Thread: Why do NYC teacherscomplain that they do not make enough?

I would think that cost of living would have a lot to do with the salary. And, not all people have two incomes to work off of.

Re: having summers "off", I look at it more as a summer without the students and being able to set my own schedule. However, for most of us, summers mean going to school, planning ahead with units, etc. to save us some time during the school year. When you are a teacher, you will be very careful about saying you have the summer "off". It is a terrible misconception that the public has.

I live in California, but my salary is just what you described. It really depends on cost of living and benefits. Remember that is gross income. Your check will be minus of course taxes but also union dues, retirement (mine takes out about 400 a month), plus we get paid 10 months a year so I choose to take out a portion to spred it over 12 months and our health benefits are terrible. In my district, the cheapest family plan health insurance is 900 dollars a month OUT OF POCKET. Dental is an extra $125 a month. We live in an area where the minimum cost of an apartment for us and our kids would be $1500 a month, though most people pay more. So, it really doesn't go as far as you expect. However, I do better than my parents did so I don't have many complaints.

Cost of living- that is a pretty variable thing from state to state. Where I live, I actually make pretty decent money- compared to the guys making 7 bucks an hour. $45 is probably low in NYC- I once went on a field trip there back in 2k and one of our bus drivers was offered $70k a year by a bus company while we were stopped. (Fortunately for us, he turned it down.)

As far as figuring out whether you can live on it or not.....consider these things:
1. Can I make house payments?
2. Can I make the rent in a livable area?
3. Am I going to make enough to save for the future?
4. Can I make car payments, insurance payments, etc?
5. What kind of major purchases would I like to be able to make?

In my state I make, after 11 years, about what you are starting at there. It is enough for a single guy to get by on, and even get ahead (only recently am I a profitable entity.) If I were the head of a household I would probably have some difficulties, depending on whether or not there was a second income, and how many children are involved. So, there are a lot of variables. And you'll never make what your friends who also have college degrees make in other fields, because they pay more than the taxpayers can afford.

As for having the summer off, you'll not always have that- I usually spend some time getting renewal credits for my teaching license, or catching up on whatever work I neglected outside of my job- it is not exactly a vacation.