Teacher Life (transfer, school, salary)

[chance-lor]

I am a teacher looking to relocate to the Triangle area. I am curious to read some perspectives of teachers or people familiar with what teaching is like in the area.
Some branching off questions:

Are there certain county or districts that treat teachers better? I know that Wake County is very large.
Is there high turnover?
Is it easy or difficult to get a job in Triangle area?
Is it possible to live off a teacher's salary?
What is the overall climate like for teachers? Expectations on teacher.

Thank you for your help and input.

[twingles]

Where do you teach now? Your current experience will inform how you may feel about teaching here.

[Spedteach17]

Hi, I just moved here and recently started a new teaching job. I don't know if my experience was the norm due to COVID but happy to share comparison from my last state to here so far.

It should not be hard at all to get a job here. Where are you coming from and how soon are you looking to move?

[chance-lor]

Originally Posted by Spedteach17

Hi, I just moved here and recently started a new teaching job. I don't know if my experience was the norm due to COVID but happy to share comparison from my last state to here so far.

It should not be hard at all to get a job here. Where are you coming from and how soon are you looking to move?

I have been teaching internationally for the last 5 years. Before that, I taught in California for a short time. I am looking to get a teaching job in the triangle area, but am curious to what the work life is like. Also if there is any big differences in the two big counties.

I would love to hear about some of your first hand experience.

[twingles]

Wake County pays a supplement that the other districts around here don't so we do get teachers moving here from neighboring counties.

A lot of your perspective will depend on what you're used to - teachers do a lot here that they don't do other places, like lunch duty (sitting with kids, cleaning tables and floors) but a lot depends on the building principal. You shouldn't have any trouble getting a job. One question I would ask any principal that you interview with is about their staff turnover rate and then look and see how long they've been with the school. High turnover is a sign of an issue because once someone has been with Wake County for two years they can transfer no questions asked. Some turnover is to be expected as this is a fairly transient area and people also aren't afraid of moving around like they are in other states. But I know a principal who lost half her staff the first year she came in and would have lost more if more people could have transferred. A couple of people left the profession entirely after working for her.

Whether you think it's easy to live off your salary is entire personal. We have no idea what your spending habits and debt load are.

[chance-lor]

Originally Posted by twingles

Wake County pays a supplement that the other districts around here don't so we do get teachers moving here from neighboring counties.

A lot of your perspective will depend on what you're used to - teachers do a lot here that they don't do other places, like lunch duty (sitting with kids, cleaning tables and floors) but a lot depends on the building principal. You shouldn't have any trouble getting a job. One question I would ask any principal that you interview with is about their staff turnover rate and then look and see how long they've been with the school. High turnover is a sign of an issue because once someone has been with Wake County for two years they can transfer no questions asked. Some turnover is to be expected as this is a fairly transient area and people also aren't afraid of moving around like they are in other states. But I know a principal who lost half her staff the first year she came in and would have lost more if more people could have transferred. A couple of people left the profession entirely after working for her.

Whether you think it's easy to live off your salary is entire personal. We have no idea what your spending habits and debt load are.

Thank you for giving me more insight in what Wake County requires from their teachers. You brought up a good point about how long teachers may stay at a school. I'll have to keep that in mind. Thanks for the good information you provided.