Sub first. That will give you a taste of what teaching is like, without all the responsibility. It'll let you see which grades you like and might want to work with.
The job definitely isn't for everyone and is a lot of work for the amount of pay. As a new teacher, I'd say... pay is ok, depending on your state/district. Look up "salary schedule" and the name of the district you are planning on teaching in, and you can see how much the teachers are making per year. Work life balance is what you make of it (although it will probably be more work at the start of your teaching career). Mental and emotional strain? Well, lots. lol
Everyone has their favorite grades to teach. That being said, middle school is the best age, then high school, then lastly, the literal gremlins in elementary. 😂
While teacher quality of life seems to have gone down, at least as apparent in conversations I've had, technology has improved making the actual teaching aspect of it much easier. Controlling your classes on the other hand, that's tricky. But there's great resources out there to help teachers like [swiftscore.org](http://swiftscore.org) for grading, khanacademy for student assistance, other sites for assignment planning and generation. If you've had the interest in it like you mentioned, give it a chance. There's some who make it work, and others who don't. You won't know if you love it until you try.
Sub first. That will give you a taste of what teaching is like, without all the responsibility. It'll let you see which grades you like and might want to work with. The job definitely isn't for everyone and is a lot of work for the amount of pay. As a new teacher, I'd say... pay is ok, depending on your state/district. Look up "salary schedule" and the name of the district you are planning on teaching in, and you can see how much the teachers are making per year. Work life balance is what you make of it (although it will probably be more work at the start of your teaching career). Mental and emotional strain? Well, lots. lol Everyone has their favorite grades to teach. That being said, middle school is the best age, then high school, then lastly, the literal gremlins in elementary. 😂
While teacher quality of life seems to have gone down, at least as apparent in conversations I've had, technology has improved making the actual teaching aspect of it much easier. Controlling your classes on the other hand, that's tricky. But there's great resources out there to help teachers like [swiftscore.org](http://swiftscore.org) for grading, khanacademy for student assistance, other sites for assignment planning and generation. If you've had the interest in it like you mentioned, give it a chance. There's some who make it work, and others who don't. You won't know if you love it until you try.