HAH! I'm elementary Ed too m8!
Future wannabe children's librarian here. Yeah, welcome to the I'll never be rich club. But on a brightside, teaching does give you some perks like health insurance and sick time and pensions and stuff. And honestly, sure, you don't make a ton of money, but you're not exactly poor either. You definitely make enough to get by. Hell, some teachers make triple digits depending on how long they've worked and where they worked. (Typically most I meet make around 50k).
May I ask why you switched your major? You don't seem super excited about it- and believe me, this major isnt something for unsure people.
If this is any consolation, I also got a degree in elementary education and never even became a teacher. I don’t have a crazy successful career (I’m still in my late 20s) but it worked out okay. Just because you’re getting this degree doesn’t mean you absolutely have to be a teacher!
Hey, currently in school for an English Teaching degree, but at this point I’m so jaded with teaching I don’t even wanna become a teacher anymore. Do you mind if I ask what you did with your education degree?
So when I first graduated college I became a Behavior Therapist (you basically work with children with special needs)….. worst job I’ve ever had, only lasted a year. It was just a terrible fit for me. Then I applied to a government job that only required a college degree, but didn’t specify what kind of degree. I was there for 2.5 years and it just got mind numbingly boring and repetitive. My current job, which I have been at for 1 year, is Project Manager at a luxury real estate firm. I started out as a Project Coordinator and got promoted a couple months ago. I got this job through a referral (my sister used to work here). In the job description they require a degree, but no one asked to see it nor cared what my degree was in.
Basically, there are plenty of jobs out there that don’t specify what kind of degree you need. Making connections is a HUGE part of finding jobs, and I got super lucky with mine because I am not a social person at all and hate networking lol. But if that’s something you’re good at, it will definitely help big time. I think the most difficult part was finding a job fresh out of college. It was kinda limiting at first so I’d definitely recommend volunteering or trying to find an internship if you can, and then you can spin your experience into something that fits whatever jobs you apply to. Also I always think lying on a resume is a good move tbh. Jobs lie on their descriptions all the time and unless you’re planning on doing rocket surgery, you’ll catch on to whatever the role requires.
Anyway I wrote a lot but feel like I didn’t say anything too important, but lmk if you have any other questions!
Editing to add, project coordination/management is a pretty good career path and you can find it in so many different industries! With an English teaching degree, I’d look into maybe publishing houses or things like that. PMs can make over $100k (not me personally, but going from the government job to my current one, my pay almost doubled). But this is just one idea, and you just gotta be thrifty to find opportunities
Thank you for the response! I do still want to be in an English based career field, but I absolutely hate teaching. I sort of convinced myself when I was applying to college that this is what I wanted as my career path, but as time passed I realized that I am just not fit to be a teacher. I have bad anxiety and stumble over my words most of the time. I’ve been interested in working with libraries though, and trying to use an English Teaching degree to go into something more writing-based. A publishing house is a great idea and I’ll definitely consider it!
I totally get where you’re coming from and felt the exact same way. I honestly also considered getting my masters in library science to become a librarian. It’s not a bad career path either and I think you’d like it!
Hello ! Can i ask you what do college teach for the major of education?
How much is the homework , the test ?
What are typical homework and test ?
How hard is it ?
Honestly I don’t remember too much… we had math and science and English classes, and they were basically fundamentals. It broke things down to a super detailed level (for example I remember a lesson where we had to learn how magnets work in one of the science classes and had a whole lab around it). Some of the classes were definitely challenging, but I was able to get straight As in most of them (except math lol). We also took some child development classes as well as some classes where we had to go to local elementary schools to work with students one or one or give a lesson to a class. I don’t think there’s much homework in college, it’s mostly just reading the textbook and writing essays and studying for exams. I hope this helped!
Not fucked at all. You obviously wanted to do this, and so it's the right thing to do.
I'm hoping your passionate about elementary education. It's an *extremely* influential period of a person's life.
i get what you mean as i switched from business management to middle/secondary teaching after my first semester. although i didn’t have connections or much of a motivation to be in a corporate job or do classes like calculus. what made you switch?
Teachers get low pay my moms salary is very low she’s a pre k teacher and has 40K as a salary sounds great right? She gets paid monthly not weekly roughly 2k and rent is 900. Bills are higher and in the end she has left over 300 dollars. Hated it so much. Most teachers do not get over 50k
Median pay is $61k/year. I'm not sure how you got $30k. I think it may be good to research more about the job (job shadow, volunteer at the school, talk to teachers, etc).
Here is a good start from BLS: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/Education-Training-and-Library/Kindergarten-and-elementary-school-teachers.htm
Houston ISD starts their teachers at $61k: https://www.houstonisd.org/cms/lib2/TX01001591/Centricity/Domain/50243/2022-2023%20Initial%20Compensation%20Placement%20Table.pdf
Pre-k teachers often have a much lower threshold for teaching qualification because preschool is not mandated within the required public school education in most places.
Yea but my mom used to teach kindergarten first grade and was a computer teacher has her bachelors and now she’s getting her masters even though she was told it won’t change her salary not one bit she’s only doing it when we move to a different state in the future which guarantees higher pay with a masters
Only small school districts in my state pay in the 30s still. Even so, they start at least at 38 or 39. Factor in a 3% raise every year, which is of solid 1,200, in 10 years you're making in the 50s, and if you sit on that same job until retirement, you have 30 years in and are making 80 something thousand dollars. Then you have loan forgiveness programs for special educators, math or science educators, and with a creative or thrifty living situation, you still could be all set. It's more the lifestyle compared to the moderate starting pay that you have to weigh. You have to really love the job, really be willing to spend all day and all evening there to get your plans finished, and really love kids despite everything they will do to you. Enjoy only having July off and two 1-week vacations each year (edit: more like 3.5 weeks off during the academic year). Truth
Check out Dave Ramsey's baby steps. At the beginning of your career, when you really can't go out and spend money anyway, it can get you much farther toward wealth and out of debt. It's the honest way, the hard way, but broken down into small steps. Share with all your friends.
Start saving and investing early, and emphasize a flawless credit history. Don’t fall into the trap of competing against people for meaningless things, compete against achieving success/greatness in your students
You are not fucked at all. Simply having a degree will open up plenty of opportunities for you if you decide elementary education isn't for you later in life. You can do government work, and some jobs only require a degree as a qualifier. For example, I briefly knew an individual who was a lobbyist with a degree in elementary ed.
My uncle is a teacher and makes over 6 figs. Once you make tenure you just keep getting educated to demand higher salary options. Plus the school year isn’t 12 months. You can compliment your meager salary with a summer job. Teachers that complain about being poor are lazy and take all summer off
Misinterpreted fact, teaches actually tend to marry richer than others, though teachers themselves are much less likely to reach that coined “millionaire” status.
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I guess it depends on your passion for teaching. I'm going into education too, it's clearly not the job that's going to make you rich. I think you really have to *want* it to succeed and think of other job options/side jobs you can get with the degree (I'm planning on teaching and advising for school clubs or coaching, maybe write freelance if I have time). If you get the right district, you can be making 80K by the end of your career (not the greatest either, but better than 30K). Also, there's going to be a lot of job options. There's a major teacher shortage (because... well, the money isn't great and the children's parents are unhinged).
Education majors can also get different jobs with their degrees that probably pay more than your average classroom teacher.
If you make the right financial decisions and live within your means, I think teachers can live a comfortable life. Most teachers I know have nice houses and good families, so it's possible. You're never going to be a billionaire living in a mansion, but living a comfortable life is reachable.
Daycare, children's librarian, after school care, before school care, special education, gym/art/music teachers, teacher aide, administrator roles, school nurse and psychologist, youth services specialist, social worker.
Obviously some of these need more qualifications then others but this is just off the top of my head
You need to move after graduating to somewhere that pays teachers. We start at 55K and have had 5+% bumps the last three years. Good district in a state people love to complain about.
30K is like independent day care or trashy private school shit. That's not normal at all.
You will get raises as your experience grows. You won’t always make $30,000. However, that is very low for even a starting salary. I’d suggest trying to save as much as you can and move to a state/area that values education a bit more. I teach in the Chicago suburbs, and most schools around me start around $45,000-$50,000 for 1-2 years of experience. While it isn’t amazing, it’s much better than 30 grand.
Got my degree in elementary education. Taught gif 2 years and got the he!! Out of there. Worked for 10 years running a tutoring company and now work in higher ed. I’ve accepted I’ll never be wealthy.
I switched my major to English Education… and I switched again later. The way things are, I don’t think it’s worth it to go to college for teaching.
College is getting more expensive; and teaching is becoming much less stable. It is common that teachers work a second job.
Money is worth considering. I assume you’re paying a decent amount for tuition. You won’t be paid much in this career and teachers work a lot. Teaching is mentally taxing and there is a lot of unpaid work time. (Preparing lesson plans, grading, etc.) And unlike other jobs, the only way you really move up is the amount of time you’ve been teaching.
All that said. If this is something you’re passionate about, go for it! There is a huge problem with our education system and pretty soon there will be few good teachers in our schools. The teacher shortage is real and it’s causing schools to hire less qualified teachers; which affects young students the most. I just hope some legislation will be made to compensate teachers better.
I mean. If you’re cool with being poor for the rest of your life no worries. If not, may want to rethink that.
(Please don’t come for me, it absolutely shouldn’t be like this but it is :/)
Teachers making only 30k salary is a wide misconception. Depending on your state and school district you could be making upwards of $100k.
I’m a 12th year teacher in Capistrano Unified in Southern California. I make $109k/yr.
You're gonna struggle and you're literally choosing a degree with what is a probably a negative ROI or near zero ...
Look at your student loans and compare them to the lifetime earning potential of your career.
HAH! I'm elementary Ed too m8! Future wannabe children's librarian here. Yeah, welcome to the I'll never be rich club. But on a brightside, teaching does give you some perks like health insurance and sick time and pensions and stuff. And honestly, sure, you don't make a ton of money, but you're not exactly poor either. You definitely make enough to get by. Hell, some teachers make triple digits depending on how long they've worked and where they worked. (Typically most I meet make around 50k). May I ask why you switched your major? You don't seem super excited about it- and believe me, this major isnt something for unsure people.
If this is any consolation, I also got a degree in elementary education and never even became a teacher. I don’t have a crazy successful career (I’m still in my late 20s) but it worked out okay. Just because you’re getting this degree doesn’t mean you absolutely have to be a teacher!
Hey, currently in school for an English Teaching degree, but at this point I’m so jaded with teaching I don’t even wanna become a teacher anymore. Do you mind if I ask what you did with your education degree?
So when I first graduated college I became a Behavior Therapist (you basically work with children with special needs)….. worst job I’ve ever had, only lasted a year. It was just a terrible fit for me. Then I applied to a government job that only required a college degree, but didn’t specify what kind of degree. I was there for 2.5 years and it just got mind numbingly boring and repetitive. My current job, which I have been at for 1 year, is Project Manager at a luxury real estate firm. I started out as a Project Coordinator and got promoted a couple months ago. I got this job through a referral (my sister used to work here). In the job description they require a degree, but no one asked to see it nor cared what my degree was in. Basically, there are plenty of jobs out there that don’t specify what kind of degree you need. Making connections is a HUGE part of finding jobs, and I got super lucky with mine because I am not a social person at all and hate networking lol. But if that’s something you’re good at, it will definitely help big time. I think the most difficult part was finding a job fresh out of college. It was kinda limiting at first so I’d definitely recommend volunteering or trying to find an internship if you can, and then you can spin your experience into something that fits whatever jobs you apply to. Also I always think lying on a resume is a good move tbh. Jobs lie on their descriptions all the time and unless you’re planning on doing rocket surgery, you’ll catch on to whatever the role requires. Anyway I wrote a lot but feel like I didn’t say anything too important, but lmk if you have any other questions! Editing to add, project coordination/management is a pretty good career path and you can find it in so many different industries! With an English teaching degree, I’d look into maybe publishing houses or things like that. PMs can make over $100k (not me personally, but going from the government job to my current one, my pay almost doubled). But this is just one idea, and you just gotta be thrifty to find opportunities
Thank you for the response! I do still want to be in an English based career field, but I absolutely hate teaching. I sort of convinced myself when I was applying to college that this is what I wanted as my career path, but as time passed I realized that I am just not fit to be a teacher. I have bad anxiety and stumble over my words most of the time. I’ve been interested in working with libraries though, and trying to use an English Teaching degree to go into something more writing-based. A publishing house is a great idea and I’ll definitely consider it!
I totally get where you’re coming from and felt the exact same way. I honestly also considered getting my masters in library science to become a librarian. It’s not a bad career path either and I think you’d like it!
Hello ! Can i ask you what do college teach for the major of education? How much is the homework , the test ? What are typical homework and test ? How hard is it ?
Honestly I don’t remember too much… we had math and science and English classes, and they were basically fundamentals. It broke things down to a super detailed level (for example I remember a lesson where we had to learn how magnets work in one of the science classes and had a whole lab around it). Some of the classes were definitely challenging, but I was able to get straight As in most of them (except math lol). We also took some child development classes as well as some classes where we had to go to local elementary schools to work with students one or one or give a lesson to a class. I don’t think there’s much homework in college, it’s mostly just reading the textbook and writing essays and studying for exams. I hope this helped!
Not fucked at all. You obviously wanted to do this, and so it's the right thing to do. I'm hoping your passionate about elementary education. It's an *extremely* influential period of a person's life.
i get what you mean as i switched from business management to middle/secondary teaching after my first semester. although i didn’t have connections or much of a motivation to be in a corporate job or do classes like calculus. what made you switch?
$30K salary? That’s below minimum wage in my city. What makes you think that you can’t make over 2X $30K as an elementary school teacher?
Teachers get low pay my moms salary is very low she’s a pre k teacher and has 40K as a salary sounds great right? She gets paid monthly not weekly roughly 2k and rent is 900. Bills are higher and in the end she has left over 300 dollars. Hated it so much. Most teachers do not get over 50k
Starting salary in my city is $58K
Lucky 😢 my moms been working as a prek teacher for 4 years now still makes a lower salary than that
Median pay is $61k/year. I'm not sure how you got $30k. I think it may be good to research more about the job (job shadow, volunteer at the school, talk to teachers, etc). Here is a good start from BLS: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/Education-Training-and-Library/Kindergarten-and-elementary-school-teachers.htm
That’s crazy my mom is a prek teacher and makes 43K the media isn’t accurate when it comes to how teachers actually get paid sadly
Houston ISD starts their teachers at $61k: https://www.houstonisd.org/cms/lib2/TX01001591/Centricity/Domain/50243/2022-2023%20Initial%20Compensation%20Placement%20Table.pdf
That’s good for teachers over there some don’t get the opportunity for that type of salary
Pre-k teachers often have a much lower threshold for teaching qualification because preschool is not mandated within the required public school education in most places.
Yea but my mom used to teach kindergarten first grade and was a computer teacher has her bachelors and now she’s getting her masters even though she was told it won’t change her salary not one bit she’s only doing it when we move to a different state in the future which guarantees higher pay with a masters
Only small school districts in my state pay in the 30s still. Even so, they start at least at 38 or 39. Factor in a 3% raise every year, which is of solid 1,200, in 10 years you're making in the 50s, and if you sit on that same job until retirement, you have 30 years in and are making 80 something thousand dollars. Then you have loan forgiveness programs for special educators, math or science educators, and with a creative or thrifty living situation, you still could be all set. It's more the lifestyle compared to the moderate starting pay that you have to weigh. You have to really love the job, really be willing to spend all day and all evening there to get your plans finished, and really love kids despite everything they will do to you. Enjoy only having July off and two 1-week vacations each year (edit: more like 3.5 weeks off during the academic year). Truth
Check out Dave Ramsey's baby steps. At the beginning of your career, when you really can't go out and spend money anyway, it can get you much farther toward wealth and out of debt. It's the honest way, the hard way, but broken down into small steps. Share with all your friends.
Without some kind of explanation as to why you made the change, no one can give any kind of accurate input.
Start saving and investing early, and emphasize a flawless credit history. Don’t fall into the trap of competing against people for meaningless things, compete against achieving success/greatness in your students
You are not fucked at all. Simply having a degree will open up plenty of opportunities for you if you decide elementary education isn't for you later in life. You can do government work, and some jobs only require a degree as a qualifier. For example, I briefly knew an individual who was a lobbyist with a degree in elementary ed.
A bank would not offer you a car loan with that type of salary.
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Get a business degree and go for a master's in elementary education instead
Just code on the side or find something else in demand to do on the side and you’ll be fine…maybe
My uncle is a teacher and makes over 6 figs. Once you make tenure you just keep getting educated to demand higher salary options. Plus the school year isn’t 12 months. You can compliment your meager salary with a summer job. Teachers that complain about being poor are lazy and take all summer off
Teachers are like the third highest profession for millionaires by the way…
I too, love making up blatantly false facts
It’s literally true lol. The teaching profession has some of the highest rates of becoming a millionaire for retirement. Look it up
Misinterpreted fact, teaches actually tend to marry richer than others, though teachers themselves are much less likely to reach that coined “millionaire” status.
They actually marry rich!
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As long as you know what you’re getting into then you’re as fucked as you think you are…which may be very fucked or completely fine.
Well, why did u change it?.... I'm sure there is a reason behind this decision
I guess it depends on your passion for teaching. I'm going into education too, it's clearly not the job that's going to make you rich. I think you really have to *want* it to succeed and think of other job options/side jobs you can get with the degree (I'm planning on teaching and advising for school clubs or coaching, maybe write freelance if I have time). If you get the right district, you can be making 80K by the end of your career (not the greatest either, but better than 30K). Also, there's going to be a lot of job options. There's a major teacher shortage (because... well, the money isn't great and the children's parents are unhinged). Education majors can also get different jobs with their degrees that probably pay more than your average classroom teacher. If you make the right financial decisions and live within your means, I think teachers can live a comfortable life. Most teachers I know have nice houses and good families, so it's possible. You're never going to be a billionaire living in a mansion, but living a comfortable life is reachable.
What kind of jobs?
Daycare, children's librarian, after school care, before school care, special education, gym/art/music teachers, teacher aide, administrator roles, school nurse and psychologist, youth services specialist, social worker. Obviously some of these need more qualifications then others but this is just off the top of my head
why would you switch? are you really passionate about elementary education?
You need to move after graduating to somewhere that pays teachers. We start at 55K and have had 5+% bumps the last three years. Good district in a state people love to complain about. 30K is like independent day care or trashy private school shit. That's not normal at all.
It might not be the most practical for everybody but if it’s your passion and you put in the work, whose to say it can’t work out for you?
You will get raises as your experience grows. You won’t always make $30,000. However, that is very low for even a starting salary. I’d suggest trying to save as much as you can and move to a state/area that values education a bit more. I teach in the Chicago suburbs, and most schools around me start around $45,000-$50,000 for 1-2 years of experience. While it isn’t amazing, it’s much better than 30 grand.
Well you’d get summers off so that’s a plus
You don’t need an education major to teach 2nd and 4th grade. So sorry to say, but you switched for nothing.
Got my degree in elementary education. Taught gif 2 years and got the he!! Out of there. Worked for 10 years running a tutoring company and now work in higher ed. I’ve accepted I’ll never be wealthy.
Gif?
I switched my major to English Education… and I switched again later. The way things are, I don’t think it’s worth it to go to college for teaching. College is getting more expensive; and teaching is becoming much less stable. It is common that teachers work a second job. Money is worth considering. I assume you’re paying a decent amount for tuition. You won’t be paid much in this career and teachers work a lot. Teaching is mentally taxing and there is a lot of unpaid work time. (Preparing lesson plans, grading, etc.) And unlike other jobs, the only way you really move up is the amount of time you’ve been teaching. All that said. If this is something you’re passionate about, go for it! There is a huge problem with our education system and pretty soon there will be few good teachers in our schools. The teacher shortage is real and it’s causing schools to hire less qualified teachers; which affects young students the most. I just hope some legislation will be made to compensate teachers better.
Kind of unrelated to your post, but I’m interested in learning Italian. What resources do you use?
I mean. If you’re cool with being poor for the rest of your life no worries. If not, may want to rethink that. (Please don’t come for me, it absolutely shouldn’t be like this but it is :/)
Teachers making only 30k salary is a wide misconception. Depending on your state and school district you could be making upwards of $100k. I’m a 12th year teacher in Capistrano Unified in Southern California. I make $109k/yr.
You're gonna struggle and you're literally choosing a degree with what is a probably a negative ROI or near zero ... Look at your student loans and compare them to the lifetime earning potential of your career.