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Donna, who is in her 60s, likes to book a one-way ticket when she travels so she doesn't feel her "freedom is over" so quickly.
On a recent trip to Florida, Donna explored a spiritualist camp, visited a friend at a beach house, did plenty of walking, spent time with her brother, and enjoyed a day of just hanging out in her pajamas.
Despite the one-way ticket, her trip to Florida wasn't forever as she had to return to her job as a substitute teacher in California. This is a relatively new career move for Donna, whose last name is withheld for privacy.
Donna, who has worked several jobs with different duties, said she has the best work-life balance she has ever had. She said she tends to work a few days a week on average as a part-time sub.
While she might not be making the six-figure salary she did in a previous job doing leadership work in the senior care industry, she said she and her husband just live differently now.
"I don't have the fancy Louboutin shoes and all the things that I used to think were important," Donna said. "Now I get to wear gym shoes to work every day and a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt when it's cold. To me, that is the best thing."
One thing she loves about teaching is connecting with others. She recalled her first teaching job at an alternative education school and being able to help students beyond the classroom. She said that she "understood that they needed to be heard."
"I just felt this sense of connection with these kids that were unable to connect with society was really, really fulfilling for me," she said.
Donna described herself as a strict substitute teacher but believes school should be a joyful experience.
"I show them a lesson plan and I go, my job is to get through this with you guys today, so we're going to do that," Donna said. "At the end of the day, the kids have respect for me. It takes a little bit of work and classroom management skills to be able to do that, because some subs don't."
"I see new subs come in with their novels, and they're just going to sit there and read during the day," Donna said. "And I'm sad for that because it's a lost day of learning. So I take my job as a sub seriously."
With a few career changes in a few different fields, Donna has learned that it is really up to her how much she wants to get paid at a job and where she wants to work.
"For most of my career, I gave that to somebody else," Donna said. "They get to decide when you work, what to do and all that. I'm like, wait a minute. I can take that power back. And this teaching experience has made me realize that. It's very freeing. It's very liberating."
She said she has done some occasional work in the senior care industry on the side.
Donna said she doesn't want to be in a full-time position anymore.
She said she "went to college and grad school later in life." Before college she worked in high tech, recalling that this pay was pretty low back in the '80s. She said she then worked in the senior care industry.
She did sales in the senior care industry before moving into operational leadership work in the industry. She said she was frequently traveling during leadership work.
While she was making six figures, "I realized that it was kind of soul sucking to me," Donna said, noting there are a lot of "emotional issues" involved, such as people who have lost the ability to do daily living activities.
Donna said she left the industry and did a teaching program where she was teaching at the same time as learning how to become a teacher.
However, she did return to the senior care industry and held a job in senior care during the pandemic. Being in leadership during this time she said was awful because of the blame received "and that there were no standard guidelines to follow in keeping everyone safe."
After leaving that job, she said she then worked as a full-time substitute at a school district to help out if a teacher was out for a prolonged time due to COVID-19.
Donna said she loves the autonomy of being a substitute teacher. She said her recent trip to Florida meant she would have been gone from work and California for about a month.
She said people "trade in their happiness and their freedom for money." While she said she also did that, she's done with that philosophy.
Have you made a career change? Have you taken a job that pays less than your previous role? Share with this reporter at mhoff@businessinsider.com.
