I quit life as a fund manager to teach maths: This is what happened when I braved the classroom

Peter Saacke, a long-standing manager at Artemis, retired at the end of June 2024 to retrain as a teacher with the help of charity Now Teach. He shares the story of what happened next.The first thing that hit me was the noise. So much so I found myself lying down in a dark room after school for 30 minutes every day.This was a different kind of stress. As a fund manager, I was always looking for the proverbial bus that would run my portfolio over. Now I was being eyed, sized up and challenged by up to 30 teenagers, not all of whom are always on their best behaviour.In a short period of time, I went from being very experienced to a novice. But I was excited, and the long hours reminded me of the start of my career in finance.I was particularly motivated by the national shortage of maths teachers and poor numeracy and financial literacy skills. There is also great demand in economics - hiring targets for Business Studies were missed by 70 per cent last year. Schools are very keen to recruit people with relevant backgrounds.Financial education is an area we can excel in and that's particularly close to my heart, something where there is both a great need and which I am sure many with a finance background can make a valuable contribution - bringing money to life and connecting personal and macro finance. It's what we do every day. Peter teaches a class. He has just finished his first year in a permanent position at a central London boys school and currently teaches a lot of A-level studentsIn mathematics textbooks, 'real life' maths is often very far-fetched and rarely resembles real life problems. My background helps me come up with actual examples, not least in statistics (correlation versus causation, spurious correlations, realistic investment scenarios, etc.)I have recently been tasked with developing a course on financial literacy at my school, which I'm very excited about.There's a lot of transferable skills one can take from the boardroom to the classroom, number one is being very organised and used to being under pressure. The experience of dealing with all kinds of clients, fellow workers and externals helps make split second decisions when dealing with parents and colleagues (diffusing situations, avoiding confrontation etc).Our ilk is wanted and needed by society and can have a huge impact on the lives of a young student.After completing my teacher training last year, I'm just finishing my first year in a permanent position at a central London boys school and I teach a lot of A-level students. It has become known that I had a previous life and quite a number stop me in the corridor asking for advice on what to study, the pros and cons of one degree versus another etc. All those hiring interviews over the years have also helped me prepare my students for Oxbridge interviews.One of the things I always try to do is remove self-imposed barriers to what students think they can achieve. Some think that some jobs, universities or careers are only for certain groups of people, but I know from experience that this is far from true.Career change: Peter Saacke, 55, retrained as a maths teacher after spending 25 years in the City managing £30bn worth of assetsBack in the City, I recall colleagues on the edge of retirement saying they want to 'give something back' to society. Many had selfless side-hustles volunteering, supporting charities etc. In my case, it was the Access Project, helping disadvantaged teenagers get places at top universities. It reminded me how much I enjoyed teaching and passing on a few of the things I have learned in the last 35 years, which often goes beyond just the subject I teach.However, just one in three fellow career changers who apply to become a teacher, make it onto a training course, compared to over half of young prospects. A charity, Now Teach, helped me and is currently seeking support for a campaign to get 600 STEM focused career changers into schools in disadvantaged areas. If you were my client thinking about your next chapter and were not sure what the transition entails or where to start, I'd advise you to give them a call.Much in my life has changed since the City, but I'm still in bed by 10pm on a 'school night', up at 6am and at school at 7.30am having checked what happened in world politics and markets before heading in. I guess some habits die hard.My career journey is not for everyone. Those with children can attest to them at times being quite annoying. But they also bring refreshing energy and curiosity, which makes spending time with them energising and rewarding. The pension is very generous with a 28.6 per cent employer contribution and guaranteed lifetime income, and there's those long summer holidays to reset. I have not regretted my decision to change careers for a single day.DIY INVESTING PLATFORMSAJ BellAJ BellEasy investing and ready-made portfoliosHargreaves LansdownHargreaves LansdownFree fund dealing and investment ideasinteractive investorinteractive investorFlat-fee investing from £4.99 per monthFreetradeFreetradeInvesting Isa now free on basic planTrading 212Trading 212Free share dealing and no account feeAffiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.Compare the best investing account for you