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I don't know about teaching job here in south but I live here and I hope you will be comfortable here soon. For job, we have to struggle and search which one is suitable, and I have passed through this experience before in my starting days in south.
We have had three teachers come to NC from Michigan since I have been at my current school. All have returned. One to the worst of the worst in Detroit.
Can't pinpoint any one reason, other than low pay, but they knew that coming in.
Was that me? I bailed NC when the state took one week from Christmas break and added it to the end if June.
I'm originally from OH, where the job market is just as bad, and I couldn't find a job in sped either. I also thought I'd look at the same states you listed in your OP. The only one that I got some interviews in was VA, and they kept wanting me to teach EBD which I had no interest in. I applied in NC and later found out from a friend that they really won't look at your application unless you have their license in hand. She even drove down (about 14 hours) for a job fair and found that no one would give her the time of day since she didn't have her NC license, even though she had her OH one and NC is a reciprocal state. As soon as she got it, she started getting interviews left and right. So if you're serious about that, definitely get the license first. Personally, I kind of felt like I dodged a bullet there because I constantly hear about how things are so bad for teachers in NC. In a totally random turn of events I ended up in CO. I've been here for five years now. The job market for sped teachers is decent in Denver and Colorado Springs. It's tougher for gen ed (maybe 200 applicants per position, which is nothing compared to the thousands applying in the midwest). If you're willing to look outside of the major cities, the job market is wide open, even for general ed elementary teachers. The very rural areas are begging for teachers.
Wow! Thank you so much for all the valuable information and advice! Everyone here in Michigan with teaching degrees are going back to get their nursing degrees. I have a question, are the rural places in Virginia and North Carolina begging for teachers, or the rural areas in Colorado? My husband wants to live in the middle of nowhere in Virginia. Thank you so much!
Wow! Thank you so much for all the valuable information and advice! Everyone here in Michigan with teaching degrees are going back to get their nursing degrees. I have a question, are the rural places in Virginia and North Carolina begging for teachers, or the rural areas in Colorado? My husband wants to live in the middle of nowhere in Virginia. Thank you so much!
To my knowledge, the rural parts of Virginia aren't begging for teachers. They are about in the same shape as the rural areas of most other states. It is the high rent districts that are begging, and frankly, it's because the pay, although considered high for the profession, is dismal compared to the cost-of-living. My pay was more than $10,000 less in Kentucky than it would be here, but the pay went much further in Kentucky. In Kentucky I could have afforded a house in a good area on my pay alone. Here I would be lucky to be able to rent an apartment without getting a roommate.
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To my knowledge, the rural parts of Virginia aren't begging for teachers. They are about in the same shape as the rural areas of most other states. It is the high rent districts that are begging, and frankly, it's because the pay, although considered high for the profession, is dismal compared to the cost-of-living. My pay was more than $10,000 less in Kentucky than it would be here, but the pay went much further in Kentucky. In Kentucky I could have afforded a house in a good area on my pay alone. Here I would be lucky to be able to rent an apartment without getting a roommate.
I agree about the needs. I have relatives who teach or have other positions with the schools in SW VA. The needs aren't even close to the districts in the northern part of the state where districts add up to what, 4,000 or 5,000 students a year? I think that's where the biggest need comes from. Increases in student numbers.
We are a two teacher household and do o.k. I'm curious about that Kentucky pay. Is that early on the scale? I just compared my salary after 22 years in a NoVA district to the salaries on the scale of a few more rural districts and the difference can be quite a bit larger. In Bedford County for example, I'd make about $36k less and their benefits are more expensive. Their contract is also longer by 6 days. Their starting pay is about $10k less and there is absolutely NO movement in pay for the first six years (ugh). After seven years it's a $300 bump. I still don't think my pay is that great considering our COL, but I don't think $48k in Bedford County goes any further than $84k here.
I agree about the needs. I have relatives who teach or have other positions with the schools in SW VA. The needs aren't even close to the districts in the northern part of the state where districts add up to what, 4,000 or 5,000 students a year? I think that's where the biggest need comes from. Increases in student numbers.
We are a two teacher household and do o.k. I'm curious about that Kentucky pay. Is that early on the scale? I just compared my salary after 22 years in a NoVA district to the salaries on the scale of a few more rural districts and the difference can be quite a bit larger. In Bedford County for example, I'd make about $36k less and their benefits are more expensive. Their contract is also longer by 6 days. Their starting pay is about $10k less and there is absolutely NO movement in pay for the first six years (ugh). After seven years it's a $300 bump. I still don't think my pay is that great considering our COL, but I don't think $48k in Bedford County goes any further than $84k here.
For 22 years, between 185 and 189 days, the average teacher's salary:
In Jefferson County, KY (Louisville) - $75,000. The average house listing price is $212,000
In Fayette County (Lexington) - $64,0000. The average house listing price is $167,500
In Madison County, KY (Richmond - "large" city near Lexington) - $57,000. The average house listing price is $163,000
In Meade County (western part of state) - $53,500. The average house listing price is $113,000.
In Clay County (Eastern part of state) - $51,000. The average house listing price is $82,400.
In Kentucky you very, very seldom get the listing price. Basically, if you go to the sparsely populated areas of Kentucky, it's not so much that you are paid well, it's that you are paid better than pretty much anyone else there other than the doctors. The nearer you get to Lexington or Louisville the less true that is, but your salary still goes a lot farther than it does here. Interestingly, when those small counties have vacancies, other than elementary, they have a very hard time filling them. Some counties sometimes even struggle to fill elementary jobs. Lexington never has had problems, even during the last teacher shortage, they have always gotten plenty of applications for every vacancy. Louisville, it depends on the economy. Which just goes to show you, it isn't just about the money.
The biggest surprise to me when I came here was that subs in my old Kentucky county got paid more than subs here.
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When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.
For 22 years, between 185 and 189 days, the average teacher's salary:
In Jefferson County, KY (Louisville) - $75,000. The average house listing price is $212,000
In Fayette County (Lexington) - $64,0000. The average house listing price is $167,500
In Madison County, KY (Richmond - "large" city near Lexington) - $57,000. The average house listing price is $163,000
In Meade County (western part of state) - $53,500. The average house listing price is $113,000.
In Clay County (Eastern part of state) - $51,000. The average house listing price is $82,400.
In Kentucky you very, very seldom get the listing price. Basically, if you go to the sparsely populated areas of Kentucky, it's not so much that you are paid well, it's that you are paid better than pretty much anyone else there other than the doctors. The nearer you get to Lexington or Louisville the less true that is, but your salary still goes a lot farther than it does here. Interestingly, when those small counties have vacancies, other than elementary, they have a very hard time filling them. Some counties sometimes even struggle to fill elementary jobs. Lexington never has had problems, even during the last teacher shortage, they have always gotten plenty of applications for every vacancy. Louisville, it depends on the economy. Which just goes to show you, it isn't just about the money.
The biggest surprise to me when I came here was that subs in my old Kentucky county got paid more than subs here.
So rural KY pays quite a bit better than rural VA.
So rural KY pays quite a bit better than rural VA.
There used to be a bigger difference between the big cities and poor rural counties but about 30 years ago the state did a huge reform and one of the changes was a base amount for teacher pay comes from the state - local boards can add more. They did it because there were places in the state where teachers, no kidding, made barely above minimum wage. It was a good move.
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When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.
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