Becoming a teacher is almost like becoming a nun/priest/monk. It requires that level of selfless commitment. I was slightly off when I said it was unrewwarding, that's really subjective. If you take pride in your work and enjoy the people around you then the rewards can be great. I'm just a pessimist when it comes to the CA school system. Things are getting worse now too thanks to Gray Davis.

Anyway, you should do it, at least on a substitute level. Just to see how it fits. There are of course private schools in the state but if your are going to make such a huge commitment, the public school system needs you much much more.

Take care and good luck =)

Metta,
-todd