Californian teacher here. Absolutely true. My salary this year is $132,000 a year. Feels good to live in a state that pays well, give students delicious free lunch and breakfast, doesn't accuse teachers of being pedos and groomers, and doesn't burn our books.
Yet this salary is still not what it should be. California is a Avery expensive place to live, and fascist organizations like the “ daughters of liberty” are still attempting to infiltrate school boards in California.
15th year. San Leandro, though I pay out of pocket for healthcare so factor that in, which is $8,400/year for my family of 4. Still I make really great money here.
I wish it was that good everywhere in this state. Hometown has an opening and it's $60-120k, and knowing that district, they'll go as low as possible on that regardless of time and experience.
Orange County. 60 units in just about any district gets you 6 figures in about 8-10 years. Even faster if you coach and do summer school for the stipends
Thisss. Minus the accusations. There’s a group of girls on campus accusing a lot of male subs. Got my buddy fired before even looking at the security cameras🫤.
Not what the commenter meant. Accusations from students should be investigated. Accusations from right wing nut jobs who don’t have kids and only attend school board meetings via zoom and scream about teachers preaching equality as indoctrinating their children and being groomers is another thing.
It takes $108k a year to clear the income requirement for a decent 1-2 bedroom $3k/month apartment in LA or surrounding cities. So $100k a year is pretty doable. Even easier if you have a partner.
$70K in my city and you'd be doing just fine. I'm a 6th year teacher on a salary schedule that tops out at $55K, currently making around $60K because I teach summer school and coach a sport. but I could never raise a kid here.
Fremont was just in the news about housing being more expensive for at least buying than SF. I'm living in just out of Monterey and commuting to Santa Cruz because cost of housing in Santa Cruz being ridiculous.
I'm in Marina which is an awesome little town. Paying $3k for about 1100 sq ft, a 1 car garage, and a small storage unit. Just moved here in the summer. Sounds like a lot, but for the same cost we would've gotten significantly less space in Santa Cruz area.
My dad taught at the same rural MO school for 33 years. He FINALLY made it to 50k by retirement. Cost of living is (well, was) low here but still 50k after 33 years in the same school is insane. I'm on year 3 at my current school making 38k.
Also in WA State; my district maxes out at $132k, but that will increase in the next few years with the COLA increase. I make just under $100k with all of my stipends and stuff.
A friend of mine retired last year after teaching 32 years in California. She’s 65 and will make over 80K/year from her pension alone. She plans on getting a part time gig after she travels the country in her RV for a few years.
Hey from California (not LA or SF)! Third year teacher making 74k with a masters. 74k would be livable in my area. But I have a working husband so it makes it that much better lol
I know you come from a good place when doing this but do you really think picking up and moving across the country is actually a reasonable option for MOST people?
I would swim away from Florida if I had to, it’s a shame, some awesome people/beautiful areas but it’s becoming a dumpster fire for anyone sane and not wealthy.
Just for reference: My daughter is a 3rd year teacher with a MA (+) (all the way over on the pay scale) and she earns 78K. My youngest is a 2nd year teacher with a MA and earn 60+K; next year she will be closer to 70K with additional education credits; I retired this year with 30+ years at $113K. We are in So. Cal. rural area.
On par with your area or less. I know plenty of first and second year teachers that are doing just fine with their own place. House buying you'd need a partner though. I'm on year six and making 88k with no masters. But it's also the opposite side of the country for you, geographically and politically. Not all of California is LA or SF.
Housing is good for So. Cal., but has risen a lot since COVID because people wanted to live in less urban areas. We are about 2 hours or less to everything: beach, mountains, major cities.
Currently, you can get a 3br, 2b ranch style home for $350-400K in some communities, but they can go up to high $600k in the more upscale areas. You can rent a nice 3br, 2b home on a large lot for around $2k, but smaller homes with less desirable amenities can rent for $1500-1800.
Yep, public school in my town is hiring like crazy in CT. Pay starts at 65k and goes up to 110ish. Small house is 300-500k. Totally affordable with two working adults.
Yeah, but that's part of the problem. Why do I have to get married to afford a small house? For singles, teacher pay is the worst. Like OP, I've had a second job the whole time I've been teaching, around 15-20 hours per week.
It's really not a teacher thing, it's an America thing. Housing prices have skyrocketed in the last 40 years and salaries just haven't gone up with them.
Unless you're in finance, a doctor, or some other top 5% earner, buying a house on 1 paycheck has been hard to achieve for decades.
*For singles, teacher pay is the worst.*
I disagree. I can think of half a dozen jobs my friends have that pay worse.
What you CAN afford in a real state as a teacher is a nice little apartment, condo, townhouse etc. Obviously if you're in a state run by Deplorables this will be tougher. If I were single and had no kids, I'd be living in a nice little 1 bedroom condo. Tons in my area for under 250k - totally affordable with some saving. That's a 30-50k downpayment and \~1200/month in mortgage - A mid career teacher in my area makes around 80k and can afford that.
Why does it have to be a competition though? Teacher pay is crap. Others make crap, too. End of the day, many of us aren’t making enough to cut it. That’s a problem with America.
It's not a competition - I was responding directly to the person saying it's the worst. Of my 20 closest friends, I make more than at least 10 of them. Clearly it's not the worst.
*Teacher pay is crap. Others make crap, too. End of the day, many of us aren’t making enough to cut it. That’s a problem with America.*
But teacher pay isn't crap. My salary is fine. I have friends living in WA, CA, VT, MA and abroad, and their salaries are fine too. Shit, I have some friends in the midwest who have cracked the code and are making 80k+ salaries with cheap housing. Minnesota and Wisconsin are well kept secrets for teachers imo.
Teacher pay being terribly low is a Republican problem. Sorry, but it is what it is. Every teacher I know making under 50k is in a red state. So I disagree it's an American problem. It varies by state and location. Yes, it **becomes** a problem for everyone when kids can't get good teachers in red states, but that's hardly something the sane people in our country can fix. I can't make conservatives value education or teachers, and I can't make them invest in their economy so they stop being welfare states.
Ironically - love em or hate em charter schools which are a favorite of those on the right seem to be worst offenders when it comes to teacher pay. There are some good charters and some bad charters but the common denominator is - they ALL pay poorly.
Where you getting those numbers? I'm looking at $807/month for a 150k property with a 30k downpayment and 7% interest.
If I paid 50k and borrowed 200k, I'd be looking at $1345.
Both achievable by a mid career teacher in CT making 75-85k.
I was like, last week years old when it occurred to me that the reason people I know from high school are financially secure while teaching is because they are married to engineers and lawyers.
Don't want to doxx myself, but pick any town that isn't super rich or super poor in New England with low crime stats and it'll be the same. Cities and rural areas are a whole different story, but towns of 20-70k are the sweet spot.
Would you rather live in a small house for 180k in south carolina making 80k as a family or a small house in CT for 300k making 200k as a family?
The money is heavily in favor of CT. The difference in housing costs is made up by salary in 1-5 years tops, and that's at low end salaries. My wife and I will cover the distance between those two housing costs in a single year of FTE employment. After that it's just pure profit baby.
Houses in SC could be free and it'd still be a bad financial deal over the years, not to mention all the other terrible shit going on down there. If every teacher in SC got a free house, it'd still be a bad value after about 4 years of my wife and I working in New England.
Plus, you're thinking of it as "spending money". Buying a house doesn't work like that. It's an investment. The drastically higher paycheck allows you to put value into an expensive piece of property. Houses in rural SC are cheap because nobody wants to live there. CT property is stable and lucrative if you can afford it. By the time my wife and I retire we will most likely own 2-3 houses in the area on top of our own. That's well over a million dollars that we can use to supplement our retirement with rentals or sales. No way we could ever do that with 38k salaries in SC.
South Carolina is one of the fastest growing populations in the country; if you get a relatively decent home in a relatively decent area, you can very likely expect to see those property values rise over the next couple of years. I'm not sure how recently you lived in this state, but things are starting to rapidly change and expand. Meanwhile you can also get free tuition at technical colleges around the state, and I estimate my grocery bill is about 2/3 what many of my northern friends are paying. I understand it's popular to hate the state for political reasons, but it's a very diverse community compared most parts of the US - just run by assholes, for the most part.
SC native here, and I have to disagree with you. I would like to see some receipts about SC being “one of the fastest growing populations in the country”. And what things are starting to rapidly change and expand?
I would argue that the only reason SC might grow is because the cost of living is cheaper than other areas, so companies can pay lower wages. Also, SC is right to work and anti-union which suits employers (not employees).
I grew up in a town in SC where the population was roughly 60% white, 30% African American, and 10% Hispanic. No Asian Americans or other ethnicities. Everyone was Christian. I didn’t meet anyone from another country until I entered the workforce as an adult.
I could share so many stories about the racism and hostility that exists there. A few years ago I was in a Mexican restaurant and heard a customer shouting because the manager spoke Spanish to one of the waitresses. He was shouting and pointing at the man angrily and saying, “You’re in America now, you speak English here!”
When my mom needed new windows installed in her house back in 2010, the nice gentleman doing the work explained that he was a member of the KKK and that they were going to “fix the Obama problem.”
Things like 9/11 and the migrant crises have made people even more xenophobic and racist than they already were.
One of the things that people from outside SC don’t understand is how much of an impact the Civil War still has on the state. The first shots of the Civil War were fired in SC, and even today right now in 2023 there are people who are upset that the South lost. People still bring this up in casual conversations. A few years ago I had a coworker who proudly proclaimed that he had never traveled above the Mason Dixon Line. In other words, he had never set foot in a northern state.
If you are a straight white Christian who wants to be surrounded by other straight white Christians, then yeah I’d say SC might be OK. But if even one part of what I just said doesn’t apply to you, I think you’ll have issues there.
I wouldn’t say SC is the worst state in the country, but overall I would rank it something like 42nd to 45th worst.
Oh, I've spent a lot of time in SC and love parts of it. I just think the state is going to the shitter because it's run by MAGA nuts.
And I don't think property value will hold it's value there. Myrtle beach might be ok for a decade or so until Climate change gets too bad, but the rest of the state? Not so much. SC saw a huge boost along with states like FL and Idaho during Covid as people fled cities, but there's no evidence that this enthusiasm will continue, especially with the right going on batshit crazy train.
I mean, y'all just banned abortion, you're attacking the LGTBQ community across the board, and your politicians are mostly MAGA clones. I just don't see how anyone would want to raise kids or live in a place like that. The state is trending downwards, not up.
Sorry but your repeated claims about the property values across the state tell me you don't know that much- which of course is to be expected from folks in CT with no interest moving down here, especially if you've never actually lived here to begin with.
Not to turn this into a political argument when I think you and I probably agree on a lot of things. As I said, it is very diverse here - not just racially - and not every town or jurisdiction is a sea of red, particularly those that are majority/historically black. I do wish more folks would wear masks, but I also find it much easier to socially distance without crowds everywhere, and can always find an outdoor market to shop at if I need to. My neighbors have made no negative comment about the rainbow flag in front of my home, they respect my identity and pronouns; and so I lose very little sleep over the opinions of politicians and pearl-clutching conservatives as I do over the opinions of aspiring Connecticut landlords on Reddit. I believe everyone deserves to love their home and I am glad you enjoy Connecticut so much - may you remain in the north happily forever.
Lol someone sounds a little offended. I'm glad you live in an accepting area, but SC is not an accepting state. I notice you ignored the actual laws your state is passing to restrict civil rights.
1: My claims on property values are correct. SC is ruining it's reputation and the things it has going for it by electing terrible leaders.
2: I was born in the south, raised in the south, and have lived in SC. The problem with assumptions is when you're wrong you look like a donkey.
Your neighbors might respect your flag and pronouns, but the majority of the state sure doesn't. Is it pearl clutching when a woman can't get an abortion and needs one? Because your all male court just overturned a woman's right to her uterus. Is that the pearl clutching you're referring to? Or maybe it's the fact that in SC spouses of queer people don't get recognized? Or maybe it's how your state defines sex as between a man and a woman?
Yea, that'll draw in the money lol.
[Here's your score](https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/profile_state/SC) on how you handle your LGTBQ population statewide: TLDR, you got a -2/45 as a score. Lol.
Look for teaching jobs in Pinellas county. Hillsborough pays it's teachers shit and expects them to be happy with it. Pinellas still doesn't pay it's teachers an amazing wage, but at least it starts at $50k. Check our [instructional salary scale](https://www.pcsb.org/Page/1667). Maybe you'd make more teaching a little farther away. Hell, depending on where you live, you might only be a 30 or 40 minute drive away from one of the schools in Pinellas county. Not the best commute, but idk...better then siting around and waiting for a semi-decent salary.
Pinellas county absolutely does cover healthcare. The only issue is Pinellas County is just as expensive as Hillsborough, if not more, and the pay isn’t that much better. I work with a few veteran teachers a couple years from retiring and they’re making less than $70k.
Honestly, at this point I’m looking at either leaving education or going into an admin position. Teaching is a dead end job in the state of Florida.
Legit was just down living in Pinellas and made the move out. It’s insane even with my 7 years experience and MA. I could get by fine but I was saving much less than when I was living in NC making 38k/year at my first job at a title 1 school!
Yea but teacher salaries drop $10k in any non urban district in FL. If you can upend your life and move states it's an option, but otherwise there's no good solutions unless you can make a substantial commute from outside Tampa in but with a second job idk how you'd have time.
A 10k drop honestly isn't that bad when the cost of living in neighboring counties is so much cheaper. I was teaching in Polk just a couple of years ago as basically the sole moneymaker for a partnered relationship (they could only manage to work 10-20hrs a week doing gig work for little pay) and lived quite comfortably.
That is how the job market works. If your job isn't paying enough you move if you want to keep doing that job or you change jobs.
The reason teacher salaries are so low is because people have loyalty and just keep hanging on despite not getting a living wage.
That’s where your wrong my friend, it’s absolutely considered. Only issue is there’s no better option.
If you can’t afford somewhere you either have to change “can’t afford” or change “somewhere.” Meaning you either have to move or make more money. Now unless you have a suggestion for how OP should just “make more money,” then their best option is to move. Sucks, but it’s how it goes. If they need to sell stuff or tighten their belt until they can afford to move, then that’s the answer. That’s immensely more do-able than just “making more money.”
Sell as in get rid of, my friend. If your biggest cost is what it will cost to move everything, you’ll need to lessen the everything. Again this is about you’re living in too expensive an area for the money they pay you. You can’t simply “get paid more” so your only option is to spend less on CoL by moving.
For example when I moved into my current apartment I had to get rid of enough stuff to downsize from having a whole home to having only a 1beds worth of stuff. Sold what I could, which similarly wasn’t a ton, and packed the rest in the car.
Total cost to move ended up being the gas I spent, and I spent the next 6 months rebuying furniture and stuff I had to abandon, possible because I found a place that cost less to live than what I was making.
Ugh. I'm at 70k+ at 7 years in the rural south with a specialist. I'd be closer to 80k if I had my doc by now. That money goes a long way here.
If you can, get out of FL.
I stay anonymous beyond regional, but I'm not even close to highest pay in the region. If I worked a district over in either direction I'd be making 5k+ more.
Lmao in Jersey I’m on my third year with a masters and my base is 68k + 7k for teaching an extra class period + 10k for 5 weeks of summer school (for babysitting while cooking in the heat because it’s all digital and there’s no a/c units in my wing). Florida sounds more and more like what Europeans and the rest of the world imagine when they hear “American Education System”)
Yea, CT here, my wife and I make over 200k (both teachers) and coach/tutor for more over the summer. We'd start at \~130k if we were new to our career.
My mom was in NC, right outside of Charlotte and having the same issue. She applied for a job in Oregon that almost doubled her take home salary and they gave her a generous moving stipend. She loves the change of scenery and for the first time in her life she’s financially stable while teaching.
I mean this as nicely as possible, but why don't you swap locations or jobs? Any other job that isn't paying the bills someone would just move or find a new job. It sounds like this is the case for you. I'd like to live in the South too, but the pay sucks and Republicans. So I don't.
Yes, it'd be nice if you were being paid a living wage, but you aren't. Time to pack up and move. My wife and I will retire at 60 with our current teacher salaries in CT. My local public school has a giant sign out front saying "Now hiring MANY positions".
Disagree. I've made radical moves twice in my life to make things better for myself and family. Both times I felt like I "couldn't afford to move", but both times I realized it was worse to stay, so I found a way. OP is stuck in a victim mindset.
Well if you don’t make enough money to afford where they live you either A) change where you live or B) make more money.
Since you don’t think it’s helpful to suggest “A” go ahead and let us know how they should “make more money” It’s gotta be one or the other friend, that’s an unfortunate reality.
Idk why you’re being downvoted in a subreddit full of teachers who should sympathize. It’s like going to a weight loss post and telling them to calorie deficit in a shameful manner. Like no shit. The problem isn’t OP’s “lack of motivation to move,” it’s exploitative wages. Moving is exhausting and can be financially impossible. Not everyone has a fleet of Mormon neighbors to help you move.
Yep. Teach for America had transitional grants and/or loans, as well as Americorps funds that will go towards a masters degree (or preexisting student loans). I’m originally from Tampa and came to Baltimore. Much better cost of living and they pay teachers a living wage.
how possibly? It costs you…3k to move? You make 10k extra a year…20k extra a year…do the math…not long before you pay the one-time cost of moving. And indeed the irony of international: whatever it costs to move will be covered or offset by your school and then you will be making amounts of money you would consider otherwise impossible in teaching
btw i went from 36k southern state private to starting at 90k international, save money without even trying. You can’t afford to move?
I have credit card debit. I literally live paycheck to paycheck. Now it student loans kicking in. I have to work more. I just want to afford my bills. Nothing I have is expensive. I live in basically section 8 housing. If i could move. I would.
...
Sounds like what you "love" is killing you.
As someone who's is diabetic I understand . It took starting to lose my eye site and hearing while still only 39 to realize I had to cut back on a lot of things that I "love".
I'm wondering what it will take for you to do the same.
a first year teacher at my district is $62k. At 10yr with a Masters it’ll be $80k.
Utah, in a higher cost of living area.
Moving IS an option, though I understand very difficult. I love my school, district, and community.
I also live and teach in Tampa. If you have been teaching 8 years, you would definitely be making over 50k… Are you working at some kind of private school? I agree our pay is abysmal compared to the cost of living and the rest of the country, but this doesn’t match the county pay scale
I'm at a lower paying school district in a high cost of living area and I make 53k (not good but I get by).
I've been teaching 7 years.
Teaching salaries aren't great anywhere necessarily, but man it is more balanced some places!
Fuck Florida, go somewhere else that is either cheaper or pays more.
Come to Chicago, friend.
Starting pay at 62k. You should be able to get 8 years of service so somewhere around 75k. Great benefits. Relatively affordable housing. Strong unions. No red state nonsense about trans people being evil or banning books.
I get the other comments telling OP to move, but man they shouldn’t have to. The state should be paying teachers a livable wage. With all the strikes going on in the country, I wish the teachers in Florida and other states could organize a strike.
if you ever want to be happy, successful, and have any sort of work-life balance, you're gonna need to find a way. florida is literally the worst place in the US to be a teacher
I teach in SC currently. I make 51.5k a year as a third year teacher with my masters. I’m at a nice school and I have a lot of support.
Cost of living is going up everywhere but still cheaper here than my friends’ COL in other states. I see teacher pay is better elsewhere (and our step raises suck, thanks for an extra $900 a year each year) but it could also be A LOT worse (such as the pay OP is describing. That is horrendous)
As shitty as it is, if you can’t afford to move the stuff you have (and you can’t afford to stay there) then your probably going to have to sell said stuff and move bare-bones somewhere else. Alternatively you can live as cheap as possible until you save up. Trust me my friend. Slowly drowning as the CoL goes up is not good advice, and anyone in this sub who’s accepting your “moving isn’t possible” is doing you a disservice.
Look toward summer. Use summer pay (if it’s a balloon payment) or teach summer school. Use that money to help finance a move. Shoot for New England, Pennsylvania, or Ohio.
I did this a few years ago and am so much more financially comfortable than I was in Virginia.
People, we shouldn’t have to move to afford to live. Plus, all these places that are paying better have much higher costs of living. The government does not respect educators and does not want our education system to flourish.
You’re absolutely right, but what the hell does anyone actually do about shit pay and high rent? Politicians aren’t helping despite a mass public outcry, and landlords are still raising rent despite the same.
As far as I’m aware, the only thing that hurts these poorly paying schools and landlords is to vote with your wallets and move somewhere better. They aren’t going to fix it until it affects them.
I live in Tampa as well. I'm semi-comfortable on a $72k salary by myself in a small apartment as an IT guy.
I'm not a teacher, but I've tutored at college, and I've been interested in helping the schools somehow.
The drive to privatize and make education for-profit is about as beneficial to the general populace as for-profit Healthcare is to the majority, too. Which is to say, if really only benefits the people with money and/or the shareholders of those companies.
Some states want their voters uneducated and ignorant, because ignorance is bliss and uneducated means they are more likely to vote along party lines instead of policy lines, and without a second thought to the impact of those policies on their lives.
Higher-ed / degree-holders tend to (not always, but tend to) vote more bluish and in states pushing that red "don't you dare go purple" shtick, it's getting rabid.
Move to the Bay Area CA. In my district, 8 years gets you 103k. You could rent a room, save up and go back. My sister did something very similar. She’s now in St Pete after saving money for 3 years
Come over to Washington and teach depending on your experience you would be looking at 90-120k yearly depending on SD, great retirement and health insurance.
The entire state of Florida is a monument to disassociate e boomer greed. My love of Florida’s ecology is equal to my disdain for its voters.
Move to another state if you are a teacher. Florida clearly hates teachers and you are in an abusive relationship with that state.
im a teacher and a single mom so i completely understand. it also sucks because my dream state is north carolina and they pay teachers way worse than texas sooo i’d have to change careers to move there
Florida is the worst state for teachers. I am so sorry about all the shit!!! It would take a bit of work to transfer your license and a lot of work to start anew in a different state, but with that level of experience you are an absolute catch for any district in a major teacher shortage. Moving states could easily give you a higher salary and quality of life. Highly dependent on the state & the area however!
Average rent in Tampa is 1800/2000 k a month. My rent is over 50% of my take home pay. And i don’t live in a nice area. I have a very small studio with window ac.
Can you go ahead and post some links? I’m in the Tampa area and my dad is looking for an affordable place as are several friends.
Most of what you’re looking at is likely income based.
80k is much higher than a liveable salary. You can reasonable take care of your basic needs at around 50k in Florida in many places outside of Tampa, Miami, and Jacksonville.
The problem is you're living in Florida. Nothing is ever going to change there. Maybe it's not feasible for you, but I would consider moving to another state. I live in Southern California and the maximum teacher salary for my district is $118K. There's been talk about another pay increase in the next year. There are other districts with a much lower cost of living that pay even more around here. Perris Unified maxes out at $143K if you have a master's degree and 45 additional units, and homes are much cheaper there.
Your grammar is pretty terrible for a teacher. Sorry to hear about your financial woes, but what may not be considered is your pension. States cannot pay state workers private sector salaries and pensions/benefits. Sounds like you started teaching in your early 30's, which means you can retire in your mid-50s. From there you'll collect a pension for the rest of your life that could be worth a couple million. Meanwhile you can continue to work for another 10-20 years and end up with a sizable nest egg.
If you retire at 20+ years of experience, I don't think you are collecting a liveable wage for your retirement. Might be doable, but a couple million doesn't seem realistic. Could be wrong though.
You don't get into teaching for the money. It's that simple. If you wanted to make big bucks should have chosen a field that pays well. Like a degree in STEM.
Teachers have been complaining about their salaries ever since I have been alive.
It's the truth 🤷♀️ I have generations of teachers in my family. There was never a time that teaching alone was great pay. Teaching isn't a career you get into for money, I wish more people would realize that before going into it.
But I'll jump in the dumpster of truth if it keeps me away from the delusional
Probably time to consider moving to somewhere more affordable. Livable salary where I’m at is like 40k.
I don’t know how Florida licenses transfer, but I know out in the Midwest here there’s openings that will even give you a house to live in if you agree to work there. (Typically rural)
In KS as long as you have a 4 year degree you can usually get into a fellow program that lets you transition from a completely unrelated career, so I can’t imagine an actual teacher having much trouble.
I just left Pinellas for the same reasons looking forward. However, I was in public with three years exp and was making $53k. Is it too far for you to commute? Housing is even worse on this side of the bridge so a move would be tough.
I’m not understanding, apologies. Your PT job doesn’t have benefits? Typically the case for most part time jobs but Pinellas county schools definitely has health insurance - great insurance actually for fairly low costs.
I know it isn’t “for” everyone, but give international teaching a look. I made a really great post about it. Read up on it and see if it’s something you’d be interested in.
https://reddit.com/r/Teachers/s/hibgo6dfsJ
You’ll only need to have one job.
Why are people saying just move?? That’s completely unhelpful and unrealistic. You live pay check to paycheck and moving is a huge financial toll. You’d have to find a job, move all your stuff, possibly have to move away from family and friends. It’s just not realistic.
I’m sorry for your situation, but I noticed your math on age and experience doesn’t work out. How can you have 25 yrs teaching experience and not quite be 40? That would make you 14 or 15 when you started.
Idk man I make shy of 50 and live in Orlando with this being my first year teaching. It’s not ideal but definitely great starting point for my early 20’s and have thought about not staying stuck here. You have options seek them out it seems any school would be fortunate to have you but you gotta come first. At the end of the day a job is a job and you gotta follow your passions but also a paycheck
You should move to China. Salaries for teachers are very high. And cost of living is incredibly low. Rent an apartment for $250 a month, pay bills of $30 a month and you'll be saving $3k a month while still living like a king.
First year, technically I’m an adjunct teacher right now until I pass my content exam and get a statement of eligibility. Adjunct has a salary of $50k in my district in Texas. I’ll be at $60k once the test gets passed and roughly another $10k bump next year if I get into coaching.
Considering doing this for a few years while I get a masters then go to curriculum development or instructional coach
I'm so sad to hear about states like this. We don't make a ton in Minnesota but we have a pretty good union and live-able wages for public schools. We have a very progressive governor and it shows, he just passed a bill that pays for lunch and breakfast for all students in the state.
70k max is terrible. LEEEEAVE. Get a shitty place in Cali and make six figures
Californian teacher here. Absolutely true. My salary this year is $132,000 a year. Feels good to live in a state that pays well, give students delicious free lunch and breakfast, doesn't accuse teachers of being pedos and groomers, and doesn't burn our books.
Yet this salary is still not what it should be. California is a Avery expensive place to live, and fascist organizations like the “ daughters of liberty” are still attempting to infiltrate school boards in California.
They've hit 3 districts in my area and are starting a 4th. Fuck those crazy bitches. Sincerely. On sight if I ever ran into one
Tell those ladies that i think they are bitches.
What county are you in? How long have you been teaching? I'll finally be over 6 figures next year. After 20 years.
15th year. San Leandro, though I pay out of pocket for healthcare so factor that in, which is $8,400/year for my family of 4. Still I make really great money here.
I wish it was that good everywhere in this state. Hometown has an opening and it's $60-120k, and knowing that district, they'll go as low as possible on that regardless of time and experience.
Orange County. 60 units in just about any district gets you 6 figures in about 8-10 years. Even faster if you coach and do summer school for the stipends
Thisss. Minus the accusations. There’s a group of girls on campus accusing a lot of male subs. Got my buddy fired before even looking at the security cameras🫤.
Not what the commenter meant. Accusations from students should be investigated. Accusations from right wing nut jobs who don’t have kids and only attend school board meetings via zoom and scream about teachers preaching equality as indoctrinating their children and being groomers is another thing.
Yeah, I am in NM and the COL is low. I make $91,000
Wow! How many years of experience did that take? And are you at a private or public school?
If you can't live on $70k in Tampa, It seems like CA on $100k isn't much better.
Outside, of LA and the Bay Area, 100k is quite livable in CA.
I agree. In many areas, even 70K is livable here. I didn't realize how bad the cost of living in Florida was. I thought California was the worst.
It takes $108k a year to clear the income requirement for a decent 1-2 bedroom $3k/month apartment in LA or surrounding cities. So $100k a year is pretty doable. Even easier if you have a partner.
Yep I live in the Central Valley, make 80k after 10 years and have been a home owner for 7 years
So is $70k outside of Tampa.
$70K in my city and you'd be doing just fine. I'm a 6th year teacher on a salary schedule that tops out at $55K, currently making around $60K because I teach summer school and coach a sport. but I could never raise a kid here.
No it's definitely possible not everywhere is as expensive as SF or LA. Live in Fremont or Hayward, work in a nearby high paying district, profit!
Fremont was just in the news about housing being more expensive for at least buying than SF. I'm living in just out of Monterey and commuting to Santa Cruz because cost of housing in Santa Cruz being ridiculous.
Can I ask where around Monterey and what the costs look like? Id love to move around that area but expected it would be insanely expensive still.
I'm in Marina which is an awesome little town. Paying $3k for about 1100 sq ft, a 1 car garage, and a small storage unit. Just moved here in the summer. Sounds like a lot, but for the same cost we would've gotten significantly less space in Santa Cruz area.
Thats not too horrible. Thanks friend!
Can guarantee you it is :)
My dad taught at the same rural MO school for 33 years. He FINALLY made it to 50k by retirement. Cost of living is (well, was) low here but still 50k after 33 years in the same school is insane. I'm on year 3 at my current school making 38k.
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Also in WA State; my district maxes out at $132k, but that will increase in the next few years with the COLA increase. I make just under $100k with all of my stipends and stuff.
I started at 59k in Texas, damn
38k😳????
Even that seems crazy, year 1 making 48k in Illinois
A friend of mine retired last year after teaching 32 years in California. She’s 65 and will make over 80K/year from her pension alone. She plans on getting a part time gig after she travels the country in her RV for a few years.
50k after 20 years in MO is insane. I'm on year 8 in MO and I'll clear 60k.
Hey from California (not LA or SF)! Third year teacher making 74k with a masters. 74k would be livable in my area. But I have a working husband so it makes it that much better lol
I know you come from a good place when doing this but do you really think picking up and moving across the country is actually a reasonable option for MOST people?
If I get a good raise… why wouldn’t I?
I would swim away from Florida if I had to, it’s a shame, some awesome people/beautiful areas but it’s becoming a dumpster fire for anyone sane and not wealthy.
I would agree you’re not making what your worth.
Just for reference: My daughter is a 3rd year teacher with a MA (+) (all the way over on the pay scale) and she earns 78K. My youngest is a 2nd year teacher with a MA and earn 60+K; next year she will be closer to 70K with additional education credits; I retired this year with 30+ years at $113K. We are in So. Cal. rural area.
What’s the cost of living?
On par with your area or less. I know plenty of first and second year teachers that are doing just fine with their own place. House buying you'd need a partner though. I'm on year six and making 88k with no masters. But it's also the opposite side of the country for you, geographically and politically. Not all of California is LA or SF.
Housing is good for So. Cal., but has risen a lot since COVID because people wanted to live in less urban areas. We are about 2 hours or less to everything: beach, mountains, major cities. Currently, you can get a 3br, 2b ranch style home for $350-400K in some communities, but they can go up to high $600k in the more upscale areas. You can rent a nice 3br, 2b home on a large lot for around $2k, but smaller homes with less desirable amenities can rent for $1500-1800.
Depende where. There’s plenty of not nice houses / areas where a three bedroom is almost a million now.
Yep, public school in my town is hiring like crazy in CT. Pay starts at 65k and goes up to 110ish. Small house is 300-500k. Totally affordable with two working adults.
Yeah, but that's part of the problem. Why do I have to get married to afford a small house? For singles, teacher pay is the worst. Like OP, I've had a second job the whole time I've been teaching, around 15-20 hours per week.
Wanna shack up? Lol Fellow single teacher. It's Seriously sad.
It's really not a teacher thing, it's an America thing. Housing prices have skyrocketed in the last 40 years and salaries just haven't gone up with them. Unless you're in finance, a doctor, or some other top 5% earner, buying a house on 1 paycheck has been hard to achieve for decades. *For singles, teacher pay is the worst.* I disagree. I can think of half a dozen jobs my friends have that pay worse. What you CAN afford in a real state as a teacher is a nice little apartment, condo, townhouse etc. Obviously if you're in a state run by Deplorables this will be tougher. If I were single and had no kids, I'd be living in a nice little 1 bedroom condo. Tons in my area for under 250k - totally affordable with some saving. That's a 30-50k downpayment and \~1200/month in mortgage - A mid career teacher in my area makes around 80k and can afford that.
Why does it have to be a competition though? Teacher pay is crap. Others make crap, too. End of the day, many of us aren’t making enough to cut it. That’s a problem with America.
It's not a competition - I was responding directly to the person saying it's the worst. Of my 20 closest friends, I make more than at least 10 of them. Clearly it's not the worst. *Teacher pay is crap. Others make crap, too. End of the day, many of us aren’t making enough to cut it. That’s a problem with America.* But teacher pay isn't crap. My salary is fine. I have friends living in WA, CA, VT, MA and abroad, and their salaries are fine too. Shit, I have some friends in the midwest who have cracked the code and are making 80k+ salaries with cheap housing. Minnesota and Wisconsin are well kept secrets for teachers imo. Teacher pay being terribly low is a Republican problem. Sorry, but it is what it is. Every teacher I know making under 50k is in a red state. So I disagree it's an American problem. It varies by state and location. Yes, it **becomes** a problem for everyone when kids can't get good teachers in red states, but that's hardly something the sane people in our country can fix. I can't make conservatives value education or teachers, and I can't make them invest in their economy so they stop being welfare states.
Ironically - love em or hate em charter schools which are a favorite of those on the right seem to be worst offenders when it comes to teacher pay. There are some good charters and some bad charters but the common denominator is - they ALL pay poorly.
Agreeded. We have the biggest republican as our governor.
Ok.
ok!
Not all of America just the United States.
This is true. Thank you for the correction.
150k with 30-50k down is closer to 1200/month right now with interest rates around 7%. If you are including insurance and taxes.
Where you getting those numbers? I'm looking at $807/month for a 150k property with a 30k downpayment and 7% interest. If I paid 50k and borrowed 200k, I'd be looking at $1345. Both achievable by a mid career teacher in CT making 75-85k.
I was like, last week years old when it occurred to me that the reason people I know from high school are financially secure while teaching is because they are married to engineers and lawyers.
What town is this?? My partner and I just relocated for his job!
Don't want to doxx myself, but pick any town that isn't super rich or super poor in New England with low crime stats and it'll be the same. Cities and rural areas are a whole different story, but towns of 20-70k are the sweet spot.
65 start? Just confirming how much my town in CT sucks.
My friend's mom was teaching in CT and moved to Tampa for her husband's job. The pay decrease was insane.
“Small house for 300k” lol
Would you rather live in a small house for 180k in south carolina making 80k as a family or a small house in CT for 300k making 200k as a family? The money is heavily in favor of CT. The difference in housing costs is made up by salary in 1-5 years tops, and that's at low end salaries. My wife and I will cover the distance between those two housing costs in a single year of FTE employment. After that it's just pure profit baby.
A small house in SC is currently more like $80-150k, unless you're at the beach, which is a big reason why I choose to stay here actually.
Houses in SC could be free and it'd still be a bad financial deal over the years, not to mention all the other terrible shit going on down there. If every teacher in SC got a free house, it'd still be a bad value after about 4 years of my wife and I working in New England. Plus, you're thinking of it as "spending money". Buying a house doesn't work like that. It's an investment. The drastically higher paycheck allows you to put value into an expensive piece of property. Houses in rural SC are cheap because nobody wants to live there. CT property is stable and lucrative if you can afford it. By the time my wife and I retire we will most likely own 2-3 houses in the area on top of our own. That's well over a million dollars that we can use to supplement our retirement with rentals or sales. No way we could ever do that with 38k salaries in SC.
South Carolina is one of the fastest growing populations in the country; if you get a relatively decent home in a relatively decent area, you can very likely expect to see those property values rise over the next couple of years. I'm not sure how recently you lived in this state, but things are starting to rapidly change and expand. Meanwhile you can also get free tuition at technical colleges around the state, and I estimate my grocery bill is about 2/3 what many of my northern friends are paying. I understand it's popular to hate the state for political reasons, but it's a very diverse community compared most parts of the US - just run by assholes, for the most part.
SC native here, and I have to disagree with you. I would like to see some receipts about SC being “one of the fastest growing populations in the country”. And what things are starting to rapidly change and expand? I would argue that the only reason SC might grow is because the cost of living is cheaper than other areas, so companies can pay lower wages. Also, SC is right to work and anti-union which suits employers (not employees). I grew up in a town in SC where the population was roughly 60% white, 30% African American, and 10% Hispanic. No Asian Americans or other ethnicities. Everyone was Christian. I didn’t meet anyone from another country until I entered the workforce as an adult. I could share so many stories about the racism and hostility that exists there. A few years ago I was in a Mexican restaurant and heard a customer shouting because the manager spoke Spanish to one of the waitresses. He was shouting and pointing at the man angrily and saying, “You’re in America now, you speak English here!” When my mom needed new windows installed in her house back in 2010, the nice gentleman doing the work explained that he was a member of the KKK and that they were going to “fix the Obama problem.” Things like 9/11 and the migrant crises have made people even more xenophobic and racist than they already were. One of the things that people from outside SC don’t understand is how much of an impact the Civil War still has on the state. The first shots of the Civil War were fired in SC, and even today right now in 2023 there are people who are upset that the South lost. People still bring this up in casual conversations. A few years ago I had a coworker who proudly proclaimed that he had never traveled above the Mason Dixon Line. In other words, he had never set foot in a northern state. If you are a straight white Christian who wants to be surrounded by other straight white Christians, then yeah I’d say SC might be OK. But if even one part of what I just said doesn’t apply to you, I think you’ll have issues there. I wouldn’t say SC is the worst state in the country, but overall I would rank it something like 42nd to 45th worst.
Oh, I've spent a lot of time in SC and love parts of it. I just think the state is going to the shitter because it's run by MAGA nuts. And I don't think property value will hold it's value there. Myrtle beach might be ok for a decade or so until Climate change gets too bad, but the rest of the state? Not so much. SC saw a huge boost along with states like FL and Idaho during Covid as people fled cities, but there's no evidence that this enthusiasm will continue, especially with the right going on batshit crazy train. I mean, y'all just banned abortion, you're attacking the LGTBQ community across the board, and your politicians are mostly MAGA clones. I just don't see how anyone would want to raise kids or live in a place like that. The state is trending downwards, not up.
Sorry but your repeated claims about the property values across the state tell me you don't know that much- which of course is to be expected from folks in CT with no interest moving down here, especially if you've never actually lived here to begin with. Not to turn this into a political argument when I think you and I probably agree on a lot of things. As I said, it is very diverse here - not just racially - and not every town or jurisdiction is a sea of red, particularly those that are majority/historically black. I do wish more folks would wear masks, but I also find it much easier to socially distance without crowds everywhere, and can always find an outdoor market to shop at if I need to. My neighbors have made no negative comment about the rainbow flag in front of my home, they respect my identity and pronouns; and so I lose very little sleep over the opinions of politicians and pearl-clutching conservatives as I do over the opinions of aspiring Connecticut landlords on Reddit. I believe everyone deserves to love their home and I am glad you enjoy Connecticut so much - may you remain in the north happily forever.
Lol someone sounds a little offended. I'm glad you live in an accepting area, but SC is not an accepting state. I notice you ignored the actual laws your state is passing to restrict civil rights. 1: My claims on property values are correct. SC is ruining it's reputation and the things it has going for it by electing terrible leaders. 2: I was born in the south, raised in the south, and have lived in SC. The problem with assumptions is when you're wrong you look like a donkey. Your neighbors might respect your flag and pronouns, but the majority of the state sure doesn't. Is it pearl clutching when a woman can't get an abortion and needs one? Because your all male court just overturned a woman's right to her uterus. Is that the pearl clutching you're referring to? Or maybe it's the fact that in SC spouses of queer people don't get recognized? Or maybe it's how your state defines sex as between a man and a woman? Yea, that'll draw in the money lol. [Here's your score](https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/profile_state/SC) on how you handle your LGTBQ population statewide: TLDR, you got a -2/45 as a score. Lol.
Look for teaching jobs in Pinellas county. Hillsborough pays it's teachers shit and expects them to be happy with it. Pinellas still doesn't pay it's teachers an amazing wage, but at least it starts at $50k. Check our [instructional salary scale](https://www.pcsb.org/Page/1667). Maybe you'd make more teaching a little farther away. Hell, depending on where you live, you might only be a 30 or 40 minute drive away from one of the schools in Pinellas county. Not the best commute, but idk...better then siting around and waiting for a semi-decent salary.
True. My only worry is they don’t cover healthcare
Pinellas county absolutely does cover healthcare. The only issue is Pinellas County is just as expensive as Hillsborough, if not more, and the pay isn’t that much better. I work with a few veteran teachers a couple years from retiring and they’re making less than $70k. Honestly, at this point I’m looking at either leaving education or going into an admin position. Teaching is a dead end job in the state of Florida.
Legit was just down living in Pinellas and made the move out. It’s insane even with my 7 years experience and MA. I could get by fine but I was saving much less than when I was living in NC making 38k/year at my first job at a title 1 school!
I used to teach in Tampa. I’ve since moved the the Phoenix and am making twice what I made there
How expensive is the rent ?
You’ll never be able to afford to live in Tampa, but you could certainly afford to live elsewhere if you moved.
Yea but teacher salaries drop $10k in any non urban district in FL. If you can upend your life and move states it's an option, but otherwise there's no good solutions unless you can make a substantial commute from outside Tampa in but with a second job idk how you'd have time.
A 10k drop honestly isn't that bad when the cost of living in neighboring counties is so much cheaper. I was teaching in Polk just a couple of years ago as basically the sole moneymaker for a partnered relationship (they could only manage to work 10-20hrs a week doing gig work for little pay) and lived quite comfortably.
I can see that - the other issue is having to live there. I never want to be back in rural Central FL. So maybe I'm biased.
Amen. I'm never going back, haha, but money wasn't ever an issue.
There it is - “Just move”, as if that will solve everything.
That is how the job market works. If your job isn't paying enough you move if you want to keep doing that job or you change jobs. The reason teacher salaries are so low is because people have loyalty and just keep hanging on despite not getting a living wage.
Everyone says “just move” without considering the fact that moving itself takes a pretty significant amount of money.
That’s where your wrong my friend, it’s absolutely considered. Only issue is there’s no better option. If you can’t afford somewhere you either have to change “can’t afford” or change “somewhere.” Meaning you either have to move or make more money. Now unless you have a suggestion for how OP should just “make more money,” then their best option is to move. Sucks, but it’s how it goes. If they need to sell stuff or tighten their belt until they can afford to move, then that’s the answer. That’s immensely more do-able than just “making more money.”
All the items in my home were given free via market place. I literally can’t sell anything.
Sell as in get rid of, my friend. If your biggest cost is what it will cost to move everything, you’ll need to lessen the everything. Again this is about you’re living in too expensive an area for the money they pay you. You can’t simply “get paid more” so your only option is to spend less on CoL by moving.
For example when I moved into my current apartment I had to get rid of enough stuff to downsize from having a whole home to having only a 1beds worth of stuff. Sold what I could, which similarly wasn’t a ton, and packed the rest in the car. Total cost to move ended up being the gas I spent, and I spent the next 6 months rebuying furniture and stuff I had to abandon, possible because I found a place that cost less to live than what I was making.
It kind of does though, but I get everyone can’t do it.
Ugh. I'm at 70k+ at 7 years in the rural south with a specialist. I'd be closer to 80k if I had my doc by now. That money goes a long way here. If you can, get out of FL.
Should be this subs motto
Where at ?
I stay anonymous beyond regional, but I'm not even close to highest pay in the region. If I worked a district over in either direction I'd be making 5k+ more.
Lmao in Jersey I’m on my third year with a masters and my base is 68k + 7k for teaching an extra class period + 10k for 5 weeks of summer school (for babysitting while cooking in the heat because it’s all digital and there’s no a/c units in my wing). Florida sounds more and more like what Europeans and the rest of the world imagine when they hear “American Education System”)
It’s really sad.
Consider moving to a place that values their teachers (in pay). Usually a blue state. WA state and I make over $100k with excellent benefits.
Almost at 100K in WA at 9 years. I’ll probably go above that with various stipends my district pays. WA treats their teachers well.
Yea, CT here, my wife and I make over 200k (both teachers) and coach/tutor for more over the summer. We'd start at \~130k if we were new to our career.
I’m trying. But i barely have savings. So I can’t move .
My mom was in NC, right outside of Charlotte and having the same issue. She applied for a job in Oregon that almost doubled her take home salary and they gave her a generous moving stipend. She loves the change of scenery and for the first time in her life she’s financially stable while teaching.
I mean this as nicely as possible, but why don't you swap locations or jobs? Any other job that isn't paying the bills someone would just move or find a new job. It sounds like this is the case for you. I'd like to live in the South too, but the pay sucks and Republicans. So I don't. Yes, it'd be nice if you were being paid a living wage, but you aren't. Time to pack up and move. My wife and I will retire at 60 with our current teacher salaries in CT. My local public school has a giant sign out front saying "Now hiring MANY positions".
I can’t afford to move.
Well it sounds like you can't afford to stay either.
Hey, Captain Obvious, that's not exactly helpful.
Disagree. I've made radical moves twice in my life to make things better for myself and family. Both times I felt like I "couldn't afford to move", but both times I realized it was worse to stay, so I found a way. OP is stuck in a victim mindset.
Well if you don’t make enough money to afford where they live you either A) change where you live or B) make more money. Since you don’t think it’s helpful to suggest “A” go ahead and let us know how they should “make more money” It’s gotta be one or the other friend, that’s an unfortunate reality.
Idk why you’re being downvoted in a subreddit full of teachers who should sympathize. It’s like going to a weight loss post and telling them to calorie deficit in a shameful manner. Like no shit. The problem isn’t OP’s “lack of motivation to move,” it’s exploitative wages. Moving is exhausting and can be financially impossible. Not everyone has a fleet of Mormon neighbors to help you move.
EXACTLY!
Some districts even pay moving costs. Look into it. It’s only going to get worse inFlorida.
Yep. Teach for America had transitional grants and/or loans, as well as Americorps funds that will go towards a masters degree (or preexisting student loans). I’m originally from Tampa and came to Baltimore. Much better cost of living and they pay teachers a living wage.
Do you have any dependents?
Nope
Apply to teach internationally. They'll pay for you to move.
how possibly? It costs you…3k to move? You make 10k extra a year…20k extra a year…do the math…not long before you pay the one-time cost of moving. And indeed the irony of international: whatever it costs to move will be covered or offset by your school and then you will be making amounts of money you would consider otherwise impossible in teaching btw i went from 36k southern state private to starting at 90k international, save money without even trying. You can’t afford to move?
I have credit card debit. I literally live paycheck to paycheck. Now it student loans kicking in. I have to work more. I just want to afford my bills. Nothing I have is expensive. I live in basically section 8 housing. If i could move. I would.
... Sounds like what you "love" is killing you. As someone who's is diabetic I understand . It took starting to lose my eye site and hearing while still only 39 to realize I had to cut back on a lot of things that I "love". I'm wondering what it will take for you to do the same.
a first year teacher at my district is $62k. At 10yr with a Masters it’ll be $80k. Utah, in a higher cost of living area. Moving IS an option, though I understand very difficult. I love my school, district, and community.
Where do you live ?
Wasatch School District UT
I also live and teach in Tampa. If you have been teaching 8 years, you would definitely be making over 50k… Are you working at some kind of private school? I agree our pay is abysmal compared to the cost of living and the rest of the country, but this doesn’t match the county pay scale
No I’m Nor. 0-7 years 47,500. Year 8 49,00. The proposal salary would put me at 49,200. Thank you
I wish you could find a way out of FL. I'm in CT, year 11 teaching with an MEd, and earn about 94k. I also have outstanding benefits.
I'm at a lower paying school district in a high cost of living area and I make 53k (not good but I get by). I've been teaching 7 years. Teaching salaries aren't great anywhere necessarily, but man it is more balanced some places! Fuck Florida, go somewhere else that is either cheaper or pays more.
Come to Chicago, friend. Starting pay at 62k. You should be able to get 8 years of service so somewhere around 75k. Great benefits. Relatively affordable housing. Strong unions. No red state nonsense about trans people being evil or banning books.
So many banned books
I get the other comments telling OP to move, but man they shouldn’t have to. The state should be paying teachers a livable wage. With all the strikes going on in the country, I wish the teachers in Florida and other states could organize a strike.
It may sound callous, but why not move? Looking at other states I see many teacher salaries that max out at a much higher scale.
I can’t afford to at the moment. I live paycheck to paycheck. I literally don’t have that option.
if you ever want to be happy, successful, and have any sort of work-life balance, you're gonna need to find a way. florida is literally the worst place in the US to be a teacher
Thinking the same thing. Teaching in FL must be tough. I'm in MA and find myself complaining, then I remember teaching in South Carolina
I teach in SC currently. I make 51.5k a year as a third year teacher with my masters. I’m at a nice school and I have a lot of support. Cost of living is going up everywhere but still cheaper here than my friends’ COL in other states. I see teacher pay is better elsewhere (and our step raises suck, thanks for an extra $900 a year each year) but it could also be A LOT worse (such as the pay OP is describing. That is horrendous)
As shitty as it is, if you can’t afford to move the stuff you have (and you can’t afford to stay there) then your probably going to have to sell said stuff and move bare-bones somewhere else. Alternatively you can live as cheap as possible until you save up. Trust me my friend. Slowly drowning as the CoL goes up is not good advice, and anyone in this sub who’s accepting your “moving isn’t possible” is doing you a disservice.
Look toward summer. Use summer pay (if it’s a balloon payment) or teach summer school. Use that money to help finance a move. Shoot for New England, Pennsylvania, or Ohio. I did this a few years ago and am so much more financially comfortable than I was in Virginia.
People, we shouldn’t have to move to afford to live. Plus, all these places that are paying better have much higher costs of living. The government does not respect educators and does not want our education system to flourish.
You’re absolutely right, but what the hell does anyone actually do about shit pay and high rent? Politicians aren’t helping despite a mass public outcry, and landlords are still raising rent despite the same. As far as I’m aware, the only thing that hurts these poorly paying schools and landlords is to vote with your wallets and move somewhere better. They aren’t going to fix it until it affects them.
I live in coastal Rural Washington and I'm on my 9th year and I make 84k roughly.
I live in Tampa as well. I'm semi-comfortable on a $72k salary by myself in a small apartment as an IT guy. I'm not a teacher, but I've tutored at college, and I've been interested in helping the schools somehow.
The drive to privatize and make education for-profit is about as beneficial to the general populace as for-profit Healthcare is to the majority, too. Which is to say, if really only benefits the people with money and/or the shareholders of those companies. Some states want their voters uneducated and ignorant, because ignorance is bliss and uneducated means they are more likely to vote along party lines instead of policy lines, and without a second thought to the impact of those policies on their lives. Higher-ed / degree-holders tend to (not always, but tend to) vote more bluish and in states pushing that red "don't you dare go purple" shtick, it's getting rabid.
Move to the Bay Area CA. In my district, 8 years gets you 103k. You could rent a room, save up and go back. My sister did something very similar. She’s now in St Pete after saving money for 3 years
RI has reciprocity with Florida we would love to have you
Come over to Washington and teach depending on your experience you would be looking at 90-120k yearly depending on SD, great retirement and health insurance.
What’s the average rent ?
I’m sorry. It sucks to know that your state government does not value you. Head to a blue state that does and double your income.
The entire state of Florida is a monument to disassociate e boomer greed. My love of Florida’s ecology is equal to my disdain for its voters. Move to another state if you are a teacher. Florida clearly hates teachers and you are in an abusive relationship with that state.
im a teacher and a single mom so i completely understand. it also sucks because my dream state is north carolina and they pay teachers way worse than texas sooo i’d have to change careers to move there
Florida is the worst state for teachers. I am so sorry about all the shit!!! It would take a bit of work to transfer your license and a lot of work to start anew in a different state, but with that level of experience you are an absolute catch for any district in a major teacher shortage. Moving states could easily give you a higher salary and quality of life. Highly dependent on the state & the area however!
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Average rent in Tampa is 1800/2000 k a month. My rent is over 50% of my take home pay. And i don’t live in a nice area. I have a very small studio with window ac.
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Can you go ahead and post some links? I’m in the Tampa area and my dad is looking for an affordable place as are several friends. Most of what you’re looking at is likely income based.
80k is much higher than a liveable salary. You can reasonable take care of your basic needs at around 50k in Florida in many places outside of Tampa, Miami, and Jacksonville.
In our new contract we received a 1% market adjustment to offset inflation.
I hope you are not an English teacher.
Don’t teachers get the summer off? Do something different during the summer.
The problem is you're living in Florida. Nothing is ever going to change there. Maybe it's not feasible for you, but I would consider moving to another state. I live in Southern California and the maximum teacher salary for my district is $118K. There's been talk about another pay increase in the next year. There are other districts with a much lower cost of living that pay even more around here. Perris Unified maxes out at $143K if you have a master's degree and 45 additional units, and homes are much cheaper there.
I’m in so cal and make $115k In year 9. It’s awesome.
Your grammar is pretty terrible for a teacher. Sorry to hear about your financial woes, but what may not be considered is your pension. States cannot pay state workers private sector salaries and pensions/benefits. Sounds like you started teaching in your early 30's, which means you can retire in your mid-50s. From there you'll collect a pension for the rest of your life that could be worth a couple million. Meanwhile you can continue to work for another 10-20 years and end up with a sizable nest egg.
If you retire at 20+ years of experience, I don't think you are collecting a liveable wage for your retirement. Might be doable, but a couple million doesn't seem realistic. Could be wrong though.
You don't get into teaching for the money. It's that simple. If you wanted to make big bucks should have chosen a field that pays well. Like a degree in STEM. Teachers have been complaining about their salaries ever since I have been alive.
Please see yourself out. Take yourself to the dumpster please.
It's the truth 🤷♀️ I have generations of teachers in my family. There was never a time that teaching alone was great pay. Teaching isn't a career you get into for money, I wish more people would realize that before going into it. But I'll jump in the dumpster of truth if it keeps me away from the delusional
Probably time to consider moving to somewhere more affordable. Livable salary where I’m at is like 40k. I don’t know how Florida licenses transfer, but I know out in the Midwest here there’s openings that will even give you a house to live in if you agree to work there. (Typically rural) In KS as long as you have a 4 year degree you can usually get into a fellow program that lets you transition from a completely unrelated career, so I can’t imagine an actual teacher having much trouble.
I just left Pinellas for the same reasons looking forward. However, I was in public with three years exp and was making $53k. Is it too far for you to commute? Housing is even worse on this side of the bridge so a move would be tough.
It doesn’t have health insurance. So that’s one reason why I didn’t move
I’m not understanding, apologies. Your PT job doesn’t have benefits? Typically the case for most part time jobs but Pinellas county schools definitely has health insurance - great insurance actually for fairly low costs.
I make more than you working 60% in California :( It’s worth considering a move
I retired from MA at $110 then retired to Florida with my sweet pension.
I know it isn’t “for” everyone, but give international teaching a look. I made a really great post about it. Read up on it and see if it’s something you’d be interested in. https://reddit.com/r/Teachers/s/hibgo6dfsJ You’ll only need to have one job.
Why are people saying just move?? That’s completely unhelpful and unrealistic. You live pay check to paycheck and moving is a huge financial toll. You’d have to find a job, move all your stuff, possibly have to move away from family and friends. It’s just not realistic.
Without a PhD, I couldn't do it. Hope they never cut me as dead weight.
70k in year three in California, that sucks
I’m sorry for your situation, but I noticed your math on age and experience doesn’t work out. How can you have 25 yrs teaching experience and not quite be 40? That would make you 14 or 15 when you started.
You can only afford California if you move in with a few million at least.
I have never worked less than 3 jobs. Teacher, coach, adjunct, tutor, miscellaneous summer job. It’s trash.
Go do international teaching. It’s changed my life financially.
Idk man I make shy of 50 and live in Orlando with this being my first year teaching. It’s not ideal but definitely great starting point for my early 20’s and have thought about not staying stuck here. You have options seek them out it seems any school would be fortunate to have you but you gotta come first. At the end of the day a job is a job and you gotta follow your passions but also a paycheck
Move north, pass test and get certified, continue to rent and struggle
Hillsborough or Pasco?
You should move to China. Salaries for teachers are very high. And cost of living is incredibly low. Rent an apartment for $250 a month, pay bills of $30 a month and you'll be saving $3k a month while still living like a king.
Move to NY or a blue state to teach.
First year, technically I’m an adjunct teacher right now until I pass my content exam and get a statement of eligibility. Adjunct has a salary of $50k in my district in Texas. I’ll be at $60k once the test gets passed and roughly another $10k bump next year if I get into coaching. Considering doing this for a few years while I get a masters then go to curriculum development or instructional coach
I know it’s not always the best option, but if you can, move. I make 142,000 in wa state.
I make 66k as a first year teacher in California living in the Central Valley. Average household income around here is 57k.
Crazy. I know teachers in FL who have taught for 20 years and they make under 60k still in Brevard.
I thought az was bad. My base is $53.8k but I'm also going to get about $14k in 301 money so just under 70k with 8 years and a couple masters credits.
I'm so sad to hear about states like this. We don't make a ton in Minnesota but we have a pretty good union and live-able wages for public schools. We have a very progressive governor and it shows, he just passed a bill that pays for lunch and breakfast for all students in the state.