I chose TikTok over my job. I still love teaching, but influencing pays my rent.

• Molly Rutter left her teaching job to pursue influencing in August.
• She's faced challenges online but says it's still easier than being overworked and underpaid.
• Now, she earns money through TikTok's creator program and customized videos for her followers.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Molly Rutter, a 32-year-old TikToker in Buffalo, NY. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

According to Glassdoor, the median pay for teachers at Rutter's former employer is $65,000. Rutter says she made significantly less than that.

If teaching paid me enough, I'd still be doing it. It's the best thing I've ever done as a career.

It's no secret that teachers make next to nothing, and no one goes into it for the money. But after five years and getting my master's in childhood education, I left teaching in August to pursue social media full time.

I started making TikTok videos as a side gig while working abroad in 2022 in the hopes of becoming a home decor influencer account. Over time, I found that people were really interested in me and my life.

I felt overworked as a teacher in the US

Once I realized the income potential, I applied to the creator program in 2023 and finally started making money from TikTok. That's when I started getting pulled in different ways for my career.

My content revolves around anything and everything about my life. I do vlogs, shopping hauls, sharing places I'm going out, sharing my travel experiences, and sharing my dating content.

I taught at a private school in Istanbul from 2020 until January 2024, when I returned to Buffalo. Although I've always struggled financially, I lived comfortably teaching abroad.

It was, by far, the highest quality of life I've ever lived. As a teacher in Buffalo, I was working myself to the bone.

If you love teaching, you'll still do it as long as you can afford rent. If you really want to do it, you can make it work.

I had a different story.

I had to choose

I taught third grade at a prestigious private school in Buffalo, and they were uncomfortable with my public platform on social media. Normally, teachers make everything private, but I had a few viral videos.

I completely stand by my content. I didn't swear online when I was a teacher; I never showed myself drinking. Yet my school still seemed to have a problem with it.

I was going through a roller coaster of feeling like I had a negative spotlight on something that was the only reason I was surviving in the States. I couldn't afford to pay my rent for the last three months I worked as a teacher.

I thought to myself: "No way do I have over $200,000 in student loan debt to work a job where I'm overworked, underpaid, and told I can't do something on the side that brings me financial security."

My job isn't stressful anymore

TikTok's creator rewards program pays out for every 1,000 qualified views. These views must come from the "For You" feed and only count if the viewer stays on your video for over five seconds.

That's what makes me the most money, but I also film custom Cameo videos for $10 to $20 and promote items from the TikTok Shop.

My job now is easy, and I've never made less than what I was making as a teacher. It fluctuates, but I've had months where I've made more than double what I was making as a teacher.

My most viral content so far has been my dating content, but I'm just sharing facets of my life online.

TikTok still has its challenges

People try to pressure me; they want me to fit in a certain box. I'm not dating for content. No way in hell am I going to go on a date every day.

The bigger I get online, the more people's perceptions of me become detached from who I actually am. It's almost like a caricature of Molly Rutter who exists online.

I don't subscribe to the identity that people are trying to force me into because that's not truly who I am.

The value that I've gained with my time and mental health is so significant — on top of the fact that I'm making more than I once was.

Teaching filled my soul, but I don't regret leaving.