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My husband is a teacher and I'm finishing school to be a teacher, we have one child and we are looking to get out of California. Why? You can't afford to live here unless you are each making close to a 100,000 a year and the cost of homes has not dropped enough to change that. Here is a current study from the teacher portal website Teacher Salary Comfort Index | TeacherPortal.com as you can see California is #44 on the list as far as living comfortably on a teacher's salary. Illinois is #1 but the jobs there are few & far between, just like here. California is no longer hiring-unless you are in one of the few fields they really need like ESL-they are actually firing (pink slips) but it's still firing & many teachers (my husband included) are suffering pay cuts and have classrooms w/ 38 students in them. California is not a fun palce to be and I'm afraid it's getting worse.
You are 100% right. I have been teaching for 17 years now, and I have to say that I don't know if I will make it to retirement. Each year, my school district loses about 100 teachers to retirement, and it pink slips about another 100 teachers. If you do the math, our teaching staff is getting smaller while the class sizes are increasing, and the killing part is that we still have NCLB. What the bleeeeeeep!!!!!!
I'd have to say that PA, Illinois, and Michigan are probably the best in terms of salary vs cost of living. Point in case, I teach at a very small and rural district in one fo the poorest parts of SWPA, 'bout an hour from Pittsburgh...we start at 30k, 5 years hit 50k, 12 year max at 74k. Benefits basically cover everything for you and your family, if not completely it's incredibly cheap...however that's going to go away relatively soon with upcoming contracts. But I'm basically paycheck to paycheck with small gains for 3 years or so...but it picks up. Typical housing runs from $80-$200k throughout SWPA, my sister is building a custom home out in the country for $175k, it's 2,500 sq feet. Things are cheap around here, taxes are high, but overall cost of living is way, way, way below national average. However, Rodeo Drive this part of the country is not...it's pretty old, the weather sucks, and it's basically Appalachia in all fo its glory.
I don't know the specifics, but I'm pretty sure that schools closer to Pittsburgh start at 45-55k and max between 80-100k after 8-10 years. However, it's completely ridiculous to try and find a teaching position around here...totally saturated market with a declining population and no need to expand schools. I saw a commetn earlier about a hundred teachers retiring from a given district, mine had 2 last year. We also don't opperate ona county based system, so you have a ridiculous amount of districts per county. That's the issue for those on the outside looking in, I know subs that have been with their respective districts for 5-10 years and still can't get in. You basically have to wait for a retirement wave as there's few new positions created, it's a glorified good ol' boys network and you REALLY have to be lucky just to find a job. I landed mine by accident and was hired the Friday before a new school year started, worked out well though!
Last edited by TelecasterBlues; 11-12-2009 at 09:30 AM..
This is a very difficult discussion to have in a forum thread. People are discussing apples and oranges. What 40K brings to the table in San Francisco is very different from small town Iowa. How people can argue this living in different areas with different costs is very telling about a lack of something.
Bingo...that's the largest problem with this thread so far. 40k goes very far out in the boonies, however you're standard for city life, and dead even for "big" city life.
I'd have to say that PA, Illinois, and Michigan are probably the best in terms of salary vs cost of living. Point in case, I teach at a very small and rural district in one fo the poorest parts of SWPA, 'bout an hour from Pittsburgh...we start at 30k, 5 years hit 50k, 12 year max at 74k. Benefits basically cover everything for you and your family, if not completely it's incredibly cheap...however that's going to go away relatively soon with upcoming contracts. But I'm basically paycheck to paycheck with small gains for 3 years or so...but it picks up. Typical housing runs from $80-$200k throughout SWPA, my sister is building a custom home out in the country for $175k, it's 2,500 sq feet. Things are cheap around here, taxes are high, but overall cost of living is way, way, way below national average. However, Rodeo Drive this part of the country is not...it's pretty old, the weather sucks, and it's basically Appalachia in all fo its glory.
I don't know the specifics, but I'm pretty sure that schools closer to Pittsburgh start at 45-55k and max between 80-100k after 8-10 years. However, it's completely ridiculous to try and find a teaching position around here...totally saturated market with a declining population and no need to expand schools. I saw a commetn earlier about a hundred teachers retiring from a given district, mine had 2 last year. We also don't opperate ona county based system, so you have a ridiculous amount of districts per county. That's the issue for those on the outside looking in, I know subs that have been with their respective districts for 5-10 years and still can't get in. You basically have to wait for a retirement wave as there's few new positions created, it's a glorified good ol' boys network and you REALLY have to be lucky just to find a job. I landed mine by accident and was hired the Friday before a new school year started, worked out well though!
That's really good if you have a job then. We start around $44k with a bachelors and at five years $47,500. Ten years $57k. With a PhD and 21 years $87k. No COLA or step increase this year and probably won't get either again next year. We are in one of the highest cost of living areas as far as housing goes (suburb of Wash. DC). We both teach for the same district and moved last spring to be closer to our schools. Bought a late 60's split level, about 2200 sq. feet with a carport on 1/4 acre for $428k and immediately put another $20k into it. A teacher pays $361 a month for family medical, but with both my wife and I working for the same system, we pay "only" $144 a month.
That's really good if you have a job then. We start around $44k with a bachelors and at five years $47,500. Ten years $57k. With a PhD and 21 years $87k. No COLA or step increase this year and probably won't get either again next year. We are in one of the highest cost of living areas as far as housing goes (suburb of Wash. DC). We both teach for the same district and moved last spring to be closer to our schools. Bought a late 60's split level, about 2200 sq. feet with a carport on 1/4 acre for $428k and immediately put another $20k into it. A teacher pays $361 a month for family medical, but with both my wife and I working for the same system, we pay "only" $144 a month.
Yeah the only issue though is that teachers in PA might have it just a bit too good to be fiscally supported at the same rate, I know that Michigan has the same issue...which is where future contract talks about reducing health insurance to cover 75% of the expenses and whatnot are in effect. We're notorious for being a union state and have collective bargaining, so that's more or less why country bumpkin districts are maxing out at 70k+. Funny thing is that most districts around here only pay $250-500 a year more for an advanced degree. Like I said before, getting into an actual city district around Pittsburgh or anything high-end is virtually impossible though. For most, it's either stick around for 5-10 years subbing or doing grunt work and then get hired randomly without much in the way by choice of location, or move out of state to start right away. All things said...I've got a nice job, but I'm more or less going to end up either commuting one hour or more every day from Pittsburgh or living in Morgantown WV and commuting 30 minutes. I know DC is expensive, but there's something to be said about working there and having easy access to the cultural opportunities and world class amenities.
Somewhat misleading. In New York State a teacher in NYC can be making the same as one in a sparsely populated rural upstate area. The big difference is that one is paying $500,000 or more for the same house the other is paying $150,000 or less for.
When taxes become out of balance for the income of a particular area they then end up driving out business and becoming a burden to those left jobless and trying to survive, not to mention in turn most young people will have to leave the area to work. Comparisons (and taxes) need to make sense for their locale.
I know a few years ago local taxes in New York could be significantly tilted by a high paying tax base with teachers in some less built up areas receiving 6 figure salaries if there was an industry that contributed significantly to the local tax base.
I am 55 and have taught 33 years in Indiana. I am at the top salary in my district. I make about 66K a year plus what I think are generous benefits.
I paid 150K for my 5 year old home with 3,300 sf on 1.33 acres. The obvious cost of living difference, I think, puts Hoosiers (and midwest teachers) at an advantage. Granted we don't have the weather you enjoy, but it is a GREAT place to have raised my family.
I am 55 and have taught 33 years in Indiana. I am at the top salary in my district. I make about 66K a year plus what I think are generous benefits.
I paid 150K for my 5 year old home with 3,300 sf on 1.33 acres. The obvious cost of living difference, I think, puts Hoosiers (and midwest teachers) at an advantage. Granted we don't have the weather you enjoy, but it is a GREAT place to have raised my family.
Yes, and probably live more comforably with a lower average mortgage payment than a typical CA teacher.
It's all so relative. My friend who was with us over the holidays teaches with 13 yrs. in the Lower Kuskokwim District up here in bush Alaska. She is looking at around $85,000 with a masters +40 hrs. However, she paid almost $30 for a watermelon a few summers ago LOL!
I know some foreign teacher experiences in the US.
California was the only place where ADULT people with college degrees had to SHARE THE SAME ROOM in San Francisco and Los Angeles, because their salaries did not let them even to share an apartment with their own room.
One of those teachers then transferred to Omaha. There her check has 1/2 the amount she was making in LA, but she could rent her own apartment and save 1/3 of her paycheck, while in California it was impossible to save any money.
When people talk about maximum salary in teaching they never realize that that kind of money is only for people who are very old and started teaching very young. In Houston I met a person who was making 75k a year, but she had been teaching for 40 years.
Last edited by SpaniardinTexas; 12-02-2013 at 06:39 PM..
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teacher pay in indiana/midwest
