job question (Philadelphia: how much, teaching jobs, school district)

[spsu]

thinking of relocating to chester/montgomery county from nyc. my wife is a school teacher and worried about severe salary drop. any information greatly appreciated.

[toobusytoday]

Teacher salaries are public information but you will have to dig for it. Find a school district and see if their budget is on-line. But, you know that the cost of living is lower here in PA so it will probably work out. Make less, pay less.

[twinmma]

Owen J Roberts is a wonderful school district and I bet there pay is a little higher.
If you were to look at Bucks county in the Counsel Rock school district I believe the are one of the highest paid in the country?
A friend of mine works in a school just beside the counsil rock and she started at $45K a year.
Good Luck

[BPP1999]

In PA, unfortunately, self-serving unions are very powerful. One such self-serving union is the teachers' union. Though PA is generally not an expensive state to live in, teacher salaries, if I am not mistaken, are generally quite good. So are the benefits.

[thesixth]

Be aware however, that for many teaching jobs, it may be tough as a relocation since the districts frequently do not honor previous years of service. Your wife many need to start at the entry level salary range if she secures a position.
Also suburban positions are very competitive in that they always have many more apps for the jobs so they can be choosy.
Good luck.

[I love the Bears]

Try to live in berks county - the taxes and utilities are cheaper

[stayathomemom1]

Originally Posted by twinmma

Owen J Roberts is a wonderful school district and I bet there pay is a little higher.
If you were to look at Bucks county in the Counsel Rock school district I believe the are one of the highest paid in the country?
A friend of mine works in a school just beside the counsil rock and she started at $45K a year.
Good Luck

What would a teacher with a masters degree make at owen j.robets as a teacher for about 10 years. I have a friend with a masters that just moved into the area looking for a job. thanks for the info

[Calibound-Yorkiemom]

Originally Posted by thesixth

Be aware however, that for many teaching jobs, it may be tough as a relocation since the districts frequently do not honor previous years of service.

I did not know this. Can you tell me if this for Philadelphia as well?

As far as for the orginal poster I've been looking into it and if the honor previous years of experience the salaries are pretty on par with NYC. I used to teach in NYC.

[orrmobl]

You may have to pay your dues in a less than stellar district with less than stellar pay if you can't get into one of the better burbs districts...I would think the pay would be slightly lower than NYC but the cost of living is quite a bit lower so you should make out quite well...

[beachespeaches]

It depends on if your wife is planning on teaching in the city (wouldn't recommend it though). Philadelphia School District teacher pays are not that great...sometimes you can luck out with a charter school that has a larger budget...as I did. However, you mentioned montgomery/chester county. I don't know how much your wife is making in NYC, but I would imagine that the decrease of pay in those counties couldn't be much as they pay pretty well...in fact she may get paid more, depending on her experience and credentials. Plus as someone else mentioned, if you lived in Manhattan, than your cost of living in PA will also be lower.

Check out salarywizard.com. Also PaycheckCity.com - Employee Self-Service Tools To Better Manage Your Paycheck is good to help you determine what your pay is going to look like after taxes, based on where you live.