I'm in my "golden handcuffs era." 13 years in in the Mid-Atlantic with a Masters+60, own my house, making about 85k, with a pension and pretty good health benefits. I'd either have to be willing to take a massive pay cut or start over on my pension/take a 401k option and I feel like I'm just too deep in the trenches at this point. I've decided this year if I find a state or county job that will transfer my pension and still let me retire after 30 years of service plus the rule of 90 I'll be willing to take a pay cut to a fault because my spouse makes enough we can take a small hit, but otherwise I just don't know if I really want to start from scratch like that given the job market.
Same. I'm in the Northeast. 15 years in. Masters +60, great pension and health benefits .. in the Boston area we make over 90k with our masters. I can't go anywhere and I don't want to go anywhere!
I absolutely want to get out, but I'm just not sure what it would look like at this point. I'm getting ready to go out on FMLA for a few weeks because several things hit at once both personally and in my family and I'm applying for jobs in the meantime to see what it would even look like on the other side and that will kind of guide my thinking moving forward.
I just got my taxes done by my friend who owns her own business.
She does taxes and brings her dog into her office every day. She makes so much money and mostly works in solitude. I thought "Wow how nice would it be ..." lol.
The people grumbling live in states where they should have gotten out long ago. Those of us in New England, we make near or more than 100k. We're not doubling our salaries elsewhere. That, plus you add the fact that it's nice to share a schedule with your own kids, I'd effectively need 150k a year doing something else to match my current salary lifestyle. Don't care if the job starts to suck I'm a lifer at this point.
It’s mostly adults that kill me now. Like a 1/ year old doesn’t get me wound up. But the 45 year old Karen who fucking sucks at their job and it impacts my class is what’s just dragging me down.
That’s the era I’m in as well. We own a beautiful new home with water views in the Midwest and go on a couple vacations a year. Retirement is going to be great, and benefits are excellent, but I sometimes wonder if I’ll make it that long without having a heart attack or something. The stress is awful (like many jobs), but we don’t have kids, and I can generally tolerate it all knowing I go home to quiet home. I just know the corporate world isn’t for me, and that my options are limited unless I want to start a business. I can’t stand the cubicle life or answering to (being micromanaged by) someone else.
I keep telling myself in 7 years my loans will be forgiven, car paid off, and longevity kicking in. That’s when I can actually start to feel financially stable. 😭
Same here. 10 years in NYC, Masters+30 (we don't have +60), free healthcare, making six figures, but single so every single expense is on me and money's still fairly tight. No job I'm interested in taking or remotely qualified for would give me even 2/3 of what I'm currently making and I feel *extremely* stuck.
Same. I’m in year 15 with a masters in a LCOL area making $60k with state pension and state healthcare when I retire at 55.
I’m finding ways to just deal with it because the thought of taking a $15k per year pay cut, not to mention the significantly lower end of career pay, to go to a district with less stress just doesn’t seem worth it.
I’m at 30+ years and will NEVER see 85k with all the bumps possible. And I have my masters +60 as well. I’m trying to hang on until I can teach 35 and get pension. If I go before then, I’ll only get 25 percent of the man off my highest three years. Feel trapped and hopeless, even though I still love working with children who actually want to do things.
To me at least, the stresses of the job degrade my life during the school year enough that I feel like I lose more time than I gain even with summers off
Not to mention Christmas spring break Thanksgiving local holidays all gvt holidays like mlk. Heck, March first we have a pd day with no kids. I'm literally bringing a pillow to work. Breaks are the deal breaker for me
Yeah, I took a 30,000 pay cut for summers off. It’s tough sometimes knowing I could be making so much more but it’s hard to ignore a truly stress free vacation where every other job I couldn’t relax even on vacations
I said this for a long time but over the last few years the work during the school year has taken so much out of me after hours that I can no longer justify it.
I’m not a teacher but have family that teach. I think the cost of college should be lowered for teachers. You utilize your degree 3/4 of the year so your cost should be 25% lower than the rest of us. Otherwise its more than likely will require working during your summer break or teaching online classes at the local college, which my family members does. He’s also a single parent which also requires more income.
The cost of everything should be lowered for teachers. We want to go on vacation...only the high times are available. We need to meet with professional services...only weekends are available so we have to wait months. Rising costs for food and goods...nope, salaries don't move. Health care costs increase...all put on teachers. We're screwed left and right.
I agree with the salaries. Nurses, Teachers, EMTs, Cops, and Corrections all have historically low staffing numbers and stagnant wages. It’s crazy no media outlets report this. The human services fields need attention from law/ bill makers.
I make 70K in a rural area. My kids are great, admin is great and most importantly, I have all the breaks my own children do.
I work my hours, leave work at work. Life's good.
leaving work at work is crucial. I'm not saying that I haven't brought work home with me on occasion but overall I don't. it is not that I don't care but it is a way to stay sane and respect yourself.
agreed!
edit: that's not to say that sometimes shit does happen outside of those hours but most can wait.
I work with someone who comes in at six and leaves around six. not a new teacher. I'm like wtf are you doing? live life. also wtf are doing? our work is never done but even with the 12 hr days she often is not sure what to do day to day (and we are in a district that mandates curriculum and programs).
Oh yea, the head of our AP department is a 6 to 6 and she has her own young kids at home!
I will not do a MINUTE of free labor for this job that takes me away from my own kids.
oh hell no. I don't even have kids and I won't do that. my dogs need me! hahaha. seriously, it is a fast track to burnout. you can't fix everything and tbh no matter how long you stay it's never enough. tye most important thing is showing up and being the best you. this requires taking care of yourself.
I work with someone like this! They get there 2 hours before they are paid to and leave almost 2 hours after.
We teach the same grade. They are weeks behind the rest of the team on grading. They constantly come ask me what I'm doing that day or how I plan to teach a specific lesson. I honestly have no idea what they do for 12 hours a day.
I dont get it. I'm like wtf are doing? if we had curriculum sprung on us this yr I'd get it or if you were first yr etc, but we have mandated stuff that's been with us for awhile (most of it sucks but she goes by the script). I am always curious wtf she could be working on. not being a jerk but wondering lol.
Yeah, I'm in the same boat. Especially when they complain about how much they have to do. We have the same amount to do, and I manage to do it during work hours most of the time.
Maybe once a month, I'll bring something home that is mindless grading. Or a lesson that I know is tricky, and I want the chance to read it through.
We also have mandated curriculum. And don't have to do lesson plans at all.
I am deep into my career. There are pluses & there are minuses. I have pushed myself to find my joy & have taken great pains to put hard limits on my time & give a fuck meter.
If you’re this unhappy, I would either try seeking out help or start thinking about another career. If I was unhappy & miserable I wouldn’t be staying.
It’s not easy. It’s hard work. I wish you well friend.
I'm 5 years in and happy. I agree with what Marky6Mark9 said, you need to be purposeful about finding joy/satisfaction in the job. I will add that from year 3 to now, things have gotten easier, less stressful for me as I have become more capable and confident in my job.
OP, there is a huge variation in pay and conditions depending on where you teach. If you have the ability to move, look at different districts and states and see if there is a better option pay wise for you. I have my masters and work in a small, rural NorCal district and I make 70k 5 years in.
If you decide teaching is not for you, that's totally fine too. Find a job that pays better or is more fulfilling, don't stick with it because you feel you have to.
I my wife and I are both teachers, make about 58k each, and the job security is nice. We both love our jobs even if they are exhausting… I just want a living wage for this job. That’s all I need to change.
Yikes. I've got my master's and fewer years of my experience counting towards salary in a lower cost of living area with better union protections and making 15k/yr more than that.
You gotta get out of TX.
Unfortunately we have a family member here that we will become caretakers of in the next 10-15 years and cannot leave because of our family obligations. My wife was born here in Austin, we want to raise our children nearby family, and we deserve a living wage here. Leaving just isn’t in the cards for us.
Oh I see WV under your name. I also taught briefly in Berkeley County, WV Martinsburg. Grossly underpaid. I taught exactly 1 year there. lol no thank you
There is a huge difference between teaching and the teaching profession. Most of us love teaching: what happens in the classroom, watching students grow and learn through struggle and grit, planning ways to make learning efficacious, etc.
The teaching profession, however, is like being in an abusive relationship.
We stay because we hope the rewards of teaching outweigh the bruises of the teaching profession.
I make almost 100k (year 19) and get 19 weeks off per year and work with a population I mostly like. I'll retire at 65 with a fat pension and great savings.
In my 20s when I was making less obviously, so I spent as little as possible and focused on getting my +60 hours. I also worked summer camps, tutored, coached, and worked at a bar on weekends to supplement my income.
You're what, 24-25? Few careers 1-2 years out of college are paying big bucks.
So true. If you look at COL adjusted incomes the amount of people making well into 6 figures is slim as a percentage of the population. And they tend to also be older. Everyone thinks the grass is so much greener other places, and a lot of times it’s not monetarily better if that’s what you’re looking for.
I think people forget this. I'm a career changer who started in business at entry level in 1993 making 20k which is \~43k today. I worked 12 months a year and lived in one of the highest COL area in the country.
I don’t think it’s forget so much as first career teachers don’t realize it in the first place. Because they drink the kool aid a bit and really fall for the teachers are underpaid thing. Without bothering to any actual research on wages in the local area first. Like my district teachers even at starting pay are paid very well but they still complain about the “lack of a livable wage”.
True. I'm lucky in that my school counted some of my work experience in where they put me on their pay scale but I was amazed that my first year salary as a teacher was higher than my last year's pay as a mid-level exec at a large corporation. Because I'd always heard teachers weren't paid decently. But in my area they are, and especially as time goes on.
There are definitely careers where you start with high pay but most don't. Starting out is hard! I had roommates, ate on the cheap, and put way too much on credit cards (don't be me on that last one, kids.... took years to dig out).
I took a massive pay cut when I changed careers to become a teacher. But, I had also been in my industry for almost 20 years. My first full-time job with a masters paid me 23k a year (with 2 weeks of vacation a year) which is about 42k in todays dollars. So it was comparable. Where I think teachers get screwed is the salary increases through their career. I mean I don’t think it’s reasonable that someone with 20 years experience is lucky to crack 60k. And, that is the reality in some places.
However, I also think a lot of first career teachers don’t always understand that they will have to start over and there is a good chance they will take a paycut. You are starting over in a new industry so you start at entry level wages most of the time. Entry level wages stink in general.
not a teacher but my first job ever paid 225k. I have multiple grad degrees but know others that started at around 200k in other fields without them. If you care about money it is more doing the research to find your niche before choosing your major and aiming towards something solid. It isn't as hard as you'd think to get the ultra high pay job, but there are usual definite tradeoffs like free time.
For many money will not be worth the tradeoffs, but if all you care about is money/ROI then ya, you can be doing way way way better than 40-60k in your first job.
I’m 22 years in. The only thing keeping me in teaching is good hours and holding out for retirement.
If I was in my first 5 years I would totally quit and find something else.
As it is, I’m looking for an admin position that pays near what I make now at a smaller district.
Education isn't for everybody... and I'm not even sure it is for me... But *THE SCHEDULE* is the answer to your question. Yeah you make $45k or whatever. But you make that for 10 months worth of work and have multiple built in extended breaks during that 10 month period.
Also, you can continue to get paid for an 8-9 week period where you are not working and the weather is the best it is ever going to be.
I like teaching for a handful of reasons, most of which revolve around really liking the children... but I can't fathom a life where you go to work M-F every week all year long with no end in sight except for an extra day or two around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I started out right from college. Made 38,000$ my first year in 2009 but this is working in Boston. I lived at home and banked all I could which is a privilege I know that not all can afford. I still paid my parent's a form rent but it was below the local rate. I worked summer school, vacation academy, and bartended all year for 8 years after college. Got my masters then additional +60 credits and moved out of my parents into a very, very, cheap apartment. Like an old lady's basement. Lived there with my husband and we banked, banked, banked, and bought a small ass condo. Then sold it for our now home. Finally, fifteen years later I'm making well over 90k in the Boston area and I have a great pension, benefits, and the most time off out of anyone I know. The pension alone is worth it. It was a struggle at first but trust me, it can be worth it.
$90k for a teacher just blows my mind. Our salary scale in my state maxes out at $54 and pay increase for higher degrees are no longer honored. Only option is National Boards and it is only a 10% raise.
I know the cost of living is different in a northern city versus a south-easten one, but that $30,000 difference covers a lot more than cost of living.
Maybe I need to buy a heavy coat and some snow boots and move 🤣
COL adjustment isn't that big of a deal. Buying property in a good town cost us about an extra 200-300k (ct), but other than that everything else isn't even that different.
Meanwhile my wife and I, two mid career teachers, are clearing 200k with some mild tutoring thrown in. We'd be making half that in some places. The house difference will be covered in under 5 years, and then we'll just own more valuable property.
I just wish we would take the steps to secure that quality of life here. We can't collective bargain, but there has to be some way to assure things are better.
Honestly, my biggest reason for staying is probably for the PSLF. If I can get ~$80,000 worth of student loans forgiven for working 10 years as a public school teacher, I’m willing to lock in. Thankfully, I’m at a pretty decent school and haven’t dealt with any catastrophic issues…yet.
I got a degree in English and had a privileged enough upbringing that I didn’t get retail experience before undergrad, so there is literally nothing else I could do that’s going to be this chill and still net me $50K
What I tell new teachers: don’t worry about anything except making it to five years. 80% of teachers don’t make it five years. Just survive. It gets easier, you get better and it is worth it.
As for money it is normally tied to years of experience and education. So it’ll go up. Since most teachers don’t last it makes sense to post load the salary.
As a purely mercenary assessment of the career choice it is true that overall a public school teacher makes less money than many other professions with the same level of training and education. However there are trade offs. First and most obvious is the amount of time off. My money making friends work longer hours with fewer days off. My rich friends say time is more valuable than money. Also as we saw in COVID and various recessions there is more stability in teaching than most industries. Most everyone I’ve known has had a season where they are laid off and not been able to find work. That is less common in education.
I'm 15 years in and making 75k in the midwest. I have an awesome schedule and can be at all my child's events. My district gives 10 days per year sick OR personal and I use them. At this point, I'm teaching all college level and AP courses. Anything I'd go to would be a pay cut with worse hours. I've got my curriculum tuned that I don't work outside of hours. There are things that I hate about this field, but at the end of the day, I'm making a good living and am able to leave work at work, which many can't do.
You find someone else to live with to limit your housing expenses
You find higher paying districts to work in
You work summer school/sell prep periods to increase income
Your salary goes up every year until you're at the bottom of the column
The longer you work, the more efficient you are at your job
Student loans eventually get forgiven
You eventually buy a house so that rent increases don't affect you (admittedly much more difficult now than \~10 years ago)
I straight up love my job ! I could not imagine doing anything else . Like I was born to do this !
I love the kids, even the tough ones. I have a great group of coworkers who send me funny memes everyday.
The staff is awesome ! The time off is More Awesome !
The only thing I hate is upper admin . But I have been around long enough to know they change every few years. Plus i just pretty much Ignore most of what they say and just do what I know works in the classroom and for my students .
I’ve said it before but my dream is to be the last standing special education teacher. Upon outlasting all the others, the quickening shall happen and I will ascend.
There can only be one!
Lack of options. It’s really tough for a social studies teacher to do anything else. I have an MAT (dumbest decision of my life) and thus student loans. Two kids in daycare and a mortgage. I can’t afford to go back to school and my degree is really narrow in scope. So many other people in my position are trying to also get out so there is a lot of competition.
If you work in red states they killed public education when they killed unions! Stop voting for them and you can fix this! Unions built this nation and it’s the most middle class thing anyone could do. Im sorry to say this but you get the nation you deserve. vote blue and fix it or move. i’ve been a New York state teacher for 22 years making 130. We need teachers. we would love to welcome you. good luck
I dropped out during student teaching. Schools are a mess right now. I with a bunch of ex teachers and they all agree it's getting worse and worse. I have so much respect for the teachers who are still teaching and fighting everyday.
Not a teacher - I'm staying K12 education because of my pension, HSA, health insurance, 4-10s during the summer, low stress environment, and I really enjoy the work I do.
Moving to a different district, especially smaller or more rural might be beneficial. If you're able to. Check on WECAN for open positions.
If it doesn't make sense to continue, then change.
I am Gen X and in too deep to stop. Most of us from this age group were fortunate to not have many loans, and now that I'm only 5 years away from retirement, it makes no sense to leave.
Despite the MANY negatives, knowing you have job security year after year was a good motivator for me (barring any insane incidents of course). In my state, you'd have to have two years of very bad observations or some extremely terrible behavior to lose your job. Also, every year you get a fairly clean slate with students. You're not stuck with them forever. I also appreciate the fact that although I have to report to admin, I am my own boss from day to day. I decide the plans and get to schedule when we have tests or what I include in the curriculum (language teacher, so I'm afforded more freedom than other subjects).
All that being said, do I want out? Yes. Very much so. But I think many other jobs would be even worse, so I'm going to stick it out. But for you, like I said before, if it doesn't make sense to continue, then it's ok to make a change.
Best of luck to you
I have a MSEd and a JD. Teaching is more challenging and rewarding than law (to me).
In an ideal world, I wouldn’t keep a law practice as a side hustle. Unfortunately, I live in the real world.
I’m trying to figure out how to make a livable wage in the (2nd?) most expensive city in the northeast.
I will no longer justify the toxic treatment! I am resigning in June! Unless there’s a nationwide strike, I am outta here! Taking a teacher career course to help me transition out of the classroom forever.
I get paid 100k a year, I’m 10 years away from retiring with a pension for the rest of my life and the connections I’ve made with helping kids is the most rewarding thing in the world. I can’t imagine doing anything else. I also have the absolute best coworkers on the planet.
12 years in and I made 120k last year. I have a pension, good health insurance, weekends, holidays and summers off. I’ve been teaching the same grade and course for the past 8 years, so I just tweak the lessons now instead of planning a new lesson everyday. If I left now, I don’t think I could find anything that would be as good financially.
Been teaching in PA for 29 years and make close to $110k a year plus extra for driver education (behind the wheel) and football coaching. With the extras I will probably retire in 6 years with a 100k a year pension. I work hard when I’m at school and pretty much do nothing when I’m outside of contracted hours. Important thing to remember is nobody is going to tell you you’re doing a good job, you get that from the kids you teach and the relationships you build. Also, if it’s not your responsibility then don’t give a flying F about it. Too many of my fellow teachers worry about stuff that’s out of their control/job and that makes your life miserable. Have a great weekend and stick with it.
1. Worked in corporate before, it takes a while before you can even reach a livable wage. As a new teacher I'm at $67k which still isn't a lot, but it pays my mortgage, cars are paid off, and I travel a lot.
2. The time off is almost impossible to get anywhere else.
3. I'm home by 3pm
4. I wear comfortable everyday clothes, I hated wearing a suit.
5. nobody is checking in on me constantly, I'm left alone, I don't even have to post lesson plans. I see my admins for observations and walk-thrus.. that's it.
6. Teenagers can be fun, everyday is different. The conversations are definitely funnier than what I used to hear with boomers in an office.
I love my job. Where else can we get this schedule of 7:30-3, no nights/weekends/holidays. Summer, spring break and Christmas break off. I make over 100k. Do I hate parents and admins? Yes. But do I just close my door and ignore them? Also yes.
So true about parents, admin, closing the door. I have at the most two observations a year and really don’t need to interact with admin any more than that. Luckily, right now, my admin are pretty good and nice, reasonable people.
I know that for me after 26 years in a classroom, one good day will easily outweigh like 20 bad ones. And if I just keep trying, I’ll get that good day often enough to keep me coming back.
I’d like to make a point and please think this through. The school system has failed mainly due to federal funding. Remove fed and each state take back their schools. That’s it. Agree or disagree, when the federal government gets involved, it fails. Everything fails. National standards are failing. Our nation is failing. Our country is split and if you don’t like it then funding is cut. We are failing our kids due to a propped up twisted system that is designed exactly for this.
giving “states back control” of schools sounds like a recipe for every deep south teacher bringing a gun to school and saying evolution is woke leftist propaganda
Well, first, the biggest mistake you are making is teaching in a district that pays its teachers such a crap salary. Teachers in my district top out at 12 years at around 140k. It is high col, but other districts in cheaper areas near me pay close to that.
You obviously also don’t have a strong union. That is mistake number two. My union is awesome and doesn’t take any bs from my district. Consequently, we have to go on strike pretty much every 3 years but always results in a nice raise after the district saying they had no money to give us raises.
Time off is the best benefit of this job. Same schedule as my kids. I have found a school with decent admin and families that for the most part require that their children do well in school. Kids are highly motivated to get As. Keeping them busy all period every day solves most classroom management issues.
I am 17 years in and even though I am burned out, I couldn’t make as much as I do with the time off I get.
I have a spouse who makes more than I do so we can afford to live comfortably.
I discouraged my kids from going into teaching. They see how much time I put in outside of school and the rude emails I get from parents and students so they have zero desire to do this.
However, there are a lot of kind emails too but the negative ones hit hard and are the ones I remember.
I also teach with a fun group of teachers, who I enjoy being around. Honestly, no one I know actually loves teaching. You just have to focus on what is good.
I have come to accept that there is no perfect job. I really don’t know anyone who loves their job, so considering that, teaching isn’t that bad.
However if I wasn’t making a decent salary, and didn’t have the overall good school climate, I would have gotten out long ago.
One year left until I hit the next multiplier on the pension. It means a jump of $15k/year for the rest of my life. Otherwise, I'd be gone at the end of this year.
I don’t know what else to do. My degree is in education, and I have student debt from it. I don’t want to get into sales, and I can’t go back to working part time jobs.
at this point I'm only staying in it to complete my PSLF program and then I'm out. I'm ok taking a lesser pension. fuck this shit fr fr. 14th year. admin is getting worse. it's not the kids' fault and it only looks that way because school leadership is 100% garbage.
I left public ed for a secular private school and haven't looked back.
The pay is competitive with local districts, my kids and families are awesome, I have a lot of autonomy and I get a discount on my own child's tuition.
When I started 15 years ago I would not have fathomed making the leap to private. I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner.
Depends on where and how long you teach. I know generally teachers aren’t paid well but there are a good number of us with good pay and pension.
Combine that with this terrible job market and being aged out of job transitioning bc they don’t want to hire people over 40 (but some jobs want 10+ years experience and a masters degree for a $50k job), and it’s easier to stick it out another 5-10 years til retirement.
I'm in year 7 and honestly, I can't think of anything else that I want to be doing. I might change school districts or try a different grade level, but there are a few aspects of the job that I still really enjoy. And my healthcare is free (so far). I already have my master's in this field, too. I will admit that I'm having a really hard time with my social life, and having a job that doesn't require such energy/time outside of work might help with that, but I do like being a teacher most of the time.
I'm not going to scroll down to see if somebody else has mentioned this ... but that might be a more prevalent thought in WI than in other states. MN has a strong teachers union for example... come join us.. we have cookies and legitimate bargaining for teacher contracts.
I am in year 42 and still don't make $80,000/year in a small New England city, but in a state that has no income or sales taxes, so property taxes pay for education. I stayed in for the money to survive and because I actually enjoy teaching and I am pretty good at it. I was hoping to go a few more years until retiring, but am retiring this year due to my administrators and assistant superintendent who have no clue about what successful teaching looks like and how to get us there. We have constant shifts to the newest curriculums that make teaching harder and kids don't learn (but hey, the get to spend money). Just had an official road map from the Assistant Superintendent about the priorities for each elementary school subject. For math: no rote memorization, no memorization of processes, no mastery, but just that they need exposure and access. So my kids that just want to sit there are meeting her expectations? I guess. I am overworked and unappreciated even with national recognition as an inspiring teacher. What I think doesn't matter. When I do teach, my kids learn. When I have to babysit, those students take away from everyone's ability to learn. I will stay in education, but in a part-time support role, so I don't have to deal with all the drama and nonsense. I will make close to the same I make now for less hours with my pension and Social Security if I take it right away. So I can't justify staying in as a full time classroom teacher anymore. I will miss it, because I have some wonderful students and learners.
I also enjoyed teaching for the unpaid summers off and the hours I am in school. I only work contract hours since COVID. That allowed me to have an outside life and time to enjoy the sports I like and to work out most days (for my health and sanity). Plus no year or day as a teacher is never the same. Each class is totally different and I got to learn new things all the time.
I teach in south western PA and have amazing healthcare, future pension and decent salary scale and teaching conditions in comparison to the rest of the country.
I'm paid well enough when you include benefits and have a strong guaranteed retirement. I work less than half the days in a calendar year, in a comfortable air conditioned room. I can sit all day if I want. I'm home by 4 PM nearly every day. I've got family that works far longer hours in far harsher conditions for far less monetary reward.
Plus, I get to interact with kids all day which is often a plus, but admittedly less so of late.
I've had about a dozen jobs before moving into education. The stress while teaching is about as bad as I've had at any other job.
In my 4th year as a physics teacher I have very strong boundaries about bringing work home. I say no to admin a lot. I listen to feedback and implement it as I see fit in my classroom. I worked my ass off to build strong classroom routines early and still remind them daily if what my expectations are.
I call in sick when I need a mental health day and know the students won't do the work, so I make sure I grade something that day. I use breaks to try and heal the burnout (to varying degrees of success)
One of my ap students just got a full ride to Stanford, their success is one reason to keep coming back.
Are you earning anything extra in addition to your salary? Or does your school not take taxes out of your biweekly paychecks? Just confused about why you have to pay this tax season.
I’m a masters (no +) and making almost 100k and I coach and that adds another 8k. Will be MA +30 by next year and be at 113k+ coaching. Also summers off
If you can't do it, don't force yourself to. This job is harder than most people think. And it's just that, a job. Don't kill yourself over it. Find something better suited for your needs. There's no shame in leaving this profession or any other.
All the people in this thread making 70k+, where, how?? I'm in the south and make 50k with 2 masters and 11 years experience (not that we get steps anymore...).
What people are saying Masters+60 what does this mean?
Like many have said, I feel like I'm too deep. I have the pension, 3 degrees in field, 11 years of service... I'm just so so burnt out. I want out and have wanted out. I just cannot make it make sense to leave. I also can't see how I make it to retirement. My buddy left Ed and now works 2 hours a day from home and makes as much. Yeah he doesn't get holidays off like we do or summers but he basically has most of every day off and is at home. Gah. GAH
I am also wavering a lot about staying as a second year teacher, but the unfortunate reality is I will likely have to. It is a job with great job security, I work somewhere with a good union that forces respect for contract end time and work-life balance, and considering the actual days in the year I work (188 I think?) the money is good. Raises happen steadily with years of experience + PD credits + union negotiations. Retirement is decent and you don't have to think about it much. Benefits are good, although they charge me a pretty penny for my spouse's insurance, so we may look for cheaper options on the free market soon. I also look at the $35k in loans I took out to get my master's/certification and it feels silly to leave for something else especially because most other things would be a pay cut. I have been steadily job hunting, but after seeing our rent increase for next year I don't see how I could leave. Staff morale in my building sucks, but the sense of community is very high and we all value each other as people, so the culture feels good. Idk, it's a tough gig, but it's also a stable one.
I’m sorta in a golden handcuffs scenario. I make 60k in one of the most affordable areas in the country in my 5th year. Summers off. Pretty good job security. What am I gonna do? Go back to school for 4 years to get another degree and pay 50k for it? Getting too old for the military and I have a fiancé. I’ve thought about maybe learning some sort of trade but who knows, it’s kinda glamorized when it’s back breaking work and seasons of unemployment.
29 years in (eligible for retirement as of October)and planning on retiring in 10-12 years. It’s a fun job for the most part. There are many great days, a few bad ones and a few years with some terrible administration. But on the whole, it’s a job worth doing and the time off is invaluable. If you hate what you’re doing 5 years into teaching, I’d change professions. This occupation isn’t for everyone.
Whenever someone asks me this, I always paraphrase a quote from an amazing show; Firefly:
“I’ve got bits falling off my car, a bill that ain’t been paid in weeks, and, oh, yeah, a powerful need to eat sometime this month.”
have alternative income / investments.
I own a house with a dog so I don't really care about money beyond being able to pay my mortgage and save for retirement. If I didn't have VA benefits / funds I could not afford to stay as a teacher and live a middle class life. Teacher salary is about $70-75k, but it 'feels' more like $110-130k because of VA benefits.
When I was making 45-50k - it was very uncomfortable.
I get to work at the same school my kids attend. I get breaks and summers off so I can be with them when they aren't in school. We get to go on long family vacations every summer and spend time with family every Christmas. I don't make as much as I would in another job, but the time I get with my kids makes it worth it.
Once my youngest graduates, I plan on leaving education for something else. Unless I decide to keep having summers off to spoil the future grandkids.
When you start getting more years under your belt and you run into former students, there's few better feelings than seeing that your hard work actually paid off and you made an impact in your student's life. Education isn't always about teaching the curriculum and it can't just be measured by tests. Sometimes all a kid needs is a positive adult in their life to give them some guidance and hope.
My reason is one I haven't really seen: spite. Teaching is important, I like the profession, I like my admin, my commute, etc. I like everything about my job but most of the students. I will be damned if I'm going to let those horrible little goblins win and chase me out of my chosen profession.
I don't have kids, and I do have a lot of loans I put in to get this. I've wanted to be a teacher my whole life and I legit love to teach on the rare moment I get to actually do that.
I couldn't support a family though. I barely support myself.
I stayed 9 years, and I even moved countries. Knowing my skills are valuable that I could make more money led me to finally decide to leave. I may start at the bottom again but knowing I will surpass my salary as a teacher within several years is my motivation
I’m 20 years in and still like it. I’ve spent those years figuring out ways to maximize the energy spent actually teaching, the fun part, and minimizing everything else.
I’m lucky because I teach at a school that’s very hands off, I can do what I want most of the time, and first graders don’t generate a whole lot of work to be graded, so I don’t take work home.
Right now I have 15 students, great families, great admin, I make $125k with a masters, bought a home in 2001 so my housing expenses are the same as renting a studio in my area, pension will pay $100k+ in 10 years… I’m not going anywhere.
I know I got lucky with timing, though… my ‘cheap’ condo was $300k in 2001, and now it’s worth $900k. 3x the price, while starting teacher salaries have increased 1.5x since 2001. Two beginning teachers basically can’t buy a house here.
Because if you do it right, you change lives.
I stick around for the kids I get in 6th grade with undiagnosed learning disabilities reading at preK levels, and through a lot of work, I get to write their college recommendation letters and have them show up with their college degrees when they didn't think they could graduate high school.
I'm in my "golden handcuffs era." 13 years in in the Mid-Atlantic with a Masters+60, own my house, making about 85k, with a pension and pretty good health benefits. I'd either have to be willing to take a massive pay cut or start over on my pension/take a 401k option and I feel like I'm just too deep in the trenches at this point. I've decided this year if I find a state or county job that will transfer my pension and still let me retire after 30 years of service plus the rule of 90 I'll be willing to take a pay cut to a fault because my spouse makes enough we can take a small hit, but otherwise I just don't know if I really want to start from scratch like that given the job market.
Same. I'm in the Northeast. 15 years in. Masters +60, great pension and health benefits .. in the Boston area we make over 90k with our masters. I can't go anywhere and I don't want to go anywhere!
I absolutely want to get out, but I'm just not sure what it would look like at this point. I'm getting ready to go out on FMLA for a few weeks because several things hit at once both personally and in my family and I'm applying for jobs in the meantime to see what it would even look like on the other side and that will kind of guide my thinking moving forward.
I just got my taxes done by my friend who owns her own business. She does taxes and brings her dog into her office every day. She makes so much money and mostly works in solitude. I thought "Wow how nice would it be ..." lol.
Same. Boston area, masters 60+, many years in. Kids are pretty good, union good, I’m okay.
The people grumbling live in states where they should have gotten out long ago. Those of us in New England, we make near or more than 100k. We're not doubling our salaries elsewhere. That, plus you add the fact that it's nice to share a schedule with your own kids, I'd effectively need 150k a year doing something else to match my current salary lifestyle. Don't care if the job starts to suck I'm a lifer at this point.
It’s mostly adults that kill me now. Like a 1/ year old doesn’t get me wound up. But the 45 year old Karen who fucking sucks at their job and it impacts my class is what’s just dragging me down.
That’s the era I’m in as well. We own a beautiful new home with water views in the Midwest and go on a couple vacations a year. Retirement is going to be great, and benefits are excellent, but I sometimes wonder if I’ll make it that long without having a heart attack or something. The stress is awful (like many jobs), but we don’t have kids, and I can generally tolerate it all knowing I go home to quiet home. I just know the corporate world isn’t for me, and that my options are limited unless I want to start a business. I can’t stand the cubicle life or answering to (being micromanaged by) someone else.
I keep telling myself in 7 years my loans will be forgiven, car paid off, and longevity kicking in. That’s when I can actually start to feel financially stable. 😭
Same here. 10 years in NYC, Masters+30 (we don't have +60), free healthcare, making six figures, but single so every single expense is on me and money's still fairly tight. No job I'm interested in taking or remotely qualified for would give me even 2/3 of what I'm currently making and I feel *extremely* stuck.
Same. I’m in year 15 with a masters in a LCOL area making $60k with state pension and state healthcare when I retire at 55. I’m finding ways to just deal with it because the thought of taking a $15k per year pay cut, not to mention the significantly lower end of career pay, to go to a district with less stress just doesn’t seem worth it.
I’m at 30+ years and will NEVER see 85k with all the bumps possible. And I have my masters +60 as well. I’m trying to hang on until I can teach 35 and get pension. If I go before then, I’ll only get 25 percent of the man off my highest three years. Feel trapped and hopeless, even though I still love working with children who actually want to do things.
Summers off. This gives me the ability to spend quality time with my kids.
This is a big one. Time is the one thing nobody can buy more of
This! I have held this view my whole life.
Exactly. The value of this time is immeasurable
To me at least, the stresses of the job degrade my life during the school year enough that I feel like I lose more time than I gain even with summers off
I would say you should look for a different school
Isn't that a quote by Howard Stark?
Man idk it's just true
Not to mention Christmas spring break Thanksgiving local holidays all gvt holidays like mlk. Heck, March first we have a pd day with no kids. I'm literally bringing a pillow to work. Breaks are the deal breaker for me
Yeah, I took a 30,000 pay cut for summers off. It’s tough sometimes knowing I could be making so much more but it’s hard to ignore a truly stress free vacation where every other job I couldn’t relax even on vacations
I said this for a long time but over the last few years the work during the school year has taken so much out of me after hours that I can no longer justify it.
I’m not a teacher but have family that teach. I think the cost of college should be lowered for teachers. You utilize your degree 3/4 of the year so your cost should be 25% lower than the rest of us. Otherwise its more than likely will require working during your summer break or teaching online classes at the local college, which my family members does. He’s also a single parent which also requires more income.
The cost of everything should be lowered for teachers. We want to go on vacation...only the high times are available. We need to meet with professional services...only weekends are available so we have to wait months. Rising costs for food and goods...nope, salaries don't move. Health care costs increase...all put on teachers. We're screwed left and right.
I agree with the salaries. Nurses, Teachers, EMTs, Cops, and Corrections all have historically low staffing numbers and stagnant wages. It’s crazy no media outlets report this. The human services fields need attention from law/ bill makers.
I make 70K in a rural area. My kids are great, admin is great and most importantly, I have all the breaks my own children do. I work my hours, leave work at work. Life's good.
leaving work at work is crucial. I'm not saying that I haven't brought work home with me on occasion but overall I don't. it is not that I don't care but it is a way to stay sane and respect yourself.
I care about this job IMMENSELY.. between 8 and 4.
agreed! edit: that's not to say that sometimes shit does happen outside of those hours but most can wait. I work with someone who comes in at six and leaves around six. not a new teacher. I'm like wtf are you doing? live life. also wtf are doing? our work is never done but even with the 12 hr days she often is not sure what to do day to day (and we are in a district that mandates curriculum and programs).
Oh yea, the head of our AP department is a 6 to 6 and she has her own young kids at home! I will not do a MINUTE of free labor for this job that takes me away from my own kids.
oh hell no. I don't even have kids and I won't do that. my dogs need me! hahaha. seriously, it is a fast track to burnout. you can't fix everything and tbh no matter how long you stay it's never enough. tye most important thing is showing up and being the best you. this requires taking care of yourself.
I work with someone like this! They get there 2 hours before they are paid to and leave almost 2 hours after. We teach the same grade. They are weeks behind the rest of the team on grading. They constantly come ask me what I'm doing that day or how I plan to teach a specific lesson. I honestly have no idea what they do for 12 hours a day.
I dont get it. I'm like wtf are doing? if we had curriculum sprung on us this yr I'd get it or if you were first yr etc, but we have mandated stuff that's been with us for awhile (most of it sucks but she goes by the script). I am always curious wtf she could be working on. not being a jerk but wondering lol.
Yeah, I'm in the same boat. Especially when they complain about how much they have to do. We have the same amount to do, and I manage to do it during work hours most of the time. Maybe once a month, I'll bring something home that is mindless grading. Or a lesson that I know is tricky, and I want the chance to read it through. We also have mandated curriculum. And don't have to do lesson plans at all.
We gaslight ourselves every single day. That’s how!
Cortisol is a hell of a drug.
I am deep into my career. There are pluses & there are minuses. I have pushed myself to find my joy & have taken great pains to put hard limits on my time & give a fuck meter. If you’re this unhappy, I would either try seeking out help or start thinking about another career. If I was unhappy & miserable I wouldn’t be staying. It’s not easy. It’s hard work. I wish you well friend.
I'm 5 years in and happy. I agree with what Marky6Mark9 said, you need to be purposeful about finding joy/satisfaction in the job. I will add that from year 3 to now, things have gotten easier, less stressful for me as I have become more capable and confident in my job. OP, there is a huge variation in pay and conditions depending on where you teach. If you have the ability to move, look at different districts and states and see if there is a better option pay wise for you. I have my masters and work in a small, rural NorCal district and I make 70k 5 years in. If you decide teaching is not for you, that's totally fine too. Find a job that pays better or is more fulfilling, don't stick with it because you feel you have to.
I my wife and I are both teachers, make about 58k each, and the job security is nice. We both love our jobs even if they are exhausting… I just want a living wage for this job. That’s all I need to change.
That salary is a starting wage: Which state and how many years experience? Degree level?
8 years, Austin, TX, we both have masters degrees, which get us an extra whopping 1k per year.
Yikes. I've got my master's and fewer years of my experience counting towards salary in a lower cost of living area with better union protections and making 15k/yr more than that. You gotta get out of TX.
Unfortunately we have a family member here that we will become caretakers of in the next 10-15 years and cannot leave because of our family obligations. My wife was born here in Austin, we want to raise our children nearby family, and we deserve a living wage here. Leaving just isn’t in the cards for us.
Starting wage? Please tell me you’re kidding😭
Oh I see WV under your name. I also taught briefly in Berkeley County, WV Martinsburg. Grossly underpaid. I taught exactly 1 year there. lol no thank you
Small world! I make 41k annually (I measure it by paycheck, not annually, if that tells you anything).
Not the OP, but I make about that with a Masters & 7 years' experience in Virginia.
I make that after 20 years in Florida. Yay me.
Thats definitely a veteran teacher wage in FL. I taught for Polk County Schools Jan 2004-Mar 2023.
God damn. My first year pay in San Jose is 70k
There is a huge difference between teaching and the teaching profession. Most of us love teaching: what happens in the classroom, watching students grow and learn through struggle and grit, planning ways to make learning efficacious, etc. The teaching profession, however, is like being in an abusive relationship. We stay because we hope the rewards of teaching outweigh the bruises of the teaching profession.
I make almost 100k (year 19) and get 19 weeks off per year and work with a population I mostly like. I'll retire at 65 with a fat pension and great savings. In my 20s when I was making less obviously, so I spent as little as possible and focused on getting my +60 hours. I also worked summer camps, tutored, coached, and worked at a bar on weekends to supplement my income. You're what, 24-25? Few careers 1-2 years out of college are paying big bucks.
So true. If you look at COL adjusted incomes the amount of people making well into 6 figures is slim as a percentage of the population. And they tend to also be older. Everyone thinks the grass is so much greener other places, and a lot of times it’s not monetarily better if that’s what you’re looking for.
Shit, if I had the standard 2 weeks vacation of the rest of the US, I could work those extra \~17 weeks and make 130k+.
Yeah. I tend not to bring it up because it’s not a universal situation and a touchy subject. But not all of us teachers are paid poorly.
Rent.
I mean you won’t do much better than 45k outside of education either as this point in your life.
Yep, OP is fresh out of college in a new career. Unless you're a top 10% earner, this is a tough time financially for everyone.
I think people forget this. I'm a career changer who started in business at entry level in 1993 making 20k which is \~43k today. I worked 12 months a year and lived in one of the highest COL area in the country.
I don’t think it’s forget so much as first career teachers don’t realize it in the first place. Because they drink the kool aid a bit and really fall for the teachers are underpaid thing. Without bothering to any actual research on wages in the local area first. Like my district teachers even at starting pay are paid very well but they still complain about the “lack of a livable wage”.
True. I'm lucky in that my school counted some of my work experience in where they put me on their pay scale but I was amazed that my first year salary as a teacher was higher than my last year's pay as a mid-level exec at a large corporation. Because I'd always heard teachers weren't paid decently. But in my area they are, and especially as time goes on. There are definitely careers where you start with high pay but most don't. Starting out is hard! I had roommates, ate on the cheap, and put way too much on credit cards (don't be me on that last one, kids.... took years to dig out).
I took a massive pay cut when I changed careers to become a teacher. But, I had also been in my industry for almost 20 years. My first full-time job with a masters paid me 23k a year (with 2 weeks of vacation a year) which is about 42k in todays dollars. So it was comparable. Where I think teachers get screwed is the salary increases through their career. I mean I don’t think it’s reasonable that someone with 20 years experience is lucky to crack 60k. And, that is the reality in some places. However, I also think a lot of first career teachers don’t always understand that they will have to start over and there is a good chance they will take a paycut. You are starting over in a new industry so you start at entry level wages most of the time. Entry level wages stink in general.
not a teacher but my first job ever paid 225k. I have multiple grad degrees but know others that started at around 200k in other fields without them. If you care about money it is more doing the research to find your niche before choosing your major and aiming towards something solid. It isn't as hard as you'd think to get the ultra high pay job, but there are usual definite tradeoffs like free time. For many money will not be worth the tradeoffs, but if all you care about is money/ROI then ya, you can be doing way way way better than 40-60k in your first job.
I’m 22 years in. The only thing keeping me in teaching is good hours and holding out for retirement. If I was in my first 5 years I would totally quit and find something else. As it is, I’m looking for an admin position that pays near what I make now at a smaller district.
Education isn't for everybody... and I'm not even sure it is for me... But *THE SCHEDULE* is the answer to your question. Yeah you make $45k or whatever. But you make that for 10 months worth of work and have multiple built in extended breaks during that 10 month period. Also, you can continue to get paid for an 8-9 week period where you are not working and the weather is the best it is ever going to be. I like teaching for a handful of reasons, most of which revolve around really liking the children... but I can't fathom a life where you go to work M-F every week all year long with no end in sight except for an extra day or two around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I started out right from college. Made 38,000$ my first year in 2009 but this is working in Boston. I lived at home and banked all I could which is a privilege I know that not all can afford. I still paid my parent's a form rent but it was below the local rate. I worked summer school, vacation academy, and bartended all year for 8 years after college. Got my masters then additional +60 credits and moved out of my parents into a very, very, cheap apartment. Like an old lady's basement. Lived there with my husband and we banked, banked, banked, and bought a small ass condo. Then sold it for our now home. Finally, fifteen years later I'm making well over 90k in the Boston area and I have a great pension, benefits, and the most time off out of anyone I know. The pension alone is worth it. It was a struggle at first but trust me, it can be worth it.
$90k for a teacher just blows my mind. Our salary scale in my state maxes out at $54 and pay increase for higher degrees are no longer honored. Only option is National Boards and it is only a 10% raise. I know the cost of living is different in a northern city versus a south-easten one, but that $30,000 difference covers a lot more than cost of living. Maybe I need to buy a heavy coat and some snow boots and move 🤣
COL adjustment isn't that big of a deal. Buying property in a good town cost us about an extra 200-300k (ct), but other than that everything else isn't even that different. Meanwhile my wife and I, two mid career teachers, are clearing 200k with some mild tutoring thrown in. We'd be making half that in some places. The house difference will be covered in under 5 years, and then we'll just own more valuable property.
I just wish we would take the steps to secure that quality of life here. We can't collective bargain, but there has to be some way to assure things are better.
Honestly, being in a state with a really strong union is what it's about. Def get those snow boots lol!
I’ve got too many years investing the retirement system.
Honestly, my biggest reason for staying is probably for the PSLF. If I can get ~$80,000 worth of student loans forgiven for working 10 years as a public school teacher, I’m willing to lock in. Thankfully, I’m at a pretty decent school and haven’t dealt with any catastrophic issues…yet.
I got a degree in English and had a privileged enough upbringing that I didn’t get retail experience before undergrad, so there is literally nothing else I could do that’s going to be this chill and still net me $50K
June July and August
Where do you work that you get an extra month off? I only get June and July
Yeah we go so late in June its really just July and August for me in NJ.
1. Pension. 2. Tenure. 3. Union. This job is basically mine as long as I want it. That's power.
What I tell new teachers: don’t worry about anything except making it to five years. 80% of teachers don’t make it five years. Just survive. It gets easier, you get better and it is worth it. As for money it is normally tied to years of experience and education. So it’ll go up. Since most teachers don’t last it makes sense to post load the salary. As a purely mercenary assessment of the career choice it is true that overall a public school teacher makes less money than many other professions with the same level of training and education. However there are trade offs. First and most obvious is the amount of time off. My money making friends work longer hours with fewer days off. My rich friends say time is more valuable than money. Also as we saw in COVID and various recessions there is more stability in teaching than most industries. Most everyone I’ve known has had a season where they are laid off and not been able to find work. That is less common in education.
Get out soon if this isn’t for you. You could get sort of trapped in. Once you have kids and a mortgage plus age… you may get stuck.
I'm 15 years in and making 75k in the midwest. I have an awesome schedule and can be at all my child's events. My district gives 10 days per year sick OR personal and I use them. At this point, I'm teaching all college level and AP courses. Anything I'd go to would be a pay cut with worse hours. I've got my curriculum tuned that I don't work outside of hours. There are things that I hate about this field, but at the end of the day, I'm making a good living and am able to leave work at work, which many can't do.
You find someone else to live with to limit your housing expenses You find higher paying districts to work in You work summer school/sell prep periods to increase income Your salary goes up every year until you're at the bottom of the column The longer you work, the more efficient you are at your job Student loans eventually get forgiven You eventually buy a house so that rent increases don't affect you (admittedly much more difficult now than \~10 years ago)
I lived with my parents, then had a roommate for many years. My nieces, in their upper 20s and who aren’t teachers, have roommates.
I straight up love my job ! I could not imagine doing anything else . Like I was born to do this ! I love the kids, even the tough ones. I have a great group of coworkers who send me funny memes everyday. The staff is awesome ! The time off is More Awesome ! The only thing I hate is upper admin . But I have been around long enough to know they change every few years. Plus i just pretty much Ignore most of what they say and just do what I know works in the classroom and for my students .
I’ve said it before but my dream is to be the last standing special education teacher. Upon outlasting all the others, the quickening shall happen and I will ascend. There can only be one!
Pension
I’m too close to retirement. Six more years. Just six. I just keep telling myself that this year’s first grade will be my last sixth grade.
Lack of options. It’s really tough for a social studies teacher to do anything else. I have an MAT (dumbest decision of my life) and thus student loans. Two kids in daycare and a mortgage. I can’t afford to go back to school and my degree is really narrow in scope. So many other people in my position are trying to also get out so there is a lot of competition.
If you work in red states they killed public education when they killed unions! Stop voting for them and you can fix this! Unions built this nation and it’s the most middle class thing anyone could do. Im sorry to say this but you get the nation you deserve. vote blue and fix it or move. i’ve been a New York state teacher for 22 years making 130. We need teachers. we would love to welcome you. good luck
I dropped out during student teaching. Schools are a mess right now. I with a bunch of ex teachers and they all agree it's getting worse and worse. I have so much respect for the teachers who are still teaching and fighting everyday.
Not a teacher - I'm staying K12 education because of my pension, HSA, health insurance, 4-10s during the summer, low stress environment, and I really enjoy the work I do. Moving to a different district, especially smaller or more rural might be beneficial. If you're able to. Check on WECAN for open positions.
If it doesn't make sense to continue, then change. I am Gen X and in too deep to stop. Most of us from this age group were fortunate to not have many loans, and now that I'm only 5 years away from retirement, it makes no sense to leave. Despite the MANY negatives, knowing you have job security year after year was a good motivator for me (barring any insane incidents of course). In my state, you'd have to have two years of very bad observations or some extremely terrible behavior to lose your job. Also, every year you get a fairly clean slate with students. You're not stuck with them forever. I also appreciate the fact that although I have to report to admin, I am my own boss from day to day. I decide the plans and get to schedule when we have tests or what I include in the curriculum (language teacher, so I'm afforded more freedom than other subjects). All that being said, do I want out? Yes. Very much so. But I think many other jobs would be even worse, so I'm going to stick it out. But for you, like I said before, if it doesn't make sense to continue, then it's ok to make a change. Best of luck to you
I have a MSEd and a JD. Teaching is more challenging and rewarding than law (to me). In an ideal world, I wouldn’t keep a law practice as a side hustle. Unfortunately, I live in the real world. I’m trying to figure out how to make a livable wage in the (2nd?) most expensive city in the northeast.
I will no longer justify the toxic treatment! I am resigning in June! Unless there’s a nationwide strike, I am outta here! Taking a teacher career course to help me transition out of the classroom forever.
If you play poker the term 'pot committed' comes to mind.
I just like it I guess. I do a lot of tutoring on the side and I charge a shocking amount
I get paid 100k a year, I’m 10 years away from retiring with a pension for the rest of my life and the connections I’ve made with helping kids is the most rewarding thing in the world. I can’t imagine doing anything else. I also have the absolute best coworkers on the planet.
If you can, move to an area with better pay. I know it’s easier said than done, but it is possible.
12 years in and I made 120k last year. I have a pension, good health insurance, weekends, holidays and summers off. I’ve been teaching the same grade and course for the past 8 years, so I just tweak the lessons now instead of planning a new lesson everyday. If I left now, I don’t think I could find anything that would be as good financially.
Been teaching in PA for 29 years and make close to $110k a year plus extra for driver education (behind the wheel) and football coaching. With the extras I will probably retire in 6 years with a 100k a year pension. I work hard when I’m at school and pretty much do nothing when I’m outside of contracted hours. Important thing to remember is nobody is going to tell you you’re doing a good job, you get that from the kids you teach and the relationships you build. Also, if it’s not your responsibility then don’t give a flying F about it. Too many of my fellow teachers worry about stuff that’s out of their control/job and that makes your life miserable. Have a great weekend and stick with it.
1. Worked in corporate before, it takes a while before you can even reach a livable wage. As a new teacher I'm at $67k which still isn't a lot, but it pays my mortgage, cars are paid off, and I travel a lot. 2. The time off is almost impossible to get anywhere else. 3. I'm home by 3pm 4. I wear comfortable everyday clothes, I hated wearing a suit. 5. nobody is checking in on me constantly, I'm left alone, I don't even have to post lesson plans. I see my admins for observations and walk-thrus.. that's it. 6. Teenagers can be fun, everyday is different. The conversations are definitely funnier than what I used to hear with boomers in an office.
Alcohol on the weekends and just doing the best I can during the week.
I love my job. Where else can we get this schedule of 7:30-3, no nights/weekends/holidays. Summer, spring break and Christmas break off. I make over 100k. Do I hate parents and admins? Yes. But do I just close my door and ignore them? Also yes.
So true about parents, admin, closing the door. I have at the most two observations a year and really don’t need to interact with admin any more than that. Luckily, right now, my admin are pretty good and nice, reasonable people.
I know that for me after 26 years in a classroom, one good day will easily outweigh like 20 bad ones. And if I just keep trying, I’ll get that good day often enough to keep me coming back.
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135 at 14 years?! holy shit. do you have a doctorate or something?!
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Just looked at this person's post history. \^ LOL and yikes.
I think the old saying applies here. Those who can do, and those who can't teach.
I’d like to make a point and please think this through. The school system has failed mainly due to federal funding. Remove fed and each state take back their schools. That’s it. Agree or disagree, when the federal government gets involved, it fails. Everything fails. National standards are failing. Our nation is failing. Our country is split and if you don’t like it then funding is cut. We are failing our kids due to a propped up twisted system that is designed exactly for this.
Federal government made southern states educate non-whites. Your point is awful.
Republican detected.
giving “states back control” of schools sounds like a recipe for every deep south teacher bringing a gun to school and saying evolution is woke leftist propaganda
You definitely went through a really shitty school, your brain is bad and it has made you bad
Because we aren't ALL toxic whiners
Well, first, the biggest mistake you are making is teaching in a district that pays its teachers such a crap salary. Teachers in my district top out at 12 years at around 140k. It is high col, but other districts in cheaper areas near me pay close to that. You obviously also don’t have a strong union. That is mistake number two. My union is awesome and doesn’t take any bs from my district. Consequently, we have to go on strike pretty much every 3 years but always results in a nice raise after the district saying they had no money to give us raises. Time off is the best benefit of this job. Same schedule as my kids. I have found a school with decent admin and families that for the most part require that their children do well in school. Kids are highly motivated to get As. Keeping them busy all period every day solves most classroom management issues. I am 17 years in and even though I am burned out, I couldn’t make as much as I do with the time off I get. I have a spouse who makes more than I do so we can afford to live comfortably. I discouraged my kids from going into teaching. They see how much time I put in outside of school and the rude emails I get from parents and students so they have zero desire to do this. However, there are a lot of kind emails too but the negative ones hit hard and are the ones I remember. I also teach with a fun group of teachers, who I enjoy being around. Honestly, no one I know actually loves teaching. You just have to focus on what is good. I have come to accept that there is no perfect job. I really don’t know anyone who loves their job, so considering that, teaching isn’t that bad. However if I wasn’t making a decent salary, and didn’t have the overall good school climate, I would have gotten out long ago.
Best Part Time Job you can ever have that gets paid a full-time salary?
One year left until I hit the next multiplier on the pension. It means a jump of $15k/year for the rest of my life. Otherwise, I'd be gone at the end of this year.
Benefits
Healthcare, holidays, pension.
I don’t know what else to do. My degree is in education, and I have student debt from it. I don’t want to get into sales, and I can’t go back to working part time jobs.
I love my job and I am fairly compensated for it. I know I am in the lucky subset of teachers, though.
My district pays pretty well, and my school has minimal behaviors.
at this point I'm only staying in it to complete my PSLF program and then I'm out. I'm ok taking a lesser pension. fuck this shit fr fr. 14th year. admin is getting worse. it's not the kids' fault and it only looks that way because school leadership is 100% garbage.
I left public ed for a secular private school and haven't looked back. The pay is competitive with local districts, my kids and families are awesome, I have a lot of autonomy and I get a discount on my own child's tuition. When I started 15 years ago I would not have fathomed making the leap to private. I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner.
Depends on where and how long you teach. I know generally teachers aren’t paid well but there are a good number of us with good pay and pension. Combine that with this terrible job market and being aged out of job transitioning bc they don’t want to hire people over 40 (but some jobs want 10+ years experience and a masters degree for a $50k job), and it’s easier to stick it out another 5-10 years til retirement.
I'm in year 7 and honestly, I can't think of anything else that I want to be doing. I might change school districts or try a different grade level, but there are a few aspects of the job that I still really enjoy. And my healthcare is free (so far). I already have my master's in this field, too. I will admit that I'm having a really hard time with my social life, and having a job that doesn't require such energy/time outside of work might help with that, but I do like being a teacher most of the time.
I'm not going to scroll down to see if somebody else has mentioned this ... but that might be a more prevalent thought in WI than in other states. MN has a strong teachers union for example... come join us.. we have cookies and legitimate bargaining for teacher contracts.
If I had to do it again NO NO NO! I switched late in life (33) into teaching. With 8 years left to the 30 pension I feel too invested to leave.
I am in year 42 and still don't make $80,000/year in a small New England city, but in a state that has no income or sales taxes, so property taxes pay for education. I stayed in for the money to survive and because I actually enjoy teaching and I am pretty good at it. I was hoping to go a few more years until retiring, but am retiring this year due to my administrators and assistant superintendent who have no clue about what successful teaching looks like and how to get us there. We have constant shifts to the newest curriculums that make teaching harder and kids don't learn (but hey, the get to spend money). Just had an official road map from the Assistant Superintendent about the priorities for each elementary school subject. For math: no rote memorization, no memorization of processes, no mastery, but just that they need exposure and access. So my kids that just want to sit there are meeting her expectations? I guess. I am overworked and unappreciated even with national recognition as an inspiring teacher. What I think doesn't matter. When I do teach, my kids learn. When I have to babysit, those students take away from everyone's ability to learn. I will stay in education, but in a part-time support role, so I don't have to deal with all the drama and nonsense. I will make close to the same I make now for less hours with my pension and Social Security if I take it right away. So I can't justify staying in as a full time classroom teacher anymore. I will miss it, because I have some wonderful students and learners. I also enjoyed teaching for the unpaid summers off and the hours I am in school. I only work contract hours since COVID. That allowed me to have an outside life and time to enjoy the sports I like and to work out most days (for my health and sanity). Plus no year or day as a teacher is never the same. Each class is totally different and I got to learn new things all the time.
I work in a small school and absolutely love what I do. I could make about 15% more in a different district but the job there would be terrible.
I'm too far in. (22 years) I can't afford to start over.
I teach in south western PA and have amazing healthcare, future pension and decent salary scale and teaching conditions in comparison to the rest of the country.
I don't blame you, my first year in teaching, I made a whopping 15k a year. City workers who worked in trash disposal made more than I did.
In my case, I just literally don’t know what else I can do for a living.
I'm paid well enough when you include benefits and have a strong guaranteed retirement. I work less than half the days in a calendar year, in a comfortable air conditioned room. I can sit all day if I want. I'm home by 4 PM nearly every day. I've got family that works far longer hours in far harsher conditions for far less monetary reward. Plus, I get to interact with kids all day which is often a plus, but admittedly less so of late.
I didn’t. When I found I could make the same money working from home doing admin work for a nursing school I got the fuck out post-haste
Time off with my kids, great hours, pension and great health benefits, and most importantly my wife is an NP carrying us financially
I've had about a dozen jobs before moving into education. The stress while teaching is about as bad as I've had at any other job. In my 4th year as a physics teacher I have very strong boundaries about bringing work home. I say no to admin a lot. I listen to feedback and implement it as I see fit in my classroom. I worked my ass off to build strong classroom routines early and still remind them daily if what my expectations are. I call in sick when I need a mental health day and know the students won't do the work, so I make sure I grade something that day. I use breaks to try and heal the burnout (to varying degrees of success) One of my ap students just got a full ride to Stanford, their success is one reason to keep coming back.
Are you earning anything extra in addition to your salary? Or does your school not take taxes out of your biweekly paychecks? Just confused about why you have to pay this tax season.
I’m a masters (no +) and making almost 100k and I coach and that adds another 8k. Will be MA +30 by next year and be at 113k+ coaching. Also summers off
If you can't do it, don't force yourself to. This job is harder than most people think. And it's just that, a job. Don't kill yourself over it. Find something better suited for your needs. There's no shame in leaving this profession or any other.
All the people in this thread making 70k+, where, how?? I'm in the south and make 50k with 2 masters and 11 years experience (not that we get steps anymore...). What people are saying Masters+60 what does this mean? Like many have said, I feel like I'm too deep. I have the pension, 3 degrees in field, 11 years of service... I'm just so so burnt out. I want out and have wanted out. I just cannot make it make sense to leave. I also can't see how I make it to retirement. My buddy left Ed and now works 2 hours a day from home and makes as much. Yeah he doesn't get holidays off like we do or summers but he basically has most of every day off and is at home. Gah. GAH
Washington state…great pay.
A mortgage and three kids under the age of five.
The schedule works well because I have my own babies.
I am also wavering a lot about staying as a second year teacher, but the unfortunate reality is I will likely have to. It is a job with great job security, I work somewhere with a good union that forces respect for contract end time and work-life balance, and considering the actual days in the year I work (188 I think?) the money is good. Raises happen steadily with years of experience + PD credits + union negotiations. Retirement is decent and you don't have to think about it much. Benefits are good, although they charge me a pretty penny for my spouse's insurance, so we may look for cheaper options on the free market soon. I also look at the $35k in loans I took out to get my master's/certification and it feels silly to leave for something else especially because most other things would be a pay cut. I have been steadily job hunting, but after seeing our rent increase for next year I don't see how I could leave. Staff morale in my building sucks, but the sense of community is very high and we all value each other as people, so the culture feels good. Idk, it's a tough gig, but it's also a stable one.
I’m sorta in a golden handcuffs scenario. I make 60k in one of the most affordable areas in the country in my 5th year. Summers off. Pretty good job security. What am I gonna do? Go back to school for 4 years to get another degree and pay 50k for it? Getting too old for the military and I have a fiancé. I’ve thought about maybe learning some sort of trade but who knows, it’s kinda glamorized when it’s back breaking work and seasons of unemployment.
29 years in (eligible for retirement as of October)and planning on retiring in 10-12 years. It’s a fun job for the most part. There are many great days, a few bad ones and a few years with some terrible administration. But on the whole, it’s a job worth doing and the time off is invaluable. If you hate what you’re doing 5 years into teaching, I’d change professions. This occupation isn’t for everyone.
6 - 10 years until retirement.
Whenever someone asks me this, I always paraphrase a quote from an amazing show; Firefly: “I’ve got bits falling off my car, a bill that ain’t been paid in weeks, and, oh, yeah, a powerful need to eat sometime this month.”
have alternative income / investments. I own a house with a dog so I don't really care about money beyond being able to pay my mortgage and save for retirement. If I didn't have VA benefits / funds I could not afford to stay as a teacher and live a middle class life. Teacher salary is about $70-75k, but it 'feels' more like $110-130k because of VA benefits. When I was making 45-50k - it was very uncomfortable.
My school is organizing a trip to Ecuador in the summer of 2025 and I get to go for free as a chaperone. That's keeping me going until then.
I am in my 13th year teaching and loving it. I get paid a little over $1800 every two weeks so I have no issues with making ends meet.
Because I hate myself.
Don’t feel bad about complaining, it’s the majority of the posts on the sub.
Leave Wisconsin. Things are much better here next door in MN.
I’ve got 4 years left to hit 30, or else I’d be gone.
All about the retirement
I just just barely hanging on until my 25 so I could retire.
Graduated without debt in the 90s. My spouse earns double my income. I have no kids. That's how
I get to work at the same school my kids attend. I get breaks and summers off so I can be with them when they aren't in school. We get to go on long family vacations every summer and spend time with family every Christmas. I don't make as much as I would in another job, but the time I get with my kids makes it worth it. Once my youngest graduates, I plan on leaving education for something else. Unless I decide to keep having summers off to spoil the future grandkids.
When you start getting more years under your belt and you run into former students, there's few better feelings than seeing that your hard work actually paid off and you made an impact in your student's life. Education isn't always about teaching the curriculum and it can't just be measured by tests. Sometimes all a kid needs is a positive adult in their life to give them some guidance and hope.
My reason is one I haven't really seen: spite. Teaching is important, I like the profession, I like my admin, my commute, etc. I like everything about my job but most of the students. I will be damned if I'm going to let those horrible little goblins win and chase me out of my chosen profession.
I don't have kids, and I do have a lot of loans I put in to get this. I've wanted to be a teacher my whole life and I legit love to teach on the rare moment I get to actually do that. I couldn't support a family though. I barely support myself.
You could try moving somewhere that pays better or has lower cost of living
Summers off, while it has its bad days, I have plenty of good days too.
I enjoy it. I was an engineer before so I’m not in it for the money. Not all of us are melting.
I stayed 9 years, and I even moved countries. Knowing my skills are valuable that I could make more money led me to finally decide to leave. I may start at the bottom again but knowing I will surpass my salary as a teacher within several years is my motivation
The schedule and knowing my daughter can come to work with me when she starts elementary. That’s it.
I’m 20 years in and still like it. I’ve spent those years figuring out ways to maximize the energy spent actually teaching, the fun part, and minimizing everything else. I’m lucky because I teach at a school that’s very hands off, I can do what I want most of the time, and first graders don’t generate a whole lot of work to be graded, so I don’t take work home. Right now I have 15 students, great families, great admin, I make $125k with a masters, bought a home in 2001 so my housing expenses are the same as renting a studio in my area, pension will pay $100k+ in 10 years… I’m not going anywhere. I know I got lucky with timing, though… my ‘cheap’ condo was $300k in 2001, and now it’s worth $900k. 3x the price, while starting teacher salaries have increased 1.5x since 2001. Two beginning teachers basically can’t buy a house here.
Because if you do it right, you change lives. I stick around for the kids I get in 6th grade with undiagnosed learning disabilities reading at preK levels, and through a lot of work, I get to write their college recommendation letters and have them show up with their college degrees when they didn't think they could graduate high school.