Teachers--underpaid, overpaid, paid just right?
450268
As a teacher, I think our salary is meager.  Are we underpaid, probably.  This however, is not exactly the financial concern that most teachers have.  \n\nSomeone has already responded, "They still have the guts to ask for more funds" and then in the same response this person has pointed out that the classrooms, textbooks, and the physical environment of the school is deplorable.  I, and most other teachers, would agree wholeheartedly.  The financial increments that most teacher would most like to see is not in their own paychecks, but in the education system as a whole.  If more money were allocated to education, schools would be more aesthetically appealing, textbooks would be current and not falling apart, class sizes would decrease, and classes would be able to take more educational field trips.  More money devoted to education would make a teacher's job easier to do as well as creating an environment more conducive to learning.  As it is, teachers are underpaid because we have very few resources to work with.  Most teachers spend hundreds of their own dollars annually to teach their students.  If however, the education system as a whole were given more financial and physical resources to work with, I believe the salary would be less of an issue.  These are changes that most teachers would prefer rather than an increase in salary.
445753
For starters teachers only work 9 months out of every year. My base salary is $38,000 which puts me in the bottom 10% of teachers doing the same job at other colleges in my state (high school teachers in the area make about the same). If I work the other 3 months of the year I earn about $58,000. Which, working four days a week, ain't that bad. I can think of many, many more jobs that work much more than me and make a whole lot less. But, you're right, those jobs don't require an MS or Ph.D. degree.\n\nI could take my math degrees and programming experience and work in industry making more than double my salary to start. But, I prefer to keep this job and be there for my son when he needs me. When he gets older, I'll leave education and earn more money. In the mean time I'm not complaining about my salary because I knew what the job paid before I accepted the position.\n\nTeaching is a great job for parents with small children. My job allows me to spend time with my son every single day and, to me, that's priceless.
679842
I wouldn't say the pay scale for Tennessee educators is horrendous, compared to other places. Salaries for teachers in general is horrendous. Tennessee is ranked 33rd out of 50 on average teacher salary with an average of 40,657, but the cost of living in Tennessee is generally low. There are minimum salaries that teachers must be paid, based on education level and experience. You can find this info here:\nhttp://www.teateachers.org/informationcenter/Salary%20Info/TN%20minsalsched.htm\n\nFor my first year of teaching, next year, I am not expecting to make over 30k and I live in Tennessee.
487199
Well, that sounds good to me.  I don't think I have ever before heard a teacher happy about the amount left after taxes .... at least that is how I am interpreting your details ... or do you mean you don't have much left after taxes?  My thoughts would be to go where you are happy and where you feel you are making a difference.  Those of us who make a career of teaching don't usually do it for the money.
350846
Ask your teacher, that's what you pay him for
1140130
There certainly are some teachers who love the job so much they would do it for free - if they were already financially independent.  \n\nUnfortunately, less than 1% of all people who would ever TRY to be a teacher have the means to support themselves without being paid to work.  The sad reality of our society is that money has become the base of exchange, and even teachers need money to pay even their minimum bills.  Did you know that in the 5 bouroughs of New York City, the salary a teacher is paid is so low that a full-time teacher still qualifies for welfare?  Same might possibly be true in Los Angeles, and many other big cities.\n\nIsn't it sad that we - as a society - value teachers so poorly that this question would even be asked, but people who never tried to do anything well other than play sports become millionaires in their first year out of college?
106753
It may depend on where you land when you come back.  In NC, teachers are paid the same across the board based only on years of experience, not taking anything else into consideration.  Some places pay signing bonuses for areas of high need (HS math, spec ed, etc) but here all teachers with the same amount of experience make the same amount of money.  Other states may be different.
705917
No, all teachers are paid on a step scale. But perhaps you heard that physics teachers earn more because they are in demand. For example, let's say we just hired an English teacher and we also just hired a science teacher. It is possible to hire the science teacher at a higher step on the scale (more money) while the English teacher might start on step 1. That would be an enticement to get the science teacher since other schools might also need him/her.
1132564
in two seconds on google i found about 30 different websites regarding teacher salaries. One of the best was http://nais.org\n\nalso there are federal agencies that publish online the salaries and job growth outlooks for both federal and states
501413
I am currently a Pre-school Teacher. The difference in the pay amounts is going to be if you have a degree(early childhood education) or not. With a degree you will make more than if you did not have one. It also depends on the state where you reside. State to state teachers pay is drastic. Get on line and research the pay rates for teachers in your state. Also private pre-schools tend to pay more than state funded ones. \n       If you have a spouse who is willing to share in the finances to start than I really do not see a problem with you being able to make it. Doing it alone is a struggle but I believe that to be with any job that is not a "high end" job. Trust your gut. You will be fine!!!
190349
No teachers get paid FOR the summer.  Some school systems let you take your check in 12 month installments (where they basically hold on to some of it for you in case you aren't disciplined enough to save it yourself for the summer).  So in a sense they are getting paid OVER the summer, but not FOR the summer.
338086
not enough pay and parents are raising  out of controll kids.  and its never the kids falt they do everything perfectly and are never wrong, it must be the teachers fault
112365
Yes, I am a Sub in NY for 2 years now (earned MS is '04). It's tough all over. Best thing to do in order to keep your head above water is to tutor privately and sub locally. Many schools dont think of the quality of education, they think of the quantity of the salary to be spent (unfortunately). I had my own experience where I was "over qualified" and they took a lesser degreed educator. Let's just say that after subbing for her class they got what they paid for ;-) . Keep your head up, you're not alone in this!
999364
Teachers not being paid enough.  We have a shortage of teachers here in Las Vegas, NV. One teacher was interviewed on the news and asked why she was leaving teaching. She said that she was going to be paid more to teach aerobics than to teach children in a classroom. SAD!
812189
wow. i'd hate to be put in the middle of that one. no wonder teachers ask for more money.
311051
Teachers are not only teachers but psychologists, counselors, mothers, nurses,help in behavior management, etc....How many jobs don't pay overtime, do tons of paperwork at home, buy supplies, attend prof. development confernces annually, invest in the community, and help shape our future citizens? -TEACHERS-Think about this, recently on a news report in CA, we(taxpayers) pay about $30,000 a yr./per inmate in jail. \nYears ago a teacher on their own could purchase a home,nowadays in CA, the avg. home is between $500,000-$700,000. The avg. public sch. teacher makes $50-70,000, depending on yrs of exp. and education.\nRule of thumb to buying a house is purchase a home 3-4 times yr pay= 60,000x4= $240,000---haha, good luck finding a home at this price in LA county.
161340
Teachers dont get paid like the educated professionals that they are.  They put in a lot of overtime hours and they dont see a cent of that.  The more overtime they put in, the less they are getting paid.  Teachers also buy a lot of materials out of pocket.  Take the time one day and look inside a classroom.  The borders on the bulletin boards, half the books in the class library, markers, erasers, pencils, stickers, prizes, even some of the furniture was purchased by the teacher and NOT provided by the school.  Been there, done that...but still can't imagine myself doing anything else.