Before you begin looking for a part-time or weekend job, consider the salary you’re making right now. Is it appropriate to your area, to the job you do, and comparable with what others in your position are making? It’s time to take a good, hard look at teacher salaries.
According to Payscale.com, the following were median salaries for teachers in 2011:
- Elementary School Teacher: $38,584
- High School Teacher: $41,286
- Middle School Teacher: $41,452
- Special Education in Preschool or Kindergarten: $40,421
- Secondary School: $41,621
- Special Education in Secondary School: $43,872
- Special Education in Middle School: $42,499
The higher the degree you hold, the more you should expect to make in exchange for that expertise. The amount of time you have worked there also plays into the amount of your paycheck. School administration makes more than teachers as a rule, but that might not be the case in your particular school district.
What if you don’t feel you are making enough?
First, remember that these numbers are the median for all across the United States. Teachers in California and New York are paid the highest, and the median salary includes both veteran teachers and first-year hires. Look into the median salaries for your state and then look at the amount of education you have, as well as the number of years you have worked for the school system. That will help you determine where your income falls on the salary scale.
If you don’t think you are making enough, approach the powers-that-be with a request for a raise. Many public school systems might not have the ability to give it to you, thanks to set budgets, but it never hurts to look into the situation and find out.
When you do approach your school about a raise, come prepared with a list of the reasons why. Simply saying you need more money won’t be enough! Have a list of things you do for the school, the things you have spent your own time and money on, the situations you have improved, and details of your student’s scores. Show them why you are an asset!
If your school system simply does not have the money to pay you what you feel you are worth, consider looking elsewhere for employment. You deserve to be fairly compensated for the work you do!
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Very interesting article. Also very appropriate for this site, because I think when you compare payment of teachers vs other careers you have to think about payment over the summer. Of course how much teachers get paid over the summer varies quite a bit. If you want to fund an opportunity over the summer that allows you to make a lot of money, I would check out http://www.SummerWorkation.org the site is awesome and free for teachers. Essentially it lists thousands of summer jobs for teachers.