I remember after my mom got her teaching certification and her first check, as it was her first “real” job as all of her other jobs were non traditional work and she was so proud. She showed her first “real” check to me and I was around 10 years old. I was so shocked and sad for her at the amount because I knew she’d have to work another job as soon as I saw what take home pay was and that this thing she was so proud of was not a solution for us. I was TEN and I knew teaching was not a viable option for my future. From then on the culture around teaching that I witnessed my mom endure confirmed to me that it was not something I could survive. 30 years later and my mom still can’t retire and I’m still not a teacher.