What job does Lily Aldrin have at the start of the series?

At the start of How I Met Your Mother, Lily Aldrin works as a kindergarten teacher. Her classroom job establishes her as nurturing and practical, while also contrasting with the more ambitious career paths of her friends.

Lily is played by Alyson Hannigan and begins the series engaged to Marshall Eriksen, her college sweetheart. She is also Ted Mosby’s closest friend and one of the people at the emotional center of the group. Although she enjoys teaching, Lily has a longstanding interest in art and eventually explores work outside the classroom.

The main mix-up is that Lily briefly becomes involved with art dealing later in the series. She works as an art consultant for the Captain, a wealthy collector, after leaving kindergarten teaching. That later occupation should not be confused with her profession when the show begins.

Lily’s background as an amateur painter helps explain why the art-consultant storyline feels plausible. Her professional journey changes over time, but kindergarten teacher is the canonical answer for the opening period of the series.