Any Teachers on Here?
 

If so, I was wondering

A- How long you have been teaching?
B- How much do you make?

Here in NC, we are still BELOW the national average and it is SO frustrating to work so hard and not be able to cover your own personal expenses!

I want to have kids in the future too, but don't think I would be able to support them on a teacher's salary, which is sad because I LOVE teaching!

Any thoughts?

Misti1, gingergirlsmom, Eveesmommy are teachers.
Ranant12 is a special ed teacher.
Kdlmon will be a teacher. She just finished college.

Just a few you could contact if you need to talk. There are lots of others.:):):) A most noble profession!!!! But has gotten very difficult.:(

I am just out of teacher's college and will be applying for supply work, however, if I had applied for a contract full time job I could make anywhere between 50-70 000 a year. I am in catagory 3 of pay (Due to my education) and here are only 4 catagories. The top catagory can expect to make somewhere around 85 000 a year but you have to have years of teaching expereince to be in catagory 4.

Here in Florida,or should I say Miami, teacher's pay is not good either. Experienced teachers are retiring and new teachers are coming in, many of them come with fresh ideas and love for what they do, others are fed up with having to get their already small pay check to buy supplies for their students.
Public schools are over populated and their grades are very low.
Thank you Rudy Crew!:mad:

sorry need to revise... A contract job is between 50-70 000 but since i am a first year.. i'd be between 30-45 000.

Wow! Im moving to Canada! In Georgia, it depends on the county you live in. Fresh out of college with no experience is about 30,000-38,000, which increases with your years in and different levels of education.

see my revision :p i was going based on a normal contract job in catagory 4... i forgot i'm a first year teacher :p

I just saw it..I think we posted at the same time. That makes me feel a little better ;)

SW Florida which is different from Miami which is in the east coast. We start at $38 for GEN. ED. first year teachers, and no one is getting a raise this next school year since our county is negative.

I teach in NJ and my district starts at 45 - it is all public information, well in NJ atleast, so you can just go to your BOE website and the contract info will all be there. My bf and I are both teachers and when we get married and have children there would be no way we could live off of just one of our salaries in NJ.

Please know that I do understand how difficult teaching can be. My daughter is a fifth grade teacher.

One thing to remember is that a teachers salary is for 9 months work. Plus, you have days off over Christmas and spring break (yes, I know teachers don't have as many days off as the kiddos). So, if you calculate a salary of $38,000 over 9 months (about $4222/mo) and then multiply $4222 X 12 months (IF teachers worked 12 months), it would be about $50,600 per year. That salary, while not great, is not too bad either.

I realize that teachers don't work 12 months, and as such don't get $50,000 per year - but you have to take into account that teachers dont' work 12 months out of the year.

I know in some places teachers work about 10 months, instead of 9 - so calculations would have to be adjusted.

I come from a family of teachers - some worked at a different job in the summer months, some stayed home with kiddos.

I'm in a unique situation. I'm a nurse and I teach nursing so I work 9 months a year and then have my summers off. My husband has a serious chronic illness which will get progressively worse. So, we are traveling now during the summers, while he still can. I'm very grateful for my teaching job, which allows me to only work 9 months per year. During the summer months, I actually go into my office about 3 days per week (when not traveling) to get caught up and work on projects I don't have time for in the school year. I love being about to work at a more "sane" pace during the summer.

My point is that there are plusses and minuses to teaching. What is not good for one person, might be just right for another! :)

I have been teaching 4th grade in Miami, Fl. for 15 years, I have a Masters, a Specialist and soon Nationally Certified.I was in school a total of 8 years, equivalent to an attorney and now is when I am making $50,000 a year. As Maxmom said the pay here is not great and it doesn't look like they will honor our contract. Our stipend for being an A school after the FCAT testing is up in the air also. I just finished my National Boards ( I am waiting for the results in November) and while the state says we will get our bonus, if I finally do get certified they will only pay it for the next 10 years. Clearly teaching is not about the money and you certainly won't be wealthy if you teach. I know this may sound corny but my students enrich me everyday with laughter, compliments, perseverance, and a whole lot of patience. After 15 years I really do love what I do.:D

I wanted to add that the OP said she really loved teaching. I think that is the key - to whatever you do for a career. It is wonderful if you can really love your work. I know I love going to work (almost) everyday - and that is remarkable after 30 years!!!! It makes life so much easier if you love your job.

My brother's fiance is a teacher, she just started teaching too and she makes enough to support herself and she has a daughter, they live pretty well considering they both just started, but idk how much she makes exactly. She lives upstate

:thumbup: I agree with the poster who said that teachers get the summer off and that needs to be factored in. I have no complaints about my job or the pay - all I meant to say is that where I live, a family with children could not live off of one teacher's salary - a mortgage in my area is almost a month's pay, and that is for a small starter in need of work!

Oh boy, It is really refreshing to listen (read) to a teacher, feeling so good about what she/he does, we certainly need more of those.I come from a family of teachers, and was my dream to become one as well, but like every, or most immigrant had to work, by the time we had established, I had my kids. Now they are teenagers and ready to leave the nest, and I've been thinking about going back to school, but I have to admit that it is scary after all these years.

When i was in teacher's college we has SO many people coming back to school either after raising their kids, or changing careers. i loved being able to hear from people who could draw on life expereince or had had another career and how they were able to bring that knowledge in. i say GO FOR IT!

I agree you should definately go for it. I too had many returning students in my classes, and have heard that districts really value the experience that non-traditional beginning teachers bring to the table. You have an eduation in and of itself by having children - who better to teach them at school!

This is in Canada?

WOW! That is awesome!

We just got a raise this year and I will be expecting around $34,500 ... isn't that pathetic?! I made more as a waitress. I hold three jobs currently just to pay bills and am working at least 90 hour weeks.

I understand completely! Y'all make much more than here, but then again the cost of living is higher too. I am just so frustrated!

well i made a revision.. as a frist year teacher i would make somewhere around 35 000 and then as i teach each year you move up the pay scale. My mom was telling me that teacher in the US don't make NEARLY enough!

I think you should go for it if it is a passion. I don't think people who teach just for "summers off" or whatever other reason make it, but if it is something you are passionate about you will love it. It all depends - my b/f and I understand that when we get married and have kids we will both have to work. On the plus side, I hope to be able to save enough before I have children so I can take a year or two off, and I know my job will be held for me for two years down the road - you can't say that about too many other professions.

I understand this and have taken this into account. It is great for those who need this type of schedule. But, I would like to work all year long right now and be paid as such. I work as a middle school Spanish teacher for 10 months, part-time as a Spanish instructor at a community college during the year and then full-time during the summer, all the time while managing my tutoring company. It's just so much and so many hours! And even though I teach for 10 months, I am working 10-15 hour workdays during that time and getting paid for 9 a day. I wish governments would realize this. I love teaching with all of my heart and am a great teacher, I just wish we were more respected and paid better. :)

Good luck with your National Boards! I am going to apply after this year. This will be my 3rd year of teaching so I have to wait after this year. I am also currently attending NC State Graduate School for my Master's too. You will have to let me know how things go!

PS- what was your area of certification for national board?

:) I saw your re-post later... sorry. That is better, but still much more than in the US. I am hoping that with the new administration coming, it will improve!

lol the government is NEVER going to realize how much work a teacher does.. they figure when the bell goes you leave the school and your work is done.. HA... if it were only THAT easy... i'd love to ask them how they think tests get marked and worksheets get made up.

Teaching is definitely my passion and I love it! That is why I am so frustrated. I want to be able to provide for my future (birth) children and be financially secure. It's just so depressing!

[QUOTE=Teryn;2129466]I understand this and have taken this into account. It is great for those who need this type of schedule. But, I would like to work all year long right now and be paid as such. I work as a middle school Spanish teacher for 10 months, part-time as a Spanish instructor at a community college during the year and then full-time during the summer, all the time while managing my tutoring company. It's just so much and so many hours! And even though I teach for 10 months, I am working 10-15 hour workdays during that time and getting paid for 9 a day. I wish governments would realize this. I love teaching with all of my heart and am a great teacher, I just wish we were more respected and paid better. :)[/QUOTE]

:thumbup: I agree with this too - my step-dad is not a teacher and always says how great I have it, but I get to work at 7:30 don't leave till around 4 usually, and take hours worth of grading home each night - and trust me middle school writing can be torture to read and grade :D My step-dad leaves his job and it is behind him for the day. I honestly think for the most part, the only people who will validate what you do and how much time you spend that is "unpaid" are other teachers. My best friend gets two months paid vacation time at her job (which is two weeks less than I get for the summer), makes more than me, spends less total hours working each day and doesn't take work home, but I'm the one with the cushy job. You have to love what you do!!

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thum bup:

not to mention committees that you are on, meetings you have to attend, clubs you sponsor, games you attend, dances you chaperone, field trips you take, lessons that you plan, cleaning after your children.... etc. etc.

I've been teaching public school for 20 plus years. Love it and wouldn't do anything else.

Yes, you get summers off, but I spend a lot of that time going to workshops and classes and rewriting curriculum, etc... so I couldn't hold down an extra job to cover expenses.

I do have a small online business now, but I don't make any profit. That's mainly so that I can raise money to support the animal charities I want to help.

My first few years teaching, my kids qualified for reduced-priced lunches. It was just a few years ago that I finally reached the $40,000 mark, and I still make less than $50,000. I am in a rural school (not Waco ISD). The inner city teachers make a few thousand more. If you are teaching in an area of need, special ed, math, science, foreign language, you can make more.

You also need to know that there are programs such as Teacher Next Door that have great programs to help you buy a home. The are HUD foreclosed homes, you have to be in a high risk district, and you have to live in the district and work there....but you can buy your house for half of what anyone else would pay. It's a GREAT program! :thumbup:

You can also take a deduction on your income taxes now for some of your teaching expenses and supplies, so check into that.

I also hit the business conventions and shows when they are in town and "surf" for supplies for my kids. You would be amazed at how many free pens, pencils, pads of paper, calendars you can walk away with. :p (Bring a bag).

So, is it tough? yes. Can you make it work? yes!! :thumbup: