One of our favorite columnists, Lucy Kellaway of the Financial Times, is in the midst of a career pivot. In the vein of so many of our interviewees over the years, she recently announced, “If your work doesn’t cause you some fear, it’s time to take on a new challenge. In July 2017, shortly after my 58th birthday, I am going leave the world’s nicest job to train as a maths teacher in an inner-London school. For 31 years, I have worked at the Financial Times, as a reporter and a columnist. I have autonomy, great colleagues, and the freedom to write about whatever interests me. Yet, though I still love what I do, I’m not getting better at it. And as I hope to go on living for many more decades, it seems mad to spend my whole life doing one thing.”
She continues, “This does not scare me….the thought of being without the safety blanket of your response — both approval and disapproval — that is unnerving me. This does not scare me as much as the thought of teaching ratios to bottom-set Year Nine. That truly terrifies me — which is precisely the point.”
Her site, Now Teach, is dedicated to encouraging people with successful careers to become teachers.
