Based on your experience, I would love to know what you have to say.
I was just in Chicago for a few weeks and it was lovely. It feels like all the excitement and culture and walkability of New York but cleaner and not so claustrophobic feeling
We were in Chicago in April. We loved it!
I’m going back in a few months for a conference and I’m excited to see the bean out of jail
The retirement for new teachers might be changing soon. There are two tiers for retirement. All new teachers enter tier two, which places retirement at 65 (assuming you cash in two years worth of sick days). However, there’s a big push right now to alter tier two so the earliest people could retire would be 60 (again, with two years of sick time banked). It has a good chance of passing through, especially with the states improved credit rating.
Side note, people hate pritzker, but he’s turned our credit rating around after repub Rauner tanked it.
Well, some people hate pritzker. He's not perfect, but he's the best gov we've had in a long time.
Your state had 4 governors convicted of felonies so I would submit that "best gov in a long time" isn't a very high bar...having said that I'll say Pritzker's great.
I mean, we do have a tradition...
Agree. Low bar.
Great info. I’m tier 1 and thus not fully informed on what the requirements are for people in tier 2. And I totally agree on Pritzker. He’s been very good for teachers, the state budget and the state’s credit rating.
Highlights of tier 2:
- average of the last 8 years of salary, not 4
- 75% of that average for pension (not terrible there)
- retirement age of 67. Earliest age of retirement (not counting banked sick days) is 62. However, for each year of age before 67 you retire, you lose 5%. I.e., if I retire at 62, my pension is 50%.
- change in healthcare, but not entirely sure what it is.
Those are the big ones I rememberz
Thanks for those outlines it’s similar to tier 1 but as you point out, we take average of last 4 yrs of salary. We get 75% of that.
The penalty to retire early is pretty significant. I’ll be 56 and a half when I retire will a full pension. It’s a good deal. I hope tier 2 people get some relief with possible reforms coming down the line.
I'm in southwestern IL (near St Louis) and I'm from the Chicago area. Pay is fine and the climate of most of the schools is great, but yeah you have a mix of well to do and poor, title 1, etc, but the COL is way less than up north and the traffic is non-existent. Taxes are much lower here too. I do not miss living near Chicago. St Louis is a much slept-on city, with tons to do and FREE museums. The weather is milder than Chicago too, although it can be cold in the winters. You're minutes away from some of the most beautiful outdoor areas in the Midwest that a lot of people don't even know exist-lakes, old growth forest, hiking trails, you name it we have it. This ISN'T central IL, land of flat plains. We're right on the Mississippi River, with the MO and IL rivers nearby, so it's river valleys and gentle hills, absolutely gorgeous.
Agreed. I have family in STL. Even though the humidity sucks, I would take STL over Chicago any day. Much less claustrophobic and so very much to do. I love it there.
Which part of the metro east are you in? I'm in Troy
That's where I teach! I live in Alton, though
This might be a good option when our kids are out of the house
Wife doesn’t need a pension, we’re good with mine
My veteran status waives property taxes
We freakin’ love Chicago
Illinois doesn’t tax retirement income either
Even parts of south suburbs are pretty good to teach in. I know Lincoln way had massive issues with closing new schools, but once that passed over it does pay very well. Wife and I are both teachers and we own our house and live comfortably.
I never ever thought I’d see my high school mentioned in this sub!! Lincoln way east graduate here. Glad to know my teachers were being compensated well haha
Just stay away from the Matteson, Park Forest, Olympia Fields, etc districts. Train wreck. We lived there for 30 years.
Yes agreed, my mom just got out of that area and I couldn’t be happier. Some of the stories she had were horrifying.
Chicago is the cleanest city I’ve ever been to. I loved the week I spent there at the embassy suites in downtown. So much good food, culture, walkability and the lake is gorgeous and massive.
Since my daughter in law teaches there and my son is a future teacher that’s good to hear. Plus my wife and I retired with a TRS pension a few years ago.
States with a teachers union are definitely a good start.
Actual unions - like, Texas has a "union" but it isn't the same thing as the unions in NY.
I live in TX & I loathe when people say “TX has teachers unions!”
Until said organizations can lobby for pay increases & other standard of living issues AND we have the ability/right to strike via our union, it’s not a union. It’s just an organization.
Yep - grew up in Texas and Mom spent her career from classroom teacher to principal. She never had a good thing to say about the union/teacher organization
The “union” associations for teachers here in Texas amount to weak lobbying organizations and legal insurance. When that kid or parent accuses you of whatever, the association is supposed to provide defense and legal guidance. My area has several attorneys for our association.
Yes, actual unions. "Right to Work" legislation is the right to exploit workers.
Unless it’s Florida…
Idt I’ll ever teach in that state again
Yeah, I think the first step is find a state that has a union and then go from there. Start looking into everything else.
Maryland. It invests heavily into education and consistently ranks in top 5 of the most educated states and of best schools.
I teach in MD and generally like it. Your results will vary county by county, but generally central MD pays well and you can choose between living in a more urban, suburban, or rural environment. Most teachers start at a more challenging school, get tenured, then can move to a more comfortable school if they choose. National Board Cert adds 10k and an additional 7k if you work in a challenging school.
I agree. I completed my National Board this spring and hope to have passed to get that bonus :)
I taught in TX and checked the salary table recently - as a teacher with 13 years experience here in MD, I will be making $17k more than the highest salary level in my old TX district.
Here in MD, I got my Masters through a scholarship with a local college, paying little out of pocket and getting a $6k raise. I also completed my +30 for additional money.
Schools vary, but I am so happy to teach in this state!
How was the process to get nationally certified? Would you do it again? I've been kicking the idea around, but $1,900 is a lot.
My district in MD will pay the NBC fees, and then the state puts an extra $10K in your paycheck every year your board certification is valid, which is why I'm starting this year! Will cost me nothing but time and effort, and the extra money makes it worthwhile
It was very challenging. I didn’t pay for it because I got a scholarship. I completed all 4 components, but I don’t find out if I passed until December. It was a lot of work, but my district had regular meetings for candidates to ask questions and get support. Several colleagues passed the previous year, so I leaned on them for suggestions. I wrote my components as I completed the instruction that I was evaluating so that it was fresh in my mind. But since I have no idea if I passed, I just wait and see.
Waiting that long for results would irritate me. 😂 I'm glad you got a scholarship. That's awesome!
How are schools in Baltimore?
Don’t watch season 4 of The Wire. Or do.
Bullshit. I'm about to start year 31 in BCPSS. It's like any district- some schools are great, and some schools suck. Our suck is a lot worse than other places, but our great is a lot better than other places. I'm well paid, have great benefits, and can actually afford to retire with the pension I'll be getting. I keep teaching not because I have to but because I want to. Would I say the same thing if I taught in Arizona? Or Florida? Doubt it.
What did you think of The Wire?
Poverty. Plain and simple. Schools can’t solve poverty and very few kids can learn in poverty. Of course, the critics of public education don’t want to address the issue because it requires effort and money
Pretty bad outside of the magnet high schools and some of the neighborhood schools in wealthier areas but what else is new. Baltimore is honestly a pretty great city and if you have experience in urban title 1 you can make it work.
Western New York State. The teachers union is very powerful here and the region has a reasonable COL with good pay and benefits. Academic freedom is not under threat neither, although the bureaucracy is as bone headed as the worst of them
How hard is it to land a teaching job up there?
It depends what you teach. There’s never enough STEM, Spanish ar SPed. There’s always too many social studies and music teachers . Rochester has three superlative college music education colleges, so theres usually a surplus.
Depends on what you teach but getting a job as a teacher rn usually happens pretty quickly
A bunch of districts in Erie county just laid off a ton of their teachers
Born and raised here. Tried to get a job here. Moved after 5 years of falling short. My uncle teaches and lives in probably one the smallest districts in the entire region and makes a shit ton of money. It’s almost absurd.
I’m in upstate. We also have a strong teachers union and LCOL. It’s great.
I'm upstate and our teachers union is fine with self contained teachers not getting planning periods or a duty free lunch
Everyone will say Washington, but I really hate teaching here, and I would not send my own kids to most public schools here. I would send my kid to 99% of the schools in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts is the best. Compared to Washington, working conditions were great; schools had enough custodial staff, my principal was in it to be an actual principal and not a step to the district office (they had already worked at the district office when they hired them), PDs were excellent because the schools actually had money to get great PDs (regardless of what the PTA did), Special Ed services were excellent, and my colleagues were all knowledgeable people I learned a lot from.
I can’t say the same for Washington. I get paid 15k more, but I was in a portable classroom (even though they had empty ones in the school), kids had no consequences (and I thought my school in Massachusetts was bad with consequences, but I would take that admin team back in a heartbeat), the curriculum seemed to be a year behind what we did in MA, and class sizes in Washington are 47th in the country. This meant I went from having an average middle school class size of 22 in MA to an average class size of 32 in Washington. Also, in Washington, I only had one planning period (only rich school districts can afford a 7th class period so teachers can have two planning periods). That combined with the crazy class size numbers destroyed my mental health. Parents also have crazy weird rights out here.
In addition, the custodial staff ratio was insane. Like three people cleaning a school for 1,000 students. The school was a mess (not custodians’ fault if the district isn’t employing enough people). Meanwhile, our superintendent was making more than 400k a year.
The main reason is Washington doesn’t have an income tax and the McCleary Decision made the state fund schools “equally,” but not equitably. The state also doesn’t fund schools like they should be. Check this out here: McCleary Decision
The “declining enrollment” is BS here because the state believes class sizes of 32 kids in upper elementary and middle school is acceptable. It is not. Also, the law/state government will only allow schools to have like 15% (increasing to 17.5%🙄next year) of the funds for special education. This deincetivizes schools from screening students who probably qualify for moderate special ed services as it would mess up the budget. As a result? Many, many kids who were born in the US have extremely low literacy skills putting them on par with k-3 reading level in grade 6. In Massachusetts most kids who were NOT ELL or had an IEP were, at max, 2 grade levels behind.
How Washington School Funding Works.
Meanwhile, Massachusetts has income tax and one of the best school financing at a state level. They fund schools equitably, which means rich, top performing schools do not get any money from the state at all; it’s all local stuff. However, the state will give more funds to districts who do not have the same property tax funding. They also have a weed tax and a millionaire tax that goes into the school systems.
How Massachusetts Schools are Funded
I have a lot to say about the WA “pipe dream,” and will maybe write a more indepth post about it this summer. However, besides the wages, it’s not a great place to teach.
Very interesting to read your opinion and comparison with MA. Did you move to WA from MA?
Yes, for my partner’s job.
Gotcha. Thanks for sharing ! I read somewhere that Massachusetts is supposed to be one of the “good” states to teach in and getting certified there is difficult. I can sort of see why.
That’s also another whole can of worms.
In WA, I can literally get certified in almost anything besides specialized certifications like special ed, reading, foreign languages, and ELL. All I have to do is pass the certification test. In MA you need certain courses taken at a college level and a year of student teaching. So, if wanted to be duel certified in English and History, I would have to do two student teaching semesters; one for history and one for English.
Many people will say this is BS. However, it prevents teachers from having too many preps, ensures they are experts in their specialization, and creates lower student to teacher ratios. High standards are important.
Leading off of this: many MA teacher programs will give you lessons/advice/guidance on how to pass the MTEL (Massachusetts Teacher Educator License) Exams. Most people I know will pass Communication and Literacy on the first try. The subject-knowledge MTELs are hit and miss. But, you can re-take them as many times as you need.
In terms of funding, I agree with what’s been said. As a teacher in a “hold-harmless” district in MA, the inequitable funding is becoming more and more apparent. Especially as schools’ Esser Funds (COVID financial support) this year, many schools have asked towns for overrides, made extreme cuts, and have started a trend of non-renewing teachers before 3 years. (This is so that teachers do not become expensive as Professional Status Teachers.) It’s tense around here. The state desperately needs to fix its funding method.
Yes! They offer free classes. Also, the State University system in MA is amazing compared to most states. It has a pathway for most people who really want it to get a college degree.
Edit to add: there are funding issues just about everywhere because of inflation and misuse of COVID funds. However, from what my teacher friends in MA have told me, it’s not that bad compared to WA.
Also, I don’t think the way that MA funds schools is perfect, but I do believe it is infinitely better than the majority of states in the US.
I teach in MA and did the alternative route for licensure - My bachelor's and master's are in content area, not EDU. In fact, I never took an EDU class until I was teaching and wanted to max out my pay scale.
Sounds like me in NY. I got triple-certified as of yesterday. Gen ED, Special Ed, and Bilingual Ed. I wonder if NY certifications have reciprocity or something.
Agree on a lot with WA. I got so much money but at the cost of mental health. I had science classes of 34 minimum my last year at a very rich suburban district. I never noticed the custodial issue too until recently when I moved states. My schools of over 2000 kids had at most 3 people cleaning!
Well yes. You came from MA, which probably has the best school system in America to WA...You downgraded. But, I don't think you'll ever be satisfied because you are comparing things to MA.
I do agree on a lot of points though. WA state districts aren't the best and they aren't the worst. The reason why most are saying WA because it offers a little bit of everything in everyday life with pretty nice pay.
Most are trying to escape from the Southern states for better salaries and other reasons. So WA has a lot of warts but I can see why many choose to move here.
Oklahoma, you don't have to pay taxes because you are now a church.
Upvote but also 🤦🏻♀️
This confused me for a minute.
I thought, "Do teachers in Oklahoma now get the same tax-free privileges that military members get??"
Is California any good?
Strong unions, good pay, but it’s expensive af. Parts of the state are beautiful beyond words. Parts are shitholes
Happy in California here. COL sucks so much, but my union is strong, my district tries to care more about kids than pinching pennies. Went to the beach a few weeks ago and the redwoods next week, both less than a 3 hour drive from the Bay Area. Overall it’s pretty good comparatively.
From the Bay Area? You can be in Santa Cruz or Big Basin in less than 2 hours.
Funny, I just landed a job in the Bay! I’m relocating for it so I’m in the middle of apartment hunting right now. Can I PM you to get some insider info about working/living up in NorCal?
I'd love to be in LA area honestly and I could see the bay area being real nice.
I don’t get when people say cost-of-living sucks. We get cost-of-living increases every year. I’m currently making $135,000 a year as a 12th year teacher here in Southern CA, own my own home, and live 5 minutes from the beach.
If people wanna stay where they are and make 50k a year and then have to pay 10 bucks every Friday to not wear jeans go for it I guess. Doesn’t it mean I have to understand it.
I'm trying to go back to Miami for the beach, weather, vibe. But yeah you won't make 120,000k a year there and price of living is high.
Dam imagine I could be teaching in So Cal and make 100,000 after a few years.
Wait. They have schools in Florida?
How do you own your home on that income? What was your mortgage?
In the bay area, for example, your salary is not enough to buy a home.
I taught in the Bay Area. My district paid up to $140k. Most of the married teachers owned homes. A single person could save up and buy a condo in time.
Answer 1: My wife has been teaching for longer than me. Dual income FTW.
Answer 2: Our mortgage is $3,200 a month.
Someone making 10k a month?
Here is an idea of how much you would need to make to afford housing in various parts of CA: Map: What You Need to Earn to Afford a Median-Priced Home in Your County in California
💯
Heyyyy! What district are you! I’m from central coast/ southern Ca. Currently in Nor cal. It’s great. But lookin to move closer to family.
Super curious into looking into your district
I’d never teach anywhere else. Good pensions, good benefits. If you have a masters my district hit six figures by year six, and it’s not too uncommon. We’re also really safe from nonsense like being required to teach the Bible in school. On top of it, you get to live in CA, which is awesome.
Just know that there are HUGE chunks of the state that may as well be in Texas.
You mean Cal-abama? Grew up in the central valley and yeah, might as well be in Texas in some areas.
I'm in Southern California and going into my second year of teaching. I have good benefits and my salary is about 67K a year. The cost of living is super high here though. I could afford an apartment if I wasn't living with family but I wouldn't be able to afford a house. The good thing about getting my credential here though is that I can transfer it to almost any other state if I wanted to.
Damn. I’m going into year 18 in FL and I’m nowhere near that much pay. 😕
I generally like it although I do feel like there's a push from our state government to focus more on equity recently than enforcing rules. (Case in point: teachers can't hold students in for recess for any reason anymore, so student levels are getting dramatically worse) However in terms of academic freedom, unions, tenure, my district granted it to me on time and there were no hookups.
I saw that too but we were told that physical behavior would be the exception. We’ll see how it works out 🫤
For high school next year we won't be able to suspend kids for defiance either. We'll see how it works out.
I don't get that bs of equity without holding high standards and students and parents accountable. I honestly don't. But that's another topic for discussion. California does seem like a good place overall to teach and grow professionally.
Yes. I teach in California. We aren’t forced to teach the bible here. That’s a plus!
Washington. Money.
Anyone looking to Washington be warned .. there are hundreds upon hundreds of applicats for positions west of the Mountains. Be prepared to wait it out if you do apply.
Please have a job in hand before you move here. Getting hired is really rough right now because budget shortfalls and declined enrollment. A first year high school social studies teacher in my district (near Seattle) was on a non-continuing. He applied to 80 WA districts and only one had an opening, a one year leave replacement at a middle school. There are HUGE budget ssues across the area.I read in the spring that Moses Lake non-renewed 100 teachers. (Not sure on the state of that situation now)
My district, if they hire any teachers (usually not full-time but to fill gaps in the schedule), are on non-continuing contracts. Right now they are solving their budget issues by moving continuing contract teachers around when there are openings (due to leaving or retirement). Seattle and others are shutting down elementary schools.
Ok what’s the cost of living? I was happy with the 16k pay increase I’ve gotten in past two years in Tennessee but Lake Washington School District is still 25k above that with my masters.
I taught in eastern WA for ten years. Lower COL than the western side of the state but still good pay and a strong union
Depends on where you live in WA but it’s generally higher cost of living than Tennessee.
Still I was wrong it’s 44,000 pay difference. That’s not counting moving in to admin. Do you know of anywhere looking for two elementary teachers?
Stay west of the mountain.
Coat of living is lower in the east.
Yes, and it’s too hot or too cold or the sky is brown from the wildfire smoke. Noooo thank you.
Yes, because anywhere east of the mountains you have a better chance of finding Bigfoot than finding a job opening
Good money once you're in....but if you're a new teacher, good fucking luck. I'm entering my third year and have been laid off the past two years from two different districts due to budget cuts. Sub pay ain't half bad though.
You’ll find your spot ❤️
New jersey is pretty good. Pretty strong unions, fair pay, blue state.
Came to say NJ. COL is high though.
NJ gets cool things though... Like field trips to Broadway.
Yeah where I am, we’re about equidistant from NYC and Philly so we do trips to both.
Yeahh depends where though. I both teach and live comfortably in union county.
Thinking of moving to Jersey since I have family in the area. COL seems more reasonable in South Jersey.
Also northwest NJ isn’t bad COL-wise.
Yeah but then you have to live in South Jersey ;/
Union county teacher here. Big fan.
NJ is good, but Bergen County is highly political in comparison to other NJ counties.
By and large your typically blue leaning states are far better for education pretty much without exception. There are outliers, sure, because things vary from district to district, but by most metrics it isn't even close. We'll see how that ends up over the next decade or so, the dismantling of public education is being attempted here as well so we'll see how we hold out.
I don't think anyone has mentioned Minnesota yet so I'll throw that hat into the ring. Lots of well paying districts without the insane cost of living found in other states. Generally near the top ten or top fifteen by most educational metrics. Not as heavily infested with charter schools and their ilk just yet. Almost none of the teachers I've worked with after a dozen years across multiple districts in the state or those that taught me when I was a student here need to do things like work second and third jobs to get by. It's a great place to live and work in education.
Minnesota here. Love it. Making 83,000 with a masters on step 12.
I worked in corporate for 10 years before and was only making low 70's. I essentially work 3/4ths of the time with more pay and no pressure to "climb the ladder". I can just fo us on being a good teacher and make more than I did as a corporate grunt.
I’m really considering moving to Minnesota to teach. Been researching it and it seems like the right mix of good enough education system, decent pay for the CoL, and access to nature. It’s really tempting.
If you can handle winter in the upper Midwest, Minnesota is great. Iowa used to be pretty good, too, but the pay has not kept up, and the governor is a MAGA moron and is cutting the AEAs (they provide SPED, speech, counseling, etc. services to districts) and also doing vouchers for private school. She is dismantling the education of Iowa because that is the "in" thing to do in the MAGA Republican party. I can't believe Iowa is the same state that voted for Obama TWICE!
As a former Iowa teacher, she is easily 50%+ of the reason I resigned.
I love the cold. Went to school in Nebraska. I miss the winters. I miss actual seasons.
Do it! I'm certainly biased as a native, but it's great. A fantastic, well kept secret that I honestly hope doesn't get out, lol. My wife and I have both worked in education our entire lives since college (minus my first year in another state) and can live very comfortably here. Gorgeous state, too, obviously the amount of lakes is insane, the north shore on Superior is incredible, and state and national parks are everywhere.
The weather usually sucks for like two weeks of the dead winter, but if you can tough that out it's not so bad. I'm like you though, I dig having four distinct seasons.
Seconding this, and having worked in a few different districts in MN (all inner/outer ring TC suburbs) each district’s contracts can vary wildly in terms of pay.
My first district, you would need to work 25 years to earn 100k with a masters. My current district, you will hit 100k on year 10! I am on year 6 making 75k a year with no additional credits yet. The tenure system is also well established and transfers easily if you switch districts.
I’m currently in TX & have been considering a move to Minnesota for family reasons but also for a better work environment.
One of the only things holding me back is that y’all’s school calendars suck. 😂 What’s wrong with a full week off at Thanksgiving?
Ha, yeah, they're not great. I have family teaching in European international schools and their calendars are far superior. They can be better or worse depending on your district at least. My wife's is pretty much Labor Day to Memorial Day, which used to be the norm when I was in school as a kid. The one I teach in loves to go well into June because of a ton of small three or four day weekends and a spring break nobody actually uses, but I'd much prefer fewer, longer breaks or just turboing through the school year to get that shit done with.
Got hired to teach in SoCal from a job fair in AZ…my first week teaching in CA , I graded essays at the beach. COL is high, but pay in my district tries to catch up to it. With a masters and about 20 years, making about 125k with great benefits. Starting with a BA on year 1 is about 70k…which isn’t bad if you’re single.
Yup Washington is great. After 5 years with a masters most districts along i5 will pay 100k plus. This does make it a little harder to get hired but I found a social studies job so it’s not impossible.
Do you have any advice for landing a social studies position in WA?
Yeah, the first is apply everywhere. Good school, bad school… we don’t get to be picky with this cert. Adding an ELA cert can help as a lot of schools are splitting the position between history and English. The best advice I got when I was interviewing is embrace the new era of kids and let that show through your interview answers. Don’t just be another teacher that’s gonna complain about iPad babies. Then also have specific examples ready for how you dealt with an ML student and a disadvantaged scholar. And finally say you’ll do everything like coach, chaperone, etc. let them know you want to be involved. You can come up with excuses to get out of these things later ;).
Helped me, hopefully it helps you. Washington is great, some districts can be tough but overall I love it here and like others have said we don’t have to deal with nonsense from the gov and I can teach what I want to teach. Good luck!
I came to say Washington also. Been here five years with absolutely no regrets.
Did you move from another state? Or did you start fresh in Washington?
Alaska and that shit show. Again, no regrets.
I will admit that I have an Oregon license as well and qualified for reciprocity so licensing was easy.
Washington. Taught in SC and NC before. Admin looked at me like I was insane when I asked where to clock in and who to submit my lesson plans to.
Stae of Denial. We're all in it.
New Mexico has starting teacher pay at $54k, I believe we're the highest in the region for the 3 tiers of pay at $54k, $64k after 3 years and $75k after 6 years. We're getting an additional 3% raise this fall.
I just got hired in New Mexico as a drama teacher first year at $60k only lower because I don’t have my teaching license but they will be paying for that and I begin this year! I only have my BFA so I imagine licensed teachers start higher and I also am doing an elective so I would say NM has great pay!
Connecticut is good. The average pay is high enough to be comfortable as a single adult or two income household, and the benefits tend to be good. Also, plenty of things to do despite the Hollywood stereotype of the state being nothing but wealthy suburbanites. We also invest in the schools heavily, though YMMV depending on the town.
Honestly, New England in general is great to teach in -- except RI, they have a habit of hitting the reset button on the whole DOE often.
Ditto this! I’m making 88k with a masters in my 10th year of teaching in CT. I’m almost done with my +30, so next year (fall 2025) I’ll be making $105k. Strong union. Never buy my own teaching supplies. Can’t complain 🤷🏻♀️
does anyone teach in Alaska and enjoy it? would love to hear your experiences so i can decide if i want to run away there.
I am not a teacher there, but my mother used to work for Anchorage School District. It’s a shit show, but it’s the biggest school district in the state.
I had a friend who was a teacher and her first year, 40% of her building got pink slips not to return and then they couldn’t hire anyone to replace those people.
Teaching in a village isn’t always safe, especially if you’re a woman.
Palmer, Fairbanks or Juneau might be good options for teaching.
I was just in Juneau and loved it. The main thing worrying me is the “small town” politics that the district might have which could be a problem and the winters. I’m not sure I can go to work when it is -30😭
The northeast. Starting salary in the high 50s
Maryland is pretty good. Came in as conditional making 60k my first year. Students and parents are a different story.
Where in MD? HoCo 👋
This isn't a state, but it is a possibility for every certificate teacher. I have taught in WA, CA, and the country of Trinidad. International School Port of Spain in Trinidada was my best experience. In Trinidad I had class sizes of 23, two hrs minimum of planning time a day, I could teach what I thought would help kids learn (and it worked!), time to plan lessons across subject areas, and had a HUGE budget. I taught 6th grade humanities, and I had kids jump multiple grade levels in their reading because I could teach recent books. I had a mom cry at conferences because she never thought she'd see her son finish a book, and he did in my class. I had a student who was sped who jumped 5 grade levels on his reading scores. I know doing international schools is not for everyone, but it was BY FAR by best teaching experience.
Blue states > red states
idk but definitely not nevada 😂
Or Arizona
Florida..........SARCASM.
Thanks for asking this. Wife and I are both FL teachers and looking for our next destination. Nice thing about teaching is your options…. But feel like there’s too many lol. Thanks to all the commenters
Moved from Florida to Minnesota. Literally doubled my net wages. Along with all the other crazy things that don’t happen here.
Agreed with above- grew up in Nebraska but moved to Washington state before I got my first teaching job. I make a great living- over 100,000 a year and I teach in a smaller district even.
Following. Very interested in where to start a third career as a teacher.
does anyone know if Michigan is a decent place to teach in?
I teach in MI. It really depends on the district. I teach in the downriver area. I'm going to make over 100k in 4 years. The COL is super low compared to the other places listed. Usually, there is strong support for education, and the union is different in every district. The one I'm currently in is stronger than the other districts I've been in.
Inebriated. Because I think being high is frowned upon
State of Euphoria (first 8 days). State of confusion (next 30 years)
Not Colorado. Everything is terrible here, you wouldn't like it. Stay away, stay far away.
Washington. They have a statewide standard that is high. Outside of city centers the pay is fantastic in comparison to the cost of living. I’m from Oregon. I may be jealous.
Washington, California, Mass.
Honestly, just throw a dart at any blue state.
Currently teach in TX in a very large district. Pay is decent. I’m in my 9th year and making just shy of 80K without a masters. However Hot Wheels Greg is wanting to completely F that up for all of us. This year, and in my last 8 years, funding has been phenomenal. I mean I’ve been pretty damn spoiled and could get just about anything I wanted for my classroom on the districts dime without question. However starting this coming school year budget cuts will hit us hard. Hot wheels is throwing a tantrum and is fucking us all over. So yeah don’t teach here until the crip is out of office.
I'm so glad I just became a Texas teacher! lmao just in time for everything to go to shit
I know the popular thing to say is "blue states" but I'm in Indiana and generally enjoy it. Pay is eh but cost of living is low and the state is generally less overbearing in what must be taught (though that can and has changed)
New York is the best state. I thought it was a consensus that they have the #1 education in America?
I'm surprised no one saying New York.
That’s Massachusetts by all metrics I have seen though US News just declared Florida #1 so metrics be damned
Me too. Are you teaching upstate or in the city?
New York is a terrible state to work in.
Starting salary upstate is often in the 30-40k range
Self contained teachers often do not get any planning periods at all. I'm with my kids every minute of the 7 hour day including their lunch.
No pay increase for masters often. Many schools don't transfer steps.
Maybe it's better in the city but upstate is a terrible place to teach.
Ohio. Strong union, no master’s required, good pay compared to other states.
Washington State is pretty rad for teaching/education, and the salaries are ¿4th? highest in the nation.
Only knock is it’s getting more expensive to live here. Politically speaking, some people find it too far left leaning to want to work in public Ed here. But the latter is personal biases, and also very dependent on WHERE in the state you work.
In Ohio we have individual school districts. The county I live in has 14 public school districts. In Pennsylvania they have county schools. When we need additional funding school boards put up levies. Personally I enjoy teaching in Ohio. Our unions are strong, thus our pay and benefits are very good. Pay is not uniform across the state. Wealthier districts pay their teachers better on average.
County schools in Pennsylvania? Not that I am familiar with. Maybe it is a western PA thing, but I have lived and worked in Eastern and Central PA, and there have always been individual school districts. I believe there are something like 500 school districts in Pennsylvania.
School districts in PA are independent districts not affiliated with the county government. There maybe some rural districts that overlap most of a county but there still separate. There was 10 districts in Butler county where I grew up, probably 3 times the amount in Allegheny County.
Anyone saying NY doesn't live upstate. I can tell you that. Starting salaries often in the 30-40k range. 10 years in only 41k. No planning periods at all. Many colleagues unlicenced. No duty free lunch.
NY is a terrible state to teach in. Maybe the city is better. But not upstate
Having taught in Massachusetts, California, and New York - Massachusetts by an ultimate landslide. The education is excellent. The COL isn't as high as NY or California and the access to resources, even in struggling districts, just can not compare to what the other two states have to offer. If I could go back, I would, but New York is and always has been home.
Blue states. Teachers in Spokane, WA make double what teachers just a few miles away in northern Idaho make. One is a union state and one is a “right-to-work” state.
Texas.
Jk, carry on.
Texas has good pay and low cost of living. I’d choose Texas over most other states.
I make $96k (year 12, masters degree, got a performance bonus) and bought a home for $320k within the last few years in a swanky downtown loft. I’m pretty damn happy.
Texas. Haha … I’m so kidding. 😂
I fully believe it’ll be great if we can just get hot wheels out of office! Even if that means we elect the Buccees mascot. Anybody but old (crippled) greg
Also here in TX and the only benefit is that it’s not Oklahoma
Oklahoma for the 10 biggest reasons. /s
It would really depend on what your priorities are when it comes to teaching. Is it money, freedom, environment, the people, the ranking of the school?
I teach in one of those orange states, Montana, yes we have a decent union, however in a neighboring city to mine, there is a disclaimer that you sign as a first year teacher that you will be making poverty wages because the COL is so high. So also look at COL before jumping to an orange state.
Not AZ. (AZ teacher chiming in here...)
Ontario!
You can make bank in Alaska
Ohio has a strong private STRS that the state hasn’t been able to get their hands on (they’re trying). So it’s well funded and provides a very good retirement.
At 35 years teacher or 65 years old with 30+ years - your payout is 82% of your highest 3 grossing years. If you’re in the right district that can be as high as $110,000 for your high gross - and that’s just base teacher pay. Department chair? Coaching? Club advisor? You get 82% of that in perpetuity assuming you’re doing it in your highest grossing 3 years. (Most retired teachers will take home more retired than when they were working due to not paying their 14% until STRS anymore).
I’ll likely retire taking home over $100,000 annually for the rest of my life. Not a bad system. And reasonable work length (seeing someone say their state requires 43 years of teaching?!).
Now that’s in the high paying areas. There’s a lot of Ohio that doesn’t pay that well. But around most of the major cities - your 1st and 2nd ring suburbs are paying very well. And that’s where most of the schools are. But even the “not well paying districts” have salaries schedules nearing $80,000 with masters plus 15. Not great, but not a joke like some of the $60,000 scales I’ve seen.
ODE is generally competent. The state is fairly conservative, but not so conservative you’re required to teach the Bible. But not so liberal you’re required to have litter boxes in school bathrooms in case someone identifies as a cat.
Generally nice folks, cost of living is reasonable in most areas (some of the Columbus, Cincy, Cleveland suburbs can be really expensive; but other suburbs of those cities are cheap; 4 bed, 2 bath, nice school district $300,000 with 4,000 annual property taxes).
I scrolled halfway and hadnt seen Ohio yet. It has it flaws, like every state, but it’s been a great place to teach compared to Kentucky my first two years.
New York State tends to offer higher salaries and has a variety of urban and rural teaching opportunities.
NYS, if you are in the right area. Rural communities don’t pay, and often times expect additional services at a HUGE discount.
Definitely the north east. They are union heavy and their "cradle to college" education as exemplified in Massachusetts prioritizes certified teachers
Shocked that Massachusetts isn’t at the top. Living in NH and teaching in MA is the best gig in the country.
It's all about your building and nothing about your state. I work in New Mexico which is last for education but my boss and community are supportive so I enjoy the job. I have also worked in illinois which is much higher ranked but my principal was awful so the job is awful.
I like working in CA. Strong union, no 10 commandments, I can teach about racism, etc. I am personally paid a fair wage & wish more teachers were too.
We’ve beaten this topic to death
States with low cost of livings, and low home and rent prices are going to be some of your best as far as being able to afford to live on your salary. I’ve seen on here where people will complain about their salaries, and when they list them they are way higher than mine, but I can live comfortably on mine still where they say they can not. Big cities are always going to cost you more too, over rural areas.
Illinois is pretty good. Western suburbs and northern suburbs of Chicago pay extremely well. It’s possible to make 150K+ if you’re in the right district. COL is relatively cheap compared to cities like NY, LA, SF, BOS, Miami. IL has strong unions and they have the right to collectively bargain when contracts need to be renewed. IL is solidly a blue state and generally supportive of teachers and education. You’ll have access to Chicago, which is a world class city, perhaps the best summer city in the US. Flying non-stop to just about anywhere is possible out of O’Hare and since IL is centrally located the longest flight you’ll take to get anywhere in the lower 48 is 4 hours. Most destinations are 2-3 hour flights. NY and BOS are 2 hour flights. Denver is 2 hours 20 minutes. Maui is an 8 hour direct flight. WI and MI are fairly easy drives and each of those states offer many wonderful things like beach towns on Lake Michigan, hiking and biking trails, smaller inland lakes with boating and lake houses, resorts, incredible golf. Milwaukee is an hour 20 minutes away and one of the most underrated cities in the US.
Downsides of IL are new teachers need to work at least 43 years to qualify for a full state pension. You don’t have to work that long to qualify for your pension but every year short of 43 will reduce your pension benefits by x percent. I’m not positive what the percentage is. Taxes tend to be high, especially housing taxes, which, of course, fund education. You won’t see the sun much during winter, just grey overcast skies. It can be brutally cold, especially in recent years due to the polar vortex. We get less snow than we did 20 years ago. Traffic can be pretty awful.