Jenn Zeller and other tough individuals whose work is featured on the Corning® Gorilla® Glass Incredibly Tough series.

To learn more about Corning® Gorilla® Glass:

This post is sponsored as part of my work with Corning Incorporated, all opinions are my own.