You see, ever since I was a child, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. Growing up, my teachers were the true heroes. I remember watching in amazement as my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Hillman, made numbers dance across the chalkboard, fostering in me what would become a lifelong love for math. And later, in high school, staring in awe as my chemistry teacher, Mr. Fier, wrote sentences across the board with perfect typewriter-precision lines.

Now, in between daily specials and chardonnay refills, I’d begun to daydream about what my life could be like in five years if I left high-end restaurant management to pursue this long-held dream. But I’d heard about the low pay teachers receive. It didn’t make sense to break the trajectory of becoming a six-figure (or more) salaried restaurant manager, especially after investing significant time, energy and training in my current profession.

But the daydreaming grew stronger and stronger. One day, with some careful research and planning, I walked out of that restaurant and onto a “ship” that would take me to a teacher credential and Master’s degree program. Shortly thereafter, I arrived at my new destination: Room 12 at a middle school located in one of the California’s poorest inner-city neighborhoods, where I launched my new career as a math teacher.

I had exchanged a view of beaches, boats and sunsets for a view of hungry kids, dilapidated buildings and an endless stack of papers to grade. I loved it.

That was 18 years ago, and since making that switch I’ve had the pleasure of helping thousands of students learn everything from organizing their binders to mastering the quadratic formula. In 2009, I was honored to be named California’s Teacher of the Year and a Top-4 finalist for National Teacher of the Year. This journey brought me to the White House Rose Garden, and, more recently, to schools and conferences around the country, where I share engaging teaching strategies and techniques with educators of all levels.

I’m often asked, by people from many industries, what led me to ultimately make the switch to a new career. And I wonder if behind this question may be another one: how do I know if I should, or could, switch to a new career? If this is something that you’re thinking about, I encourage you to consider the following:
 

1. Stop asking yourself what you want to do all day, and instead, ask yourself how you want to feel at the end of the day. No job that you do is going to be exciting all the time. Every person I’ve ever talked to has aspects of their job that downright suck. In all honesty, there are days when it is extremely difficult to get excited about walking into a classroom filled with teenagers who groan when I ask them to put their phones away. But I know that each time I do, I am helping to create the world as it can be. And at the end of the day, feeling the way you want to feel only comes from doing the work you want to have done.

2. Think about your transferable skills. As I greeted those 13-year-olds walking into my classroom on that first day, I realized it was just like greeting hungry customers as they entered the restaurant. Parent complaint? After all the things people had yelled at me for finding in their food, I could handle it. And getting them excited about that quadratic formula? Thanks to the restaurant business, I knew how to sell pretty much anything. Whatever skillset you’ve built up in your current job, focus on how those skills will give you a fresh perspective, and work them as an advantage that will overshadow the experience you might think you lack.
   

3. Remember, five years from now, it’s going to be five years from now anyway. As obvious as that might sound, the one thing you will never have control over is the passage of time. So why not use it to your advantage? Whether you need to transition slowly, one step at a time over a number of years, or you are able to jump in immediately, hold true to the vision of what you can ultimately become. As this Chinese proverb reminds us: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is right now.”

A few years ago, I drove by the restaurant I used to manage. It was a sunny, beautiful day. The boats sailed gloriously past. In the window I spotted a well-dressed manager clearly enjoying the phenomenal view. Everything was perfectly in place, as if I had never left. And that’s when I realized something: The restaurant, in all its posh glory, would continue to exist basically the same, with or without me.

But the students I had served throughout my years of teaching? They have let me know, in many different ways, how I have impacted their lives. By believing in them and working with them, I have helped change what they thought was possible for their future.