Teaching is probably one of the most rewarding jobs in the world. There are a lot of people who can tell stories about having a teacher at some point in their life who changed the course of their careers forever. Maybe you had a chemistry teacher who inspired you to become a scientist, or maybe you had an English teacher who inspired you to become a novelist. I don’t think that you can really argue against the fact that teachers are capable of changing the lives of their students. They help to bring up our youth, and they’re pretty much the backbone of the country. It’s no surprise that so many people feel inclined to become teachers.
However, it’s common knowledge that teachers aren’t especially well paid for their work. This is typically due to the fact that teachers are paid with tax dollars, which means that a certain salary isn’t as easily guaranteed as it could be for someone working in the private industry. Should the salary of your average teacher discourage you from pursuing a career in this important field? How much is the average teacher paid, anyway?
Average Teacher Salary – $44,000
The average teacher is paid about $44,000, which is obviously a pretty low number. Teachers have a vital job, but their pay doesn’t really seem to reflect that. However, since that’s an average salary, that obviously means that some people are paid more and some people are paid less. What can positively affect a teacher’s income? First, let’s consider location. Since there are schools across the country, that means that teachers are needed across the country. You might figure that that means that there is an equal need for teachers across the country. You would be wrong. Larger cities, especially larger cities with more school-aged kids, have a greater demand for teachers. If you’re a teacher living in a city like Chicago, New York City, Houston, San Diego, or Los Angeles, then you will probably have an easier time finding work than someone who lives elsewhere. You may also be paid a little more.
Finally, let’s consider how education can affect the salary of a teacher. When you talk about teaching in general, it’s possible for people to possess different levels of qualification. For example, someone who teaches advanced courses at a high school level probably has a broader education background than someone who teaches at an elementary grade level. In teaching, you generally just need a bachelor’s degree in order to begin working. However, many public schools really like to see applicants with a master’s degree. If you want to take it in even further, you can pursue a doctorate to maximize your earning potential. If you can’t afford that kind of education, though, you shouldn’t be discouraged. Four years at a good school is just about all you really need in terms of education in order to begin teaching yourself.
How to become a teacher – Do you have to go to school?
In undergraduate school, you’re going to want to obtain a degree in education of some kind. If you’re looking to teach at a high school level, then you may need to also obtain some kind of degree in the subject that you want to teach. (This is because, at a high school level, curriculum often gets a lot deeper than it can get in middle or elementary school.) If you just want to be a preschool teacher, then you may be able to find work just with an associate’s degree. However, a bachelor’s degree is definitely the recommended minimum in this situation. Once you’re done with that, even if you decide not to go to graduate school, you still have a little bit of work to do. In order to teach at a public school, you usually need to be certified or licensed in some way.
Once all of that’s out of the way, you’re pretty much ready to get into the classroom. As you continue to work in education, your growing body of experience will allow you to potentially negotiate a greater salary further down the road. If you find yourself at an impasse, then you can always go back to school and get a better degree. As with pretty much every other field, the more degrees you have, the better you can get paid. Salary aside, teaching is very rewarding work, and I think that you will be plenty satisfied with the experiences that you’ll acquire during your time working in this profession. Teachers have a very important job in this country, and with enough work, you can help them with that job.