Is becoming a teacher worth it with how kids are now?
The profession brings difficult student behavior and severe stress that leaves many educators dreading work and struggling to sustain a marriage, kids, or a life outside of school. While this daily toll makes many want to quit, the career is only sustainable if you learn exactly what boundaries to set to balance the job with your personal life.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1reevaluating career paths
- 2looking into substitute teaching first
- 3getting a history degree while pursuing a different career
- 4Setting strict time boundaries, such as only allowing one hour of work at home on Sundays.
- 5Switching schools or school districts to find a more supportive administration.
- 6Moving to a different state with union protections and better pay.
- 7Relying on time and experience to build a stash of go-to lessons and manage classroom chaos.
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I dread going to work. I get the Saturday scaries thinking about Monday. Sometimes even thinking about school makes me feel like I have strings wrapped around my heart and someone is just pulling on them.”source ↗
“I genuinely don’t understand how people are able to have a marriage, kids, a life outside of work, AND sustain this career.”source ↗
“I don’t want to leave the kids. But I don’t know if I can continue to feel like this for the rest of my career. I just don’t know if I can keep living the rest of my life like this.”source ↗
“Do you all think this dream of mine is worth it? Is it worth it with the way kids are now in school?”source ↗
“I read countless posts about how difficult this job is, I saw how difficult it was for my teachers in school as well.”source ↗
“So I guess my main question falls back to if it’s even worth it to try with these kids.”source ↗
“Yes 100%. I felt the same way and now I’m a married mom of 2 kids, a 4 year old and an infant. It’s not easy but you learn what boundaries you need to set and how to balance it.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2Is it worth becoming an art teacher?
- 6Is getting an EdD actually worth the time and money?
- 13Why can't I find a teaching job after graduating?
- 7Is a short weekend trip worth the time and money?
- 4Is it rude to skip a distant wedding when travel and money are tight?
- 49How do I know if getting another pet is a mistake?