I Learned The Power of Not Giving Up

I am so excited to bring you this week’s interview with Vic Snow! I saw a detailed, generous post they made on a FB group about how they transitioned to instructional design, and knew I had to talk to them. Vic offers powerful insights and actionable tips, and keeps it real throughout. Thank you, Vic!

Introduce yourself! Give us your name, location, number of years you spent teaching, what subject and grade level you taught, and number of years since you’ve left teaching.

Hi there! My name is Vic Snow. I currently live in Oklahoma City with my wife, our two toy poodles, and our two cats. I taught sixth-grade Writing my first year, then spent five years teaching 10th and 11th-grade English and Creative Writing at a local Title 1 high school. It’s been a year since I left.

Why did you become a teacher?

I don’t have the typical “I’ve always wanted to be a teacher” story. Growing up, I always loved English and writing. My initial dream was to become a famous author, but as my mom put it, writers don’t make money (then again, do teachers?). I then majored in English Education per her request. I spent nearly my entire college experience hating the idea of becoming a teacher until I was working as one during student teaching. I realized then how much I enjoyed helping students learn how to write better and analyze literature. I also loved being an adult they could trust and count on. Teaching was my passion from then on out.

Briefly describe your experience teaching. What did you like about it? What did you find challenging or unfulfilling?

I loved creating lessons and slideshows and activities. I found that piece of it to be so fulfilling, and I took a lot of pride in building units that all had a real-world element. One of my favorites was our Dystopian unit. I taught The Handmaid’s Tale during that quarter which culminated in a debate where students told me their opinions had changed as a result of the debate. I also created a group project where students were required to build their own dystopian realities. They were always so creative with it. I absolutely enjoyed dressing up in costumes when I could. To introduce the unit, I dressed up as a character from Squid Game. To introduce The Handmaid’s Tale, I was a handmaid. It made my lessons much more immersive.

I loved delivering my lectures. One of the biggest highlights of my career was teaching a lesson that was so strong that many of my students applauded at the end of each period. I loved being able to help other teachers in the building and having such strong classroom management. My third year in, I was on a panel giving advice on how to manage teenagers to the other teachers at our school, and I was a finalist for Teacher of the Year. I also earned a Highly Effective rating two years in a row, which resulted in me being exempt from evaluations my final year there. I also loved being the teacher that students felt safe going to. I had a hygiene closet for my kids that I funded and replenished constantly throughout the year, and sometimes, my graduated students would donate to it.

One of the most challenging parts of teaching was having multiple admin and instructional coaches who did not support us. They were toxic and thrived off of creating division, picking favorites, and refusing to support or help the teachers they didn’t like. Our high turnover also became a problem. It was exhausting getting a new team nearly every year. Our teacher shortage in Oklahoma became so bad that we were accepting applicants who did not have a teaching degree or background, which resulted in the qualified teachers having to pick up the slack. We also had many vacancies, so teachers were having to cover classes every day. It got very overwhelming very quickly.

As much as I loved being someone my students could come to, this became overwhelming also. We didn’t have a place where kids could go cool down. We didn’t have an on-site therapist. Our counselors were swamped. Drug use became rampant, as did violent fights and gun threats and lockdowns. Watching my students suffer without resources and becoming their unqualified therapist took a damaging toll on my mental health.

On a more personal level, being a gay teacher in Oklahoma became terrifying once Ryan Walters was elected as the State Superintendent of Education. A witch hunt began. I taught in a more “liberal” district, but still had parents report me for “influencing their kids to become gay” and calling me a groomer because I was open about who I was. I had parents report me for teaching about pronouns as an English teacher. And my admin did nothing to protect the LGBTQ teachers. By my fourth year, most of the LGTBQ teachers left the school I once loved.

What brought you to the decision to leave teaching? What was the breaking point?

The 22-23 school year was definitely my breaking point. The principal I was hired under (and the principal I adored) left that year and was replaced by someone who treated my school like a stepping stone to a better job; many of the admin who respected and cared for us left this year as well. This was the same year that Walters took office and the war against LGBTQ teachers started.

I was also separated from my tenth-grade team and my teacher best friend: we relied on each other to get through each day for years. I was the PLC Lead of eleventh grade, and given a brand new team who expected me to do all the lesson planning and work. I didn’t have a second to breathe and had no one I could rely on. I told my admin about it, but they didn’t do anything to support me. I also had an increasing number of students with mental health concerns, and listening to their heartbreaking stories while also dealing with the worst depression I had experienced in years was far too difficult. I knew it was time to go when I would fantasize about getting into a car wreck on the way to work to avoid going in.

After I put in my resignation, I expected my admin to try to get me to stay. By this point, I was the most senior English teacher left and I was well-regarded amongst my colleagues. Not a single admin asked me to stay. It was so disheartening after I put my blood, sweat, and tears into what I did every day to serve a school I loved for five years. It was like I was nothing but a number, and I knew then that I made the right decision. 

What plans, if any, did you put in place before transitioning out of teaching? How and to what extent did you prepare for your transition? What fears, if any, did you have and how did you face those?

The biggest hurdle I had to get over was the idea of not being able to get a job outside of education. I had tried applying for English-adjacent positions previously, but never even got an interview. I joined a couple of Leaving Teaching Facebook groups which encourage teachers to figure out a discipline and then focus on transitioning into that specific career instead of applying to random careers. Eventually, I discovered Instructional Design and made that my career goal. 

I definitely had fears. I am an anxious girlie. My biggest fear was falling flat on my face and not being able to successfully transition, which would then force me back into the classroom. Therapy and a support system made all the difference for me. My wife encouraged me throughout the entire process, as did my family and friends. I truly don’t know if I could’ve done this without them. 

Being the anxious girlie that I am means that I am a planner. As soon as I turned in my resignation at the end of the school year, I went to work to plan everything out. Youtube University and Linkedin Learning became my best friends that summer so that I could fully understand what Instructional Design was. I then subbed during the school year so I could spend my days working on my portfolio. All in all, it took me eight months to transition.

What specific factors did you have to consider in your transition? Did you have financial responsibilities, such as dependants, student loan debt, etc? Is there any type of privilege that aided your transition, such as a spouse or family member who supported you, contacts in other industries, an “in” on a job, etc? 

I had two car payments, a mortgage, four animals that are basically toddlers, life expenses, bills, and all the things besides children. I was lucky in that my student loan payments weren’t due yet and also that my wife worked a full time job as a retail assistant manager. My privilege was definitely my support system, but I didn’t have any contacts that could get me a job. I did all that on my own.

Tell us about your first year out of the classroom. What lessons did you learn? What successes did you have? What challenges did you face? What, if anything, would you have done differently?

Peaceful is the best word I could use to describe my first year out of the classroom. I don’t dread going to work every day anymore. I don’t fantasize about getting into a car wreck. I can go to the bathroom whenever I want, and I’m actually treated with respect by those I work with. What a world, right? 

I learned the power of not giving up. Cliche, I know, but it’s true. This transition was as much a mental battle as it was learning a whole new career. One of my biggest challenges was accepting that Instructional Design is a different career—I couldn’t just apply right away and expect to land something. I had to be willing to put nearly twelve hours a day into it, which was terrifying because I had no idea if I was going to be able to pull it off. I spent my days subbing and building that portfolio, then doing Doordash or donating plasma or finding other ways to make money to help ends meet. It was exhausting. But I had to keep telling myself that if I stuck to it and stayed dedicated, I’d land a job. My biggest success was that I landed a job three days into applying. My portfolio was what impressed the hiring managers the most.

What are you currently doing for work? What do you like about your current career or job?

I’m an Instructional Designer at a local company here in OKC. I love building eLearning modules and writing storyboards and helping my company transform the way we do adult learning. I love the autonomy and being treated like an adult. If I need to leave the office early, I can do that without worrying because my workload doesn’t affect anybody but me. We get hour-long lunch breaks, which means I can have lunch with my wife sometimes and get to spend more time with her. I love going home and having a life where I don’t have to think about work, and I love having a boss who doesn’t micromanage us or cause division.

What skills and knowledge from teaching were you able to utilize in your new career? What gaps in skills or knowledge did you have, and how did you address those?

Teaching and ID have a ton of similarities and notable differences, too. I use my education background all the time; in fact, it was one of the reasons I was hired. I am constantly giving my manager feedback on how to improve our training using adult learning theory and principles.

But there were also tons of skill gaps. Learning all the software that comes with this career is only one piece of the puzzle. The other piece is learning ID frameworks and adult learning theory, and learning how they apply into eLearning (and also, how to apply them effectively). I stay up-to-date on all things ID on LinkedIn as well as the Instructional Design Reddit page and follow several blogs, too. Connie Malamed, Cathy Moore, Tim Slade, Dr. Luke Hobson, Julie Dirksen, and so many more IDs are godsends to transitioning and offer tons of free resources. 

What, if anything, could have kept you in the classroom? What, if anything, could ever lure you back?

LOL a new State Superintendent. I’m going to keep it so real. This man is a nightmare for Oklahoma education. Also, a raise would be nice. Respect. Not being micromanaged. Honestly, I don’t see myself ever going back unless I leave the state and teach somewhere where teachers are valued and not treated like roaches.

Finally, what advice, tips or wisdom do you have to share with current teachers considering transitioning to instructional design? Is there anything in specific you wish you’d known or prepared for?

My biggest piece of advice is to stay dedicated to it and take your time. Don’t rush the process. I’ve reviewed a lot of portfolios with mediocre work and projects that clearly showed that the teacher didn’t take the time to actually learn what an ID is. They assumed it was a few Storyline and Rise projects thrown in, or worse, projects made as a teacher. Don’t sell yourself short, but also don’t pretend that you’re an experienced ID because you simply aren’t. 

Your portfolio needs to be corporation-focused and teach topics that corporations can use. Learn the field before you ever use the free trials. Rewrite your teacher resume and use ID terminology (but don’t make it a buzzword salad) and be prepared to be able to talk about your teaching job in ID terms during interviews. That, and my portfolio is what ultimately got me the job I currently have. If you can find an experienced ID to mentor you, that’s always a plus, too. Sometimes all you gotta do is ask.

Lastly, if you ask IDs for their feedback on your resume or portfolio, be willing to take it without getting defensive. IDs are busy. Reviewing someone’s portfolio takes a lot of time. If they give you constructive criticism, they’re not doing it to be mean to you, they’re doing it to make it (and you) better. 

This interview has been edited for clarity.