Are you happy in your teaching career?

I’ve taught first grade with no training and I’ve also subbed. Both are hard in different ways—teaching was draining, subbing feels like less responsibility but still challenging.

I’m going to be honest: almost every teacher I’ve met in my district seems miserable and caught up in petty drama. That’s just been my experience. This job asks a lot of you, so I was shocked to learn many teachers had too much time for drama and beef with one another.

At the same time, I genuinely love kids. Some of them are amazing, but some will completely drain you. And I don’t think it’s okay to feel this drained from a job.

So I’m asking straight up—are you actually happy doing this long-term?