Why do people say teachers make so little? (career, masters degree, demand)
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Only in areas with a high cost of living, where $100K doesn't go as far as you'd think it would.
My husband has nearly 30 years of experience and only just in the last couple of years made it to $50,000....and that's including a couple of yearly bonuses based on county sales taxes, which fluctuate.
I am in Northern VA (Suburban DC) which has one of the highest costs of living in the country. We don't break $100k. "...can easily break $100k" is an example of another blanket statement that gets made and people will believe it.
And please, don't turn this into a complaint about salary. It's not.
I don't think you can put a blanket pay range like that and say teachers everywhere should get that amount. It's been mentioned before. The COL has to be considered.
That's what a lot of complainers don't take into account. An area where COL is high and even $45K isn't enough. An area where the top rate for jobs is $12/hour and $30K is above that.
You wrote, "...districts compete with each other for good teacher through benefits".
I agree. Our benefits and pay are lagging behind surrounding districts. So, that is why I wrote, "That's probably why we have so many unfilled teaching positions".
That's what a lot of complainers don't take into account. An area where COL is high and even $45K isn't enough. An area where the top rate for jobs is $12/hour and $30K is above that.
Exactly. And it gets quite a bit more complicated than that when you take federal tax brackets into consideration. In certain areas, it might take $35k net to live a modest middle class lifestyle. In other areas, it might take $135k net to live the exact same modest middle class lifestyle due to COL. But the teacher who lives in the higher COL area gets screwed because a larger portion of their income goes to taxes and thus they end up living a worse lifestyle than the person making less money.
I don't think you can put a blanket pay range like that and say teachers everywhere should get that amount. It's been mentioned before. The COL has to be considered.
Maybe. But I know of nowhere in the country where the 30s is a professional wage that will afford you anything better than a trailer to live.
I actually did consider a teaching job that paid 32k in eastern Montana. They tried to argue that CoL was low. It was, but not THAT low. I was looking at renting a trailer.
If any district pays that low, they need to ask for an exemption to state licensing requirements & let people teach with an associates. It's absurd to demand that a degreed professional accept that low of a wage.
Maybe. But I know of nowhere in the country where the 30s is a professional wage that will afford you anything better than a trailer to live.
I actually did consider a teaching job that paid 32k in eastern Montana. They tried to argue that CoL was low. It was, but not THAT low. I was looking at renting a trailer.
If any district pays that low, they need to ask for an exemption to state licensing requirements & let people teach with an associates. It's absurd to demand that a degreed professional accept that low of a wage.
Not sure your experience but starting at 32K isn't the worst thing. Most districts start around 40-45K but get to 60K pretty quick. Everyone understands that teaching isn't going to make you rich but it does provide good benefits, stable income, good retirement and a ton of vacation time.
Just going to ask how her gaining more experience and skill developing lessons interacts with the "joys of a union and teacher tenure"?
It was the point about teachers rarely getting fired. Even the bad ones are able to skate by with little though to ever getting let go once they have tenure.
Maybe. But I know of nowhere in the country where the 30s is a professional wage that will afford you anything better than a trailer to live.
I actually did consider a teaching job that paid 32k in eastern Montana. They tried to argue that CoL was low. It was, but not THAT low. I was looking at renting a trailer.
If any district pays that low, they need to ask for an exemption to state licensing requirements & let people teach with an associates. It's absurd to demand that a degreed professional accept that low of a wage.
30s is low. I wasn't thinking so much about the low end of your given range. I was thinking more of the upper end which seemed low for the highest cost of living areas such as mine.
Not sure your experience but starting at 32K isn't the worst thing. Most districts start around 40-45K but get to 60K pretty quick. Everyone understands that teaching isn't going to make you rich but it does provide good benefits, stable income, good retirement and a ton of vacation time.
If by "pretty quick" you mean at least 10 and maybe 20 years.
I can get jobs that pay 35-40k without a college degree. I was a dept. manager at Wal-Mart and made about that much, and it was less stress. What happened at work stayed at work.
If by "pretty quick" you mean at least 10 and maybe 20 years.
I can get jobs that pay 35-40k without a college degree. I was a dept. manager at Wal-Mart and made about that much, and it was less stress. What happened at work stayed at work.
I should crack $60k in my teacher friendly state, on our fairly typical guide, next year at 14 years on the guide with a graduate degree.
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