This qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews, analyses the emotions of six (n = 6) pre-service teachers (PSTs) enrolled in a Chilean full-year education programme through metaphors they used to describe the process by which they became professionals. Findings suggest that pre-service teachers understand emotions as burdens, tools, and sources for self-knowledge. Metaphors also indicate that teacher training might be experienced as a shifting and hostile proof that challenges their self-conceptions, impelling personal adaptation and learning. Accordingly, this study shows that candidates employ metaphors to create professional knowledge, review past experiences, and develop identities. Lastly, it is also suggested that integrating metaphor-based work during the training might help PSTs to build narrative agency and gain valuable insight into their processes.