This essay is guided by the objective of discussing the processes of precarization, intensification, and devaluation of teaching work, in light of the structural transformations in the educational field brought about by neoliberal policies, results-oriented educational reforms, and the commodification of education. From a theoretical-critical perspective, the essay problematizes the reconfiguration of the teaching profession under the neoliberal ideological framework, which converts educational work into a technical service managed through targets and subjected to the logic of efficiency and competition. The impacts of these transformations on both the objective and subjective conditions of teaching are examined, as well as the choice of the teaching profession in times of precarization, intensification, and devaluation. Portuguese version: https://doi.org/10.1590/SciELOPreprints.14675