Pivoting: A Journey Back to Teaching with a Tech Focus
Last summer, I made the decision to leave education after five years as a middle school math teacher. My goal was to land a job in the tech industry, sparked by a deep interest in machine learning that had taken root earlier that spring.
I loved teaching and enjoyed the day-to-day academic adventures with my students. But the increasing workload — teaching subjects outside my specialty, new students added almost every month, limited opportunities for career growth, and a long commute — gradually drained the sense of fulfillment I once found in the classroom.
That summer, I dove into all kinds of learning programs to upskill myself. I joined Math Academy to improve my math foundation, signed up for Google’s Data Analytics course, and began working through Python Crash Course by Eric Matthes to learn how to code in Python.
I took on too much at once and quickly felt scattered and overwhelmed.
In January, I retooled with a new mindset and a more sustainable pace. I also launched this blog to document my learning journey — and to my surprise, a post about how Math Academy pulled me out of the “valley of despair” in math went viral on Hacker News. It was surreal. That moment gave me a sense of momentum — like I was finally building a footprint and skillset that would help me transition into tech.
Winter 2025 was eye-opening and confidence-boosting. But now, a few weeks into spring, I’ve made the decision to return to teaching.
After months of living off my savings and leaning on family support, I need to regain financial stability. As someone who’s generally been risk-averse, it was a big leap to resign so suddenly at the end of last school year and try to pivot into another industry. For a while, I had regrets — but I’ve come to see this not as a failure, but as a step in the journey.
This fall, I’ll return to the classroom — this time, focusing solely on teaching math to middle schoolers. But this isn’t the end of my tech journey.
My goal remains the same: to enter the tech industry with a focus on machine learning. I’ll be using my evenings and weekends to continue building toward that goal — improving my math through Math Academy, practicing Python, taking free online courses, and reading AI/ML blogs and news to stay informed.
Teaching again means I’ll have less time, but more structure and financial stability — which might make this new chapter even more productive.
At first, I thought I needed to transition into tech as quickly as possible. But after nearly a year of trying, I now see that extending my timeline will allow for deeper learning and more thoughtful growth.
With the Stargate project, there’s no need to rush haphazardly toward machine learning. The U.S. government, in partnership with major tech companies, plans to deploy over half a billion dollars into the AI/ML space over the next four years to grow domestic jobs. That gives me time — and motivation.
I don’t know exactly how long it will take, but I’m confident that if I keep my head down and do the work, I’ll eventually look up and see that I’ve broken into a field I once only dreamed about.
I’ll continue documenting my journey on this blog. Expect more posts about math, machine learning, and Python projects — and now, some anecdotes from my life back in the classroom. I even have an interview lined up that I’m excited to share soon.
Life is all about how you pivot. My first pivot didn’t go as planned — but I’m excited to see where this next one leads. Thanks for sticking with me on this journey.