How long does it take to become a teacher with a good salary?
My name is Gustavo and I’m a senior at Brennan Highschool, I want to work as a teacher and teach young children or young adults. #teacher #education #educator
3 answers
Kathryn’s Answer
Hi Gustavo!
That sounds great! I was a teacher for four years and it can be a really fulfilling career.
Your salary as a teacher will depend mostly on where you live. If you work in a public school, you will probably be part of your local union. This means your salary will follow a chart based usually on your years of experience and degrees. You can actually find all these salaries online! For example, San Antonio's salary scale shows that a brand new teacher with a bachelor's degree will earn $52, 350. But, after working 10 years, you're still only earning $53,856.
Teaching can be a really secure job with good benefits, but many teachers don't earn a lot of money. Check out this article about teacher pay.
Personally, I felt like I earned a good salary and could live the life I wanted as a teacher, even in my first year. But, I didn't have significant loans to pay off and I was paid pretty well in NYC. You should think about 1) how many loans you'll have 2) where you'll live and 3) your motivations for teaching - often people can make more money in another career with the same degree.
Kathryn recommends the following next steps:
Joseph’s Answer
I hope you become a successful teacher some day because we will need you in order to shape the future!
I teach at the community college and I don’t think there’s a better place to work. I typically work with First-Year Experience students who are 18, but I also teach Dual Enrollment and other programs that partner with local high schools.
Unlike K-12, the community college typically pays you more though you work less hours. As an adjunct (part time) in one community college, for example, I was paid nearly 90 dollars an hour.
The issue is the amount of hours you get and if you can get tenure. If you get tenure at a community college in California, we pay should a base minimum of 50-60K with a chance to make a little over 100K if you have your doctorate.
Still, the vast majority of instructors are part time because schools because getting tenure is tough. But I think it’s worth it. Good luck!
Joseph recommends the following next steps:
Dana’s Answer
Teaching is a very rewarding career! Teacher salary can vary a lot depending on where you teach and what level you teach! Being a teacher most don't make a lot of money. I think the best thing you could do would be check to see what the average teacher salary is for the area you would like to teach in! This can vary from school district to school district! If you are hoping to make more money the more education you get the better! Someone with a masters will make more money than someone with a bachelors! This will require a couple more years of schooling but in the end you will make more money!
Hope this helps!
Dana