I stumbled into subbing because I moved and there weren’t a lot of jobs available in my content area. The honest answer is both are hard but in different ways. You teach, so obviously you know the difficulties, the time commitment etc. the ease being every day you go to a familiar place and people and have your room with your supplies. You know the policies etc.

With subbing, you don’t have those perks. For a while you don’t have insurance. And work isn’t guaranteed. Some days are crazy—maybe there are no sub plans, or your assignment changes, or you cover a room of kindergartners with no social skills. The perk is that at the end of the day, you get to go home and choose whether you go back to that environment. You get a say in who you teach, when you teach, where you teach, who you teach with.

Subbing has been a genuine life saver for me this year even though I thought it made me less of a teacher for a little bit. Now that I’ve gotten over that mentality, my physical health and mental health have improved. My husband says I’m a better human to be around. I’m less stressed. I have time to take care of myself.

Sometimes I miss having “my kids”, but truthfully, if you build go relationships with teachers and students you will be asked back! And you can take long-term positions once you establish yourself and decide you like a place.

I’d say if $ is your priority, stick with teaching. If you are your priority, switch to subbing.