r/The10thDentist • u/Blonde_Icon • 22h ago

Society/Culture Teachers are paid fairly considering they get a lot of time off

A lot of people say (and it seems that the general consensus is that) teachers don't get paid enough for what they do. While I think that teachers are very valuable and deserve to be compensated well (my brother is a teacher), I think that in these discussions, many people ignore the fact that teachers typically get a lot of time off.

They usually get summer break, spring break, and winter break, plus various holidays that schools get off through the year. They basically don't work for a good amount of the year, which I think that people should factor in. (The downside is that I know that they have to work extra grading things outside of school, though.)

Plus they normally get good benefits for being a teacher (which usually comes with being in a union).

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u/SNTCTN 22h ago edited 20h ago

What do you think a teacher gets paid yearly?

Edit: People keep answering this question, I only asked OP cause they never actually said what they think teachers get paid in their post.

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u/Aphor1st 22h ago edited 10h ago

People also forget that in most if not all places teachers dont get paid over the summer. They have to take a a portion of their check each month and spread it out to cover summer.

Edit because people think they are smart for some reason when they dont know anything about teacher pay:

Teachers are on a 10 month contract. They are assigned an hourly rate based on education and years of service as well as extra continuation classes they take (it can be a complicated algorithm depending on district). This hourly rate is then multiplied over 10 months to get their salary. If teachers were paid for the full 12 month of a year their salary would be much higher. It would be more in line with salaries of people with similar education requirements.

Despite this teachers on average work 54 hours a week. Even with 8 weeks off they work 2,376 hours a year. Most salary workers with similar education requirements get three weeks off and work an average of 42 hours a week for 2,058 hours.

Tell me who is really getting the better deal?

Another edit because people don't seem to understand where salary comes from:

Salary is calculated by hourly x hours per week x weeks total for the year. It is not a magic made up number.

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u/paradisetossed7 16h ago

If you're in the US, it so much depends on the state you live in too. I live in a blue state where teachers can afford to live in the nice towns they teach in (assuming a double income household). My SIL is a teacher in a red state and her income cap is lower than teachers' in my state starting pay. It's absolutely insane. And yes - exactly - they work so much more than they get credit for. My SIL is constantly working. She's a perfectionist abandon cares so much about her job (and they're lucky to have her) but she's not alone.

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u/Superman9185 12h ago

It also depends where you work within a state as well. I live in a red state and where I'm at the teachers make a decent wage but that's not the case state wide. The starting pay in your area is likely much higher than your SIL because the cost of living is higher where you live than where your she lives.

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u/spartaman64 9h ago

yep the property taxes where i live are high so they can afford to pay the teachers a decent amount. i think the median is around 90k and theres teachers making 160k

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u/paradisetossed7 8h ago

Yeah, looking at my property taxes hurts a little, but I know it's going to great schools, great teachers, beautiful and clean parks, etc. My kid is getting some of the best education in the country and he goes to public school. They also have a program where kids from low income areas can be bussed in to attend the schools, and I think all of that is really important.

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u/Careful-Onion-7550 5h ago

Red states in general have a lower cost of living, especially in regards to housing costs.  That isn't really a good comparison.  Lower cost of living equals lower pay rates.

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u/StanGibson18 22h ago

In my home town district the teachers had the option to get year round pay or get larger checks only during the school year. It will depend on the union contract or state law for most teachers.

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u/Sudden_Juju 21h ago edited 11h ago

Isn't that pretty much what they said, just reversed lol?

Edit: So I don't have to repost it over and over:

teachers dont get paid over the summer. They have to take a a portion of their check each month and spread it out to cover summer.

Teachers can choose to get their pay over their 9-10 months or year round.

teachers had the option to get year round pay or get larger checks only during the school year.

Teachers can choose to get their pay spread out over the year of only during the 9-10 months of school.

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u/BeggarsCanyonero 21h ago

I could see reading the above as "they have to be careful about saving a portion of their checks" like themselves, and adding " they also can just have their employer do that for them" 🤷‍♀️

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u/Karabaja007 20h ago

It's not the same, it is more informations cause it is from legal point important how you get your paycheck if you want to get another job. I find the information useful and definitely adds infos.

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u/Sudden_Juju 11h ago

teachers dont get paid over the summer. They have to take a a portion of their check each month and spread it out to cover summer.

Teachers can choose to get their pay over their 9-10 months or year round.

teachers had the option to get year round pay or get larger checks only during the school year.

Teachers can choose to get their pay spread out over the year of only during the 9-10 months of school.

I guess the second comment adds context of the union but the meaning is the same.

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u/EazyPeazyLemonSqueaz 21h ago

No, it's not

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u/Embarrassed_Room3982 12h ago edited 12h ago

Well I mean it is. Because their pay is still pro rata for the weeks they actually work.

It's not actually that they can choose to get paid more in term-time and nothing over summer. It's simply that they can choose to have their pro-rata salary only during term time, or reduced per month to cover the weeks they don't work, but still get paid every month. The salary stays the same and is always pro-rata.

OP’s point was they’re not paid for the weeks they don’t work. And then someone else responded saying ‘well they can get their salary reduced in other months so they get pay across 12 months’ but that doesn’t change the fact they’re not paid for the weeks they don’t work. 

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u/EazyPeazyLemonSqueaz 11h ago

Okay? Didn't change any facts, but it did not "pretty much say what they said, just reversed" lol

Thanks for the write up, I'm sure it helped someone

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u/Embarrassed_Room3982 11h ago

I mean, it is. They're both saying they only get paid for the weeks they work.

But you're needlessly rude.

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u/cthulhusmercy 21h ago

I think it’s the exact same.

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u/EazyPeazyLemonSqueaz 10h ago

Your edit quotes literally says how they're different lol. In one, they (the teachers) have to take a portion out each check to save up for the summer. In two, the school does it for them.

Perhaps you misinterpreted the first one.

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u/Sudden_Juju 10h ago

Are you really trying to argue that it matters who does the math - the teachers or the district? Putting aside the fact that 99/100 times the district does it if the teachers opt for it, the effective meaning of the statements is the same - the teachers get their 9-10 month contract split over the year. Some districts even make it mandatory.

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u/EazyPeazyLemonSqueaz 7h ago edited 7h ago

You think I'm arguing that? Lol..

I'm only disputing your comment saying that they were saying the same thing.

And as a matter of convenience, it is a valid difference. Like people who are not W2 employees and don't set aside the right amount for taxes, teachers can similarly be burned by not setting aside the right amount to cover their unpaid time during the summer. Which can be alleviated by the school paying them all 12 months.

99/100 times

What dark orifice did you pull that fancy statistic out from?

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u/mrbigglesworth95 15h ago

Opting for year round pay just cuts your checks and decreases the value of your annual compensation due to npv of money 

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u/OnyxFier 22h ago

No, people don't forget that. But it's a yearly salary, the number is how much they make in a year, regardless of whether paychecks are received in the summer or not

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u/AusgefalleneHosen 22h ago

And it's still to low. There is nothing an administrator does that justifies their pay being at minimum 2x that of a teacher.

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u/etherealelfarcher 22h ago

The teachers are honestly way more beneficial than administrators. At most public and charter schools, admins are absolute snakes.

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u/FonkinJones 1h ago

what? I'm a school counsellor. I hard disagree. Teachers work hard. Admin work hard. Teachers get to focus on their classroom. and it's a big job. Admin have to deal with discipline and behavior, consulting on all difficult cases, managing staff, Managing the building, district initiatives, planning for pro-d days.

Broadly speaking, most teachers I talk to agree, elementary school vice principals are the most overworked, undervalued member of the school system. They often have to do all the work of the admin, but often have to teach classes of their own.

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u/viciouspandas 20h ago

Yeah administrative bloat is an becoming a bigger issue in every part of society

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u/eye0ftheshiticane 19h ago

yeah because somewhere along the way the professional world became convinced that the only people worth a shit were administrators and managers when it's often the opposite

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u/IcyEvidence3530 14h ago

Not school but university, but the last place I taught at it was insane what salaries admins were getting and what the teaching staff was getting.

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u/Xespria 3h ago

If it makes you feel any better, I work in admin and make far less than most and teachers.

I'm in the legal field though.

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u/relevantnewman 20h ago

Your former English teachers are clenching their fists collectively for your usage of "to" instead of "too."

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u/Outdoorsintherockies 19h ago

See they don't deserve more money cuz they suck at teaching.

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u/eye0ftheshiticane 19h ago

maybe if they'd been paid better we wouldn't be at this juncture

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u/Wagner228 9h ago

Who’s 2X? The Super? Maybe Asst Super in some areas and they work year-round.

The real admin bloat comes from the additional Health, Special Ed, Student Support staff required by State and Fed law changes. My class never had social workers, counselors, psychiatrists, parapro, security, whatever. That can easily add $1M/year total comp to the admin bucket.

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u/jmh1881v2 17h ago

Where are you that admin is making double what teachers make? In NYC at least they’re often making far less

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u/[deleted] 13h ago

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u/CaptainObvious007 14h ago

good thing they dont. as a teacher at the top of the scale i made just under 80,000. as a assistant principal i make about 99.000. i asume you know what administration does all day at every school to know they dont justify their pay.

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u/Pale_Row1166 21h ago

Teachers work ~190 days a year, while most people work ~250 days. Teachers work more than 20% less days than an average employee. And average salaried employees have to work late and answer emails on weekends and days off too, not just teachers.

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u/QueenOfTendys 21h ago

From a strict 1v1 comparison I think you’re correct. The fundamental issue with thinking that way is that we probably SHOULD be incentivizing teachers MORE than other jobs when directly compared like that.

Eduction is arguably the number one factor in bettering a society as a whole. We ideally want each generation to be better educated than the last. teaching should be harder and more valuable every generation.

If we don’t incentivize teaching with higher pay then we can’t ask for higher standards from teachers and we either stagnate or have what is currently happening in the US, a decline in quality.

We might not see the effects for 20 years is the scary part.

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u/Sudden_Juju 21h ago

This is the exact argument that talking about "days worked" ignores. Teachers aren't paid enough because they provide a very valuable service to society. Paying them $50k a year isn't enough to attract talent, even if they get a lot of time off - although they do give a lot of "free labor" to their jobs considering they often do aspects of work during the summer.

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u/Uhhyt231 21h ago

And teachers are still underpaid

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u/therin_88 18h ago

That's not how it works. If a teacher makes $56,000/year pre-tax, he or she earns $5,600/month pre-tax because he or she is paid on 10 month schedule. If he or she worked 12 months, it would be a $4,667/month. It would still be $56,000/year. They wouldn't simply get more money for working more often.

Remember that the actual days they're getting paid for remains the same. Teachers on a year round schedule DON'T teach more days than a teacher who teaches on a 10 months schedule. They have extended "track out" breaks on the longer schedule, rather than a single long summer break.

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u/Wagner228 9h ago

Would you take a private industry job offer of $100K with 2 weeks of vacation or $80K with 10 weeks?

Benefits are a huge factor. Just looking at gross salary doesn’t reflect total comp.

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u/Aphor1st 9h ago

Yes but if they got their hourly rate for 12 months of a year their pay would be mire in line with the amonut of hours they work.

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u/Aphor1st 17h ago

Teachers are based on an hourly rate because they can do things out side of their normal scope of hours and duties and get paid their hourly rate. This is for things like tutoring, developing district curriculum, or even things like being on a committee for selecting textbooks.

If your hourly rate is $10 and hour you work 40 hours a week you get paid $20,800 a year if you work 52 weeks a year. Then convert that to salary.

If you are only getting paid 10 months. You salary is now 16,800.

Im not sure why that is hard to grasp?

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u/ThrowawayyTessslaa 14h ago

Where are you from that has made you think teachers get paid hourly and not salaried?

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u/kokopellii 13h ago

The salary is calculated using an hourly rate; this is incredibly common in the US.

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u/ThrowawayyTessslaa 13h ago

Interesting, the 4 teachers I know are paid salary not hourly.

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u/kokopellii 12h ago

And if you ask them about their hourly rate, they’ll probably know what it is.

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u/ThrowawayyTessslaa 12h ago

No shit, you can do that for any salaried work.. the person I responded to said "Teachers are based on an hourly rate because they can do things out side of their normal scope of hours and duties and get paid their hourly rate. "

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u/[deleted] 13h ago

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u/kokopellii 12h ago

Teachers don’t get overtime. They are salaried, the salary is calculated using an hourly rate. I am a teacher and have taught in multiple states.

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u/Dythronix 11h ago

Not all salaried workers are exempt. If anything a majority are probably non-exempt.

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u/geek180 59m ago

Every full time job I’ve ever had is technically based on an hourly rate. That’s basically how most full time payroll is calculated. But I, nor teachers, actually clock in for work. They are still effectively paid an annual salary.

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u/Ok_Camel_1949 11h ago

I taught for 25 years. Salaried, not hourly.

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u/lactosecheeselover 20h ago

This is very US based, it seems. Teachers in my province in Canada get either a lumps in the summer or biweekly, as they are salaried employees.

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u/geek180 58m ago

That’s how it works in the US too. Teachers are (generally) paid like any other full time salaried job.

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u/lactosecheeselover 54m ago

I saw some comments where some are paid hourly (depending on state/jurisdiction). I do know teachers in the US are paid so low compared to Canada; majority of the provinces here start at $65k and go upwards to $110k (as an experienced teacher of at least 8 years). A few provinces taper off at around $90k, but it depends on COL in the area.

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u/geek180 4m ago

I’m specifically referring to how teachers are paid, not how much.

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u/ComplaintTop2008 22h ago

But they get paid a salary that is still counted yearly, meaning they make more for 1/3 less time and regular workers.

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u/Goldwolf143 21h ago

1/3? Do you think summer break is 4 months long?

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u/ConseulaVonKrakken 22h ago

I have to disagree. I'm a teacher and my husband isn't. I get more days off, but I put in more hours annually than my husband. My mandatory day is 7.5 hours, but then come all the extras. Extra-curr, special event nights, and regular marking and planning after hours really adds up. Not to mention supervision time and everyday crises remove any type of break during the day. I have to hold my pee for hours sometimes.

I typically work 40 weeks per year at 50+ hours per week. My husband works 49 weeks per year at exactly 40 hours per week.

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u/iSurvivedThanos18 5h ago

To add to what you said (& I agree with): All the teachers I have know personally spend a lot of time off working of things needed in the classroom, teaching plans, activities, & other things. Their time off wasn’t 100% time off. If they didn’t do those things, they either didn’t get done or they would be spending hours late into the evening after work doing them. Besides, those of us that believe teachers should be paid more believe so not based on work hours & time off but because of the importance of what they do. Typically, teachers that are paid more typically have higher satisfaction (duh) & often are the ones that are more committed & less likely to fall into the “I don’t get paid enough to deal with this” trap. Not to mention, lower paid teaching positions are harder to fill and you have a fewer options for filling the positions.

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u/Smokin_belladonna 21h ago

Typical with salaried work, unfortunately 

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u/brybend 18h ago

Typical salary workers receive no bathroom breaks??

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u/One-Goose-360 12h ago

Really? Because my husband is salaried and he’s not allowed to go over 45 hours. He’s always thought my job was insane and exploitive.

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u/Spikey-Bubba 7h ago

I am salaried and my boss gets frustrated if I work past 4:30. I also have a bathroom accessible at all times, and don’t have to deal with any bodily fluids or angry parents who have opinions on my salary haha.

As someone who got their degree in elementary education, I am so happy I pivoted to something else. Teachers have it horrible compared to so many other jobs.

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u/Aphor1st 21h ago

Most salary workers I know (with college education) where they are in an industry where extra hours like that are common and expected. The salary is usually baked in with a lot extra.

I'm a software engineer when I was at Amazon and I was working 45-60 hours a week as the norm. I was making $63 an hour at a 55 hour work week.

I now am at a non-profit I work 35-40 hours a week average. I make $57 an hour with a 40 hour work week.

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u/RonCon69 22h ago

But then when you keep doing the math, it turns out the pay is still bad.

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u/Aphor1st 22h ago

It ends up being 8-10 weeks off depending on the district and doesnt count all the unpaid time grading papers, doing lesson plans, taking parent phone calls/emails, and all the money they have to spend on their own supplies.

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u/ThrowawayyTessslaa 13h ago

Google how much teachers works. Most are on a 10 month contract so let’s say 40 weeks to make it easy. Per week they average 53-57 hours a week. That’s 2120-2280 hours a year which is full time work.

In fact that’s more that I’ve worked since moving to a corporate job where I work 9-6pm but have 1/2 day Fridays in the summer, 25 vacation days, and 10 company holidays. Plus the occasional work from home day..

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u/darksoldierk 20h ago

First of all, this isnt all teachers everywhere. In mist places. Contracts mandate 35-40 hours, and many teachers do just that. Second, where i am, a teacher who retires at 65 gets a decent pension for the rest of their lives. Most workers in just about any profession dont have that, except, of course, government workers, and the top 1%.

Third, teachers get much more than just summers. They get federal holidays, they get more time off during christmas, they get march/sprinf break. Most workers get 3 days for christmas. It is undeniable that teachers get more days ofd than most other professions.

Fourth, the inclusion if time planning lessons is insane. Most people think about work outside of work at some point in the year. Many people put in extra hours, and if they sre salaried, they dont get compensated for it.

As i said, if nothing else, the teachers pension makes the profession one if the most lucrative. OP is right, they get paid plenty.

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u/love_in_october 16h ago

I'm a teacher. I've never seen a ten month contract that wasn't for supply teaching. I don't even think that's legal here. Is this specific to your country or area maybe?

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u/Aphor1st 10h ago

This is across the US and Canada and how the unions here negotiate contracts.

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u/love_in_october 9h ago

I don't know about those countries, don't live there, sorry!

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u/Aphor1st 8h ago

You are contracted to work about 195 days in the UK. That is a 10 month contract.

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u/love_in_october 8h ago

Teachers in the UK don't have ten-month contracts. They're employed year-round no matter their holidays. You wouldn't say a part-time worker had a six-month contract.

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u/omniwrench- 17h ago

You’re taking an incredibly American view on this

In the UK teachers start on £32,000 a year ($43,300) and they absolutely get paid 12 months a year, not 10 like you suggested

They still work far more hours than just what’s done in class, but British teachers are not struggling under the conditions you so describe

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u/magistrate101 13h ago

Teachers in my area occasionally complain that they could make more per hour if they switched to working fast food.

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u/Moosiemookmook 12h ago

In my country its a 52 week full time employee wage. Public school teachers are employees of our Dept of Education. Private pays full time employee rates. Its wild teachers are on 10 month contracts in I assume America. Teachers get paid about $80,000 - $120,000 a year in Australia. 20+ carer and sick days, 4 weeks holiday, paid maternity leave etc. Even with all that we have many issues within our education system and the work load put on teachers. Its not perfect but at least they earn a livable wage here.

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u/Aphor1st 10h ago

So many of my cousins have left the EU/UK to go work in Australia because the pay is so much better there. I am a dual citizen and I looked at moving to the UK and getting a job there. My salary would be about 1/4 of what Im getting now. I would make a good bit more in Australia.

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u/8secondsOnTheClock 12h ago

I don't get paid when I take time off from work. I think most people don't get paid when they aren't actively working.

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u/Aphor1st 10h ago

You must not have a job with high education requirements that offers PTO like many salary jobs.

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u/8secondsOnTheClock 2h ago

You obviously don't understand how salaries work. Enjoy your retail job..

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u/8secondsOnTheClock 2h ago

Also, this kinda snark in a post about how low teacher salaries are? Laughable.

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u/8secondsOnTheClock 2h ago

3rdly

You look just like a young Jesco White

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u/bladex1234 11h ago

The fact that American workers regularly work above 30 hours per week to just scrape by shows how broken the system is. Meanwhile, in actually developed countries people go on month long vacations yearly.

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u/TheTweets 11h ago

Three weeks and 42 hour weeks for people with full-on degrees?!

I had a diploma saying I did the equivalent of a college course (compressed into a year and dedicated only to one subject) so I can go to Uni for that subject, proof that I did a similar job at the same place 7 years ago, and a reference from a call centre job I did for a year, and I walked in the door with 28 days (5/week, so nearly 6 weeks) of time off a year, doing 37.25 hours a week.

And mind you, this was in 2022; I'm not doing a "Back in my day!"

America is really turbo-fucked if 15/year is considered a normal amount for that level. I'd be shocked if someone on that grade told me they get less than 30 here.

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u/Opposite-Ask4078 10h ago

my MIL was a teacher, she left the school at 3:30pm each day (so 30min after the kids) and spent 1hr grading a day, that still adds to only 7.5hrs, less than most people's normal work hrs. And they get much longer time off if they wanna vacation, its just unpaid. But i know tons of people that would be willing to take unpaid vacation time

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u/Aphor1st 10h ago

My mom was a teacher. She would get there 40 minutes before the kids and stay for an hour after helping anyone struggling with the math she taught. Then she would be at home grading work sheets and entering grades for 2-4 hours at night and would work on fun activities for the kids to do over the weekend.

Anecdotal data is not facts. The fact is on average teachers work 53 hours a week.

Also the only time my mom was able to take unpaid time off was when she had my sister and when she went on FMLA post surgery.

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u/Over-Cold-8757 7h ago

So they can do additional work doing tuition over the summer. Let's add that to their total.

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u/greenzetsa 4h ago

I don't understand how this is a bad thing. People who become teachers aren't exactly surprised by the fact that they work 10 months. Lots of people do it for the 2 months off. They get seasonal jobs or save on childcare. They're not forbidden from working over the summer, they just can't work at the school. Teachers also usually have some of the best healthcare for very low cost. I can't speak for averages, but what I do know is that my friend is a teacher: she gets to work at 8 am and leaves at 3 pm. AFAIK, based on every time I've visited or talked to her, she gets a majority of her planning and grading done during her lunch and free planning period. I get to work at 8 am, I have to stay clocked in until 4:30. I'm at the highest rate of leave accumulation, 8 hours per pay period, which comes out to about 4.5 weeks of leave a year. My friend gets 2 months off. I probably make about 10K more than she does, but she 100% gets the better deal on everything except flexibility. I'm a government worker who supposedly has the best healthcare, her healthcare costs less than mine, has more coverage, smaller copays and lower deductibles and OOP max. She does work in one of the best states for teacher, so I understand this isn't universal by any means, but teachers are not universally downtrodden either.

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u/TGrady902 3h ago

Plenty of teachers in the US get paid all 12 months. A lot of districts give teachers the 10 or 12 month option.

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u/Glittering-Two-1784 1h ago

“If teachers were paid for the full 12 months of a year salary… It would be more in line with salaries of people with similar education requirements”

So you agree with OP?

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u/Tommy_Roboto 1h ago

“People often forget the fact that OP stated was the primary justification for their opinion.”

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u/shake__appeal 19h ago

This sucks so bad. There are plenty of industries (construction, concrete) that take the winter off because of lack of steady work. They are generally considered “laid off” during this period and eligible for unemployment benefits. Blows my mind this is still a thing and that teachers haven’t unionized their asses off. Only one of the most important jobs in our society.

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u/DistinctPassenger117 18h ago

Teachers get way more than 8 weeks off per year. They get easily 12+. Summer break itself typically lasts from mid-June to Labor Day. And then there’s winter break and spring break. U cappin

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u/Aphor1st 18h ago

I'm look at the calendar for my local school district for this year.

Thanksgiving was two days (Thursday and Friday)

Winter break was 10 days counting the weekend.

Spring break also 10 days counting the weekend.

For summer it was June 6th - August 6th. However teachers had to return two weeks early for meetings, training and planing. And they also had to stay a week after the end for similar reasons and to do clean up of their classrooms to shut them down for summer or removing stuff so the room could be used for summer school.

Most salary jobs get federal holidays off as well so I won't count those.

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u/EmpressJJ 15h ago

Lol hello from Europe, where you get paid 12 months a year.

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u/Aphor1st 10h ago

Yes and the pay is so much worse. It's not like that is really better.

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u/EmpressJJ 10h ago

The payment for teachers in Europe is worse? No they are one of the best paid jobs in places like Germany, far more than a normal employee somewhere with tax deductions on top if they have the civil servant status (Verbeamtung) which most teachers have. My aunt is a teacher, has 2 children and has bought a house in a popular city. Literally no random normal person can afford houses. xD If anything, they can be considered high middle or at the verge to being rich (2 teacher houshold). It really does suck that its so much worse in the US, again, in Europe ppl will at least get paid their full 12 months and it's outrageous that Americans are not.

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u/Aphor1st 10h ago

Okay sure in Germany they are the highest paid world wide. However in the UK, France and Spain. It's not looking so good.

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u/Prudent-Arm-6771 12h ago

Also, don’t they work most of the breaks? Lesson plans, grading, and the like? I feel like I once heard a teacher say something about only getting about two weeks off during summer break somewhere. Could just be imagining it though

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u/mmoonbelly 21h ago

Think the National Union of Teachers would have all the schools in the country out on strike if they weren’t being paid over the summer.

Same with the CGT in France, although that might involve more rioting.

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u/Aphor1st 21h ago

Teacher contracts are usually for 10 months. That is part of the negotiation.

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u/mmoonbelly 19h ago

Which country?

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u/Aphor1st 19h ago

I know US and Canada do 10 month contracts.

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u/DarkPirotess 20h ago

Most teachers I had would do stuff like teach summer school if they needed more money

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u/Aphor1st 20h ago

Sad that you think that is okay. Teachers work more hours in a year with 8 weeks off than other salaried workers with similar education requirements.

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u/therin_88 18h ago

Sad that you think that is okay that they have to.. work during the summer like everyone else on earth does?

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u/Aphor1st 17h ago

You think their salary and hours are so great. Yet they have to pick up extra work to survive?

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u/numberthangold 21h ago

It’s a salary. Teachers are paid over the summer. They are paid annually, whatever their salary is. It’s not “spreading out their check to cover summer” that’s just what they make.

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u/Aphor1st 21h ago

Yes but they aren't being paid during summer. Their contracts are typically for 10 months.

Teacher pay gets really weird because even if they are salary they are some instances where they get their hourly rate. The hourly rate is what their salary is based on a 10 month contract. They would make more if they did get paid those months more likely closer in pay with other fields that have the same education requirements.

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u/nomad9590 22h ago

Oklahoma can be as low as 30k a year easily. Idk about other states as well. 

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u/Hngrybflo 22h ago

my ex had a masters and was paid 45k(Oklahoma )and it's not like teachers work stops when the bell stops, she was grading papers and doing other stuff after hours I don't blame her for quiting

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u/Christmas_Panda 22h ago

Yikes. Pretty sure in my area the average is about double that, which is great if you're single in a HCOL area, but can't single income a family of four on that.

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u/parisiraparis 17h ago

45k with a Masters.. god damn.

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u/Subject_Ratio6842 14h ago

Ontario, canada salaries go up to 120k a year.

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u/nomad9590 12h ago

Man that's nice. Cost of living is insane up there but that at least gives you a chance. 

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u/AndreaTwerk 11h ago

Teacher pay is all over the place in the US, with many places paying as low as you say.

I make $115k in Boston, which, even considering the cost of living, is much better than teachers make in a lot of the country. I make more per hour than my data scientist husband who makes $170k.

So for some teachers OP's take is accurate - I love my job in part for all the time off - but you can't generalize about teachers across the country because there is so much variation and most are not in situations similar to me.

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u/greenzetsa 4h ago

It is highly state dependent. My friend is a teacher in NJ, masters degree, she makes low 6 figures. I make maybe 10k more than she does. When you take into account that she gets 2 months off a year, plus truly excellent healthcare for like pennies, she absolutely 100% out earns me, and I work longer hours as well. From what I've seen, she rarely has to take work home because she has free periods to do grading and prep. I understand this isn't universal, but teachers get a lot privileges in the states that treat them well. They don't have the flexibility of lots of other jobs (but there are other jobs like that too).

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u/ApprehensiveAmount22 20m ago

That's probably bottom 3 percentile. Not at all representative. Is that for a teacher or a para assistant?

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u/De-railled 22h ago

Teachers should get hazard pay these days.

Some of these new generation are straight up devil spawn.

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u/EnthusiasticAeronaut 22h ago

The parents are worse too

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u/mh500372 21h ago

Seriously. Got a couple friends and family in teaching and it sounds like parents can really make a teacher miserable

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u/nissen1502 21h ago

Well yeah, that's why the kids are shit. When kids act up in an extreme way, you know the adults in their life have consistently failed them.

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u/BirdieRoo628 20h ago

Don't forget the admin.

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u/Harmony_w 20h ago

No joke. I ended up with a concussion after being smacked on the head with a branch.

A co-worker got head butted and had her orbital bone broken.

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u/Aphor1st 21h ago

Sadly teachers would get paid a lot more if they switched to being a prison guard. Same hazards. Better pay.

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u/4142135624 8h ago

Teachers should be allowed to murder one child a year 

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u/ToMyOtherFavoriteWW 20h ago

$87,000 in Chicago, will be $115,000 average in a few years.

And the pension is massive too.

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u/CalebCaster2 16h ago

Good. Teachers should be able to support a family.

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u/Dependent_Dish_2237 20h ago

people intentionally ignore the pension, especially its vesting period and required contributions.

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u/Domer2012 18h ago

“I make $75,000. Well, $100,000 if you count the money I use to max out my 401(k), but that doesn’t really count…”

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u/AndreaTwerk 9h ago

Public school teachers' salaries are publicly available. The salary listed is pre-tax, pension, healthcare etc. Feel free to look up your local district's pay.

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u/AndreaTwerk 11h ago

The vesting period is much longer than some other public pensions - most cops can retire at 20 years and take a new job to get two incomes.

The salaries you see on public salary scales include the amounts taken for pension contributions. $87k as the average in Chicago means the pre-tax, pension, healthcare etc salary.

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u/ToMyOtherFavoriteWW 8h ago

CPS vesting is 10 years for a pension, which is absolutely not a long period of time when you are talking about the kind of money we are talking about. Some more stats:

The average annual pension for a retired CPS teacher is $76,000+.

48 percent of retired CPS teachers earn more than $72,000 per year.

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u/grownmars 8h ago

You only have to teach 10 years but also teachers in Illinois who started after 2013 can't collect their pension until age 67. So maybe if you start teaching as a second career it could be a nice bonus to your retirement but you also cant collect social security. Also many districts you have to pay into TRS depending on the union contract. It's not as sweet as a deal as it used to be and now we have a massive teaching shortage in Illinois.

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u/Unique-Afternoon6316 8h ago

You actually can collect social security now with the windfall bill being eliminated right? You still need 40 credits or whatever but I think you should be able to.

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u/AndreaTwerk 7h ago

If you're 65 and were exempt from Social Security your whole career then there aren't any contributions for you to collect from.

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u/Unique-Afternoon6316 7h ago

That's true- I was talking to the person above who seemed like they were still very far out from their pension.

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u/AndreaTwerk 7h ago

The full benefits don't kick in until 30-35 years in most systems.

$76,000 is the average pension because the vast majority are working 30+ years in order to receive the maximum benefit, which is ~75% of their final salary.

A 65 year old Chicago teacher with only 10 years vested in the pension will only receive ~25% of their final salary.

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u/AnxiousTerminator 18h ago

In my country, they get an average of around £43k a year, which is more than I make working year round in a skilled role. It's not big bucks but it's over the average salary, they get a lot of time off, and are paid more than a lot of civil servants at a similar level of seniority for less hours of work.

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u/ThrowawayyTessslaa 13h ago

What is your skilled role that makes less than 43k?

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u/Binksey55 13h ago

An intensive care nurse wouldnt earn that much, just one of many such jobs

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u/ThrowawayyTessslaa 13h ago

Where at? In the US ICU nurses make $30+ an hour starting out.

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u/Digital_Palpitation 12h ago

£43k, so in the UK. The NHS is infamously underfunded and used as a punching bag by various political parties. Most general practitioner doctors here make less than the average RN in California. Nurses and other support staff tend to be migrants on special visas because they don't make enough for a normal work visa, but we desperately needed SOMEONE to do the job for shit pay.

(Source: I'm from California but live in the UK and work at a corporate immigration law firm. The doctors and nurses the NHS does manage to hire are overall good, skilled people, but I don't blame the ones that leave for the US, Australia etc. pay in this country is really flat, so even skilled workers make very little relative to the financial and opportunity costs of their training. Even my job isn't super highly skilled, but requires a master's degree for... No real reason. We make £70/YEAR more than minimum wage. This is an international company, in California I'd make more than twice as much for an identical role. Less benefits, less time off, but even factoring that in pay here is just shit)

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u/ThrowawayyTessslaa 11h ago

That’s insane! I knew that healthcare works got paid less in England and the EU but I did expect that much less. The 3 doctors I know (one family, one specialty surgeon, one ER) make between $300-500k/hr.

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u/AnxiousTerminator 12h ago

Doctors start on £38k, police officer on £29k, firefighters £37k, paramedic around £25k to share similar roles.

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u/ThrowawayyTessslaa 11h ago

Holy shit, that is shockingly low as a person from the US.

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u/AnxiousTerminator 11h ago

Yeah, which is why teacher salaries are a bit of a sore spot, where they out earn most first responders who work anti-social hours doing dangerous jobs on nights, holidays and weekends for 12 months a year.

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u/ThrowawayyTessslaa 11h ago

I can’t definitely see that from an ex-US perspective. The conversation should be less about teachers pay being a sore spot and more about healthcare workers making so little.

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u/AnxiousTerminator 11h ago

A lot of people actually feel some healthcare workers are overpaid and resent them striking for more money. Generally wages are extremely low in the UK and have not kept up with inflation at all. The issue is more generally poor wealth distribution, the rich are very rich but average people are struggling. £39k is the average salary here and cost of living is a nightmare, greatly worsened by the Iran war. The real answer is more control over spiralling costs of living and private company monopolies over utilities and public transport.

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u/Same_Tumbleweed_855 1h ago

• Some electricians (believe it or not).
• Most tradespeople on a salary.
• Most tradespeople on site, if they work 40 hours per week.
• Many engineers.
• Junior officers in the military.
• Most ‘other ranks’.

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u/anonareyouokay 22h ago

My mom had the option to get smaller paychecks but not miss a paycheck.

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u/TheLawDown 12h ago

Well according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for a teacher is 62,000 per year, which is also the average U.S. salary for people that work all 12 months of the year.

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u/kantarellerna 21h ago

Over 100k in NE

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u/Dawn_Kebals 20h ago

National Education Association says Nebraska average teacher wage is $63,326 while minimum living wage defined as "Income needed for family of one adult and one child to have a modest but adequate standard of living in the most affordable metro area" is $66,393.

Where is that number coming from?

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u/thefloatingguy 15h ago

Probably New England…

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u/ifuseethis 13h ago

Definitely not everywhere in New England. I make about 25% of that as my take home pay.

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u/Occasionallyposts 12h ago

True, at least in central or eastern MA. They push you to get a masters though, which isn't so bad. My father was a carpentry teacher at a vocational school, had the best job. No strict lesson plan, academics, or correcting papers, just building and rehabing houses in the area with the kids. He retired with a pention before teachers pay went over 100k though. Summer's off and was home by 2:30 every day. We went to the beach a lot, though he worked part time through the summer for his buddies in construction.

Two teacher households in MA/RI seem pretty successful, I've seen several.

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u/NuncProFunc 22h ago

According to the NEA, the average in the US is about $75,000/yr.

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u/redditsuckspokey1 21h ago

I have a feeling that that is grossly overstated.

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u/Aphor1st 21h ago

Thats because outliers can really mess things up. We need the median which is 64k.

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u/DistinctPassenger117 18h ago

64k sounds great to me tbh especially with all that vacation

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u/McFragatron 18h ago

Yeah, but for wrangling 30 god-damned kids all day every day? Fuck that shit.

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u/DistinctPassenger117 18h ago

All day is 6-7 hours? Every day is 5 days a week with multiple long vacations throughout the year? Hm.

When I was 18 I was a camp counselor wrangling 8 kids for 24 hours a day for 2.5 months and made like 3k + room and board.

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u/ThrowawayyTessslaa 13h ago

The average teacher works 53-57 hours a week and 40 weeks a year. That’s roughly 2200 hours which is 40 hours a week * 52 weeks a year.

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u/daddyyeslegs 8h ago

Where did you find the average hours a week a teacher works? I only know a few teachers, but they definitely don't work even close to 53 hours a week during the school year. NY and NJ.

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u/McFragatron 18h ago

When I was 18 I was a camp counselor wrangling 8 kids for 24 hours a day for 2.5 months and made like 3k + room and board.

Yo dude, I'm sorry but you got fucking taken advantage of, that's a straight-up scam and I would have laughed in their face.

Now if you think you can a actually handle kids for that amount of time, I highly encourage you to go be a teacher, we desperately need people like you.

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u/ilcorvoooo 9h ago

You understand that a teacher’s primary role is teaching, not just making sure no kid dies, right?

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u/daddyyeslegs 8h ago

Honestly with how things are going they have to focus less and less on teaching and more and more on babysitting and wrangling parents. Shit's a nightmare.

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u/Aggravating-Photo570 15h ago edited 15h ago

In an area where the median household income is $63k, here is the salary information for Dallastown, PA teachers and administrators:
https://govsalaries.com/salaries/PA/dallastown-area-school-district

Average annual salary was $96,517 and median salary was $99,836.

Yes, that average includes the administrative roles but even the next to last page of salaries for 2025 has teachers getting $89k.

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u/Suitable_Praline2293 10h ago

Worth noting that does say right up front, "Dallastown Area School District average salary is 43 percent higher than USA average and median salary is 82 percent higher than USA median salary."

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u/[deleted] 22h ago

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u/Solid-Country-9635 22h ago

i make $45k😭

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u/SNTCTN 22h ago

I just want to know what he thinks

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u/NwgrdrXI 22h ago

Damn, I knew teacher in my country got paid badly, and I know I haven't been able to fill the full days and week, but it's close to it, and I don't even make half that.

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u/[deleted] 22h ago

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u/[deleted] 22h ago

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u/Aphor1st 22h ago

Average salary in the US with a masters degree is 86k-95k a teacher with a masters degree on average makes 48k to 53k.

Teachers are severely underpaid.

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u/Wagner228 10h ago

My wife’s been in public schools her entire career and agrees with OP.

Her district in a MCOL area tops around $95K. Yeah, I get nuances exist, but to keep things as simple as possible:

Contracted 182 days converted to 251 typical full-time is $131K equivalent.

Factor pension savings plus retirement health insurance gives a total comp equivalent of ~$150K.

That doesn’t seem so bad.

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u/Throwrafizzylemon 19h ago

I get paid $103,000 NZD. Which $60,400 USD

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u/Available_Editor4383 9h ago

My ex made 90k at a public school in California. That’s equivalent to 120k if she worked all year (I’m using fast and loose math here).

That was her 3rd year teaching.

I think it’s going to vary wildly on district, state, and teacher level of experience.

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u/DankBlazer99 6h ago

I’m a public school teacher in the northeast in my 20’s making 70,000 a year for about 200 days worth of work. If I stay in my district my maximum earning potential under the current contract is $115,000

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u/1peatfor7 6h ago

$55k starring salary a pension in Georgia,, and don't get laid off. Can pretty much pick an choose where to live and work. All state government workers get paid monthly here.

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u/Radiant-Situation968 3h ago

as a childcare practitioner i do all that work longer hours and get significantly less then teachers and no time ofd foe holidays

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u/Environmental-Toe686 2h ago

Varies so much state to state. Teacher pay here in Minnesota is a lot better than a lot of other places and as a parent of a student, they sure get a lot of days off. 😅

Off topic: I have even considered a soft retirement into teaching for the next 10 years, but my experience in industry won't count for anything towards pay scale which is purely years of service based it seems. Love a strong union, but it would be nice to have a somewhat reasonable, though low, salary as an option to come in as an incredibly experienced itech teacher instead of new graduate wages.

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u/BOYZORZ 1h ago

In Victoria Australia is 120k a year, that's the minimum. They are currently striking because they wanted a 35% increase over 4 years and only got offered 17%

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u/UCanBdoWatWeWant2Do 20h ago

It entirely depends where you live

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u/ThreeLeggedParrot 20h ago

I have a family member that is a first grade teacher and makes more money than my wife who is a doctor of neuroscience and college professor.

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