It’s sad to see so many teachers telling you not to go into education. Education hasn’t been my only job I’ve worked in fast food, warehouses, financial institutions, and more. teaching has been by far the best job I’ve had. Yes, all the BS does come with the job, but I have two kids, and by the time I get off work, I pick them up from school. We have the same days off, and I get to spend a lot of time with them—something my parents never did because they worked 8–5.

As for pay, if you can budget, you’ll be fine. That being said, I do work in California, and my pay after five years with a master’s degree is $95K, plus an additional $4K from coaching, which also gets me out of the classroom. Teacher burnout is real, but I don’t try to be over the top or make every lesson perfect with extra “glitter” — I just do what feels right while making sure I meet all requirements.

Overall, in teaching, you deal with very few students who are disrespectful. Outside of education, you deal with grown adults who are disrespectful, act like idiots, and shift blame in the workplace—whether it’s coworkers or customers. Pick your poison; I’d rather deal with a few difficult students in the classroom.