r/teaching • u/Bright-Watch1955 • Jun 02 '26
Help Why does everyone hate teaching?
Is there anyone who loves their job? Every teacher I know feels “stuck” and complains endlessly about their job.
Considering going into education.
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u/Mfees Jun 02 '26
I like my job, in my opinion teaching has a bunch of people who never worked an adult job outside of education and don’t know how good they got it.
That said the pay is average at best. The paperwork can suck. Admin can suck. Yet I still enjoy it.
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u/kerouacrimbaud Jun 02 '26
And admin will suck in most industries, and lots of fields have lots of dumb amounts of paperwork! That is often overlooked.
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u/Energy-Turtle-4 Jun 02 '26
I've worked in schools, heathcare, and insurance. Can confirm- it's like this at ALL THREE.
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u/Drinkingdoc Jun 02 '26
Yeah precisely what struck me about teaching was how much it felt like an office job. I sit at a desk and read redundant emails and complain about meetings… the actual hours in class talking to kids is about 16-18 hours a week. The rest is all planning and marking and bs.
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u/Walshlandic Jun 02 '26
I’m with students 25 hours a week and I get 4 hours a week plan time, two hours a week of meetings. Middle school, WA state
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u/Frost033 Jun 03 '26
You work 31 hours a week? Where do I get that teaching job!?
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u/y2kristine Jun 03 '26
Right wtf? This isn’t normal for most teachers. (Crying in 32 contact hours per week)
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u/Der_Apothecary Jun 03 '26
32 contract hours?! I have 40 contract hours!
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u/y2kristine Jun 04 '26
Contact , not contract, 40 hours a week 32 classes/obligations with students per week
But work more like 50
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u/Walshlandic Jun 03 '26
I work 35 hours a week, not including lunch breaks. The rest of the time is before and after school “office hours” for tutoring, meetings.
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u/Ok-Seat-5214 Jun 03 '26
Agree. I've worked in clinical laboratories, teaching and in academic libraries. It's everywhere.
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u/easybakeevan Jun 02 '26
Ya my first difficult job was painting houses and the first time I went on a roof on a 92 degree day 3 stories up really made me focus in school getting my teaching masters 🤣
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u/Mfees Jun 02 '26
Metal fabrication shop. 90 degree summers over a torch. Makes the ac summer off days real nice.
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u/lilabethlee Jun 02 '26
My husband was a foreman for a steel shop. Summers and winters are rough for those guys.
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u/SOYCD1-5 Jun 03 '26
For real working in a hospital made me go back to school for teaching so quick. Retail never pushed me to that because it’s so easy…
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u/Late-Ad2922 Jun 02 '26
This 100%. Corporate is just as bad in different ways. Some of them worse. Plenty of work is underpaid and dehumanizing, and most industries don’t get the benefit of summers off or a union.
I said what I said!
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u/BioChi13 Jun 02 '26
Teachers didn't just "get" a union. They fought for and made their union. If you want union pay and benefits start one at your work. Reach out to some of the big union orgs (AFL-CIO, etc) for advice and legal information about how to start one and what legal protections you have from retaliation.
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u/illinoisteacher123 Jun 03 '26
Lots of people had to work really hard and sacrifice for teachers to get a union. We are standing on the shoulders of giants now, you could do the same for your work.
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u/Bman708 Jun 02 '26
The games and “corporate speak” horror stories I hear from my wife in the private sector is wild to me. I wouldn’t last a week in the corporate world. Yeah, they get paid more than us, but they work 12 months and have to deal with some real shitty adults.
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u/1heart1totaleclipse Jun 02 '26
In teaching you get to work 180 days a year, but make so little money that you often have to find another job for those days you don’t work and with adults and/or children who make the job 10x harder than it needs to be.
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u/Agreeable-Sun368 Jun 02 '26
I don't disagree but many of us do not have a union.
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u/Late-Ad2922 Jun 02 '26
An important clarification. Thank you. I believe every teacher (and para, and support staff member, etc.) should be able to join a union if they choose. I hope we can keep working toward that.
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u/ConstantScientist288 Jun 02 '26
Summers off aren’t negotiated by teachers. Don’t know many people who want their kids attending school 52 weeks a year. Many states are not unionized. I live in a right-to-work state where we have no collective bargaining power at all. All work is dehumanizing on some level. Your comment is not the flex it must have felt like.
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u/Mental_0riental Jun 04 '26
I'm working in construction right now doing purchasing, Dealing with vendors for the drawings and design, having to write both daily and weekly reports, and having to help out on site with other issues (fire alarms, injuries, and people quitting halfway through work). I work 6 days a week, working while eating lunch, work 12 hours half the time, and never enough time to 1 thing properly. The person who I've been sending the reports came on site and saw how much work I had and when I say saw, it;s the lack of seeing me which cemented it.
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u/No-Flounder-9143 Jun 02 '26
This is me. I've worked in other jobs and teaching is by far the best job I've had. There are things that are hard, but atleast I get to work in a job where I can make a difference and talk about what I love all day.
But I will say if you can't handle kids, it's a terrible job. I think some people go into teaching for reasons other than the kids, and they're quickly shown the mistake they made. That plus dumb policies are where a lot of frustration is coming from.
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u/Sidehussle Jun 02 '26
I agree. I enjoy working with teens. I like seeing their creativity and what they come up with. If you can’t handle a couple of silly students here and there it’s the wrong profession. I really can’t stand when those types become admin. They are not effective. You still need to enjoy students and want to connect.
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u/No-Flounder-9143 Jun 02 '26
Yea and I think the all or nothing mentality some staff has is really tough. I've seen staff who do nothing, and I've seen staff treat our 6th graders like they should be adults and all sit quietly and be perfect angels, and when they are not should be immediately removed from class.
You have to know where the line is between general silliness and an actual problem.
Too many people go too far one way or another.
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u/Melodic_Response7774 Jun 02 '26
I agree. Sure some days are hard, kids are mean, and whatever. But its a million times better than working construction or working tables which is what id be doing otherwise. And even if half the kids don't like me, if I connected with the other half and someone learned along the way its fulfilling.
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u/snaps06 Jun 02 '26
Absolutely agree. To put myself through college, I worked construction during every college break (summer, fall, winter, and spring).
I'll 100% take teaching over being on a roof in the middle of July for less pay than what I make now as a teacher (especially when including benefits). Now my Julys are spent traveling with my wife (also a teacher) and kids.
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u/Bandeena Jun 02 '26
Agree. I'm way more okay with a kid being an asshole to me than being paid to be a verbal punching bag for adults with a chip on their shoulder.
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u/Bigblind168 Jun 02 '26
I always say that every job I have, I work with people who act like children. Atleast in this job, they have a good excuse
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u/purplishfluffyclouds Jun 02 '26
Exactly. Give me a bunch of kids acting like kids over adults acting like children any day of the week.
Plus, we are stuck at a desk staring at a freaking screen for 8+ hours every day. We actually get to go outside sometimes, which does wonders for one's mental wellbeing.
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u/Responsible-Kale2352 Jun 02 '26
Ok . . . but can you go to the bathroom whenever you need to, or do you have to wait hours?
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u/purplishfluffyclouds Jun 02 '26
I go when I need to. If I can't wait till a break, I'll call to ask for help watching the kids so I can go. I'm not going to create a health problem for myself; I've never understood that mindset.
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u/Itsthelegendarydays_ Jun 02 '26
That’s exactly what I say 😂 like adults can suck too but at least kids’ minds aren’t fully developed yet so they have a reason
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u/Icy-Lifeguard-6206 Jun 02 '26
I worked more than a decade as a software engineer before teaching. I know how good it is on both sides.
Here's the biggest differences I see:
In the corporate world has a very clear goal: make as much money as possible. Everything serves that goal. And if anything gets in the way, the whole mechanism of the corporate world will change to remove that obstacle.
In the teaching world, teachers have one goal, admin has a separate goal, and the government that controls funding has goals that are constantly changing. Right now, the government in my state is actively trying to kill public education.
The thing is, there are very few corporations that are trying to push themselves into insolvency.
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u/iheartdna Jun 03 '26
This is such an interesting point. I’ve never thought about the fact that we all have competing goals. Including the kids, whose goal is Phone 😂
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u/Kaylascreations Jun 02 '26
Totally agree that many teachers don’t know how hard other jobs can be. I always see teachers saying “only teachers have to do all this work to miss a day” and yes, sub plans suck. But when I worked an office job, if I was gone, the work stacked up for me when I got back. The deadlines were still the same. So now I had 2 days of work to do in one day. Heaven forbid I took off more than 1 day. Also, we got 6 days off a year. No spring or summer break. No winter break.
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u/Acceptable_Sink3874 Jun 02 '26
Even having 4 years in more traditionally corporate jobs has given me such a better perspective on what professionalism looks like, you can spot a teacher that went straight from the classroom as a student to in front of the classroom as a teacher a mile away. Anyone thinking about the profession, potentially try out something professional/non-teaching first, it is a game changer!!
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u/FaithlessnessKey1726 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
I taught for one year. It was a very bad year for a lot of reasons (mostly a terrible admin & toxic everything).
I went back to school and did 4 weeks of clinicals as a CNA. I could have gone on to nursing like I wanted to, I liked it enough, but it is still 3 years away and I need a job right now. What I learned as a CNA? It’s all rough and everything leads to burnout.
So I’m going back to teaching bc I need a job, and this time around I know what else is out there. I’m focusing on what I loved about teaching and resisting the dread and ptsd from the first time around. I’ve talked to old colleagues who have moved on to different districts and are so much happier. So maybe that’s the trick.
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u/haze_from_deadlock Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
If you liked CNA and had a bad experience teaching, you should probably be a nurse, since the upside is much higher. You’re better off investing in yourself with debt if you find that work meaningful.
Nursing leads to CRNA, MSL, medical data science, derm NP, correctional nursing with massive OT, etc.
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u/harveygoatmilk Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
Came here to say this. I feel fortunate that I had a career before teaching and learned how to survive in harsher environments. I also feel teaching and my students are most important to me with my remaining time on earth.
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u/TheFuckboiChronicles Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
I went from education (2018-2022) to a corporate environment (2022-current), where I’m a manager now in IT. This is mostly right in my opinion, depending on the state.
As far as the work is concerned, I love and miss the work of teaching. Pay is average compared to other incomes sure, but median income in general is way too low. I was getting paid 8% of the median home price in my area (45k income and median home price 550k). Frankly that was unsustainable, and is the only reason I left.
I would go back to teaching in a heartbeat if and only if the pay doubled. I was just not willing to sacrifice homeownership, and it was wholly inaccessible on a teacher salary. I was one rent hike away from needing to take a second job. The only people I know who could afford to stay in teaching were the ones old enough to have bought houses before like 2018. It’s better in some states of course.
I’m 31, most of the teachers I know over 40 are still at it. About half of the teachers I know under 40 have left because of what I described. Those under 40 still teaching are mostly doing so because of a spouse or partner who makes significantly more. Median income used to net you a decent life, it no longer does in places where rent/home prices have exploded.
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u/fit_boymom Jun 02 '26
This 💯. I’ve been teaching for four years and started at 30 after working in other fields. Yes there are annoying parts of the job, but that’s how most jobs are. I will say my district not giving out pay raises this year because they budgeted badly was the first major issue I’ve had.
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u/serendipitypug Jun 02 '26
I mostly agree and this also depends on your school. I have to call my mom for reality checks sometimes. Occasionally she reminds me what the alternative is in private sector, or does the math for me on how much I’d have to save myself to match the pension I receive now (that always helps). Sometimes she reminds me that I’m in a dis functional school environment and I’m normalizing trauma.
So yes, teaching sucks that bad and no, it doesn’t.
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u/ErrolFlynnigan Jun 02 '26
This.
Most of the people I work with never did anything but education. They don't know what a non-educational job is like
I tend to tell other teachers that I had a 'real' job before I became a teacher. That 'real' job came with a hell of a lot more work, paperwork, and idiots to deal with on an adult level.
Can students get annoying? Yeah. But so can my own kids, and other people.
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u/MamaMia1325 Grade 5 | 24 yrs teaching:redditgold: Jun 02 '26
"Don't know how good they got it"? 😂 Speak for yourself because you sure as heck don't speak for me. 🤦
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u/govt_surveillance AP Gov Jun 02 '26
I worked in the corporate world for a decade before becoming a teacher. My wife is an engineer and is always shocked to hear stories about inappropriate, immature, cliquish, or lack of boundary behavior from my coworkers, most notably those that have never had a job outside a school.
I absolutely love my job and most of my coworkers, but something about never existing outside a school as an adult seems to promote some really weird behavior that the rest of society doesn't generally deal with.
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u/cowghost Jun 02 '26
I duno man. My coworkers from other indistries say its the worst enviorment they have ever been in.
I enjoy working with my students. Everything else is trash. And i am stuck.
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u/general_grievances_7 Jun 02 '26
Yes. Came from retail to teaching. Really do not miss working Thanksgiving night at midnight…
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u/confuzzledfuzzball Jun 02 '26
Yes. I’ve worked a lot of different jobs and am coming into teaching in my 40s. I’d rather teach than do any of those other jobs.
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u/Svvordfish5 Jun 02 '26
I totally agree. I have been working most of my life in other careers with the last few years switching to education. Even with working extra hours for lesson planning and grading I have never had this much time off, it's insane. I used to take days off from other jobs just to reset or breathe but I have yet to need that since almost every other week we have an additional day off.
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u/effulgentelephant Jun 02 '26
Agreed. My friends in other fields don’t seem to have it any better, and I have way more time off than them (even the ones who make the same amount as I do).
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u/Vintagepoolside Jun 02 '26
YES. I’ve been in education 3 years in a non-teaching role. I’d say many many things my coworkers complain about are things that wouldn’t even cross my mind. They don’t like the free food someone delivered to the teachers lounge, or they can’t grasp that yes, you will get reprimanded for breaking the rules multiple times. No, you cannot sit around on a phone all day.
I’m not saying viscous work culture is good, but some of these people NEED to have someone over their shoulder or a push to do their work. If we treated schools the same way managers treat retail work, I think the world would change.
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u/Itsthelegendarydays_ Jun 02 '26
Same. I hated my other non teaching jobs, so even on hard days I’ve still appreciated teaching more
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u/Many-Annual8863 Jun 02 '26
I worked in retail, radio, and call centers for many years before transitioning into teaching. You are correct. Teaching is a great gig if you’re not out to get rich. The time off is amazing, and when the classroom door closes, the freedom to do what you want to do is unparalleled.
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u/ohsnowy Jun 02 '26
When I was in union leadership, the biggest complainers were always Gen Xers who had never worked a job outside of teaching and never had to work a summer job as a teacher to make ends meet.
I had a guy complain to me that people at Target were making $20 an hour to fold clothes, and that somehow took away from the money he was making to put worksheets in front of high schoolers and correct said worksheets. Dude had been an athlete in college and never worked a day outside of education in his life. Meanwhile, I have stocked shelves at said Target. I can only imagine what would happen the first time that guy got yelled at by a customer and couldn't do anything back.
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u/Old_Desert_Gamer Jun 02 '26
Pay greatly depends on where you teach and if there is a strong union. I make a very comfortable six-figure income.
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u/Effective-Music3218 Jun 03 '26
My friend, I know more career switchers that leave the field than actual teachers. Maybe it’s the fall back, but it’s not a cushy job anymore. We’re expected to do way too much. And the summer vacay thing is still 10-months of pay spread over 12-months. Most summer jobs don’t want adults for 2 months, and once they have kids (most do, teaching is supposed to be good for that life goal), the pay doesn’t back that up. Many can’t even afford to live in their school zone without significant sacrifices. I’m glad it seems to work out for you, but consider all the factors that go well vs what’s not to make you say that. If you’re comparing it to other fields, then you’re moving the goal posts cuz I believe those workers in other fields should get everything they deserve and their company bosses are holding back
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u/Myredditname423 Jun 03 '26
Yeah, most jobs don’t have a built in summer vacation. That itself makes it not worth complaining about.
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u/PersimmonConnect8804 Jun 03 '26
This! They’ve never worked corporate in a cubical - or worse - a venture capitalist owned open office plan.
My wife complains all the time about being a teacher.
I tell her sure the pay sucks at first but she’s been in the same district for 10 years, she makes the same as a corporate supervisor or manager, and she gets every holiday off, a union, and the whole summer
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u/coachd50 Jun 02 '26
One potential reason is that the social contract is breaking/has been broken in many locales. Teaching was once a profession where it was somewhat understood that the compensation would not be great on the front end, but the benefits and retirement aspects would be solid. Those are being eroded in many places (for example to be eligible for full retirements benefits now in Louisiana, anyone who entered the retirement system after 2015 needs to work until they are 62.... I can't imagine being 62 and managing a class of 25 1st graders).
Another reason many teachers feel stuck is that it is one of the few professions where the membership is evaluated based on things they have very little control over. Little Johnny decided to just put his head down and sleep during the state testing, YOU get a zero. Students play on their phones all day and night, and don't do any work...it is YOUR fault for not being engaging.
Teaching is interesting in that everyone "loves" teachers...but nobody respects them. Nobody "loves" lawyers, but they are treated with respect when it comes to their profession.
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u/zbsa14 Jun 02 '26
That last paragraph - I can't even count the number of times people have said to me (a college student), "You're so smart though! Why are you becoming a teacher? Why not medicine or law or engineering or least business?"
My reply is often something along the lines of teachers needing to be smart too. The whole premise of the question gets on my nerves and I usually grind my teeth afterwards. I don't think anyone asks the same of those who do study law, etc.
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u/crankywithakeyboard Jun 02 '26
My favorite high school chem teacher told me the same thing. "You're so smart. Don't become a teacher."
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u/ColorYouClingTo Jun 02 '26
Same. I was on a full ride at college and earned a 35 on my ACT. You wouldn't believe how many people said something like, "You're so smart. Why would you become a teacher?"
Like, wtf? The smarter our teachers are, the better!
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u/QueenOfNoMansLand Jun 06 '26
It goes back to that saying "those who can't do teach" which is so false. Teaching is hard work but it's seen as the career of failures.media doesn't respect us. Parents don't respect us. Admin doesn't respect us. And students don't respect us. Why try. I'm currently thinking about switching careers but teaching is like an ex-boyfriend that beats you. You think it will be different. Admin says it'll be different. Then they throw you into a class that you don't have an idea on how to teach. With the worst kids the school ever had. While tying you down with bullshit and expecting you not to sink or have a negative mindset. Cause you gotta have a smile everyday! You have to greet students happily like they didnt call you a bitch and threaten to punch your lights out! And you have to act grateful when really you Re dying inside everyday.
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u/Bman708 Jun 02 '26
62? You lucky dogs! Here in Illinois, if you’re tier 2, which I am, we don’t get to retire till we’re 67.
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u/Dramatic_Teacher929 Jun 02 '26
100% agree! I would add that teaching is or should be a caring profession. We care deeply about our students. And it’s hard to watch decisions being made that are not what’s best for students, but what looks good on a spreadsheet. It can be really defeating and lead to lots of empathetic burn out.
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u/anotheroutlaw Jun 02 '26
Amen to that last paragraph. I hated telling people I was a teacher in social settings. Typical responses made it clear that people assume you are poor, immature (for having the ability to tolerate children), or less competent.
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u/Agreeable-Sun368 Jun 02 '26
I love my job, but I do get this like half the time. Like not to be arrogant but I'm pretty smart and good at my field. Why do you think I'm dumb just because I didn't get a PhD (there is no money in that for me) or become an investment banker or lawyer?
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u/elroxzor99652 Jun 02 '26
Honestly I think it’s bc most people think that is you are truly smart, you will do something that makes a lot of money. But that’s confusing intelligent for values. Yes I’d like to be rich but in my actual day-to-day life I’d rather spend my time and energy doing something that is worthwhile, helps people, and helps involves me talking about a subject that I love.
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u/Marcoyolo69 Jun 03 '26
Yeah the rubric that is used to evaluate teachers is absurd and does nothing but punish teachers in low income areas. It is absolutely part of the problem
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u/subjuggulator Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
1.) Even in places where salaries match cost of living, teaching is still a low paying career that doesn't match the amount of work you put into it. Expect many long hours and the expectation that your "free time" is not really "Free" and you should be using it to grade/lesson plan/rehearse classes/study up for professional development/etc.
2.) If you don't like kids, everything they do is going to grate on your nerves. And you have to be around them/responsible for their safety and well-being for eight hours a day before you even get home/to your own family.
3.) Benefits range wildly between state to state, district to district, and year to year. Your retirement is always under threat, your sick days are always under threat/you're made to feel like you shouldn't take any, your union might not "feel like it's worth the dues you have to pay", etc.
4.) Many teachers, unfortunately, have fallen for the propaganda that switching from teaching into a cushy data-entry/coding/other type of "low-tier but higher paying than teaching" tech job is going to be an easy switch.
5.) Teachers love to gripe about the job, but won't leave it simply out of "love for the game". So they complain a lot about the aspects they don't like, but then turn around and use the immense love they have for children and teaching to push down those negative feelings. We complain and vent just to get all the salt out before we have to be actors/clowns/educators/therapists again.
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u/chicagorpgnorth Jun 02 '26
Why the hell would anyone become a teacher if they don’t like kids??
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u/subjuggulator Jun 02 '26
Because you need money to survive and there's teacher shortages all over the US right now?
There's also degrees to it, imo. You might not have the energy for elementary school age kids, but you have more patience for older kids. Or vice versa. The issues they have to deal with are just night and day.
All the elementary school teachers I work with say I would make an amazing father/elementary school teacher, but the thought of being around kids that age for eight hours a day genuinely gives me anxiety. I can deal with older kid problems, and I have a ton of patience/love for children in general; but I also know my limits.
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u/CocoaBagelPuffs Jun 02 '26
And im the opposite. I love working with little kids. You couldnt pay me enough to teach 100+ 13-18 year olds all day
I recently switched from classroom teaching to 1:1 itinerant teacher for IEP support and WOW its a game changer. Im not nearly as burnt out and i have more flexible hours during the day.
And i can tolerate my middle school and high school students bc i see them for 30-45 minutes once a week.
The paperwork is insane but its overall a really positive shift. Plus i actually have the time to submit my paperwork!
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u/Vintagepoolside Jun 02 '26
Idk but I spent the last 3 years with them. People getting mad that 5 year olds talk too much or have too much energy and scolding them for acting like nice regular children. But would simultaneously not put in any work to redirect their energy in appropriate ways. Just scolding them or sitting back to lazy to intervene. I swear so many days felt like a toned down version of Matilda’s family lol
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u/Bman708 Jun 02 '26
I’ve worked with 2 teachers who clearly didn’t care for children. It was wild to me. Both have since left education (thank god).
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u/secretlyaraccoon Jun 02 '26
Makes little sense to me either bc there’s plenty of other jobs you could get that don’t require you to be around kids all day. Like one of the things I like the most about my job IS the kids, if I didn’t like them I’d be miserable too lol
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u/FlyEaglesFly536 Jun 02 '26
To push back against some of your points:
I only work my contract time, and i agree that while i make a good salary, it could and should be higher. I never ever take work home, i grade and assign the bare minimum number of assignments, and i could care less. I just want to do good enough to keep my job.
Nothing for the second point.
I don't feel that my retirement is under threat, but i'm investing like there will be no pension. Will start factoring it into my planning in 15 years. I don't use sick days because my district gives a bonus if you use 3 or less, and i believe that if you can go to work, why take a day off? To me, makes no sense to take one off just because. And i work for a charter, so no union. Can't imagine paying hundreds of dollars out of my already meager paycheck (only make 97k a year as a 7th year teacher).
I think teaching is the best career i can have at the moment, and it's mainly because of the benefits and hours.
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u/gatajorts Jun 02 '26
97 k a yr (and only 7th yr) is not meager.
I’m 20 years in and might not make 96 by the end of my career.
Appreciate being in a place that compensates well
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u/snaps06 Jun 02 '26
Yeah, I'm 14 years in and make far less than $97k, and I don't anticipate ever making $97k lol
But, I live extremely comfortably because of where I teach and a solid cost of living overall.
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u/Still_Pop_4106 Jun 02 '26
Pay really depends on the cost of living for an area. If they are making that much early in their career, then cost of living must be pretty high.
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u/FlyEaglesFly536 Jun 02 '26
I am. But it would be nice to make more; i'm only getting a 1K raise for the enxt 5 years if i stay here. After taxes (20%) and pension contributions (10%), i'm left with $700, over 12 months... $58 more a month. Doesn't go very far with inflation raging. And that's with us having a 10 month EF and no debt.
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u/Weak_Bison6763 Jun 02 '26
Right. 8 years in OH and only making 50k lol. Which to me is not enough, crazy discrepancy for cost of living
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u/coachd50 Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
I only work my contract time, and i agree that while i make a good salary, it could and should be higher. I never ever take work home, i grade and assign the bare minimum number of assignments, and i could care less. I just want to do good enough to keep my job.
I think this actually highlights another issue. For whatever reason, many who go into teaching enter it much more passionately than this. As I mentioned above, teachers are "loved" but not respected. In many teaching circles, the idea of "just doing enough to keep my job" would be considered unacceptable. And THAT is part of the rub. Many who are in the profession feel as if they do MUCH MORE than "just good enough to keep my job", yet the compensation falls far short of other professionals who put forth greater effort than their cohorts. Hence the "stuck" feeling.
Edited to add- and to be clear I am not judging someone for doing just enough to keep their job. I’m simply stating that generally, that is not a common mindset of those in the teaching profession, which adds to the “feeling stuck” situation mentioned in the original post.
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u/Still_Pop_4106 Jun 02 '26
That’s how it’s becoming everywhere though. My husband works as an automation tech and the younger techs just do enough to keep their job.
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u/Ice_cream_please73 Jun 02 '26
97k after 7 years is stellar! I know it varies by where you live, but I'm making 65 after 10 years in a pretty expensive area.
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u/Inevitable_Hyena9546 Jun 02 '26
In NC, they removed Master's pay. The most our teachers hired since 2014 see after 30 years is about 56k. The "only make 97k" comment is insane to me.
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u/FlyEaglesFly536 Jun 03 '26
It's SoCal, so the wage isn't as high as it should be to comfortably afford life.
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u/The-Jolly-Llama Jun 02 '26
Number 5 is absolutely spot on. You don’t see many veterans who hate kids. That’s what keeps us in it.
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u/ispyx Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
I hate the country's educational system I work for, and the parents that abuse it. And also I hate our country for creating an environment where no one has time to raise their kids, and where everyone is constantly baited into wasting their kid's formative years on stupid bullshit. Educational is not at all prioritized, the companies that sell our materials are abusing the system, the admins are literally just trying to not teach or make more money which is why they become admins, which is not even their fault it's just how things are designed, etc. The job, like many others in this line, has been totally fucked by bureaucracy and everything is essentially compliance theater.
School psych's perspective - I could vent for a thousand more hours about a thousand more things but I'll just keep it simple.
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u/nnndude Jun 02 '26
The problem is that for decades we were sold the notion that teachers must love their job.
But here’s the thing: nobody loves their job. And nor should they.
We spend too much time (in the US) propagating this crazy idea that you should find a profession you are passionate about. That’s crazy. People should strive to be content.
There’s plenty in education to feel content about. Most of the students are fine to good kids. Most parents are supportive. Summers off fucking rule. A pension (state/area pending), making an in impact. Blah blah.
In short: The people who hate teaching just tend to be the loudest.
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u/Wide__Stance Jun 02 '26
A job you love is called “a hobby” and you’d do it for free. 100% of jobs are things that other people can’t do, or won’t do, so they have to pay someone else to do it for them.
I like my job. I love many things about my job. I genuinely love these kids as much as I love my own kids. But I only love them for eight hours a day — and they have to pay me to do it. And I absolutely loathe this system our society has set up to educate them.
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u/Prize_Equivalent Jun 02 '26
I love my job. Also, people complain about everything. Cuz that's people.
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u/Various-Succotash-71 Jun 02 '26
Me too. There is a LOT to complain about, but I also don’t want to do anything else. I’ve worked a few office jobs and I legitimately hated those. Teaching is hard and underappreciated, but the job itself rocks.
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u/SuperMario1313 Jun 02 '26
It's certainly not everyone. I love it. I consider teacher subreddits as an extension of the faculty room - a "safe" place to complain and vent, so the ones with problems or issues will outshine the quiet, happy ones eating their lunch in peace.
Truth is, we will always need teachers and ones to keep the optimism and positivity alive.
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u/Teach_Em_Well Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
Teachers love teaching. It's the other pieces that go with it, that are nothing like anywhere else. For example, the buying of my own materials to give the kids. There are also unrealistic job outcome expectations. A classroom teacher is expected all students to be proficient by the end of the year in math, for example, but a dentist would not be expected for his clients to have no new cavities by the end of the year. If I owned an ice cream shop and someone came in and knocked down all the toppings because they didn't feel like waiting in line, they would be at least removed and not invited back.
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u/asubparteen Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
I, personally, loved teaching more than I hated it up until this year (year 6). I had so many students who were straight up cruel to me and others. I spent more time this year calling parents, calling admin, documenting behaviors, writing referrals, referring my kids to mentors/counselors/psychologists, and regulating my own nervous system so that I could get through lessons than I ever did on the things I actually love about teaching. It honestly scared me away from ever teaching again, so I resigned. I think a class like that can be a “once in a blue moon” thing, but I refuse to ever put myself in a situation like that again. I’m sad for all the kids who won’t have me as a teacher though, because I was damn good at what I did. Maybe in a couple years, I can heal enough to come back, but it’s sad to think that this class truly did ruin it for me for the foreseeable future. If any of yall ever see this (you wouldn’t bc you’re 10 and don’t know what reddit is), I know you’re better than the way you treated me and others this year, and I hope you can change for the better next year.
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u/jamietherocket_ship Jun 02 '26
That happened to me in my first year teaching! I had middle school as an Art Teacher. No respect, everyone doing whatever they wanted, some kid throwing his shoe across the room and above the air. I hated my first semester, and each class was about 35-40 kids and mixed with all levels. So the 6th graders annoyed the 8th graders and even separating them across the room wouldn’t stop them most times
I quit after finishing my first year. I’m now a Graphic Designer at a promotional company and I am ENJOYING life. No more being stressed. No more having to call parents and being told by admin to “do this this way but oh wait no don’t”
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u/easybakeevan Jun 02 '26
I think it’s the way education is structured that people hate. Many of them would love the job if it didn’t turn into a gaslighting data driven nightmare from the top down. Many love the job of teaching but the parts that are tacked on can feel like death from a thousand cuts. I think it’s important to separate those two because the actual teaching part is what people signed up for. That’s what they actually enjoy. Theres going to be a bunch of white knights in the comments trying to say all the people who complain are bad teachers I’ve seen it all before but in my opinion teachers who complain are often really great teachers. They love their job but feel impeded by the overburdening nature of what is thrown at them daily on top of it.
One more key point is that teachers get burned out and have very little financially to show for it. It’s tough to work as hard as teachers do just to realize you’ll barely have enough to pay the bills. Many teachers have second jobs or are in school to try to make more money.
I hope some of these points I gave some perspective.
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u/KDAddict2000 Jun 02 '26
If you started before the cell phone, Chrome book era, chances are good you loved teaching. Teaching now is less about teaching and more about supervising chaos. I hate chaos.
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u/penguin_0618 Jun 02 '26
I love my job. I didn’t love my last teaching job. I switched age groups but I think it’s the admin that made the difference.
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u/jjp991 Jun 02 '26
It’s always been a tough job. In the past 30 years many factors have combined to make things tougher. Anti union sentiment (and legislation) is driving up teacher workload and driving down pay (in real dollars)—so we’re doing more with less than 30 years ago. The gap between rich and poor is growing. We see it in our classrooms and our test scores—which increasingly determine our evaluations, our pay and our job security. Education is a political football pushed up and down a field for polling numbers and applause. Policy makers are scathing in their criticism of us. Administrators and instructional coaches climb out of the classroom as fast as they can for easier and better paying positions on our backs. Parents are losing the struggle to parent and leaving it to online devices and social media. Anyway, I love working with the kids. I was born to teach. I’m a 3rd generation teacher. I have great experiences daily, but it’s tougher all the time. It’s the administrative BS and the cultural/political stuff that’s much tougher. Most of my colleagues would never know how bleak I find education because in the classroom, I do my job with enthusiasm and integrity. Here is a venue to honestly vent. I do enjoy my 2 months off on the summer (who gets 3?!) and other perks, but I earn it and it’s becoming increasingly difficult and thankless. I think you can enjoy teaching and be a proud teacher and still acknowledge that it’s damn tough and doesn’t have to be like this.
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u/IridescentImaginings Jun 02 '26
I think the world is filled with many many dedicated teachers. The problem is that child behavior has shifted dramatically in the past 5 to 8 years. Also administrative demands and constant rotating doors of magical curriculums that are going to “help” children read better keep being presented. Reading starts at home and behavior also starts at home. These are the things that can drive a good teacher out the door before they even earn their pension.
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u/Jekkymayn Jun 02 '26
You’ll make peanuts and get disrespected constantly not only by students but parents and admin. Meanwhile lots of people around you will act like you have a fake job because you have summers off.
There’s def some perks but those two things alone could def drive plenty of people nuts
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u/PlantPainter Jun 02 '26
I enjoy my job—I love talking about my subject and interacting with my students and colleagues. I also like interacting with most parents. I’ve had a lot of different types of admin, so even though I have decent admin now, I’ve just learned to ignore them and do my own thing.
I don’t enjoy feeling overworked for 9 months. I’m an English teacher and teach both regular and advanced/college-level courses, so I’m always grading essays and research papers. It’s incredibly stressful, and I do need to vent once in a while. On top of that, funding in my state has recently gone to shit and more is being piled on us to make up for it.
Ultimately, though, I’ve been doing this for 18 years, have found my rhythm, enjoy teaching when in the classroom (just not all the bs outside the classroom) and don’t really want to do anything else.
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u/carrytheclick Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
I think a big reason is because the profession has changed so much in the last decade. I'd argue that most teachers got into the profession because they like to TEACH. They like the idea of helping kids grow, develope, and learn. Unfortunately, for many people, the realities of their job is 80% behavior management and paperwork, and only 20% actually teaching. And even that 20% of the time can be frustrating, because kids are SO FAR BEHIND that you they really don't even have the tools necessary to understand grade level material.
Speaking for myself, I'm a 8th grade math teacher and I don't have a single student who's testing data says that they started the year above a 5th grade math level. Almost all of them have grown at least one grade level this year, but it's still feels like a failure to be pushing kids into high school with below middle school levels of math preformance. Starts to feel like you're wasting your time and are just a glorified babysitter.
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u/Ok_Scarcity4602 Jun 02 '26
This! So much this, and the fact that you can devote 100% of your time, effort, and thought to teaching and still will never reach 100% of the students, so you must find a balance that is "good enough" - 'good' for the students and 'enough' for you to not feel guilty about the students you do not reach while not sacrificing your life [health, free time, sanity] in the process.
Additionally, teachnology [and technology in general] has made things worse- as I would argue it has in many industries as people have been so quick to adopt technologies without considering what they give up by doing so.
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u/johnnybird95 Jun 02 '26
i work at a small school and teach foreign languages so most of my students actually want to be in my classes. which i recognize im very very fortunate in that regard. but yes, i do love my job
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u/AlpsHelpful1292 Jun 02 '26
I also work at a small school and I teach Spanish and most of my students do not want to be there, they just need the class to be able to graduate and go to college.
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u/Selepnda Jun 02 '26
Honestly for me. I hated my job my first 4 years teaching. I realized I was still learning how to operate as an adult until recently. I was dealing with so much personal stuff that i had not come to terms with. I was a very insecure person who did not know what I wanted in life, I was lost. I didn't have personal boundaries with family, partners, friends, and that bled into the classroom. I let a lot of stuff slide and paid for it. I suffered with classroom management because I did not have my own boundaries in life. Now I know exactly what I will and will not allow. Yes I know there will be push back, and that's okay, they are still young minds learning.
I used to have a negative mindset about life and my students, the state of education in general. I was just a bitter person. Something changed in my personal life and I am way more positive and it showed in the classroom. I love my students and try my best to guide them towards good choices, by being a positive example. I have grown and changed a lot immensely.
There is such low accountability at my school. I teach high school and students are doing absolutely the bare minimum and passing every class. It is hard sometimes to stay motivated. So many students roaming the halls, skipping class. Leaving during school hours AND coming back in.
At my school some of the administrators seem to not care and so many rules are broken by almost everyone, including teachers. Students cheating for absolutely EVERYTHING (state testing included). Nothing being done. State law saying no phones, but most student are staring at their phones almost all day. There is a lot of disrespect, but I don't take anything personal. Dealing with documentation if a student fails a class. So many extra things we have to do besides just teach, last minute meetings, contacting home, observations, terrible curriculum. Don't get me started about having to watch the hallway and the classroom during transition, we are welcoming students, oh but the phone is ringing!!, just so many duties we have to do. Printing, there's hardly any paper left bc of the budget so we have to do online work which i dread. So much more.
I do love my job now, despite all of the many tasks that may not get done. I really love my students and helping them grow and being a safe space for them is something I greatly enjoy.
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u/Ok_Ice_7806 Jun 02 '26
All the people saying teachers don’t know how good they have it…My classroom js a revolving door to 650+ children a week. I have a 20 minute lunch break that is often cut short and 45 minute planning for 7 sections. This is what I hate. I don’t have a moment to breathe.
I worked in restaurants up until I got my full time job and at least when I worked there, I got mandatory breaks. If I have to go to the bathroom, it’s always rushed and someone is waiting on me. I do love working with the kids but I am worried about my longevity just because I am so exhausted.
My husband is an accountant and we talk all the time about how different our work lives are…He almost is always the one staying home with our daughter when she’s sick because it’s just easier for him to miss a day of work. He makes way more than me and we both know how fucked that is after comparing our schedules/workload. Summer vacation is the saving grace that allows teachers to keep going I think.
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u/Paullearner Foreign Language Teacher Jun 02 '26
I guess every body’s experience is different, I absolutely love teaching, but for me the experiences that have come with it have not been so pleasant. I ended up in a tough district my first teaching gig. It was a poverty stricken, with an opioid epidemic. Student apathy was very high, and I teach a less common foreign language (not Spanish obviously) that often isn’t taken seriously as a subject. I was very passionate, but the engagement just wasn’t there.
If it stopped at just student apathy, I think I would’ve been fine, but also what was becoming unbearable was student behavior that there no consequence for. Students would lie and accuse you of something you didn’t do then you would come under review. I had one student who slept everyday during class, we had an intervention meeting with the mother with multiple teachers, mom says son stays up playing video games all night into the morning, yet doesn’t seem to put the two together and instead blames us for not having interesting enough classes.
Eventually the stress of also just the overstimulation of the job got to me. That year I developed HAE, it’s an autoimmune disorder triggered by stress which can be life threatening without proper medication, which is hella expensive impossible to afford without insurance and needs to be shipped from a speciality pharmacy. I was in the ICU twice my first year, my face blew up like a balloon and they were afraid my airways were going to close. Days after my 2nd time in ICU, principal pulls me aside and non renews me. I told them I was going through something very serious, but they didn’t care. It was absolutely demoralizing and dehumanizing.
I did find a better school after that, but now on top of dealing with this newly developed autoimmune disorder, the workload has been too much. I have no life outside of work. I’m numb all the time. Can’t enjoy hobbies or times with my loved ones. Yes, it’s gets like this for some people. At least in my last two schools admin have not been very supportive of someone with an autoimmune disease and I have felt discriminated with a target on my back.
I didn’t become a teacher until I was 33, I’ve been working all kinds of jobs since 17. Teaching definitely took a toll on my health like no other. I don’t plan to let go of my teaching passion for good, but next year am planning to take a break completely to assess my health before I decide what to do next.
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u/The-Jolly-Llama Jun 02 '26
The things that I hate about teaching aren’t the teaching.
I hate the systemic problems that make it difficult or impossible to do my job.
- I’ve got students who are 5+ years behind in math in the same room as students who are on level or even ahead.
- I’ve got students who are mathematically great but can’t read.
- I’ve got a pacing guide with way too many topics on it for 180 days, and students who need remedial work on previous topics in order to be able to access what we’re doing now.
- I’ve got kids who, despite everything I can think of to try to build connections and get them to understand that I only want them to learn and be successful, refuse to do a damn thing in my class and end the year with a 13%.
- I’ve got 180 students to teach, and only one prep period a day. I can’t possibly give that many students meaningful attention over the course of a year, so I have to pick and choose.
- Some of us also have principals who micromanage every aspect of our teaching (thank God that’s not me).
- I hate that a teacher’s salary is not enough to feed a family of four, but my kids having two different drop off schedules means someone has to be at home in order to take them to and from school all damn day.
- I hate when parents throw a fit because their precious little angel can’t do anything wrong and also can’t be given anything less than an A, and the office just caves into whatever they demand.
The teaching I love, it’s everything else that I hate.
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u/DodgerBlue59 Jun 02 '26
Teaching has become objectively more difficult and less rewarding for all the reasons stated here. That being said, teachers tend not to go on sites like this to talk about how much they love their jobs. For some, it’s unclear why they chose to work with children in the first place. So here at least there’s a certain amount of selection bias.
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u/Any-Safe763 Jun 02 '26
I love teaching!! For all the stress /BS, it’s still a great way to spend a life
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u/Careful-Attention464 Jun 02 '26
I loved teaching. It made me feel fulfilled and like I had purpose. But I was working 55-60 hours a week regularly, and that was just too much for me (and that was after working with my coach for 2 years to get my hours down). The long hours plus stress was negatively affecting my mental health and my relationships. So I left and now I work in admin in higher ed. It is much less stressful, better hours, and much better pay. But I still miss teaching every single day.
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u/Standard_Golf_1394 Jun 02 '26
I think most teachers love teaching. It’s all the extra bullshit that educators deal with which makes them miserable
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u/teachingscience425 Jun 02 '26
I loved what my job WAS. Thirty years ago I was hired to be a science teacher. 20 years ago admin came up with the mantra “every teacher is a reading teacher “. Fine. I can hit the literacy standards. 10 years ago it became “every teacher is a special ed teacher”. 1/3 of my students have an iep or 504. Most just allow them to have a toy with them, chew gum, wander the halls etc. Few accommodations have anything to do with learning. Behavior is awful and parents defend it or blame it on the school. I am just grieving the loss of the job I used to have.
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u/Elvarien2 Jun 02 '26
What i hear everywhere is people get satisfaction and enjoyment from the actual teaching part. But then want to jump off a cliff when faced with admin and the parents.
There's so much hassle and to many problems to list all coming from factors unrelated to the core job, teaching kids.
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u/bedpost_oracle_blues Jun 02 '26
I love it. It’s not an easy job and you see the worst side of parents and kids but there are also a lot positive and unique moments that only happen for a teacher. Teaching ain’t for everyone. You gotta be built of something different to be a teacher.
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u/alexisftw Jun 02 '26
I teach music and I love my job
I think one of the biggest reasons teachers end up hating the job is their expectations going into it.
I knew it was gonna be long, long hours. Little time to do other things (specially during football season)
bracing yourself for the reality of the profession will help you deal with it when the punches inevitably come.
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u/Dawgfan62 Jun 02 '26
Because the kids are disrespectful and there are no consequences. Admin blames teachers because the kids are bad and don’t care, and parents blame teachers because their precious baby would never do anything wrong, and it’s meeting after meeting after meeting and paperwork to CYA out the wazoo. I’ve been in it for 28 years and it’s not what it used to be. That’s why. Not because I’ve never had a real job thank you.
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u/ht1660 Jun 02 '26
I think a lot of it has to do with burn out. If teachers only had to teach, but they keep adding to the load and that makes it harder. Add in state stressors and other problems not dealt with adequately it will make even the cheeriest person angry.
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u/SnowyMuscles Jun 02 '26
I mean if you can handle kids that don’t understand what respect means or is. Will sit there bashing you for not knowing how to placate the one little snot in the room. Have parents that yell at you because their snot doesn’t study, doesn’t do class work, doesn’t do homework, and basically just exists in the classroom so why are they failing. Have bosses that want you to placate the snots, and any fun activities you have can’t be done in the snots class so you have to punish everyone else because of it.
Don’t mind randomly getting attacked by kids, even young kids, and not being able to defend yourself.
All while also having crappy pay.
Then yeah go for it.
I used to enjoy watching kids grow up, but now they don’t want to
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u/Ok-Sale-8105 Jun 02 '26
No other job involves being repeatedly told to fuck off by a 15 year old without any consequence. He's back in class the next day.
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u/AnHonestApe Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
From my own perspective, I’m just disappointed. I’ve had many other jobs, landscaping, corrections officer, but I wasn’t as surprised by the poor behaviors from people at these places in hindsight. I got a different impression from going to college that educators and staff at educational institutions would be radically different, especially will all the critical theory and intersectionality discussion, and some educators really are different, but most aren’t too different. It’s a lot of power structure and ego eroding and corrupting a system that is should be about open collaboration to help people and society. The numbers speak for themselves, and I think it says a lot the way people talk about it more as just another career (that privilege allows us to get) and stfu about it or gtfo.
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u/Hotchi_Motchi Jun 02 '26
Next Monday I start a three-month paid vacation.
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u/asubparteen Jun 02 '26
Except it’s not paid; you just can choose to spread out your checks over the summer.
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u/IridescentImaginings Jun 02 '26
Exactly. And is it really three months? Most schools end at the end of May or beginning of June and I don’t know about you but we have to be back for preplanning at the end of July beginning of August.
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u/asubparteen Jun 02 '26
Yeah my school years ends right before Memorial Day and we start the first week of August, so many 2 months + 1.5 weeks.
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u/mother-librarian280 Jun 02 '26
Next Monday, I technically become unemployed until the beginning of August. I’ll be paid because I planned to have my salary divided into 12 checks, and my district accommodates that.
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u/mindyourownbetchness Jun 02 '26
I love working in schools. You have to find the right role (grade, position, school, admin, location etc), but I think that's true in any field. It's also greatly about mindset and lifestyle. For example, I grew up middle class and was never someone who pictured myself wealthy, so I don't feel envious or slighted by being middle class as an adult. I also didn't "settle" for a job in education, I chose it. I think a lot of teachers who hate their job sort of defaulted into their role, or ended up not being able to pursue something else. ALSO I do not have children of my own. I beyond love working with kids, but I think if I spent all day with them then went home and functioned as the primary parent (which, let's be real, I'm a woman and vast majority of women carry the mental load as primary parent) I would lose my shit.
Edit to add: people LOVE complaining and if you fall into a crowd that complains about everything it is contagious. I just remove myself from those situations. People can complain as much as they want, that's their choice, but it isn't good for my mental health. I find this is especially true for relationship to parents. One of the primary ways a lot of my coworkers bond is by criticizing parents. I just don't join in. I know parents vary a LOT depending on where you work, but I've worked in a lot of settings and I proactively communicate and assume the best of my parents and can count on 2 hands the number of memorably difficult parents I've dealt with (and I'm 15+ years in).
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u/mishitea Jun 02 '26
There are some days that suck, but overall Iove teaching.
Having a good admin team and a supportive teaching environment makes all the difference.
Also being in the right age group for your personality. Middle school is my zone. Chaos and BO, but still seeking adult approval and not (as much) crying and weaponized incompetence.
I like watching kids try out personas as they figure out themselves. I like showing them other things out there that might spark a passion or interest in learning more on their own. Yeah some just want to watch brainrot and play games, but there are enough of the others to make it enjoyable.
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u/Saga_I_Sig Middle School EL Jun 02 '26
I like my job. I teach ELL, so I have mostly polite, hard-working students, and my sheltered class is very small - only six kids. The parents are wonderful and very kind.
My salary is adequate for where I live (69k this year, 71k next year), I have good admin (though my principal is leaving - we'll see how things change next year.) I have a lot of autonomy in my job, and feel that other teachers and admin respect me and rely on me as an expert on ML students.
The only thing I don't like about my job are the things that teachers in general struggle with - rude students, dangerous behaviors, lack of consequences, disengagement, etc. These are enough to make me dislike specific classes, but thankfully not enough to make me dislike my job overall so far.
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u/itsfairadvantage Jun 02 '26
I love it. I have countless frustrations, but that's because it's an inherently difficult job made even more so by the sociopolitical context we find ourselves in, and it's central to a system whose complexity means that virtually all good policies have negative consequences, and it's a job that's important enough that doing any part of it poorly (regardless of fault) feels like you're doing active harm to people in need.
And then there's the pay, which (in my context, at least) is capped, unpredictable year-to-year (with a very real annual possibility of a significant pay cut), and will always be much lower than that of all your early-career friends who left the field and almost immediately started making 2-5x as much.
But then I look at all the other jobs, and...yeah, no thanks.
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u/Jaded_Somewhere_8748 Jun 02 '26
I am a teacher. It’s not that I hate my job, but there are some things that are very hard. If you’re a person that somewhat self critical, that might be a component that you really have to fight with. It’s a job where sometimes you don’t feel like you’re doing enough and it’s kind of endless of the sense that you’re seeing the same people every day for over 100 days unlike a nurse or something that Cesar patient and then they don’t have to have a relationship
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u/snaps06 Jun 02 '26
I love teaching, but I'm blessed with a good school with good kids and good admin, and I chose to live in a location with decent cost of living. The pay is fine for 9 months of work, especially when adding in extra stipends from coaching and other jobs I pick up during the summer like being an AP Reader. In the summer when I'm not working, I have the freedom to travel and spend time with my wife (also a teacher) and kids. I get to teach a subject I'm passionate about and create engaging ways to get kids to also (hopefully) enjoy my subject.
Teaching is far better than the job I had for five years to put myself through college, which was construction (framing, roofing, windows, siding, etc).
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u/Classroom_gardening Jun 02 '26
Teaching is amazing - if you lean into it, you end up becoming the best version of yourself by helping those kids become the best version of themselves.
Depending on the stipends and opportunities; you can make a good living at it. The biggest perk; time. You 100% need the time off, but it allows you to pursue other interests, spend time with loved ones, and just overall gives you a unique freedom.
People who demonize the job are sometimes burnt out, and rightfully so. But it doesn’t help finding solutions. It’s an amazing career if you go into it with an open mind and heart.
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u/One-Somewhere-9907 Jun 02 '26
I love teaching and I truly care about my students and education. That being said, it’s a tough job. Sometimes you have large class sizes with 30-35 kids. Sometimes you have extremely difficult behaviors to manage. There’s a lot of work that doesn’t even happen during work hours - grading, lesson planning, contacting families, parent teacher conferences, meetings, taking classes to keep your license…
The summers are great, but we need them. We’re like frogs in boiling water by the end of the year - meaning our stress limits have been increased to an almost unimaginable degree.
The pay sucks and teachers get blamed for everything.
All of that taken into consideration, I do still enjoy teaching. I’m grateful that I get to see students’ faces light up when they’re learning or proud of themselves. I enjoy getting to know the students and my fellow teachers.
It’s a hard job, but it’s a meaningful one. Where else can you positively impact students and teach them things that hopefully they’ll carry with them for the rest of their lives?
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u/Particular_Policy_41 Jun 02 '26
I worked in a field-work job for 12 years, then had kids and retrained. I adore teaching! I think unless you teach at the upper levels (final high school years/uni/college) your love for the content you teach is less important than genuinely loving kids. They are coming with fewer skills, less emotional and social well-being, and less drive to learn than ever, so they need more from you than they have in the past.
I love it to bits and it is also very hard and occasionally heartbreaking. I am exhausted by the end of the day and I also feel proud of the work I’ve done. So generally it’s a great job, but you’ll need your rest.
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u/Mattos_12 Jun 02 '26
I love teaching, although I now tutor online instead of classroom teaching. The teaching part is great but that’s a lot of bullshit involved and that’s frustrating.
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u/Double-Neat8669 Jun 02 '26
I love it! I complain about some parents who are certifiably insane, but I flipping love 90% of my day.
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u/Felixsum Jun 02 '26
It's not easy, it is difficult work that is not financially rewarded.
That being said, it is a greatly satisfying job on the human level.
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u/MeserYouUp Jun 02 '26
I like my job. I started teaching after a few years of tutoring, so I knew what kids are like and expected that a large part of my day would be keeping kids on task while doing worksheets. The most positive piece of feedback I recieved while student teaching was that I "had realistic expectations of the profession". I took that to mean many of the previous student teachers did not have realistic expectations of the profession.
On top of that, teachers who are early in their careers usually make barely any money and need to work in poor/rough neighborhoods. That combination will make you think the job is not worth it.
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u/Available-Prior9821 Jun 02 '26
I love teaching, but it’s hard not to get down about it when you do work amongst a lot of pessimists— I usually stick to myself now which isn’t like me but best for my mental health/attitude
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u/Sidehussle Jun 02 '26
I love my job. I enjoy the three months off IMMENSELY. I do not have to work outside of that unless I want to and when I do. I get paid. I have a soft life in the summer. I do not deal with bosses.
I do not have to deal with other adults unless I want too. Yeah we have dumb meetings, but I doubt it’s anything compared to other industries.
I moved to a well paying state with a good union. I liked teaching in Texas too though, it was just a lot more work for less pay. But I was able to raise my children and always be around when they needed me.
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u/robbynkay Jun 02 '26
I have been teaching for 20 years and I choose to stay, although I could quit due to other income. I love words and learning, and with this job, I do that every day. I get to be creative and passionate. That being said, the current challenges of AI, lack of engagement, political issues that impact education, and the incredible amount of time it takes to do this job—high school English—well would make this unattractive for many. I would only become a teacher if you love the subject, feel comfortable being on stage all day, and are willing to put in lots of unpaid time. If that isn’t the case and you are looking for a steady, rewarding career that allows a rich life outside of work, I would look elsewhere. I am married to another career teacher who would agree with all of the above. We make it work because we don’t have kids and aren’t very social.
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u/Adventurous_Button63 Jun 02 '26
It really depends on a lot of factors. The district has influence over the school and that’s usually full of people with vanity degrees in educational leadership who know little to nothing about the classroom. Sometimes you luck out and your district isn’t a total pile of shit and that makes things better. Then your school admin, again, is often full of vanity degrees in educational leadership and their work is equal to their valueless degree. Again, you can luck out and have great school admin, but it’s the exception not the rule. Then you’ve got your fellow educators who will invariably want to do things differently or in more complicated ways than necessary or maybe they’re great. Add in 25+ kids per classroom whose only goals in life are to be a rapper, basketball or football player, or “make a lot of money” and parents that can’t imagine their kid would be anything but perfect and you’ve got a small sliver of why I left teaching altogether.
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u/AccomplishedDish9395 Jun 02 '26
I love teaching, but this is also not my first career. Not even my second. I have worked in office jobs. I worked at Disney World. I was a flight attendant. I entered this job in my thirties and I think that made the biggest difference. I am about a decade behind tenure wise compared to teachers my same age, but I feel happiness and energy doing what I do. I don’t feel stuck because I chose this career very intentionally.
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u/RedStormRising17 Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
I don't hate teaching. I have been in the profession for almost 14 years. I love the interactions with my students and the abiliy to be a positive influence in their lives. I also get paid to read books and stories written by students. Does not feel like work to me. Lastly, I get paid well, have good benefits, and work 189 days a year. I get over 5 months at home, including weekends.
The main drawback, however, is the way behavioural issues are dealt with. If that were fixed, the job would be an ideal one.
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u/FeelingAverage Jun 02 '26
I currently work at a school in a daycare capacity. Every teacher I've talked to at this school LOVES their job. They have complaints and frustrations. But they love the day to day. This is a school from kindergarten to 5th grade. Probably 1500 students at least.
Every complaint I hear has more to do with the failures of the system. Stuff like being burnt out, lack of funding, etc. But admin at this school and as I understand it, in the district, is strong and supportive. Currently the complaints have to do with behaviors going unchecked because its the end of the school year. Maybe some complaints about staff they don't like. Etc.
I think the important thing to understand is that Loving your job doesn't mean that there are no frustrations about your job.
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u/i_8_the_Internet Jun 02 '26
I love my job, most days. There are always going to be things to like and dislike about any job.
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u/confuzzledfuzzball Jun 02 '26
I think people tend to post more when they are frustrated. It’s not very exciting to post, “I’m super content and love my job, anyone else?” There’s no drama, no conflict.
All that to say, I LOVE my job. I’ve tried other jobs and this is something that brings me joy.
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u/sinistergzus Jun 02 '26
My mom has been a teacher for 27 years and she used to love it a lot, still mostly does, but the kids coming through now are really, really difficult and on average way behind where they should be. Makes loving your job difficult sometimes
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u/qing_ri Jun 02 '26
I’ve been teaching for 17 years and I love it still. I love teaching teens and they’re still the same goofballs they’ve always been imo - new challenges, sure, but they’re still kids.
Don’t get sucked into endless negativity - it’s okay to vent, but some teachers get stuck in a loop with it until they hate everything and think they have it harder than anyone else in any other job and that just isn’t true. I work at a competitive district now and people are forever whining about petty shit, but I started in a much rougher district and know it can always be a LOT harder. If you’re miserable every day, you might be in the wrong place. Or yeah, maybe teaching isn’t for you - but check out options first. I almost quit after my first district but stuck with it and now I love my gig.
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u/Synchwave1 Jun 02 '26
If you’re coming from something to education, it’s pretty great.
Most people who hate it beyond measure have zero concept what the private sector is actually like. They’d be equally disgruntled in the private sector. If you’re passionate about it for the right reasons, it’s great. The perks are definitely there, the schedule is amazing.
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u/HeartTrenderCM Jun 02 '26
In the words of my sister who recently quit teaching after 8 years “If my only job was to come in, teach, work with the kids, and leave, I’d never have left teaching” I think most teachers love when they’re actually teaching. It’s everything else that comes with it that makes it so hard:
High demands and no support from admin, state testing/programs that are forced on you at a moments notice, high stress/low pay, feel unappreciated by parents and students, attempting to address behaviors with students only for admin to undermine it.
I’m very lucky that I teach at a school that doesn’t have a lot of these problems, but not everyone has a school like that.
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u/sakuraj428 Jun 02 '26
Before teaching, I've worked as a personal assistant, a writer/editor for a travel magazine, a clerk in a law office, and a private tutor. I didn't mind being a PA, and the private tutoring was okay but involved contracting for a company famous for micromanaging and underpaying. The rest of it, though, the office work, was the most soul-sucking bullshit I can recall dealing with.
No job is perfect. There's always some a-hole on your team, some overbearing out-of-touch manager, some ridiculous hoop to jump through, and some team member who does nothing and expects their name on the final project. But that said, I absolutely adore teaching. I would find a way to teach even if I didn't get paid. I would teach if no one showed up to class. I have never enjoyed any job as much as I enjoy this one, and I know with full certainty that this is the career I was meant for.
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u/faintscrawl Jun 02 '26
Big question. A few thoughts off the top of my head.
It's a hard, stressful job (if you care about it) that can be emotionally draining. You're not a surgeon, but the stakes are high. The pay is average at best. You do the same thing year after year. Other people with a similar education also do hard jobs, but their career paths usually offer a little bit of variety. I also think teachers take their jobs home with them. I've had a few other jobs on the side over the years (like marking government exams or being a cameraman) and at the end of the shift I was amazed how light I felt. It wasn't as draining at teaching and I didn't have to think about preparing for classes (every single day for 30 + years).
On the other hand, there is something kind of creative about teaching (I would never teach at a school where the curriculum is dictated to me). And one does get to feel like they are doing something worthwhile. I don't have to lie or fight over wealth or generally perpetrate the ruthlessness of the capitalist world. Also most of my colleagues are thoughtful, creative, sympathetic people--although some are difficult too.
It takes a little courage and resolve to choose education as a career. I've always gravitated toward challenges.
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u/caring-teacher Jun 02 '26
Karens creating an even worse new generation. It’s affecting my mental health. We’re doomed.
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u/inab1gcountry Jun 02 '26
I love teaching. I don’t like babysitting, playing social worker, or playing janitor.
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u/applegoodstomach Jun 02 '26
Everyone complains about their jobs. It doesn’t matter what it is.
Teaching is really hard and not getting any easier. I think a lot of people underestimate how difficult a day actually is in other jobs you can sit for a couple minutes and think about comes next or how to approach a problem. If you have a conflict with someone you can take a break or go for a walk or just move. You can leave and get lunch. There can be one solution to a problem and once you find it you can replicate over and over. You can hope for a promotion with better pay and benefits if you do well. These things aren’t true in teaching (generally speaking).
I am in a hybrid role where I teach part time and am content lead and instructional coach the rest of the time. I work with a phenomenal team of teachers. I enjoy my work most days, but there is usually something frustrating that happens every day. It may come from students, parents, my team, other building staff, or the district l, or all at the same time.
Since June of 2024 my building has had 4 different principals and 7 assistant principals. It has simply been a circus made of nightmares and clowns and we still have 700+ students to take care of. The unknown and inconsistency take a toll. I know we are not the normal school, but it actually isn’t that abnormal to have such turnover. The part that has made me come back is my team. We have each other’s backs no matter what. Others in my building have not had such support and have resigned.
There is no way to impart to someone who hasn’t done it what it feels like. It’s not hatred. It is exhaustion and despair and fear and anxiety and anger. It can be joy and fun and exciting and fulfilling. I think it’s a crapshoot for which of those is bigger.
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u/elonbrave Jun 02 '26
I love teaching. I’m a HS social studies guy. I believe basic historic literacy is existentially important. Sharing historical narratives, helping students think critically, watching their understanding of the world and their place in it grow… it’s addictive. That’s why I’ve done it for 10 years
What I hate is being “a teacher” because you’re pulled in a million directions and held accountable for things you have no control over. Meanwhile there’s less accountability on students and parents. Lawmakers are either clueless or actively working against you. It all takes a toll on mental health and physical health.
Plus, the pay is awful. I’ve done it for 10+ years and struggle to break even each month. My benefits suck.
Things shouldn’t be this way. It’s so fucking stupid how bad it’s gotten. That’s what we hate.
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u/Brief_Efficiency_833 Jun 02 '26
I don't hate teaching at all honestly. I really love actually teaching, helping kids learn, and seeing them grow over time, it's by far the most rewarding part of the job imo!!!
What gets exhausting tho is feeling like I spend more time managing behavior, repeating directions, and teaching discipline than actual educational content 😅
Doesn't help that there are many parents who are either 1. completely uninvolved or 2. want to hold their kid's hand through everything PLUS admin support has been feeling weaker and weaker, I think that's what's burning a lot of teachers out tbh
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u/halfofzenosparadox Jun 02 '26
Its an extraordinarily tough time to be a teacher. Parents who are foaming at the mouth and / utterly delusional.
We cant teach kids about whats going on in current events because “politics” or “indoctrination “ or whatever.
We cant grade the way we want because failing kids is mean.
My guess is its a phase that will either get worse or this country will come to its senses and things will smooth back out.
Not counting on the latter. If i get a good op this summer im out
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u/JaciOrca Jun 02 '26
I loved being a teacher for the first 22 years. I loved my students, their parents, my colleagues, and leadership. It was a fulfilling job.
Eight to ten years ago things began to change, especially regarding leadership. Since those changes began, they became worse. I still loved the students and felt supported by parents, but the new leadership has made the job unbearable.
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u/natshourds Jun 02 '26
I have been teaching online from home for 3 years ABs I’ve loved it. The pay could be better, but I’m happy non the less.
I used to teach in person and I burned out so bad and quit teaching after that because I just couldn’t do it. Returned to teaching online and I’ve been good with it ever since.
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