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Few folks understand that many of the best districts to teach in, both as far as compensation and the commitment of students & parents to learning, are the kinds of schools that get so many applicants that one has to be able to work as an aide or substitute teacher at very low compensation / irregular work schedule for an extended period. That too is very dispiriting to folks who may want to get started with their own family...
This is the status quo maintained by design. We don't need those pesky bright sunny eyed bushy tailed teachers enlightening the majority body politic of this country. We need to keep churning the lemmings out who obediently become zombified consumers and passive leeches of social benefits in exchange for votes.
I could write an article about people in ANY profession that are struggling. Lawyers? Doctors? Dentists? Yep, some percentage of all professions struggle.
A wet behind the ears 22 year old new BS teacher in my local area starts at $40k. With five years experience, they're at $50k. RNs don't make that here. Neither do a lot of salaried exempt workers.
One of the teachers profiled is being paid over $100,000 per year. Is that really not enough? Even with a rent and a kid that might be enough.
The teacher shown on the cover is paid about $51,000 per year and has to work two other jobs. I think she has med bills and kids. Am I being silly in saying she shouldn't complain if her salary is that much?
Consider the source. Time magazine is aimed at rich liberals. Time's readers consider $51k a year to be peanuts and they are appalled that teachers are paid that little. If you think $51k is a lot of money then you are not Time's target readership. Look at the ads inside the magazine.
One of the teachers profiled is being paid over $100,000 per year. Is that really not enough? Even with a rent and a kid that might be enough.
The teacher shown on the cover is paid about $51,000 per year and has to work two other jobs. I think she has med bills and kids. Am I being silly in saying she shouldn't complain if her salary is that much?
Everything is relative. If you're making 100k+ and the average 2 bedroom home within a 30 minute drive is over $1 Million, are you really any better off than the person making $10k and the average home cost $100,000?
Without years of investing to save for a down payment, a career change, second income, or a miracle, it's not going to happen!
The reason I have no sympathy for teachers is because state employees they can see their pay grade for each year of employment, there's no guesswork, and it is foolish to "bank" on a promotion to asst. or vice principal unless extended an offer.
If the numbers aren't working out, your passion will also be your downfall. There might be some areas of the country where teachers make a good living, but in high demand areas they are at a disadvantage, paid in lock-step with the state's schedule for faculty, which is often simply indexed to inflation and tenure. There's no opportunity to be paid "above market" as with private sector jobs, no matter how far "above market" the cost of living is.
These types of jobs, which were once good jobs, only make sense for people who have lived in the area (and owned the same house) for decades. Such jobs won't win you any bids for a starter home against a software developer, attorney, or management consultant. That's what you're up against. Being a teacher is really a noble decision. And I have a high amount of respect for their decision, but you're going to get eaten alive when you try to get your hands on a piece of land.
Unless, say, townhomes subsidized by the state or city are reserved for teachers to keep interest high, I see a gap between need and supply forming, if not widening, very soon.
Getting the UCSF job would have boosted his career by opening up doors to a wider network of professionals with connections to higher paying jobs.
Brand worship like that doesn't go very far with me.
This guy splits time between UTSW and UT-MD Anderson doing very specific cancer research. Given his area of expertise the UCSF gig would have been a step down in prestige - that's at least part of the reason he passed. He's already very well paid vis a vis his peers.
ETA - my friend's specific circumstances aside I take your point that UCSF can be a career maker. But there are quite a few fabulous medical research complexes in the country.
In my opinion, there are some jobs that should pay much more than an average salary for the area, and teaching falls into that category! Like it or not, teaching below the college level is a combination of teaching and babysitting -- and if every parent of a school-age child (and I was one, too) had to pay on an individual basis for someone to teach and watch his/her kid for an average of six hours a day for about 180 days a year -- well, even at $5.00 an hour (LOL!!!), that would amount to $9,000 a year, and then if you multiply that by even 20 kids, that would be $180,000. (Okay,, yes, take off some of that for benefits, but still . . . !)
I strongly believe that teachers deserve a LOT more pay than what they receive! (And, btw, I have never been a teacher although I was an educational assistant for a few years, making about 50% more than the minimum wage, if I remember correctly.)
P.S. I do hate school administration waste about as much as anyone does, I think, however!
I think as well.
Much of the teacher pay issue is supply and demand related. It's simply far too easy to become a teacher in most states - although this problem is slowly changing. The relative ease with which one may become a teacher yields a very large supply of ready replacements.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Originally Posted by Serious Conversation
A wet behind the ears 22 year old new BS teacher in my local area starts at $40k. With five years experience, they're at $50k. RNs don't make that here. Neither do a lot of salaried exempt workers.
With your median Tennessee home price at about $200,000, that $40,000 is not bad pay. Here in our area with the median price of a home at $900,000 the teachers start at $48,000, after 5 years are at $55,000. They have to either be married to someone with a better paying job or have a long commute. The RN pay here is about $70k.
Here in Michigan (low COL) teachers are among the highest paid in the country and many still complain about their salary. I have two very good friends who are retired teachers. They talk about they can have/do whatever they want because they are "rich teachers" - they are very happy and laughing all the way to the bank. (I'm happy for them because they are my good friends and are not among those who ever complained. They are thankful and blessed to have been teachers in Michigan.)
My husband and I were engineers and we can't afford to buy a home in their community - much less the luxury condo they just purchased.
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