Irish Further Education and Training (FET) is presently undergoing a period of transformation after years of experiencing issues related to identity and precarious employment, among others. This paper explores the experiences and motivations of 16 student teachers who, despite the sectoral challenges, have chosen to teach in FET as a second career. Interestingly, many turned to teaching in FET only after facing barriers to employment in other educational sectors. However, their motivations for becoming a teacher were highly altruistic as they assumed a pastoral-facilitator approach in their work with adult learners and were motivated by social justice values of inclusion and equality.