Answer:
It is very rewarding at times, extremely frustrating at times, and you work very long hours for very little pay. Everyone thinks you are off two months in the summer, so it must be a gravy job... WRONG! You attend workshops, seminars, and classes most every summer. You also work 50-60 hours weekly during the school year. You are often up late hours grading papers and projects. You attend school functions after hours and on your weekends.
You must deal with parents who are good, bad, ugly, and downright insane! You witness neglect and abuses that you had never even considered before; and, other than reporting it, you are powerless over it. Yet, you see it every day. (My first year, I often went home crying.)
You are held accountable for every student's education no matter what their home life is like or even how often they attend school! They MUST pass that test. It doesn't matter that they have only attended your class four weeks out of the entire school year. You are still accountable for them passing that test!
There are never enough funds to buy classroom or lab supplies, so you often use your personal funds to cover the shortage. (I spend at least 500-800 each school year out of my pocket.)
However, I do influence the future generations and the future of our country -- possibly even the world. I make a difference in the lives of kids, and I know this because they often come back to tell me how I influenced them.
I expose them to new things, teach them to think for themselves, how to be tolerant of others, and help guide them through their adolescence. That is what keeps me in the profession despite all the headaches. I love my students and they mean more to me than a paycheck.
What it boils down to:
If you want to be successful financially, have a personal life, and not deal with insanity - DO NOT TEACH. If you are not materialistic in the least, want to make a difference in the world, and love children - TEACH.