A NYC teacher left her stressful job to pursue a new career at Hooters, where she now earns $1000 in two days.
Tired of the low pay, Allinson Chavez, a curvy native of Queens, left her teaching job at a grammar school to pursue a more lucrative career slinging chicken wings at Hooters. The 32-year-old single mother of one told The Post, "I was making $1,000 twice a month as an educator."
"Now, I can make $1,000 in two days," she added. Many teachers, including Chavez, are leaving the profession due to low pay and burnout. Janelle Schuurman, a Michigan elementary school teacher for 11 years, recently left her job to work at Costco because of these issues.
Leaving The Teaching Profession
According to the American Educational Research Association, teachers are significantly more likely to experience anxiety than workers in other professions, including healthcare, office work, the military, law, and agriculture.
Teachers are becoming increasingly concerned about the safety risks they face in the classroom, including the threat of student violence. A recent example of this is the shooting of Virginia teacher Abby Zwerner by a 6-year-old student.
Stacey Sawyer, a 55-year-old former eighth-grade teacher from Cape Coral, Florida, shared with The Post that coming to work each day had become a frightening experience due to the frequent fights and assaults occurring in her school. After three decades in education, she resigned in June 2022.
"The stress of it was just too much," said Sawyer. "I even hated just driving down the road to school. I didn't want to go anymore." Given the traumatic experiences many teachers face, the job's challenges may outweigh the rewards.
Additionally, concerns about AI replacing human educators, as expressed by figures like Bill Gates, contribute to job insecurity. After ten years as a special education teaching assistant, Chavez revealed that she only made $46,000.
She said that it was challenging to help students catch up after remote learning during the pandemic, and she also faced challenges with behavioural issues, including verbal and physical abuse. Living paycheck to paycheck and feeling mentally drained, Chavez decided it was time to leave her job.
Higher Earnings At Hooters
Last spring, Chavez left her job at the Department of Education, intending to become a software engineer. Despite completing a boot camp in user experience design and submitting over 500 job applications, she was unsuccessful in securing a position in the field. So, in September, the mom went to Hooters.
@_allinsonnn At this point, I have to laugh. But seriously, I’ve actually made more $$ here than teaching lmao #hooters #foryoupage #thisislife #techbootcamp #serving #servers #techbootcamp #imjustagirl
♬ Just A Girl - No Doubt
Chavez, encouraged by her sister, a former Hooters employee, applied for a job at the Fresh Meadows location and was hired on the spot. She said she loves working there and enjoys the attention she receives from customers.
Chavez said she earned $100 in tips during her first ten minutes on the job and now makes between $5,000 and $10,000 more yearly than she did as a teacher. "One customer gave me $300 and only ordered a few beers, which are like $8 each," she giggled.
"My secret is that I really do care about my customers. They come to Hooters to get away from their real-life stress, and I'm happy to give them my best service. It's rewarding." She noted that "Hooters was never in my plans," admitted the brunette, noting her hope to eventually pursue entrepreneurship. But, hey, money is money."
While Chavez misses her students and the benefits of being a teacher, such as healthcare and summer vacations, she appreciates her current job's flexibility and is happier overall.
