From kindergarten through college, teachers have an impact on their students that can last a lifetime. If you have a passion for learning and a desire to mold the minds of the future, teaching may be the career for you.

“Both my parents are retired educators and they encouraged me to go into teaching,” says 36-year-old Megan Lee, who resisted a career in education for years. But when she finally “caved,” says Lee, “I was shocked at how much I love it.”

Lee has been teaching first-grade for five years. “I just love teaching six-year-olds because you see so much growth. They’re just becoming readers and writers,” she says.

Kim Gardner is a first-year special education teacher whose classes are made up of high school students with severe emotional and behavioral problems. “I spent the first three weeks of this school year coming home every day in tears,” says the 27-year-old. But in the end, she adds, “It’s all about earning their trust. Once they know you’re going to hang in there, then it becomes about helping them make good choices in their lives.”

The challenges teachers face every day—from salaries that vary wildly from region to region, to bureaucracy and burnout—can make the realm of education a high-turnover industry for all but the most dedicated. But for those who remain in the profession, there’s the security of mind that no matter where you go, there’ll be a school looking for a teacher. (With 13 million teachers nationwide, education makes up the second largest employment category in the U.S.)

HOW TO BECOME A TEACHER

Get a bachelor’s degree.
Teaching qualifications vary from state-to-state and even from district-to-district, but federal regulations require all general education teachers to have at least a bachelor’s degree and completion of an accredited teacher training program, in addition to one or two semesters of supervised student-teaching. Some states also require technology courses as part of their coursework.