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Career transitions often happen at moments when life requires us to rethink our priorities.
For Laura, a former head teacher in Birmingham, the decision to step away from school leadership was not driven by a lack of passion for education — but by the need to create a more sustainable balance between her professional responsibilities and personal life.
Today, Laura works in an EdTech organisation supporting higher education institutions globally, where she has rediscovered her passion for education while building a more flexible and fulfilling career.
Laura spent several years working in education, eventually becoming a head teacher.
She loved her role and was deeply committed to her school, students, and staff. However, headship is an incredibly demanding position, often requiring long hours, high levels of responsibility, and constant decision-making.
During this time, Laura was also navigating a difficult personal period, including a divorce.
Balancing these personal challenges with the intensity of school leadership became increasingly difficult.
Eventually, Laura realised that maintaining the same level of engagement and consistency expected from a head teacher was no longer sustainable.
Laura made the difficult decision to step away from her role and take a career break.
This time away allowed her to reflect on what she wanted next.
She still felt strongly connected to education, but she knew that returning to the same leadership structure would likely recreate the same pressures.
Instead, she began exploring how she could apply her skills in a different environment.
During her career break, Laura decided to invest in her professional development by completing a project management course.
The course helped her:
Shortly after completing the course, Laura secured a role as a project manager in the automotive sector.
Although the industry was completely unrelated to education, the experience allowed her to:
She remained in this role for about six months.
While the project management role gave Laura valuable experience, she quickly realised that the sector itself did not align with her passion.
Education had always been central to her career and identity.
After researching different sectors, she discovered that EdTech offered the perfect bridge between education and industry.
EdTech allowed her to combine her experience in education leadership with project management skills in a more flexible environment.
So she began searching for opportunities within the sector.
Laura eventually secured a role with an EdTech organisation supporting higher education institutions globally.
In this role, she works as a project manager supporting institutions implementing the company’s platform.
Her work now includes:
The role allows her to remain deeply connected to the education sector while working within a global technology environment.
One of the biggest changes for Laura has been the work-life balance that her new role provides.
Unlike the demanding schedule of school leadership, her current role allows her to:
This flexibility has given her more time for herself and allowed her to navigate personal challenges with far less stress.
Today, she describes feeling more balanced, focused, and energised in her work.
One of Laura’s biggest concerns during her transition was financial stability.
Leaving a senior leadership role in education can feel risky, particularly when entering a new sector.
Although she had some financial savings to support the transition, she was worried that a new role might not offer the same level of income.
However, this concern turned out to be unfounded.
In her current role, Laura now earns approximately £20,000 more than she did as a head teacher.
During her job search, she encountered several opportunities that offered lower compensation than she expected.
Rather than accepting the first available role, Laura made the conscious decision to value her own experience and expertise.
She focused on finding an organisation that recognised the strategic leadership skills she had developed in education.
That decision ultimately led her to a role that values both her education background and her project management expertise.
Reflecting on her transition, Laura shared an interesting insight.
Although the project management course helped her build confidence, she believes that she could have explored opportunities within EdTech even sooner.
Like many educators, she underestimated how transferable her leadership and strategic skills truly were.
Today, she encourages other education professionals to recognise the value of their experience earlier in their transition journey.
Laura’s story highlights how career transitions can lead to unexpected and rewarding opportunities.
By combining her background in education leadership with project management skills, she has built a role that allows her to continue contributing to education while creating a healthier work-life balance.
Most importantly, she has rediscovered her passion for supporting learning — this time from within the EdTech ecosystem.
Laura’s journey shows that many education professionals already possess the skills needed to succeed in the EdTech sector — leadership, communication, stakeholder management, and strategic thinking.
At RecruitHer, we support educators exploring careers beyond the classroom by helping them:
