You might already know that as a teacher, you’ll be giving back to your community, growing your career, getting plenty of days off and earning a decent starting salary.

But those aren’t the only reasons to teach. Teaching is a challenge, but it comes with lots of other perks—including some you may not have considered.

Lots of jobs are going to be automated in the future, and many are looking obsolete in the future. According to one 2019 report, one-quarter of American jobs are at high risk of automation, with another 36 percent at medium risk.

Teaching isn’t one of those. Sure, you can find hours of video lectures online, or have a computer grade tests and track attendance. But at the end of the day, teaching is about empathy and responding to students’ needs—and those are jobs where robots just can’t compete.

Look, not everyone is cut out for a desk job. Teachers spend their days in motion, whether they’re walking around the classroom, monitoring the cafeteria—or even teaching students how to hula hoop.

Take it from any educator, teaching keeps you (literally) on your toes.

Have a secret fascination with photosynthesis or the Haitian Revolution? Want to read and compare the poems of Gwendolyn Brooks and Yrsa Daley-Ward? Love to discuss labor rights movements or solve chemical equations?

Teaching gives you an outlet to share your favorite subjects, and inspire students to love learning too. A teacher’s passion for their subject matter is one of the top qualities that makes a difference in students’ lives. Your enthusiasm is infectious!

When students feel supported and included at school, they’ll reflect that back to you with creativity and unfiltered excitement about their classroom family. School can be a powerful space for kids to share their important traditions, or to create some special artwork to brighten your day.

Kids are unpredictable and don’t hold back. They might be eager to tell you the funny joke they just made up, or they may want to give you some real talk about your fashion choices. 

Whether you’re laughing, crying or cringing through the school day, you’ll always be entertained—and you’ll never run out of stories to tell at parties.

Whether you love Tater Tot Tuesdays, Thursday’s chocolate cake or popcorn chicken on Mondays, chances are your cafeteria has at least a few regular options to look forward to. And you don’t have to stress when you forget your lunch!

Teaching can be an intense job. The good news is, you’re doing it with a team of people who know the challenges and understand the joys. Teachers are creative, thoughtful, empathetic folks, and those are the kinds of colleagues who keep you going.

You’ll need to be ready to start a new unit on Mesopotamia, counsel students on interpersonal issues or plan a field trip with your teaching team. And that could just be one afternoon! 

For teachers, each day is different and brings fresh challenges and surprises.

Do you get a charge as you slice cardstock with a paper cutter? Are you delighted by a dry erase pen on whiteboard? Do you feel a sense of peace when your sticky notes are color-coded? As a teacher, you can never have too many office supplies.

Working with kids, you’ll keep up with the latest styles, slang and dance videos. Will your students like your moves? That’s debatable—but you’ll feel confident and on-trend at work.