Teaching can be a hard job with lots of frustrations, which is why many people get burned out and look into other roles later in their career.

What would you do if your mother were a teacher and really started to hate her job, but when you recommended career change options, she said that it would be impossible?

That is what the daughter in this story is dealing with, and she is sad that her mother is having problems and feels stuck in a job she no longer fully loves.

Personally, I think it is good that the daughter is trying to help her mom, but she needs to remember that changing careers at this stage is hard and scary. Being more understanding of her mom’s position may help. Read through the full story below and see what you think about it.

My mom is burnt out and I can’t help her

My mom is in her late 40s. She’s been a kindergarten teacher for about 15 years, did some odd jobs beforehand, most notably at a telecom agency.

Being a teacher isn’t always easy.

The education system in our country is messed up and getting progressively moreso every year.

It’s her and another teacher for a class of 20-30 kids, a third of them with severe behavioral issues or learning disabilities.

They’d all need a personal assistant or at the very least a doctor/children’s therapist, but that’s just not viable. The pay is awful, the management is usually the same.

She can recharge during summer break, hopefully.

Needless to say, my mom is absolutely exhausted. I’ve been watching her come home absolutely exhausted, physically and mentally, and still spend half her free time working because she needs to make reports, learning materials, evaluations, etc.

She’s not perfect but she’s good at her job and she likes it… theoretically! But practically, it’s just so draining.

Maybe she isn’t quite ready to find a new job.

She’s been mentioning lately that she doesn’t know if she can keep going like this, but everytime I try to offer an alternative, she rejects it.

In part, I understand her arguments, but simultaneously, it just frustrates me all the more because it makes me feel so helpless.

Starting a new career is never easy.

She’s been teaching for 15 years, she’s middle aged. Either she gets a job in the field but in a less stressful environment, which would be incredibly difficult to find, or she just… prays to god someone will hire her without zero experience in whatever it is she manages to land.

And people don’t want to hire someone her age, because it’s just not a good investment, I suppose. It’s so cruel.

Lots of people do jobs they hate for their entire career. It isn’t ideal, but you do what you have to do.

I keep trying to help her, telling her about job listings and fields where she could have some luck, but she just tells me it’s useless.

I get the frustration and feeling of helplessness, I’ve BEEN there, but, simultaneously… she can’t keep this up. She can’t do this for, like, 30 years more.

Can anyone help? Give advice? We don’t live in the US so try to keep that in mind, please.

It really sounds to me like her mom just isn’t ready to leave her job. While there are obviously lots of frustrating things in her role, there are also some great perks, so it is a hard balance.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a person whose colleague expected them to help pay for 11 elaborate birthday cakes they never agreed to buy.

Read on to see what the people in the comments have to say about this all too common situation.

There should be some good options available to her.

Here are some great suggestions.

This commenter makes some good points.

Sometimes, a shoulder to cry on is all that is needed.

A part of burnout at work is not having the energy to find a new job.

All jobs can be overwhelming, but it isn’t easy to start a new career. Supporting her mother with whatever direction she chooses to go is important in this situation.

Fortunately, when mom is ready, there are lots of opportunities that teachers can take thanks to their education and experience. I hope it all works out for her in the end.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman who volunteered to help promote a church event for free, then was surprised to find she had to still pay admission to get in.