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Is it rude to say, "how did you end up here?" to a teacher?

I said it to my English teacher, and then thought, "damn, I don't know if I'm supposed to phrase it that way or not."

So, is it?

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It probably depends a lot on the way you asked the question. It does kind of sound like you implied "in a dead-end, thankless job like this," but if you were sincerely asking how he or she became a teacher so that you might one day become one, then it was perhaps fine. – JLG Sep 21 '12 at 17:07
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"So what brought you here?" might help avoid the implication @JLG describes. – StoneyB Sep 21 '12 at 17:54
Do you mean being a teacher in general, or at this particular school? "What made you decide to become a teacher?" might be good for the former and "How did you decide to come teach at <your school name here>?" for the latter. – Jim Sep 21 '12 at 18:11
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Does your English teacher know that you use a lower-case "i" when you should use an upper case one, and you don't start quotes with capital letters? If so, maybe the teacher is wondering the same thing. – J.R. Sep 21 '12 at 18:35
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@J.R. presumably NewProger is taking English classes because he or she is school-aged or a non-native speaker. Take it easy. – Ryan Sep 21 '12 at 20:04
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closed as not constructive by J.R., FumbleFingers, Rory Alsop, Andrew Leach, Matt Эллен Sep 21 '12 at 22:23

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1 Answer

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The term end up can have a neutral meaning

to become eventually; turn out to be he ended up a thief

to arrive, esp by a circuitous or lengthy route or process: he ended up living in New Zealand

However, as shown from most of the examples, it commonly has a slightly pejorative connotation

to be in a particular place or state after doing something or because of doing it: Keep on doing that and you'll end up in serious trouble.

Somehow they all ended up at my house.

end up doing something: I ended up spending the night in the airport.

Because of that connotation, without more context, it may seem rude to many listeners.

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