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Old 04-07-2016, 12:03 AM
 
17 posts, read 23,521 times
Reputation: 21

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Hello. Thank you for your time reading this, and giving me some advice.
I'm currently living in San Juan, Puerto Rico, working as a certified History teacher in the Puerto Rico's Department of Education (with a Bachellor's Degree in Education - History specialty). In a few months, I will finish my master's degree in Educational Administration and Supervision. After I'm done with the master's degree, I'm thinking about moving to Washington State to work as a teacher first, and after I got enough experience in the washingtonian educational system, look for opportunities as a principal, which is my master's degree.

The reason I'm leaving Puerto Rico is because of it's economic and social mess. The island is set to bankruptcy and there's no much effort from our government or U.S. Congress to solve the situation in a properly manner. The island's main problem, besides corruption and debt, is that it remains as a United States colony (unincorporated territory), and lacks any political and economic powers to redesign itself. As a result of this economical catastrophe, the puertorrican society is collapsing as well. On the other hand, politicians set their own salaries above the standard salary for a senator or representative in the mainland, but let teacher salaries stagnated at a standarized $1,750 monthly for all (about $21k per year), regardless level of education or experience. A principal earns barely $200.00 dollars more per month than a teacher, making it to $23,400 per year. This income is unacceptable for an island that have almost the same high cost of living as Hawaii, and private schools pays even less. Besides, if compared those salaries with the ones of the mainland, we are far behind the Union poorest state. So, the only exit I can see, is to emigrate to the mainland.

Now, from all the states I'm interested to emigrate (Florida, Washington, Ohio, Illinois) the one that I like the most is Washington. Why? Well, I have done a little research about the state and there's a lot of things I love about it (at least how it looks like in the internet):

1. Climate - I hate the puerto rican climate. It's summer all year round here, with an average temperature of 94F all the year. I know some of you must be fed up by the cold and rainy weather, but that sounds like music to my ears...
2. Metropolitan area - I love that there's not only Seattle city. It's a huge metropolitan area from Everett to Tacoma. I'm personally interested to move to someplace between Federal Way, Kent, Auburn, or Covington (I'm more inclined to live in suburbs than in city.)
3. Politics - The state tends to be democrat and progresive, which goes with my political views (Cheers! Bernie Sanders won the primary!)
4. Cost of living - Though I know cost of living is high in Washington state as in Puerto Rico, also is the wages, at least for teachers and educational administrators. Teachers with a master's degree start somewhere the 46k per year, and high school principal starts somewhere on the 70k per year, which is a giant difference if compared to Puerto Rico. Plus, I love the 'no income tax' in the state. I know there is a sales tax and property tax (like in most states), but at least with a sales tax I can decide if buy something and therefore pay the tax... not like income tax, that you pay it regardless if you bought something or not. Currently in Puerto Rico I pay 7% of income tax, and 11.5% on sales tax. Definitively I don't mind 0 income tax and 6.5% sales tax...
5. Prestige - Washington have a good prestige as a state, hosting big companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, and Starbucks (which is amazing for my partner, which has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration with a major in Operations Management, and a minor in Business Communication. Also finishing the Master's degree in Human Resources). Besides, in every list that I find about the best 10 states to make a living in the U.S., Washington is present.
6. Scenary - I love the nature's beauty combined with the metropolitan area in Washington. It's nice to live in a high standard city next to a beautiful nature scenary, no other state/city that I have in mind can say that.

So far, I have saved $15,000 dollars to make the move to the mainland in 2017, and I did my homework researching about the possible destinations, even considered the Canadian foreign worker program. However, there's some issues that make me wonder if it's a good idea at all to make the move out of Puerto Rico:

1. I'm afraid of not getting a job as soon as I would expect. I have saved those $15k for the move, which I calculate will support me up to 6-8 months while I find a job... but what if I spent 6 months looking for a job, and my savings vanish in vain... I know it will be difficult to get a job as a teacher because even if I'm a certified and experienced teacher in Puerto Rico, I will need to become certified as well by Washington state, and that will take time to accomplish while I get the required tests done. So I'm aware that when I get there I will have to start working in anything I can find while I get my teacher credentials on track to find a teacher job. But what if I'm not able even to find anything unrelated to teaching while I get my teacher certification... On the other hand, if I'm lucky and get a job until I'm certified as a teacher... Will I get a job as a teacher then? I don't know how much demand the History teacher have in Washington... At least I know spanish, and it can help me to find in schools with a bilingual focus, but maybe that's not going to be the case.
2. I'm a native spanish speaker, so my english isn't as polished as I would like it to be. And if I want to work as a teacher in the mainland, my english has to be way better than the students. (((This is the time that I regret that the Thirteen Colonies were not spanish settlements... lol)))

So, in the light of the above expressed, I need some advice from you guys...

Should I make the move out of Puerto Rico to the mainland given the conditions listed?
Do you think that my partner and I will be able to find a job quickly given our education experience?
Is it too difficult to become a certified teacher in the state?
Is it too difficult to find a job as a teacher, even if certified by the state?
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Old 04-07-2016, 01:45 AM
 
1,359 posts, read 2,466,994 times
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1) Get certification as an ESL teacher.

2) Look more towards the middle of the state (i.e., Yakima) which has a high Spanish-speaking population and is desperate for teachers.
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Old 04-07-2016, 09:54 AM
 
467 posts, read 520,128 times
Reputation: 307
There are many many residents in WA that have moved here from Puerto Rico. I know many that work in the Seattle School system. Being bilingual is a plus. You can start your teacher certification process before you move. Contact OSPI and ask for the details. Once you get your teacher certification, you likely will have to get another MA degree to work toward your administrative certificate. Even though the salaries sound good to you, it is hard for a beginning teacher (even starting with a MA) to live on the salary. After more than 40 years in public education, I retired at a lower salary than some of my kids initial salaries (not in education). Pockets of WA are in dire need of teachers, particularly in the Seattle area. New teachers just cannot afford to live there on a teachers' salary. A savings of $17K sound like a lot, and is admirable, but will not last long in the Seattle area. Moving expenses, first and last month rent, setting up utilities, etc. will put a big dent in that. Do you know anyone in WA who is from PR and has already made the move? Due to the economy in PR, there are many many people that have made the move you talk about. Most of the ones I know came to WA as students and stayed. Good luck!
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Old 04-07-2016, 03:21 PM
 
Location: Washington State. Not Seattle.
2,251 posts, read 3,247,054 times
Reputation: 3479
Quote:
Originally Posted by amaiunmei View Post
1) Get certification as an ESL teacher.

2) Look more towards the middle of the state (i.e., Yakima) which has a high Spanish-speaking population and is desperate for teachers.
I have to disagree with your number 2, simply because, although the OP is referring to "Washington", he/she seems to make every reference concerning the Seattle metro area. Yakima fits pretty much none of his/her requires except for the Spanish speaking qualification.
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Old 04-07-2016, 03:57 PM
 
1,359 posts, read 2,466,994 times
Reputation: 1221
Quote:
Originally Posted by PS90 View Post
I have to disagree with your number 2, simply because, although the OP is referring to "Washington", he/she seems to make every reference concerning the Seattle metro area. Yakima fits pretty much none of his/her requires except for the Spanish speaking qualification.
I'm saying that OP should STRONGLY reconsider moving to the Seattle area.

OP hasn't made any comment of whether h/she is moving with another person. If OP is moving by him or herself, even $47k will not go very far in the Seattle area. In fact, I'd be surprised if OP's standard of living changes much:

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

THAT is why I made the suggestion to look elsewhere. OP could live like a king in Yakima, or just barely middle-class in the Seattle area.

Last edited by Yac; 04-08-2016 at 08:11 AM..
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Old 04-07-2016, 05:55 PM
 
17 posts, read 23,521 times
Reputation: 21
Thanks for your comments.
So far, I'm thinking to move to Washington with my partner. He has a bachellor's degree in business administration with operations management and business communication. Also he will finish the master's degree in human resources. Here in Puerto Rico, that kind of job earns way more than a teacher, so my guess is that he will get a better salary than myself in Washington. So if I get a 46k per year as a teacher, and he gets like 56k per year, the family income combined will be about 102k per year. (I don't know the exact amount Washington pays for that kind of business jobs, some websites says the average salary for that is about 90k per year, but I prefer not to be so optimistic about it until I get real numbers).

On the other hand, thanks for the suggestion about Yakima, and become certified as a ESL teacher (because I didn't knew about ESL certification, because we don't use it here in Puerto Rico), I will definitively keep an eye on it after I get my History teacher certification. However, If I move to Washington, I would prefer to live in the West metropolitan area, but not specifically Seattle because I know it's too expensive there. I was thinking somewhere in the suburb cities, like Tacoma, Federal Way, Auburn, Kent, or Covington... places that aren't far away from Seattle but it's inside the west metropolitan area.
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Old 04-07-2016, 06:50 PM
 
467 posts, read 520,128 times
Reputation: 307
Realistically speaking, there will be a demand for your job in Seattle. Seattle has a hard time attracting teachers because it is so expensive to live there (or anywhere near there). However, Seattle is over run with applicants with the same educational background as your partner. He is more likely to get an way lower paid job in a position that he is over qualified for.

Since you are bilingual, I doubt you need to get ESL endorsement. The district will want to place you in a classroom teaching your field.

Are you thinking of living in the suburbs and working in Seattle? Or living AND working in the suburbs.

Not that it makes a huge difference, but a beginning teacher with MA in the Seattle district makes a little over $42000. Do you have years of teaching experience that will transfer?
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Old 04-07-2016, 08:08 PM
 
17 posts, read 23,521 times
Reputation: 21
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jane917 View Post
Realistically speaking, there will be a demand for your job in Seattle. Seattle has a hard time attracting teachers because it is so expensive to live there (or anywhere near there). However, Seattle is over run with applicants with the same educational background as your partner. He is more likely to get an way lower paid job in a position that he is over qualified for.

Since you are bilingual, I doubt you need to get ESL endorsement. The district will want to place you in a classroom teaching your field.

Are you thinking of living in the suburbs and working in Seattle? Or living AND working in the suburbs.

Not that it makes a huge difference, but a beginning teacher with MA in the Seattle district makes a little over $42000. Do you have years of teaching experience that will transfer?

Hello Jane.
I'm thinking of living and working in the suburbs. As for the salary, I have read that some districts around Seattle pay more to teachers than Seattle (such as Everett), regardless if cost of living is higher in Seattle. So I would prefer to live and work in the suburbs cities rather than in Seattle. Of course, I will not be reckless about it... if I get a teacher job in Seattle, then I guess I will have to take it. I wouldn't be in no shape to choose where to get a job... so the first place to offer me a job, the first place that I will take in order to get experience in the state, and be able to move out of Seattle. I have 2 years of experience as a History teacher in Puerto Rico, because I'm only 25 years old... just starting the career. I'm not sure if that experience can be transferable.
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Old 04-08-2016, 11:12 AM
 
467 posts, read 520,128 times
Reputation: 307
You are correct that teachers' salaries vary somewhat by district, with Everett being one of the highest in the state. There is a good reason for this, and Everett has a pretty high turnover of teachers. Teachers' salaries are funded by a state formula, and districts have the opportunity to put out a levy every few years for the locals to choose whether they want to pay TRI (time and responsibility) above the base salary. Experience from other states counts on the steps on the salary schedule, so I would think that your experience in PR would count to place you above Step One.

Do you have educational fairs in PR that you can attend? They happen all over here, and districts come together to try to recruit teachers, especially the young ones. However, I have to admit that history is probably one of the hardest positions to find, particularly coming from out of state. You will probably have to take a course in Washington history, which I think is required of every teacher. Often history teachers teach something else too, such as Government, PE. It is very common for coaches to also teach history.

I mentored a young woman from PR a couple of years ago, and she is still my friend. She was schooled through her MA degree in PR. She came to Seattle for her first job. The first year was very hard for her because she just did not understand public education in the US. We are in SPED, which adds a whole other layer of rules and regulations. She is now in her 5th year of working. She works in Kent, and is doing well, but still comes to me bamboozled by some of the complexities of the system. Although she spoke English all her life, we discovered there really was a language barrier speaking with primary English speakers. Also, her Spanish was somewhat different than the Spanish spoken in WA.

I would suggest you start an e-mail relationship with some of the districts you are interested in. The HR department will have a list of job opportunities in the district. Of course, the list will be quite different when you decide to apply. The district might be able to arrange a video interview. They will do an extensive background check. In general, there is a teacher shortage in WA, though it varies by region. Many districts have resorted to hiring teachers doc not hold the highest level of certification. Each year they will try to replace these non-certified teachers with certified replacements if one is available.

I wish you luck.
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Old 04-09-2016, 06:17 PM
 
17 posts, read 23,521 times
Reputation: 21
Thanks for your advice, Jane917.
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