What do teachers really make?

[DXZeke]

Re: What do teachers really make?

I can't quote you the ex exact numbers but I'm close since this is a subject I are about. I wanted to be a teacher for K-3, but when I've been reading about the antics of this state in North Carolina it made me back away. The public schools pretty much suck...

-Nearly 70% of first year teachers quit.

-In this state all you have is 1.50 per student for the entire year.

-Most school systems here are year round.

-The "mentors" that new teachers are given (other teachers) typically don't have the time to help you get things together.

-The average pay in NC is 28K. HARDLY the 48k that was cited as what teachers really get.

-North Carolina used to let teachers comp up to 3k in money that teachers spent for their classroom. That is no longer possible.

-This state is mandating that Teachers must have their Masters by the 3rd year after they started... not to mention fitting in time for all the workshops, seminars, and days that they are forced too other "continuing education" classes.

-The requirements to Teach in North Carolina are so sky high that even teachers from other states that have 10+yrs won't come here. This state is lagging so far behind in education that they feel they need to make everyone a professor at every level of education (we are talking absurd amounts of times wasted on workshops and conferences that mean really nothing in the grand scheme of things - just another way to say "we've got highly qualified teachers" etc). Why not let the people that have gone to school that want to too teach actually teach instead of run them off? This state is in DRASTIC need of teachers period. So why make it so hard?


As for Pay.
Most schools in the Northern part of the country get paid much better than the South (by around 10-15k, based on experience). It's how it is. They claim it's the "Cost of Living" but if you look around, it's damn near over priced EVERYWHERE you go.

[MachoMyers]

Re: What do teachers really make?

I'm a Canadian but may have opportunities to teach in the US and I a question: Do states offer signing bonuses? I've heard Mass. and Conn. both offer new teachers something like 20k for a signing bonus, is this legit?

Also how is Florida in terms of education? I know a neighbor whose son teaches in Ft. Lauderdale and says it rocks but I could see it also being difficult teaching in some communities not to mention hurricanes.

[ODogg]

Re: What do teachers really make?

However, in a school setting, potential income is not far from base pay. A school cannot increase productivity and, therefore, income - its only source of income is tuition. The school therefore has three ways of increasing income - raising tuition, increasing the amount of students, or reducing expenses. As a private school is a competitive business, raising tuition is not a very palatable option from what I've seen (the private school I'm referring to doesn't attract the extreme upper cutting of income). Increasing students requires an increase in teachers, as well - if there is any more room in the school building to begin with, so the increase in income would be negligible. Finally, decreasing pay doesn't happen either, because teachers are already paid near the base, and you can't lay off a teacher without replacing them unless your enrollment is dropping.

Basically my point is that a private school's income is generally static, so there is very little room for an increase in teacher salary.

You might be really surprised at what some private teacher's salaries are. There is a lot of room for increase in the private sector depending upon the school. The income is not static because mroe prestigious schools can raise costs to attend.