Why Teaching Was the Best Training for Business and Life

I’m a big fan of the experience and skills of teachers being appreciated more widely, and new teachers approaching their long careers ahead with more confidence, fluidity, and agency. My own time in the classroom, originally as part of the first cohort of Teach First in London back in 2003, didn’t just mark the dawn of my professional life. Teaching equipped me with skills and perspectives that have proven invaluable across every subsequent role, from leadership recruitment in the UK and India to founding a startup in education and exams. The experiences I gained standing in front of class after class of students and staff have shaped how I lead, communicate, and build in ways I never anticipated, and have given me both a skillset and approach that is helpful in all aspects of life. 

Teaching really is amazing for instilling resilience like few other environments can, and it has turned out to be the best training for the wild rollercoaster that is entrepreneurship. A few years ago, I started Examscreen, a suite of popular, affordable and accessible exam tools for schools, with my husband who is an exams officer. We have been building it ever since, collaborating closely with schools and MATs. My deep knowledge of schools and respect for the people who keep them running means that I really do have the user experience- and school budgets- front and centre. Teaching Year 9 French on a rainy Friday afternoon required fortitude and creativity on another level and was a fantastic testbed for starting and running a business, unbeknown to me at the time!

Running Examscreen has revealed another practical advantage of a background in teaching: we know exactly when not to send emails to schools. This seemingly small detail matters enormously. We're not a typical private company approaching schools from the outside. We understand the rhythm of the school year, the pressure points in the calendar, and the realities of school workloads. Schools consistently tell us they appreciate this understanding, and it stems directly from understanding-completely-where they are coming from. 

Time well spent in classroom teaching, and later as an Assistant Headteacher, has helped me as a specialist in education leadership recruitment too. Anyone who has taught will be aware that it demands an acute awareness of your audience, gauging energy levels, understanding what is working and what isn't, and adjusting your approach in real time. When I speak with trust leaders or candidates for senior MAT and school roles, I instinctively understand what their days are likely to feel like—the pressures they may be under, the joys that keep them coming in every day. I can read between the lines of what they're saying because I understand the context in which they work. I know the weight of responsibility they carry and the passion that drives them forward, as I have seen it and worked myself for great school leaders. This understanding isn't theoretical; it really is a sort of embodied knowledge gained from years of navigating the complex dynamics of school communities and the wider education sector.

When I worked for Ark in India, helping to adapt the Future Leaders programme and recruit the first cohort of school leaders in Mumbai and Pune, I drew heavily on my teaching experience. Explaining a new educational model, inspiring potential leaders to take a chance on an innovative programme and building credibility in an unfamiliar context all required the same skills I'd used to engage students and build classroom culture. 

The resilience I gained through teaching and leading in schools became even more critical when the course of my life changed quite dramatically, and I think this is something that many teachers will relate to. In raising my lovely son, who has complex developmental and medical needs requiring life-long and constant care, the skills I'd honed as a teacher helped me quickly navigate a new world where I need to constantly advocate, multi-task every hour like no other, and to remain calm and clear-headed under pressure and in times of uncertainty. Teaching also taught me not to sweat the small stuff and to move on quickly when situations aren't right. In a classroom, you learn that dwelling on what went wrong in one lesson serves no purpose; you have another new class in an hour, and you need to be fully present for them. This mindset has been liberating in business and in life, and especially when you care for a child where you live far more in the moment than most. 

A career in education doesn’t have to be linear- I started with teaching, moved into education charities, then became an Assistant Headteacher. When I had my son, I moved into combining leadership recruitment with starting a business in education, as my life and lifestyle had fundamentally changed- but my skills hadn’t. Teaching wasn't just my starting point—it became the lens through which I view all my work and the foundation upon which I've built everything else. There are so many exciting opportunities out there where direct teaching experience is hugely appealing, and I also think that coming back to the magic of the classroom at different points in life should be much more valued too.