I thought teaching was my dream job, but I became a virtual assistant. The flexible schedule is worth it.

• Brittany Davila is a virtual assistant who previously worked as a teacher for seven years.

• She quit teaching to spend more time with her son and pursue other goals.

• She currently has two clients and appreciates the flexibility she has as a virtual assistant.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Brittany Davila, a 34-year-old executive assistant who was a teacher for seven years before quitting. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

My teaching journey started with someone believing in my capability and not allowing me to settle.

After I'd failed the teaching certification exam for the sixth time, I thought, "I'm not doing this anymore, it's not worth it." But the principal of a school I was tutoring at reached out and said she wanted to get me into the classroom. She put me on an emergency permit, which made me eligible to teach for a short time before I got my official certification.

When she told me that I'd be teaching third grade, I remember thinking, "It's time for me to finally fulfill a dream that I've longed for." And thankfully, I ended up passing the certification exam on my seventh try.

It was everything I expected and more. I got to decorate my classroom the way I'd always dreamed of and establish a learning environment that I'd been imagining and observing from other teachers.

I realized very quickly that I had a way with children who had more behavioral issues. I had one student who was in the foster care system and came to school with dirty clothes and no food and kept his head down. Three weeks into my class, his head was up, and he was getting fed.

Those were the interactions that kept me going and allowed me to serve at the level I desired.

Deciding to leave teaching

In my seventh year of teaching, my peers voted for me to be our school's representative for the district's Teacher of the Year award. I was chosen as one of six finalists.

I realized I'd hit all of the goals I'd set for myself, and I thought about leaving teaching. My son had been diagnosed with autism, and I wanted to spend more time with him. I was also a leader within my church and had other dreams I didn't have time to fulfill, such as writing a children's book about autism for my son.

Talking with my husband, I said, "I think I've come to the end of it." Just because you're good at something doesn't mean you have to keep doing it.

In April 2023, we decided that it was time for me to serve in a different capacity.

Being a virtual assistant was tougher than I expected

Transitioning out of teaching was a challenge because I'd thought it was something I could do for the rest of my life. Now I was realizing that maybe I had the ability to do something else — but figuring out what was a little bit challenging.