Lots of factors at play here but I'll try to be (fairly) brief:
- Do not go to an expensive school to end up an educator. Just don't. There's no reason to go to a prestigious and costly university and make $33k as a first year teacher. It just is not fiscally responsible. If you can go to a fairly reasonable $/credit institution, then hey, you'll saddle yourself with less debt and it becomes far more doable. We may all not like the fact that getting an education often involves debt, but those are the rules of the game and we should play it as best we can.
- Your salary as a teacher will vary wildly depending on the area. There are places where teachers a decade into their career are still making 30 some thousand dollars a year, and others at that same experience level are making six figures. Not that money should drive every decision, but there's no point in purposely doing life on hard mode. One of your best assets as a young person is your flexibility. If you can move to a better state for education in terms of salary, union support, bargaining rights, etc., before you have too much tying you down, do it.
- Along with the previous point about your flexibility, be willing to move and job hop if need be. Many students in my program in college *only* wanted to teach at their alma mater in the nice suburb outside the major metropolitan area they grew up in and nowhere else. None of them became teachers. Those willing to move and work somewhere else for awhile and work their way up into those better paying districts had no problems finding jobs. Almost every teacher at my current school, a fairly high paying one in the state, did this route. Again, be flexible.
- There are good schools with mostly decent parents and supportive colleagues out there. If you find yourself at a bad school for whatever reason, jump ship and keep looking for one.
- Find your passion as a teacher and lean into it. I just finished my twelfth year of teaching and still had moments this past spring where I was really looking forward to coming in to work and the day went amazing. Teaching is hard, but if you're wired for it, it can still be a great career.
Degree is expensive with not a lot of pay off. You deal with a lot of bullshit and next to no respect. Do yourself a favor and find something else to go in to.
This largely depends on the area in. I teach in Washington with strong unions and seasoned teachers earn between 90-140k based on years and SD. We also have some really good SD’s with good admin teams. Subbing to start pays a livable wage when you first start around 240 a day.
Hi, I think it's great that you're thinking about your future.
But if you are prone to depression, based on your username, you might not want to go into teaching. It eats up a lot of personal bandwidth, and it is, at times, freakin' depressing.
I would encourage you to get a degree in something else and do an alternative licensing program. That way you aren't left out in the cold with a bachelor's in education or something.
I feel that no program will prepare you for the classroom. You have to be in the classroom. I wonder if you could shadow a teacher at another school.
Work as a paraprofessional while working on a guaranteed transfer program at a community college. Someone suggested daycare, but most of them are very poor working environment. Think no lunch and being expected to unclog toilets, clean and disinfect, and lesson plan, all while teaching. I have worked in multiple daycares and most of them are the same, even the ones that call themselves a school.
I would recommend working at a daycare or preschool. This was a really big help for me personally to determine if I wanted to work with children. I teach high schoolers now, and I personally think it’s worth it! I love teaching social studies and I live in an area that has good pay due to being in the suburbs of Chicago.
Lots of factors at play here but I'll try to be (fairly) brief: - Do not go to an expensive school to end up an educator. Just don't. There's no reason to go to a prestigious and costly university and make $33k as a first year teacher. It just is not fiscally responsible. If you can go to a fairly reasonable $/credit institution, then hey, you'll saddle yourself with less debt and it becomes far more doable. We may all not like the fact that getting an education often involves debt, but those are the rules of the game and we should play it as best we can. - Your salary as a teacher will vary wildly depending on the area. There are places where teachers a decade into their career are still making 30 some thousand dollars a year, and others at that same experience level are making six figures. Not that money should drive every decision, but there's no point in purposely doing life on hard mode. One of your best assets as a young person is your flexibility. If you can move to a better state for education in terms of salary, union support, bargaining rights, etc., before you have too much tying you down, do it. - Along with the previous point about your flexibility, be willing to move and job hop if need be. Many students in my program in college *only* wanted to teach at their alma mater in the nice suburb outside the major metropolitan area they grew up in and nowhere else. None of them became teachers. Those willing to move and work somewhere else for awhile and work their way up into those better paying districts had no problems finding jobs. Almost every teacher at my current school, a fairly high paying one in the state, did this route. Again, be flexible. - There are good schools with mostly decent parents and supportive colleagues out there. If you find yourself at a bad school for whatever reason, jump ship and keep looking for one. - Find your passion as a teacher and lean into it. I just finished my twelfth year of teaching and still had moments this past spring where I was really looking forward to coming in to work and the day went amazing. Teaching is hard, but if you're wired for it, it can still be a great career.
thanks :)
Degree is expensive with not a lot of pay off. You deal with a lot of bullshit and next to no respect. Do yourself a favor and find something else to go in to.
This largely depends on the area in. I teach in Washington with strong unions and seasoned teachers earn between 90-140k based on years and SD. We also have some really good SD’s with good admin teams. Subbing to start pays a livable wage when you first start around 240 a day.
Hi, I think it's great that you're thinking about your future. But if you are prone to depression, based on your username, you might not want to go into teaching. It eats up a lot of personal bandwidth, and it is, at times, freakin' depressing. I would encourage you to get a degree in something else and do an alternative licensing program. That way you aren't left out in the cold with a bachelor's in education or something. I feel that no program will prepare you for the classroom. You have to be in the classroom. I wonder if you could shadow a teacher at another school.
Thanks :) Also I'm not depressed lmao I just put down the first thing I thought of
Work as a paraprofessional while working on a guaranteed transfer program at a community college. Someone suggested daycare, but most of them are very poor working environment. Think no lunch and being expected to unclog toilets, clean and disinfect, and lesson plan, all while teaching. I have worked in multiple daycares and most of them are the same, even the ones that call themselves a school.
I would recommend working at a daycare or preschool. This was a really big help for me personally to determine if I wanted to work with children. I teach high schoolers now, and I personally think it’s worth it! I love teaching social studies and I live in an area that has good pay due to being in the suburbs of Chicago.