Teaching in Portland (Sheridan: job market, neighborhood, school district) - Oregon (OR) - City-Data Forum

sebby · 01-25-2009, 10:50 PM

I may be starting a Master's in Teaching program in Portland this summer. I have a couple questions for anyone willing and able to answer:

-What is the starting salary for an elementary/middle school teacher with a Master's in Portland?

-How plentiful are teaching jobs in Portland? I would think having a Master's would make it a little easier for me to find a job right after graduating (and education is always a good field to go into during an economic downturn), but I'd hate to be too overconfident.

Thanks!

BLAZER PROPHET · 01-26-2009, 08:28 AM

Last I checked, starting teacher salaries with a Masters is around $30,000- but it depends on the district.

As to openings, usually there are plenty (but with a lot of competition), but in tough economic times, they may be difficult. However, some disciplines are easier to use for obtaining jobs. For example, math teachers are usually in high demand.

One last thing. For reasons unknown, Portland public schools imports a very large amount of teachers from outside the northwest. So it may help if you are not attending school here.

Todd.LA · 01-28-2009, 02:39 PM

Starting salary in Portland Public Schools with a masters are probably a bit over $41K. Check out:

http://www.laborrelations.pps.k12.or.us/.docs/pg/11217

I have no idea how hard the teaching job market is, but with the private sector in the toilet, a job with 100% job security, summers off, and $41K to start doesn't look so bad. Good luck!

sebby · 01-29-2009, 01:58 PM

Thanks for the info.

Everyone is telling me to stay and teach in Chicago, where the starting salary is a whopping $50K with a Master's, but the city is too people-dense and the Winters shave years off your life. I am more than ready to move on.

StealthRabbit · 01-29-2009, 04:28 PM

Check out WY teaching jobs on your way west.

They have GOOD funding for schools, and supportive families. Winters would be better than in Chicago. Windy, but dry. Sunny too

My preferences (in order, are Sheridan, Powell, Laramie).

OR is suffering some school setbacks and are laying off administrators and aids at the moment, teachers to follow. I would look north of the river, (WA) if you are insistent on Portland area. It is only 20 min to Camas, Evergreen, and Hockinson WA districts (they are rated pretty high).

Isotope-C14 · 01-29-2009, 08:10 PM

Stay in Chicago. Stay stay stay, if you want to move out here lets trade places.

Everyone is telling you to stay for a reason, I live out here and am from Chicagoland and I wouldn't dream of making the same choice to move out here again. Everyone I know who has moved out here has moved back because it is a terrible evil hole. I would never wish Portland on people I hated.

If you need to move, go east.

sebby · 01-30-2009, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Isotope-C14

Stay in Chicago. Stay stay stay, if you want to move out here lets trade places.

Everyone is telling you to stay for a reason, I live out here and am from Chicagoland and I wouldn't dream of making the same choice to move out here again. Everyone I know who has moved out here has moved back because it is a terrible evil hole. I would never wish Portland on people I hated.

If you need to move, go east.

Ha Ha, okay, what specifically makes Portland a terrible evil hole? I enjoyed the city when I visited; it seemed like a great change of pace from Chicago. I know that it's rainy and gloomy, but I can't imagine that being worse than the weather in Chicago.

I guess the nice thing about the programs I applied to in Portland is that they're 1 year long -- if I end up disliking the city, I can just go on and teach somewhere else.

Todd.LA · 01-30-2009, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sebby

Ha Ha, okay, what specifically makes Portland a terrible evil hole? I enjoyed the city when I visited; it seemed like a great change of pace from Chicago. I know that it's rainy and gloomy, but I can't imagine that being worse than the weather in Chicago.

I guess the nice thing about the programs I applied to in Portland is that they're 1 year long -- if I end up disliking the city, I can just go on and teach somewhere else.

Isotope has a somewhat uniquely negative opinion of Portland and Oregon, mostly based in her/his opinion that its residents are stupid. While I do think there is a west coast wide problem with too much acceptance of new-agey pseudo science, I find the socially liberal / open minded attitudes typical of west coast residents outweigh Isotope's complaints. Your best bet would be to come visit for a week or so and immerse yourself in the city to see if you like it.

When I talk to folks from Chicago about winters in Portland, they uniformly prefer wetter, milder Pacific Northwest winters. They're comparably gloomy, but in Oregon and Washington the temperature is 10-15 degrees warmer than Chicago on average. Summers are far superior, with average highs in the high 70s to mid 80s and no humidity.

Wyoming might be a bit of culture shock, if you're coming from Chicago, as it is very rural.

sebby · 02-02-2009, 10:05 PM

Pseudo-science, eh? I know that Portland has an inordinate amount of hippies compared to most other cities -- do they at least confine themselves to one neighborhood? I admit I have an Eric Cartmanesque dislike of hippies.

ahoffelt · 02-03-2009, 09:30 PM

I work in the school district and know that there is a major budget crisis that will most likely affect new hires. I would be cautious about moving to Portland and expecting to find a teaching job right away. I have friends with Masters who ended up falling back on special education positions because they could not get other teaching jobs, and that was before the budget got really bad. Right now, I wouldn't even be certain about special education job availability.