Note: This article is part of the Broke Salaryman series. A teacher wrote the article based on her experiences and it has been edited it for style. In 2007, I quit my sales job selling science lab equipment to become a teacher. It was a career move my younger self could never have predicted. I had done relief-teaching in the past, so I knew teaching could be challenging. I even told myself it was the last thing I’d do. But three years in the private sector had left me disillusioned. I sought purpose and a meaningful career. That’s why I took that big pay cut. And also why I humbled myself and went back to NIE to be a student again. Like all teachers, I started out bright-eyed and inspired to make a difference. Here’s what I wished I knew before taking the plunge. Teaching Isn’t as Easy as People Make...