Should I become a substitute teacher or should I go back to being a teacher?

Hello, Everyone. As the title implies, I am currently deciding whether I should continue being a teacher or whether I should start working as a substitute. I will try to include as much information as I can without revealing too much, as this is an active decision and I don’t want to accidentally lose both jobs. I(23F) started working as a middle school teacher at a charter school in March. I was desperate for a job and just needed to obtain a substitute certificate to work there, so for me it was a win. I love working with kids and helping them explore new ideas, so it also seemed like the perfect opportunity in that aspect. Here is the thing in the couple months I was a teacher, I was constantly receiving snide comments from the admin without any real support and assistance to do better. I felt like everything I was doing was wrong. I also was out of the loop in terms of communication. I would hear about changes in schedule or policy from students, which I then would have to double check with the other teachers to confirm whether or not it was correct. In addition to all this, I struggled teaching the students anything because from the beginning of the semester up until me starting they had no teacher, so in their eyes I was interrupting their fun period. There were several other aspects that frustrated me, but at the end of the school year I signed a contract for this coming year, however I deeply desired to quit and find another job. Anyway, recently I had been working on applying to be a substitute teacher, I am almost done with the process, but I am now doubting myself. What if I go back to the charter school and I have a great time, because I started at the beginning of the year - something the other teachers told me would be the case several times. What if I was over reacting? What if I start as a substitute and then never find a full time job afterwards, because I left the charter school after 2 months of teaching?

All these thoughts lead me to ask this subreddit, what do you think? Should I go back to teaching at the charter school or just finish up the process of being a substitute teacher and hope for the best?

Additionally context that might affect someone’s opinion. I do plan on starting graduate school if I decide to work as a substitute.

Posted Jul 9, 2026, 7:57 PM UTC

28
Loading comments…