“A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning.“

Brad Henry, Politician

Pros and Cons of Working as a Teacher

You think about becoming a teacher but are not sure whether this is the right career choice for you or not? Good news!

I will show you all the pros and cons of being a teacher in the following chapters so that you can better decide whether such a career will be suitable for you or if you rather want to go for different job options instead.

Teacher Job Profile

Advantages of Being a Teacher

1. Teachers can make decent money
2. You can work indoors as a teacher
3. Teachers don’t have to lift heavy things
4. You do an important job for society
5. Teachers don’t have to work long hours
6. You will have free weekends and holidays
7. Decent job security for teachers
8. Lots of vacation as a teacher
9. Good social standing of teachers
10. You can improve your people skills
11. Working as a teacher can give you purpose in life
12. You can avoid classical office work
13. You can teach many different subjects
14. You will never get bored as a teacher
15. Teachers don’t have much time pressure
16. Progress of school kids can make you happy
17. You will always learn new things about your students
18. You can feel like a mentor for school kids
19. Teachers can change the future of education
20. Additional perks for many teachers

Teachers can make decent money

One advantage of being a teacher is that you can make decent money from what you are doing.

Sure, you will not get rich and will also not be able to afford many other nice things that doctors, lawyers, investment bankers and other people are able to pay for easily.

However, you will still be able to make more than many other people out there and if your goal is not to get rich but you still want to be able to live a decent lifestyle while enjoying other benefits at the same time, becoming a teacher can make quite a lot of sense for you.

You can work indoors as a teacher

As a teacher, you will also have the privilege of working indoors. While you might take this for granted, there are still many people out there who have to work outdoors under rather poor conditions and you should therefore really appreciate the fact that you could work in a rather cozy environment where you can use air conditioning and heating to make your life as convenient as possible.

Teachers don’t have to lift heavy things

You will also not have to work as a teacher in a hard physical manner. Instead, you will rather work with your brain.

While this can also be quite demanding, you will still come home from work with more energy left compared to someone who just works with his hands all day long in a heavy physical manner.

Moreover, also your risk of getting serious health issues with your spine will be much lower.

You do an important job for society

Another upside to working as a teacher is that you will also do a pretty important job for society.

The future of our children will be in your hands and it will be on you to show them how to learn and also to teach them some soft skills so that they will be prepared for the harsh reality we live in.

In fact, if you don’t teach those kids how to be a decent human being and they also don’t learn it at home since they grow up in difficult family environments, these kids will have nobody to look up to and may break bad once they turn into grownups.

Hence, you will have a high level of responsibility as a teacher and can really make our world a little bit better.

Teachers don’t have to work long hours

You will also not have to work many hours as a teacher. Quite often, you will only work 40 hours and there are also some teachers who work considerably less.

Sure, at the beginning of your career, you may have to work longer since you have to learn how to prepare for your classes efficiently.

However, over time, you will no longer need that much preparation and this means that your effective working hours will go down quite a lot.

Moreover, since you will also come home early from work quite often, you will have more than enough time to meet up with your favorite people after work.

You will have free weekends and holidays

Not only will you not work much overtime as a teacher, but you will also be able to enjoy free weekends and holidays.

In turn, you will have enough time to spend with your loved one or on your hobbies and you can also make many nice weekend trips with your family.

Consequently, becoming a teacher can make quite a lot of sense for you in case money is not that important to you and you rather want to enjoy as much leisure as possible.

Decent job security for teachers

Another benefit of becoming a teacher is that you will also have pretty good job security.

In fact, teachers get barely fired since they are just urgently needed in the educational system and we also have a lack of qualified teachers in many regions of our planet.

Therefore, a teacher career can also be great for you if you search for a secure job that still pays decent money at the same time.

Lots of vacation as a teacher

There are also not many other people out there who have as many weeks of vacation as teachers do.

In fact, most teachers have two or even three months of vacation every year and most other employees would love to change places with teachers in this regard.

You will just barely find any job out there that offers that much leisure and some teachers would therefore even be willing to work more to earn additional money instead of having that much free time.

Good social standing of teachers

Most parents know how difficult the job of a teacher can really be.

Hence, they will also greatly appreciate your work and will be quite grateful for the things you do every day.

In turn, teachers have a great social standing in general and this will give you a feeling of appreciation.

Thus, you will likely also stay motivated for a longer period of time with your work compared to someone who just works for the money and does not get any appreciation at all.

You can improve your people skills

As a teacher, you will also be able to greatly improve your people skills.

Since you will work with many different students each year, you will get a good sense of how students behave and how they want to trick you.

Moreover, you will soon be able to detect if somebody is lying to you or if he or she is telling the truth.

Those skills can not only be quite valuable in your life as a teacher, but they will also greatly help you in your private life since you will also be able to apply this knowledge to your family and friends and also to strangers you might want to spend more time with.

Working as a teacher can give you purpose in life

Many teachers also work in this field not for the money and the other nice things that come along with it, but they really want to make a difference in the lives of many young people.

In fact, working as a teacher can be more than just a job.

It can be a real passion and may give you purpose and meaning in life.

Many people who work in the corporate world right now also consider becoming a teacher since they just don’t get anything out of their current job and want to do something that is more valuable to society.

You can avoid classical office work

Teachers also don’t have to work in classical office environments. While some people love working in traditional office jobs, many others don’t like it at all and if you want to work with children and want to do something more interactive than just staring at a computer screen all day long and doing boring presentations, a teaching career can be great for you since you will get the chance to interact with many creative children all day long.

You can teach many different subjects

You will also have a high level of freedom regarding what subjects you want to teach. You can just pick your favorite subjects and become really good at them.

In turn, you will be able to teach these subjects for quite a long time and in the long run, you will know all the things you have to do at work automatically and there will be barely any need to prepare your classes anymore.

Moreover, since you can choose the subjects you are most interested in, you will also be able to spend your time with the things that are most interesting to you and this can keep you motivated for quite a long time when other people already got bored with what they do for a living.

You will never get bored as a teacher

In general, teachers barely get bored with what they are doing since they will always experience new things and sides of their students and no day will be the same.

In fact, you will never know what will happen at work and you will always have to adjust to new challenges.

Moreover, also the mood of the kids you have to teach will be changing and this can be really challenging since you will also have to change your style of teaching according to that if you want to stay successful with teaching in the long run.

Teachers don’t have much time pressure

Another advantage of a teacher career is that you will also not have much time pressure at work.

Compared to many other people who have to work in classical office jobs in leading positions in the corporate world, you will have a rather relaxed time in this regard and will even be able to enjoy many breaks during work while many other people have to hustle to get their things done in time.

Progress of school kids can make you happy

It can also be really nice to see the progress the kids you are responsible for make every day.

This can make you really proud and can also give you motivation to carry on since you know that what you are doing actually works and that you do an important job to prepare those kids for the future job market and the harsh conditions that are waiting for them.

You will always learn new things about your students

It can also be quite interesting to work as a teacher since you will always learn new things about your students.

In fact, it will take some time until your students will fully trust you and only after this initial period of time, your students will really tell you about their struggles and how they really feel.

In turn, you will only be able to help out those kids if you are able to build a strong relationship with them and this can also be a real challenge which will finally be rewarding in the long run.

You can feel like a mentor for school kids

Teachers are also more than just people who present learning materials to kids.

As a teacher, you can also be a real mentor for the kids you are responsible for and can help them overcome difficult periods in their lives.

Teachers can change the future of education

As a teacher, you will also have the power to change the future of education.

You will be able to introduce new teaching methods that will be more efficient and helpful compared to old and obsolete teaching techniques and you can really shape how children perceive your lessons and whether they really enjoy attending your class or not.

Additional perks for many teachers

Apart from all the other benefits that come along with a teacher career, you will also get additional perks.

For example, many teachers get access to good health insurance plans and may also get some financial support for retirement plans.

Hence, even though your base salary may not be great, you can get some additional compensation through those perks.

As you can see, working as a teacher can have many important advantages.

However, it is still not all upside and we also have to talk about all the negative things that come along with it to give you a more realistic picture of reality and about what a career as a teacher really looks like so that you can make a profound career choice.

Disadvantages of Working as a Teacher

1. You will not get rich as a teacher
2. Limited promotion options
3. You can’t work from home
4. School kids can be difficult
5. Many teachers experience mental problems
6. You will not learn many hard skills
7. Hard to switch to a different field
8. Working as a teacher can be mentally demanding
9. Parents may complain about your style of teaching
10. Students may not be interested in the things you are teaching
11. You teach the same things over and over again
12. You often need a college degree for working as a teacher
13. Student loan debt may become an issue
14. It will take you a long time to become independent of your parents
15. You may have to go to the gym

You will not get rich as a teacher

One problem with being a teacher is that you will just not get rich from your job.

While you will often make enough money to pay your bills, you will still not be able to afford any luxury and in expensive regions of our planet, you may really struggle to afford more than just paying your rent and other basic expenses.

Consequently, you should not become a teacher and rather become a dentist if money and luxury are really important to you.

Limited promotion options

You will also have rather poor promotion opportunities as a teacher. Quite often, you will work in the same position for many years or even decades and this can be quite frustrating since you will know that all your efforts will just not pay off in the long run and while many other people who work in the corporate world are able to climb the professional ladder soon, you will get stuck in the same position for quite a long time and may not get any promotions at all during your teacher career.

You can’t work from home

Another disadvantage of working as a teacher is that you will also not be able to work remotely.

Hence, while many other people who work in office jobs will be able to work from home for at least a few days per week and can do many private things during their workday, you will be much less flexible in this regard.

Moreover, you will also have to spend lots of time and money commuting to work and you may also get stuck in traffic jams on a regular basis.

School kids can be difficult

You should also not expect all of your students to be nice. In fact, school kids can be pretty difficult and demanding and some of them will just not listen to your advice and to your rules at all.

Thus, this will also cost you some nerves and you should make sure that you have a stable mindset to deal with these issues in an emotionally healthy manner.

Many teachers experience mental problems

If you have a rather fragile mindset, you should likely not become a teacher since school kids frequently try to push boundaries and this might even be insulting to you from time to time.

Consequently, if you care too much about what these kids think of you, you will not make it through a teaching career without experiencing serious mental issues like depression.

You will not learn many hard skills

A teacher career can also be problematic since you will just not learn that many hard skills. Sure, you will become really good at handling children over time.

However, you will still lack many important digital skills that are needed in the job market right now.

Hard to switch to a different field

Due to your lack of digital skills and also other hard skills that are important in our current state of the world, you will also have a hard time switching fields in case you don’t want to work as a teacher for some reason.

Hence, before becoming a teacher, make sure that this is what you really want to do for quite a long time to avoid any issues in this regard later in your life.

Working as a teacher can be mentally demanding

Depending on the subject you want to teach, your work as a teacher can also be mentally demanding.

For instance, if you want to teach math at high school level, you will need to have a good understanding of numbers and not many people have this kind of talent.

Therefore, make sure to choose the subjects you want to teach wisely so that you don’t run into any issues in this regard.

Parents may complain about your style of teaching

Not only school kids can be difficult, but also their parents may complain about your style of teaching and about how you treat their kids.

In fact, parents can sometimes be even more difficult than students and it can be quite annoying to have discussions with them on a regular basis.

Of course, not all parents are like that and many of them will greatly appreciate your work.

However, from time to time, you will also have to deal with these difficult people and you should make sure that you have the nerves to do so before you decide for a career as a teacher.

Students may not be interested in the things you are teaching

While some students will be motivated to learn at school, other students will just not be interested in the stuff you want to teach to them at all.

This can be really frustrating, especially if you have put in lots of work for preparation and it may also hurt your feelings.

You teach the same things over and over again

Another downside of being a teacher is that you will also have to teach the same things over and over again.

The older you get and the more years you have spent as a teacher, you will just know all of the stuff you have to teach by heart and you will no longer have to prepare for teaching it.

While this can be quite convenient, it can also get boring and you may just get tired of doing the same things on a regular basis.

You often need a college degree for working as a teacher

Teachers also need lots of education before they are finally allowed to work in this field.

For becoming a teacher, you often need to get a master’s degree or at least a bachelor’s degree and in some states, additional qualifications will be needed for such a career.

Consequently, you will have to spend lots of time and money on this education and you should make sure that becoming a teacher is really what you want to do for a living to make it worth the upfront investment you have to make.

Student loan debt may become an issue

Since you will have to spend many years in college, you will also have to spend lots of money on tuition and housing and if you don’t have wealthy parents, you may have to take on student loan debt which you have to pay back later in your life.

It will take you a long time to become independent of your parents

Since you will need extensive education, chances are that you will also stay dependent on your parents for quite a long time.

Hence, while many of your friends who start working right after school will make enough money to become independent soon, you will struggle with it for a long period of time and if the relationship between you and your parents is not good at all, this can be really problematic.

You may have to go to the gym

Since you will not get much exercise as a teacher during work, you may also have to go to the gym after work on a regular basis.

In turn, you will have to spend some of your precious time exercising while other people can enjoy it for things they like more.

Top 10 Being a Teacher Pros & Cons – Summary List

Should You Become A Teacher?

As you can see from the previous discussion, there are many advantages and disadvantages of being a teacher.

In the end, you have to decide for yourself whether the pros of a teacher career outweigh the cons or if you want to go for a different career instead.

If you want to get even more information about becoming a teacher, make sure to check out more detailed information about the salary, job prospects, working hours, job satisfaction and educational requirements of a teacher.

Also make sure to check out the following articles to get more information on other job options:

Advantages and disadvantages of being a nurse practitioner

Advantages and disadvantages of being a professor

Advantages and disadvantages of being a coder

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teacher

https://www.statista.com/statistics/185025/average-salary-of-teachers-in-public-schools-since-1980/

Own research and interviews.

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people about the different career paths that are possible in our current state of the world. In my opinion, people often make the mistake to choose their profession solely based on how much money they can earn from it instead of doing what makes them really happy.

This is quite sad and I just want to give people a more objective picture of how a fulfilling career could look like. I did the same when I started working in consulting after finishing my Master’s degree in Economics. However, I’ve quit pretty soon after that since I haven’t found true meaning in my job.

Now I can do what I really love to do and I want to enable as many other people as well to go this exciting path towards happiness instead of money.

I conducted various interviews with employees to give you a good impression of what working in different fields will look like and that you can make the best possible decision regarding your future career choice.

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