Teaching in Houston

[WisTex]

Considering the the cost of living in LA and NY is 2-4 times higher for most people, NY and LA really do not rank that high if you talk about buying power.

My sister lives in New Jersey and works in NYC, and for the same money, I have a house in Houston, and she has a small apartment she shares in New Jersey. For the same money!

So, Houston is probably a better deal than it sounds when you compare it to the other "high paying" teacher jobs.

[xiabelle]

My husband teaches in Fort Bend, and it's one of the higher paying districts in the area. He got quite the raise when he moved from Humble to Fort Bend. The main downside is his insurance is pretty pricey and only ok-- before I lost my job, we were on my insurance which was less expensive for much better coverage.

Klein pays well. Conroe pays very well.

I do second the advice of looking at the individual districts since they have their pay schedule listed on their pages, but in general the greater Houston area schools pay pretty well. Just keep in mind it's not always as easy to get a job in your preferred district as you might hope! The jobs in some of the really good districts are in high demand.

[tstone]

I guess ''pays well'' is a relative one. The starting salaries are not bad but what looks pitiful is the 0.5-1.5% raise per year. When fuel is up 20-30%, insurance & grocery up 10-20%, aside from putting up with little thuggish wannabe cholos/gangsters I can't help but feel bad for these teachers. That raise schedule makes them relatively poorer as the years go by, and TRS isn't all its cracked up to be. It's no wonder so many don't last more than 5 years... Math & science not even that long- where good companies pick them up to give them merit increases AND inflationary adjustments every year.