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OT: Any Burned Out Teachers in Here?

I have to ask if this is something that has drastically changed. My SIL has been teaching since 89 and I believe she hit 6 figures early 2000's and now, somewhere around 157k - This is in "upstate" NY- not really upstate, but everyone says so- Arlington SD in Poughkeepsie...but has always made pretty good money- great pension. I think "most" NJ SD's are similar.

I have worked with these types of companies since the late 90's when I left IBM. And have been in sales- no pension and many of the medical plans really have sucked. Anyone pulling even a decent pension is in a great spot. For the rest of us- we have had to find a way to put our retirement on our own backs- talk about burnt out. lol
In NJ any teacher who started after ~2010 doesn’t have access to the traditional pension, the state axed it.

My wife was hired in 2014 making 50k, 10 years later she’s at 60k.
 
New York teachers do well. In year 22, my base salary is around $96k. In about 3 years, I'll finally hit 6 figures. But I tutor and teach extra classes to supplement my income.
 
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She cracked 6 figures just around 2000- Arlington School District NY. She left last year over 150k...I believe she told me 157.
No different- my best friend was a Sargent in the Town of Poughkeepsie and his last year- 2010- he was making $170k. Retired and went on to be a professor at New Paltz
Maybe, it is just Poughkeepsie NY that took care of their people.
I cant talk for anyone else- but she is now doing some part time consulting and her pension and bene's are incredicle.
That’s awesome money for teaching
 
In NJ any teacher who started after ~2010 doesn’t have access to the traditional pension, the state axed it.

My wife was hired in 2014 making 50k, 10 years later she’s at 60k.
Do you think they’re on the advertising the pension to a Moore 401(k) model has been rumored?
 
In NJ any teacher who started after ~2010 doesn’t have access to the traditional pension, the state axed it.

My wife was hired in 2014 making 50k, 10 years later she’s at 60k.

New York teachers do well. In year 22, my base salary is around $96k. In about 3 years, I'll finally hit 6 figures. But I tutor and teach extra classes to supplement my income.
I do have to say- as weird as it is- for some reason- the Town of Poughkeepsie NY, takes care of teachers and public servants.
Early 2000's- most teachers, Cops- were making a base near 90-100k and then OT for cops. I believe it was well over the norm but they did very well- add in overtime and some were making crazy money plus part time gigs.
 
In NJ any teacher who started after ~2010 doesn’t have access to the traditional pension, the state axed it.

My wife was hired in 2014 making 50k, 10 years later she’s at 60k.
That's false.

Teachers get enrolled in TPAF pension. There are 5 tiers based on hire date, with the last tier being for hire dates after 2011. Together with my payroll staff, I enroll dozens of teachers in their pension every year.

 
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That's false.

Teachers get enrolled in TPAF pension. There are 5 tiers based on hire date, with the last tier being for hire dates after 2011. Together with my payroll staff, I enroll dozens of teachers in their pension every year.

The post 2011 “pension” isn’t a pension in the colloquial sense. It’s not even close to what senior teachers who are retiring now are getting (full traditional pension).
 
A regular teacher making 157k in unheard of
Principals, VP, Supervisor, super indendant, etc. yes, but that's nuts if she's pulling in that type of money

My wife can top out around 103k in 4 years; she has a Masters plus 30.
Masters plus 60 is around 109k

Mid 40's with a 9 year old daughter, football crazed husband and maybe 10 more years of teaching = no desire to get those 30 extra credits

The pension is invaluable but they pay a ton into it
Massive portion of the paycheck goes into that

Re. benefits, up until about 7-8 years ago, they were free
Christie then said no mas (and rightly so), but didn't tier up - just said you go from paying nothing to paying a lot

So we went from paying zero to over $600/paycheck

Which goes back to the point of raises for teachers which aren't commensurate with inflation (most jobs aren't); however, when they signed up to teach, they signed up for free benefits, then had to pay into them, and didn't get compensated on the back end salary wise and weren't tiered up in that process

Still, overall it's a good gig
Working 8 months year (including breaks, days off, etc.) for 100k isn't a bad gig

I wouldn't get into it now as the parents enable the hell out of their kids and administrators kiss the parents ass, but my wife snuck in right before the old rules changed (25/55)

She'll probably bow out by 52, but not access the pension until 55 so we don't lose 3 % per year (Roughly 1k out of 5k monthly)
The pension for anyone hired after 2011 is not the same pension your wife receives.

Tier 5 is no reason to stay in teaching.
 
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The pension for anyone hired after 2011 is not the same pension your wife receives.

Tier 5 is no reason to stay in teaching.
She was fortunate to get in when she did

Although the teachers who grew up teaching in the 80s and 90s when I was going to school really had it made
 
I do have to say- as weird as it is- for some reason- the Town of Poughkeepsie NY, takes care of teachers and public servants.
Early 2000's- most teachers, Cops- were making a base near 90-100k and then OT for cops. I believe it was well over the norm but they did very well- add in overtime and some were making crazy money plus part time gigs.
Looks like I picked the wrong town to live in!
 
looks like the lets call teachers lazy, overpaid and incompetent movement has started.
Too often those feeling unappreciated for what they do take aim at others in order to feel like they are worth more than someone in another profession.
I've seen that time and time again on this boars, when it was Scarlet Nation and now in TKR.
Next lazy bum attack: will it be Law Enforcement or Firemen.
Could be the type of disrespect some show those professions that are shown here is one reason for the burn out along with amateur experts not knowing what it takes to do the best you can do, but judging you on an ignorant opinion of what it takes to be a good teacher, police officer or fireman

I am not seeing anyone calling teachers lazy or overpaid, quite the opposite actually.
 
My SIL is this tiny little thing and she somehow made it through 25 years of teaching middle school math at a public school.
And most teachers will tell you- middle school kids are the worst. lol
My DIL taught middle school math and science for about 10 years. Her experience was different. She loved it. She was moved by the district to grammar school in September to develop a new cirriculum in Math based on NASA's STEM program whatever that entails.
 
As a 22 year teacher and an association rep in my building I hear about burn out a lot. Some of it is because of legit reasons, some of it is self-inflicted. This year, I dealt with a young teacher that didn't get a great score on an evaluation and wanted to know what she could do about it. I read the evaluation and told her, "do what the principal wants you to do". It was spelled out right in front of her. Another teacher has a VERY difficult autism class. A student is violent and harms all the adults in the room with biting, punching, pinching and throwing stuff. He's been there 145 days and he's just now getting sent to special school. They won't say it, but a 6 figure price tag with a lack of spaces available in specialized schools made the district reluctant to do anything.

Admins, resources and shifting curriculum take a toll on most teachers. Not getting enough support is up there too.

I am not burnt out. I do a lot in my school and take on new challenges that keep me motivated and fresh. Have a student teacher for the first time since Covid and the end of EDTPA and it's helped me take it easy a bit but also gives me a new challenge to work on. - helping others. If I have a bad day, and trust me my class is pretty rough, I just come back the next day and try again. I appreciate my salary, benefits and my summers off. I was also named Teacher of the Year last year so that made me feel appreciated and vindicated for busting my a$$. And trust me, there's a lot of crap to get done.

So yes, it's real but depends upon your school district and bosses much like many jobs out there.

The way NJ handles the student teaching boils my blood considering its basically an apprentice position. Student teaching is done while you are in college and its very hard to do until your 5th year since its mostly a full time job. So not only are they not getting paid to go work in this job but they are paying a full year of tuition to whatever school they are attending.
 
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In NJ any teacher who started after ~2010 doesn’t have access to the traditional pension, the state axed it.

My wife was hired in 2014 making 50k, 10 years later she’s at 60k.
wow. Your wife needs to go to another district. My daughter started in year 1 at 65K, granted raises suck but there are plenty of districts where the yearly increase is pretty good. Her BF will be making 70K by year 3 in the district he is teaching in.
 
The way NJ handles the student teaching boils my blood considering its basically an apprentice position. Student teaching is done while you are in college and its very hard to do until your 5th year since its mostly a full time job. So not only are they not getting paid to go work in this job but they are paying a full year of tuition to whatever school they are attending.
It’s the same for student physical therapists. They don’t get paid when they are doing their clinical rotations and are paying tuition as well.
 
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NJ is smart

They dangle the carrot at the end of the rainbow
Work X years, get X in return

Switch districts and your benefits remain the same, but your tenure is out the door

When I'd go down to visit my parents in Naples, at the pool I'd hear the same thing from retired people. I.e. "we were teachers, taught X years in X district, eventually it made sense to retire b/c we'd be making the same or similar then teaching and we had enough of the cold"

My mom, both sisters, wife, and brother in law are / were all teachers.
None would have gotten in if they had to do it today

The benefits back then were great
They're good now, but juice isn't worth the squeeze, for various reasons (pay, parents, etc.) vis a vis how it used to be

The only upside of getting into teaching now are summers off
 
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In NJ any teacher who started after ~2010 doesn’t have access to the traditional pension, the state axed it.

My wife was hired in 2014 making 50k, 10 years later she’s at 60k.
180 vs 234 avg work days with 7.5hrs vs 10.5 avg hours
that 60k extrapolated out is pretty generous when benefits etc are considered.

I certainly appreciated teaching is different as the parents and kids have changed but so has the teachers. For anyone to say you are burned out by a profession that requires minimal mental exhaustion is somewhat laughable. At the end of the day, the best and brightest do not go into teaching (on average) so perhaps that is the crux of the issue.

a great teacher is worth their weight in gold but it's increasingly difficult to find that great teacher
 
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NJ is smart

They dangle the carrot at the end of the rainbow
Work X years, get X in return

Switch districts and your benefits remain the same, but your tenure is out the door

When I'd go down to visit my parents in Naples, at the pool I'd hear the same thing from retired people. I.e. "we were teachers, taught X years in X district, eventually it made sense to retire b/c we'd be making the same or similar then teaching and we had enough of the cold"

My mom, both sisters, wife, and brother in law are / were all teachers.
None would have gotten in if they had to do it today

The benefits back then were great
They're good now, but juice isn't worth the squeeze, for various reasons (pay, parents, etc.) vis a vis how it used to be

The only upside of getting into teaching now are summers off
I think most teachers work in the summer.

It comes down to pay. Teaching is a good job as a second family income but not as the main family income.
 
180 vs 234 avg work days with 7.5hrs vs 10.5 avg hours
that 60k extrapolated out is pretty generous when benefits etc are considered.

I certainly appreciated teaching is different as the parents and kids have changed but so has the teachers. For anyone to say you are burned out by a profession that requires minimal mental exhaustion is somewhat laughable. At the end of the day, the best and brightest do not go into teaching (on average) so perhaps that is the crux of the issue.

a great teacher is worth their weight in gold but it's increasingly difficult to find that great teacher
There had to be some sort of a metric system to judge them and paying into benefits was long overdue as it was bankrupting the state at the tax payers expense

Lot of teachers rolled out the same plans year after year w no recourse
 
I think most teachers work in the summer.

It comes down to pay. Teaching is a good job as a second family income but not as the main family income.
Depends what spouse does - meaning how much money they make

Also dependant if paycheck over 12 months is an option vs 10 months

My wife teaches summer school 4 days week / 3 hours day in summer

I don’t make c suite money so that extra definitely helps

If I did, doubtful she’d be teaching in summer, or teaching at all for that matter
 
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180 vs 234 avg work days with 7.5hrs vs 10.5 avg hours
that 60k extrapolated out is pretty generous when benefits etc are considered.

I certainly appreciated teaching is different as the parents and kids have changed but so has the teachers. For anyone to say you are burned out by a profession that requires minimal mental exhaustion is somewhat laughable. At the end of the day, the best and brightest do not go into teaching (on average) so perhaps that is the crux of the issue.

a great teacher is worth their weight in gold but it's increasingly difficult to find that great teacher
The problem is the “benefits, etc” portion of the equation has been gutted over the past decade and a half.
 
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In NJ any teacher who started after ~2010 doesn’t have access to the traditional pension, the state axed it.

My wife was hired in 2014 making 50k, 10 years later she’s at 60k.
Why does she stay in that district . My wife got a teaching job 3 years ago. Makes over 90k already. Add in the 40k I no longer need to spend on health insurance and it’s a damn good gig.
 
As a 22 year teacher and an association rep in my building I hear about burn out a lot. Some of it is because of legit reasons, some of it is self-inflicted. This year, I dealt with a young teacher that didn't get a great score on an evaluation and wanted to know what she could do about it. I read the evaluation and told her, "do what the principal wants you to do". It was spelled out right in front of her. Another teacher has a VERY difficult autism class. A student is violent and harms all the adults in the room with biting, punching, pinching and throwing stuff. He's been there 145 days and he's just now getting sent to special school. They won't say it, but a 6 figure price tag with a lack of spaces available in specialized schools made the district reluctant to do anything.

Admins, resources and shifting curriculum take a toll on most teachers. Not getting enough support is up there too.

I am not burnt out. I do a lot in my school and take on new challenges that keep me motivated and fresh. Have a student teacher for the first time since Covid and the end of EDTPA and it's helped me take it easy a bit but also gives me a new challenge to work on. - helping others. If I have a bad day, and trust me my class is pretty rough, I just come back the next day and try again. I appreciate my salary, benefits and my summers off. I was also named Teacher of the Year last year so that made me feel appreciated and vindicated for busting my a$$. And trust me, there's a lot of crap to get done.

So yes, it's real but depends upon your school district and bosses much like many jobs out there.
^^^^^ Typical lazy teacher.
:)
 
I am not seeing anyone calling teachers lazy or overpaid, quite the opposite actually.

I said local admins are because they make 350-450k (Scarsdale a half mil) AND have overpaid assistant superintendents for things like business and curriculum - each making 225k a few years ago. Local HS has almost 1 million a year for three admins with a HS school ranked in the 600s in NY State. Even the sports stink.

 
Why does she stay in that district . My wife got a teaching job 3 years ago. Makes over 90k already. Add in the 40k I no longer need to spend on health insurance and it’s a damn good gig.
If you don’t mind me asking, how much overall career tenure does she have? Assuming she’s not making 90k 3 years out of college.
 
Why does she stay in that district . My wife got a teaching job 3 years ago. Makes over 90k already. Add in the 40k I no longer need to spend on health insurance and it’s a damn good gig.
It sounds like you and Joey are comparing teachers in a Monmouth County District and an Ocean County District.
 
Why does she stay in that district . My wife got a teaching job 3 years ago. Makes over 90k already. Add in the 40k I no longer need to spend on health insurance and it’s a damn good gig.
We should be clear that while you had to pay $40k for healthcare that is not what it costs your wife's employer.

Your wife most likely pays $7 to $9,000 in premiums on her plan also.
 
We should be clear that while you had to pay $40k for healthcare that is not what it costs your wife's employer.

Your wife most likely pays $7 to $9,000 in premiums on her plan also.
Ok so she makes 90 plus the difference of 30k. And it’s a actually really more because we hag a 10k family deductible plus 40% co insurance
 
If you don’t mind me asking, how much overall career tenure does she have? Assuming she’s not making 90k 3 years out of college.
She’s spent most of the last 18 years being a stay at home mom. She does have a doctorate but never really worked in the field. She’s definitely over qualified and probably has the most impressive education in the building.
 
She’s spent most of the last 18 years being a stay at home mom. She does have a doctorate but never really worked in the field. She’s definitely over qualified and probably has the most impressive education in the building.
In certain districts that doctorate means a lot on the pay table.
 
Ok so she makes 90 plus the difference of 30k. And it’s a actually really more because we hag a 10k family deductible plus 40% co insurance
My post was not to challenge your savings but just to point out the cost of insurance for individuals in comparison to groups.
 
I said local admins are because they make 350-450k (Scarsdale a half mil) AND have overpaid assistant superintendents for things like business and curriculum - each making 225k a few years ago. Local HS has almost 1 million a year for three admins with a HS school ranked in the 600s in NY State. Even the sports stink.

this is the real crime in education and should be heavily scrutinized
 
Far too many “districts” and administrative “infrastructure.” Unfortunately the forces to resist consolidation (and lose the gravy train) are too entrenched to successfully end the insanity.
Yeah, much different than in my home state, where it's all county-based. That's cheaper, but there is a whole different list of complaints generated by that system...
 
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buddy teaches at Colonia HS and you repeated some verbatim of what's he said in last couple years

though he's very content to keep collecting his check , pension, unmatched job security (as long as you are not a kid toucher), spectacular benefits with minimal contribution, and summers off. he is as stress free as ever.
They were in the news for the cancer claims. Did they find anything or was that just noise ?

Teaching is tough from what I hear and it’s certainly not for everyone . But you aren’t really breaking your ass
 
Schools are a reflection of public life, of the society in which they operate. As we regress as a society, so does our schooling. And we certainly are regressing.
Honestly, our whole quality of life in most regards , has went downhill. You can run but cant hide--- things are tougher than even 5 years ago .
 
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