# Principal to retail worker: the career reset I needed

> After 25 years in education, a school leader quit with no backup plan and found clarity working part-time at Anthropologie.
- Title: Principal to retail worker: the career reset I needed
- Summary: After 25 years in education, a school leader quit with no backup plan and found clarity working part-time at Anthropologie. Sometimes stepping back from a…
- Keywords: career change, education, burnout, principal, retail work, anthropologie, life coaching, mental health, identity, career reset, business, technology
- Source: Business Insider — https://businessinsider.com/principal-quit-job-no-backup-plan-career-change-2026-9
- Author: Lauren Crosby Medlicott
- Published: 2026-09-17T12:11:01.284+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: career change, education, burnout, principal, retail work, anthropologie, life coaching, mental health, identity, career reset, business, technology
## 25 years in education, then nothing
Renee Devore spent a quarter-century as a teacher and school principal before walking away in June 2022 with no job lined up, no financial partner, and no plan.

> I just knew I could never go back to feeling trapped, to that pressure, to wearing a mask to work every single day.
## Following dad's footsteps into teaching
Her father was a teacher, and with few other career options visible to her growing up, Devore followed the same path. She started teaching by age 21 but quickly felt it wasn't right for her.
## Climbing to principal, then hitting a wall
By 32, Devore became an assistant principal, then principal a year later. She led high-achieving schools with creativity and freedom, but when she changed districts around the time her father died, she felt unsupported and exhausted from masking her true personality.

> I was bubbly, kind, creative, and a peacemaker. But that isn't the person I was when I was working. I was wearing a mask all the time.
## A year in Mexico didn't bring answers
In 2017, Devore sold her condo, car, furniture, and clothes to take a year off in Puerto Vallarta. She painted and found peace, but returned with no clarity about her future and drifted back into education.
## A panic attack forced the decision
After a year back in education, Devore had a panic attack so severe she thought she was having a heart attack. She took FMLA leave, called her therapist out of retirement, and realized she could never return to that job.
## Walking into Anthropologie with no script
Two months after quitting, Devore walked into an Anthropologie store she loved and asked the manager for a job. She started part-time two weeks later, a role that let her nervous system finally settle.

> I walked into the mall two months after I ended my 25-year career and asked to see the manager.
## Retail work became the reset button
Working at Anthropologie gave Devore stillness and fun without the intensity. Her identity wasn't tied to her title or salary. After more than a year of decompressing, she finally knew what was next.

> I learned there that I was enough, just me.
## From retail to life coaching and her own business
Once her nervous system settled, Devore discovered her next path: life coaching, motivational speaking, and owning her own business. The unraveling from her intense career took more than a year, but clarity finally came.
## Key takeaway

Sometimes stepping back from a high-status career into something simpler gives your nervous system the space to figure out what you actually want.