Phases of high and low need for the recruitment of new teachers supposedly follow each other in cyclical waves in Germany. This narrativ about teacher shortages suggests that supply and demand for teachers are supposedly predictable and could be managed by “special measures” and alternative pathways into the teaching profession. These measures are designed to address the crisis and aim to integrate persons without a teaching degree into the teaching profession in order to counter the teacher shortage. This article begins by discussing the narrativ about teacher shortage in Germany and the current crisis phenomenon. Than it will be define the many potential variations of lateral entry and career jumping (Lateral entry (Ger. Seiteneinstieg); career jumping (Ger. Quereinstieg)) into the teaching profession. The article continues by using empirical evidence to point out how new actors in the school system are perceived and how they portray themselves as a group. It finishes by discussing the opportunities arising from turning to career jumpers and lateral entrants into the teaching profession and what this might mean for more than just university-based teacher training.