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I don't really have a strong opinion on this one way or the other because I realize that there are so many different factors to consider. I just know what I know. In my state (Texas), from what I have found online, the median earnings of bachelor's degree holders (in general, not limited to teachers) statewide are $39,725. In one district I am familiar with in my city, the first year teacher pay is $48,525. One of my friends just celebrated her 20th year teaching and she is making about 10k over that.
The median household income here in my city is $48,699while the per capita is $23,868 (2011 figures).
The cost of living here is about 7% lower than the national average.
So those are the numbers. My teacher friend (I have a couple actually) does not complain and in fact urged me to consider teaching as a career. She lives in a good neighborhood, drives a new car (nothing fancy but it's new), takes vacations. She is a single mom with a pre-teen who is able to afford a fair amount of extracurricular stuff for her kid (expensive musical instruments, summer camps, etc) and buy nothing but organic whole foods. She is not a spendy person and doesn't have credit cards maxed out but she makes enough to be able to save and go out of the country every 2 or 3 years, with her daughter (France, Spain, etc). She's talked about going back to school and maybe teaching a different group (she teaches high school) but not in a "I hate my job!" way but more of just wanting a change after 20 years.
She is not living a foolish lifestyle but is not really super frugal either, she has the "typical" middle class stuff (big TV, Ipad, new computers, pedicures, hair appointments, dinners out here and there) -- in other words she is far from struggling.
As for how much work she does or doesn't do I cannot comment but she is not particularly stressed on a regular basis and she doesn't have to work summers for financial reasons like many teachers have to. In general she seems happy with her financial situation and doesn't really talk negatively about being a teacher, not any more than anyone in any profession occasionally complains. She's been out of school for summer for a couple weeks now and will go back mid August, we spend more time together in summer but she is not overworked to the point that she has no life the rest of the year. We socialize regularly all year long.
I have another teacher friend who I could describe similarly; single parent, summer trips across country or abroad, modest lifestyle but by no means spartan or unpleasant, happy being a teacher, and living in a city with a significantly higher COL than this one.
So there's my 2 cents.
Regular Trips abroad on a teacher salary of a single parent, while living in a good neighborhood? New cars, too?
Doesn't sound possible, unless you consider that she might be receiving considerable child support and alimony. In fact, that seems to me why she is able to live that lifestyle. I may be wrong, but it seems impossible. Either she's really not living in a good neighborhood, or she got her house on a foreclosure, significantly reduced. The only other possibility seems to be that she receives child support and alimony. You did say that both were "single moms". So what is it?
I don't really have a strong opinion on this one way or the other because I realize that there are so many different factors to consider. I just know what I know. In my state (Texas), from what I have found online, the median earnings of bachelor's degree holders (in general, not limited to teachers) statewide are $39,725. In one district I am familiar with in my city, the first year teacher pay is $48,525. One of my friends just celebrated her 20th year teaching and she is making about 10k over that.
The median household income here in my city is $48,699while the per capita is $23,868 (2011 figures).
The cost of living here is about 7% lower than the national average.
So those are the numbers. My teacher friend (I have a couple actually) does not complain and in fact urged me to consider teaching as a career. She lives in a good neighborhood, drives a new car (nothing fancy but it's new), takes vacations. She is a single mom with a pre-teen who is able to afford a fair amount of extracurricular stuff for her kid (expensive musical instruments, summer camps, etc) and buy nothing but organic whole foods. She is not a spendy person and doesn't have credit cards maxed out but she makes enough to be able to save and go out of the country every 2 or 3 years, with her daughter (France, Spain, etc). She's talked about going back to school and maybe teaching a different group (she teaches high school) but not in a "I hate my job!" way but more of just wanting a change after 20 years.
She is not living a foolish lifestyle but is not really super frugal either, she has the "typical" middle class stuff (big TV, Ipad, new computers, pedicures, hair appointments, dinners out here and there) -- in other words she is far from struggling.
As for how much work she does or doesn't do I cannot comment but she is not particularly stressed on a regular basis and she doesn't have to work summers for financial reasons like many teachers have to. In general she seems happy with her financial situation and doesn't really talk negatively about being a teacher, not any more than anyone in any profession occasionally complains. She's been out of school for summer for a couple weeks now and will go back mid August, we spend more time together in summer but she is not overworked to the point that she has no life the rest of the year. We socialize regularly all year long.
I have another teacher friend who I could describe similarly; single parent, summer trips across country or abroad, modest lifestyle but by no means spartan or unpleasant, happy being a teacher, and living in a city with a significantly higher COL than this one.
So there's my 2 cents.
Well, even in an area with a lower cost of living, that salary for 20 years in a profession is not great.
I do know teachers who do not take much work home and have free nights and weekends, but they are NOT teachers I would want teaching my kids. They do not provide quality engaging lessons-they do what they have to do to get by. Dedicated teachers are hard-working.
Maybe where they teach they do not have overloaded classes and a ton of paperwork, ed plans, and data to record regularly? Some districts require less on the paperwork/documentation end of things. My job is killing me to the point where after only 15 years, I'm throwing in the towel.
Regular Trips abroad on a teacher salary of a single parent, while living in a good neighborhood? New cars, too?
Doesn't sound possible, unless you consider that she might be receiving considerable child support and alimony. In fact, that seems to me why she is able to live that lifestyle. I may be wrong, but it seems impossible. Either she's really not living in a good neighborhood, or she got her house on a foreclosure, significantly reduced. The only other possibility seems to be that she receives child support and alimony. You did say that both were "single moms". So what is it?
Nope. The trips I know of were during the loooooong period where her ex wasn't paying anything, a good six or seven years. Then he got some lump some and it was sent to her but she took trips before that. No alimony. Since then he has had 3 more kids with the woman he left my friend for and he has split with that wife, so he has child support going for four kids and he pays my friend but it is not very much at all because he doesn't make as much as she does.
I said new car, singular. Her house is in one of the best districts in the city where there is a decent amount of affluent residents. She lives on the edge of the district in a house that is on a slightly less desirable street but it is still a very safe and pleasant area. She doesn't live in a big fancy house, but opted for a more modest one within a good neighborhood.
Yes, both are single moms and my other teacher friend has received child support sporadically over the years, he son is a teen now, and his father is not always employed.
I'm not sure why it's all that impossible to you to believe; I haven't described a particularly high-falutin' lifestyle. My friend's income as a teacher is a significant amount higher than my household income for five people, and I am not starving, so it stands to reason she'd be doing fine with her one kid.
Well, even in an area with a lower cost of living, that salary for 20 years in a profession is not great.
I do know teachers who do not take much work home and have free nights and weekends, but they are NOT teachers I would want teaching my kids. They do not provide quality engaging lessons-they do what they have to do to get by. Dedicated teachers are hard-working.
Maybe where they teach they do not have overloaded classes and a ton of paperwork, ed plans, and data to record regularly? Some districts require less on the paperwork/documentation end of things. My job is killing me to the point where after only 15 years, I'm throwing in the towel.
True about the 20 years. That district also doesn't pay diddly if you have your Master's, no incentive there to return to school and pay for it, the increase is miniscule.
On the other hand though, $48,000 first year, considering the cost of living here, doesn't sound terrible to me, considering 1st year salary for other jobs with the a Bachelor's.
As for the paperwork, maybe. I don't know honestly.
Nope. The trips I know of were during the loooooong period where her ex wasn't paying anything, a good six or seven years. Then he got some lump some and it was sent to her but she took trips before that. No alimony. Since then he has had 3 more kids with the woman he left my friend for and he has split with that wife, so he has child support going for four kids and he pays my friend but it is not very much at all because he doesn't make as much as she does.
I said new car, singular. Her house is in one of the best districts in the city where there is a decent amount of affluent residents. She lives on the edge of the district in a house that is on a slightly less desirable street but it is still a very safe and pleasant area. She doesn't live in a big fancy house, but opted for a more modest one within a good neighborhood.
Yes, both are single moms and my other teacher friend has received child support sporadically over the years, he son is a teen now, and his father is not always employed.
I'm not sure why it's all that impossible to you to believe; I haven't described a particularly high-falutin' lifestyle. My friend's income as a teacher is a significant amount higher than my household income for five people, and I am not starving, so it stands to reason she'd be doing fine with her one kid.
Only if your friend has a mortgage in the under $800 per month range with very little travel expenses (lives very close to school) do I even find this possible.
True about the 20 years. That district also doesn't pay diddly if you have your Master's, no incentive there to return to school and pay for it, the increase is miniscule.
On the other hand though, $48,000 first year, considering the cost of living here, doesn't sound terrible to me, considering 1st year salary for other jobs with the a Bachelor's.
As for the paperwork, maybe. I don't know honestly.
That starting doesn't sound bad if the COL is as low as you make it. Our teachers start at $45k in one of the wealthiest and most expensive parts of the country (Fairfax County/DC suburbs). Now, I believe you said a teacher with 20 years makes about $10k more than the first year teacher. That tells me the scale doesn't move much. A teacher in our district makes about $30k more than a first year teacher. A teacher with a MA makes about $5,700 more than one with a BA.
I had a 212 day contract, at $45 an hour, for a 7 hour, 10 minute day. Full benefits, I paid about $7 bucks a pay period for, an assigned car, and a pension, I did not have to contribute a dime too...
Personally, I think that I made out pretty good. But, the key element to being successful in teaching, is start young, get that Masters plus 30 under your belt by age 27, and coast for those step increases. If you change districts, sometimes you can keep your steps..it depends how bad they want you. Do every single class that is free, and will give you credit. I searched for free tuition classes, which is why I ended up in SPED, and certified in HI/VI/ because those classes were grant funded for low incidence disability.
Do you think that teachers are considerably underpaid for the amount of work that they do?
It seems to me that when I look at average teacher salaries in most states (let's not use the exceptional places that those who dismiss teachers like to use), they tend to be barely enough for a family to get by on with only one income. That means that families headed by single-salary teachers are generally poorly equipped to do things that many other families take for granted, such as vacations, purchasing various products, etc.
I look at people without an education who happen to have found work in fields such as real estate, construction, lawn maintenance, and the like, and many of them are pulling home six figures a year, whereas teachers who work far harder, it would seem, are pulling home less than fifty thousand dollars. Something seems wrong with this picture, especially when one considers that teachers take their work home with them, but many of these professions do not. Which profession has the most impact on the world? Would you say that teachers are paid "peanuts" for their workload?
I teach in Greenville, South Carolina. I have a BA, have taught 9 years and coach 3 sports and drive a school bus from time to time. My W2 for 2012 was slightly over 45k. Since I coach 3 sports I'm generally consumed after school for an additional 3 hours most days and sometimes on weekends for all day affairs. A rough estimate is I work during the school year 60 -70 hours a week. probably more so towards 70 during wrestling season in the winter and more towards 60 during the spring since Track and Field is not as demanding. With that being said I probably work 2,500 a school year (I included summer hours for things like summer wrestling practice, attending inservices, etc....). Someone who works 52 weeks a year at 40 hours a week is working 2,080 hours a year. I think I have the average 9-5 beat in all respects. If you consider my income at 45k a year and I work 2,500 hours a year give or take I make roughly 18 dollars a hour. The question is is are my skills and talents worth 18 dollars an hour?
I teach US History which in South Carolina is a statewide tested subject. The average pass rate on the US History End of Course Test in South Carolina 55%. My pass rate for all 139 of my students this year was 91%.
I am one of only 4 teachers / coaches in the building who possess a CDL which allows me to drive for the school and save the school $$$$$.
I coach 3 sports, not well mind you haha, but it gets done.
I guess the question in this case is what is a teacher worth by the hour? In my case I guess I'm worth 18 dollars an hour to the taxpayer.
Back in 1999 when I first got out of high school and before I went off to college I worked as a forklift operator on a dock for a grocery warehouse making 10 dollars an hour. Which for a HS diploma and all things considered was VERY good money especially to start. Side note - that same job in 2013 now pays at most warehouses about 7 dollars to start. How and why did the wage decrease while inflation increased is mind boggling. oh well back on point here. I do sometimes wonder had I simply stuck with the forklift career what my salary would be in 2013. Would I be making 18 dollars an hour 14 years later? I certainly would not work as many hours as this was a strictly 7 am to 3 pm job. When the whistle blew you cleaned up and went home and forgot about your job until 7 am the next day. Was really nice to be able to cut loose after work with nothing to take home. I really miss that job sometimes haha.
I don't really have a strong opinion on this one way or the other because I realize that there are so many different factors to consider. I just know what I know. In my state (Texas), from what I have found online, the median earnings of bachelor's degree holders (in general, not limited to teachers) statewide are $39,725. In one district I am familiar with in my city, the first year teacher pay is $48,525. One of my friends just celebrated her 20th year teaching and she is making about 10k over that.
The median household income here in my city is $48,699while the per capita is $23,868 (2011 figures).
The cost of living here is about 7% lower than the national average.
So those are the numbers. My teacher friend (I have a couple actually) does not complain and in fact urged me to consider teaching as a career. She lives in a good neighborhood, drives a new car (nothing fancy but it's new), takes vacations. She is a single mom with a pre-teen who is able to afford a fair amount of extracurricular stuff for her kid (expensive musical instruments, summer camps, etc) and buy nothing but organic whole foods. She is not a spendy person and doesn't have credit cards maxed out but she makes enough to be able to save and go out of the country every 2 or 3 years, with her daughter (France, Spain, etc). She's talked about going back to school and maybe teaching a different group (she teaches high school) but not in a "I hate my job!" way but more of just wanting a change after 20 years.
She is not living a foolish lifestyle but is not really super frugal either, she has the "typical" middle class stuff (big TV, Ipad, new computers, pedicures, hair appointments, dinners out here and there) -- in other words she is far from struggling.
As for how much work she does or doesn't do I cannot comment but she is not particularly stressed on a regular basis and she doesn't have to work summers for financial reasons like many teachers have to. In general she seems happy with her financial situation and doesn't really talk negatively about being a teacher, not any more than anyone in any profession occasionally complains. She's been out of school for summer for a couple weeks now and will go back mid August, we spend more time together in summer but she is not overworked to the point that she has no life the rest of the year. We socialize regularly all year long.
I have another teacher friend who I could describe similarly; single parent, summer trips across country or abroad, modest lifestyle but by no means spartan or unpleasant, happy being a teacher, and living in a city with a significantly higher COL than this one.
So there's my 2 cents.
Anecdotes are just that, anecdotes.
For everyone describing single parent teachers being able to afford yearly trips abroad, you will find a hundred where teachers HAVE to work summer jobs just to keep a roof over their head.
Just the other day I overheard parents from our school complaining that the single, unmarried french teacher drives a nicer mercedes than they do, and that the school MUST be overpaying her. Actually, she is independently wealthy due to family money that has nothing to do with her job. Likewise, you really have no idea what your friends finances are since you are not her accountant and are limited to what she chooses to disclose or not. Many of us are very private about our finances and only share what we choose to.
The reality cannot be gotten around the fact that compared to their peers with similar degrees, even taking into account time and benefits, teachers make less money. OTOH, they signed up for their jobs knowing that. They traded income for stability, and that is their choice. After all anyone could have done the same.
What is absolutely not true, by any stretch of the imagination is that teachers are overpaid as a group despite anecdotal tales of yearly trips abroad.
They did back in the mid 90's when I put in 5 years as a public school teacher. I haven't kept up with the pay situation in the years since, but my friends still in the profession claim it hasn't improved any. I can tell you that the substantial cut in pay that I endured to go into teaching was precisely the reason I left and returned to industry, though.
Teaching is a good field to enter if you want to spend your life renting an apartment in a not-so-great part of town and driving well used cars. All the while hearing ignorant comments from slack-jawed politicians about how you're overpaid and overprivileged and your union is the cause of all that ails America's schools.
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Do Teachers Get Paid "Peanuts"?
