Teacher Salary in Public School- NYC vs Bergen County (credit, school districts)

[Nij39]

Hi Everyone, my first post here but I've been reading the forums for months. =)

I am an elementary Special Ed teacher. My husband and I moved from NYC ( Queens ) and currently reside in Bergen county. I work at a private elementary school ( special ed / non profit ) in NYC and commute there everyday. I am looking to get a job at a public school for better pay and benefits. I am currently in the process of getting my NJ teaching license and curious about how the NJ public schools teachers pay compares to NYC. I am kind of lost about NJ because each district/town seems to have their own salary steps vs NYC.

To compare, in NYC at a public school, they credit you up to 8 years of experience from private which would start me at 80K with a masters degree and over 8 years of experience ( I have 13 in total). I read that NJ public schools don't credit for private school teaching unless they really need your area of specialization.

Thanks.

[zhelder]

DANG! NYC has really improved its teacher pay over the past decade.

Honestly, you’re not going to make 80K with a master’s and eight years of experience in NJ unless you have additional credits, and even then it’s a stretch. 70K is possible, but 65K is a more likely number. Districts are free to credit you for any service they feel is “relevant”. I actually got credit for substitute teaching when I got hired in my current district.

[Nij39]

Originally Posted by zhelder

DANG! NYC has really improved its teacher pay over the past decade.

Honestly, you’re not going to make 80K with a master’s and eight years of experience in NJ unless you have additional credits, and even then it’s a stretch. 70K is possible, but 65K is a more likely number. Districts are free to credit you for any service they feel is “relevant”. I actually got credit for substitute teaching when I got hired in my current district.

Thanks for your response. I imagined it would not be as much. I’m currently working on my second masters which in NYC public schools makes me eligible to make more. Looks like I’ll continue to be teaching in NYC then...

[G1..]

You might get a better response in the Education forum.

[BugsyPal]

Originally Posted by zhelder

DANG! NYC has really improved its teacher pay over the past decade.

Honestly, you’re not going to make 80K with a master’s and eight years of experience in NJ unless you have additional credits, and even then it’s a stretch. 70K is possible, but 65K is a more likely number. Districts are free to credit you for any service they feel is “relevant”. I actually got credit for substitute teaching when I got hired in my current district.

Yet it never is enough; taxpayers getting raped by the unions, and they still want "more". This while overall quality of NYC public education (especially K-8) is spotty if not iffy at best. Hence reason people either pack up and move to NJ, Westchester, Conn or LI. That or put their kids in private for some or all of their primary though HS education.




Teachers Salary Schedule




Keep in mind those are just the salaries; there is more that makes up total compensation which drives the overall number per much higher.


Salary & Benefits | Apply to Teach in New York City Public Schools


https://chalkbeat.org/posts/ny/2018/...ale-2019-2022/

[theoakman]

You have the ability to try to negotiate whatever step you want if they offer you a job. It's not as simple as years of experience. You can go in and literally use your existing salary in NYC as a bargaining point to start.

That being said, there is an infinite supply of special ed certs coming out of NJ. They can hire someone at step 1 and pass you over.

[GiantRutgersfan]

I would choose NYC, provided the commute doesn’t bother you. Pension could end up getting changed in NJ for a new, non-vested teacher in NJ.

[Retriever]

Originally Posted by GiantRutgersfan

Pension could end up getting changed in NJ for a new, non-vested teacher in NJ.

Even if NJ's public pensions don't change, the reality of the situation is that--unlike NJ's pension system--NY's state pension system is fully funded, and its payouts to pensioners are far higher than are NJ's pension payments. For a few years, I worked in a NJ public school with a guy who had retired from teaching in upstate NY, and his monthly pension check was approximately equal to my monthly pay after I had put-in 30 years of service in NJ.

[ansky]

I have many friends that teach in NJ. One thing that is clear is that suburban districts generally pay much higher than urban districts. My suburban friends in some cases are getting paid 30K more per year than their counterparts in urban districts at the same level.

[zhelder]

Originally Posted by ansky

I have many friends that teach in NJ. One thing that is clear is that suburban districts generally pay much higher than urban districts. My suburban friends in some cases are getting paid 30K more per year than their counterparts in urban districts at the same level.

Unless you’re talking about the most affluent suburban districts or large regional high school districts, which do indeed pay the highest salaries, that is not true. In general, urban districts in NJ pay more.

I teach in an urban district and, for a variety of reasons, I’m strongly considering switching school districts after a very long time. In 9 districts out of 10, my pay would be cut significantly (not to mention it would be a Herculean task to get someone to hire me at my level).