Ferrari enrolled at the Normal School Nº 1 of Buenos Aires, receiving her teaching certificate in 1903.[2] For a woman of Ferrari's social class, paid work was unusual at the time. It was understood that in cases of financial necessity poor women might nurse or teach, because both were considered charitable, but upper class women were expected to be no more than wives and mothers.[3] Ignoring convention, she embarked on a career in medicine, but also began teaching.[4] Ferrari taught at the Colegio William Morris and the Escuela Nº 3 Bernardino Rivadavia.[5] She had studied psychology in a cutting-edge field known as "experimental psychology" and applied it to her classes, which caused the authorities to launch an investigation into her teaching methods. She was allowed to continue teaching, as her techniques of motivating students and encouraging them to learn proved effective.[6]