Teaching in Maine (car insurance, home, buying)

[Taero]

Good evening/afternoon everyone I had a query that I wonder if anyone could help me with. I'm a current trainee teacher in the UK, I have a Biomedical undergraduate degree (2:1 for those who know our system) and will have a PGCE (allowing the teaching of pupils aged 11-18 in the UK and accepted across the EU).

Minor Background: My partner is American and currently lives/studies in the US in Maine/Massachussets and so one of us is obviously going to have to do some uprooting in the future. However this is where it seems to fall down, I've visited Maine, loved the state and the area but when I look at salaries it seems the country has gone insane o.O;

In the UK a brand new graduate teacher can expect to earn a minimum of £23k (approx $46K) now apparantly to earn this in the US you need to have been teaching for a minimum of 6 years AND have a PHD. In the UK every year after starting and for 8 years you get a raise of £1.5k per year until you hit a threshold of £35k ($70k) and THEN you can apply to show portfolios etc. and have yourself 'upgraded'. Now with a starting US salary of like $30k that would mean I'm taking a hit of $16k before I've even done anything.

Now the main point is "Have I missed anything here" or is the US just really bad to it's teachers, yes I know that the cost of living is lower in the US than the UK but...THAT much lower?

[Bydand]

I think it really depends on where in the US you go to teach. Some places are lower, some are much higher. There are a couple of different threads in the different forums areas that address this topic. Remember that the UK is roughly 96,000 Square Miles in size ( Geography - UK Standard Area Measurements (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/geography/sam.asp - broken link)) and we have individual states that are larger than that here. The US is about 3,537,438.44 square Miles in size (Census Bureau Home Page) and there is no set pay schedule for teachers across the Country. For Maine that sounds about right from speaking to Teachers I know there, but even then, the pay scale varies widely from area to area. I know most of Aroostook County Teachers don't make what teachers in the Southern Counties do usually.

[mrspink]

Well...you are basically right. Teacher's salaries here in the US are pitiful. My husband is a teacher and I am finishing up my last year of school to also become a teacher. We live in Ohio, which has a very low average salary for teachers and the beginning salaries are usually just as disgraceful. We are currently looking to move out of Ohio because of this problem. We have noticed that the highest salaries are going to teachers in California, southern states (Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas particularly) and a few east coast states. The problem is that even with a higher salary, the cost of living skyrockets and doesn't really equal out. We are considering Maryland with the understanding that things will be more expensive. But we have also been looking into some other states that while the pay may not be much more than here in Ohio...the cost of living is less and you can just get more for your money.

My husband is ok moving anywhere but I would have a hard time moving TOO far b/c I love being around my family. I get to see them on a daily basis now and I feel like adjusting to seeing them around twice a year or so...would be very difficult.

This is coming from someone who is REALLY unhappy about salaries teachers receive here in the US. Just my little two cents!

[Taero]

Hmm thank you for the replies, it looks as though she'll be moving to live with me in England then. The southern states would be out for me I'm afraid, for all of its positives the south is a bit 'too' American for me, too religious etc. Looks as though I'd better start looking into cities here. A pity because the country is gorgeous, I just don't understand why the governments don't see the importance of teachers like ours does (did you know in Germany Teachers are held in the same regard as Doctors)? Is it also true that you can be fired in some cases for joining a union :O?

[maine4.us]

The states in the US that have teacher salaries comparable to the UK would most likely have living expenses equal to or higher than the UK.

[shadowfax1997]

curious - what do you pay in...
income tax for that $70K?
property tax?
sales tax?
medical insurance?
electricity?
cable?
phone?
car insurance?
food?
gas?

It could be comparable after conversions. I don't have any idea what these things go for in england.

[lawmom]

My father has a Master's degree in education and taught elementary school for 35+ years. Granted, he retired some 10 years ago, but his highest salary was $42k.

[kellysmith]

You don't state your citizenship, but it sounds like you are not an US citizen. If that is the case, in order to enter the States to work as a teacher you would need an H1B visa. The employee doesn't apply for an H1B, the employer does. For 2008 the limit of H1B's was 85,000 and applications started on April 2. They are applied for and issued in short order. You will find many companies complaining about not being able to get H1B's for foreign workers because the allotment has been met. Not to say that you couldn't find a school system that would go through the process of obtaining an H1B for you, but first you have to be hired. You must hold the appropriate certifications from the state to be offered the position. The school would apply for the H1B which most school superintendents aren't really interested in doing in my opinion. Canadians can enter on a TN visa because of NAFTA. Less hoops to jump through there, so you will find Canadian teachers, but I doubt there are many H1B's in Maine teaching school. Universities might go through the process just to offer a more diversified faculty, but I don't think k-12 schools do...not that they can't...just don't.

[arthwys]

Taero,

While you are correct that 23k pounds is roughly 46k dollars, if you are living and working in the states you will be spending in dollars, not in pounds. Essentially the buying power of the dollar in the States is the same as the pound in the UK. You can get a loaf of bread for 3 pounds in the UK, you can get a loaf of bread for 3 dollars in the States. So essentially you'll be on the same salary on either side of the pond. Now if you were to try and save money in America and then move back with that money across the pond, you'd find your savings cut in half.

[MaineMathTCHER]

[ "Have I missed anything here" or is the US just really bad to it's teachers, yes I know that the cost of living is lower in the US than the UK but...THAT much lower?[/quote]


I have taught on the West Coast (an up scale community in LA county) and in the Middle of the US (Austin, Texas). I now teach in Maine and make less as a very seasoned veteran teacher than I made as a 3rd year teacher in California. From California to Texas I took a 15,000 pay drop-from Texas to maine another 10,000 pay drop. So, you should know the pay in Maine is lower than most other states. But, and this is a HUGE but-The quality of life is WAY above. I have more land, more house, and better time off than I had any where else! You can't just look at numbers-look at what you get for your money.