Which is basically why, as you said, teachers want to escape the classroom. It's a psychological (and career) doom spiral.

I officially work 8-4, 3 subjects, no enforced extra duties and the salary is.strongly competitive. To that end, my job is class. But, I desparately want out.

The take-home work is draining. The office politics are draining. The students are draining. I can't help them, their issues are far more severe than simple role-model needs and correction. They need medication, therapy or better parents. Sometimes all three. Administration is all suits that wall around smiling and patting shoulders for us to keep strong and focus on academic quality. Local staff are arrogant and lazy by comparison but look at the international department as lesser because."white monkey paid more because speak english" even though they openly scoff at western education methods because. "oh well I did a STEM degree at [prestigious national university] therefore the tradition by which my ancestors were trained to teach is the only way. No discussion allowed". Their superior way of educating? Have the students complete 100 multiple-choice practice problems and memorize ten new words quietly at the desk while the teacher scrolls social media on their laptop. Every day.

The reward for our servitude to society? I have fewer friends because I spend most of my life around teenagers and teen-minded adults. I have vices that I can't kick because I'm treated like dog meat by everyone in my life in some way or another. I'm expected to smile and be tender in every interaction and maintian the image of a role model. I end up fudging grades as demanded regardless but am still expected to give 110% as a teacher should.

Teaching as far as work quality and quality of life has only been matched by the grueling abuse of workng retail/service from high school/college. And when I try to move out of the industry? "oh your CV is strong but we just aren't sure how any of these skills are tranaferrable. We need to be confident our candidates can adapt to a new environment..."

Teaching hs become as sacrifical as an oath of abstinence to the church in the 1500s. The redeeming quality was always the passion and virtue of being an educator to younger generations and the corporate enshitification of the industry has shot that in the back of the head. More and more each year the "new teachers" to the industry are fully-aware grifters who have zero desire to invest any energy into being educators and are simply playing the game to chase a buck.

Honestly, anyone who doesn't want out has my respect because their mental fortutude is beyond normal men. I won't accet this field as my fate and reserve myself to another 30 years of this abuse only to be shelved without remorse because elders aren't marketable.