The Truth About Teacher Salaries AN INSIDE PEEK AT EDUCATOR SALARIES AND PERKS ACROSS THE U.S. If they were to do it over... would choose teaching again aren’t sure would not choose teaching again 35% 31% 34% Only 14% of teachers surveyed feel they are compensated fairly given the cost of their education. Teachers appreciate a supportive, positive work environment, the opportunity to become even better teachers, and TEACHING! Teachers would appreciate a higher salary, bonus opportunities, and compensation for additional duties. TEACHER SALARIES The majority of teachers (70%) feel they are paid very or somewhat unfairly. Factors Impacting Compensation Very satisfied Neutral JOB PERKS Almost 40% of teachers report having student loan debt and only 13% participate in a loan-forgiveness program. DISCOUNTS OFFERED: 22% receive special car, disability and life insurance discounts. 11% receive special loan rates. 99% of teachers get health insurance 78% of teachers get life insurance 67% of teachers get state-wide pension plan 49% of teachers get additional opportunities for 403b retirement savings 36% of teachers get Social Security benefits 32% of teachers get retirement incentives 21% of teachers get individual pension plan BENEFITS OFFERED: Paid in-service/ planning/training days 22% 5.3 days 3% 9.8 days 62% 30 days Paid sick days Paid maternity days JOB WOES Teachers report spending an average of 8 hours per day in the classroom, teaching, planning, and grading. Additionally, teachers report spending an average of 3 hours per day at home and 5.6 hours over weekends for extra-curricular activities, grading, and planning. work less than 45 hours work 45-49 hours per week work 50-54 hours per week work 60+ hours per week Nearly 4 out of 5 teachers say their district uses a step and lane salary schedule. Annual salaries range from $35,304 to $67,766, with $55,418 being the average teacher salary as reported by the NEA. The top 10 states for beginning salary and average salary lists (2010 data) are available here: http://www.nea.org/home/38465.htm of teachers can earn more if they have a master’s degree of teachers can earn more if they have a doctorate. of teachers can earn more for coaching an athletic team. of teachers can earn more if they lead extra-curricular activities like student clubs. of teachers can earn more if they receive continuing education credits throughout the year. of teachers qualify for an annual cost-of-living increase. of teachers qualify for merit pay based on test scores or student performance. 81% 66% 72% 54% 48% 18% 13% Some teachers report receiving additional pay for teaching certain hard-to-staff subjects. Paid Non-Instruction Days and Time Off 2% 7% 48% 43% While 69% of teachers say they are satisfied with their choice of careers, only 1/3 say they would choose an education profession if they were to start their careers over. 19% 37% 7% 4% 33% Somewhat satisfied Somewhat unfairly Very unfairly 8% 7% 6% 6% 6% 1% ELL/ESL /bilingual classes Teaching positions in special education Math classes Science classes Teaching positions in high-poverty schools Teaching positions in rural schools Only 1 in 5 teachers surveyed feel their undergraduate or graduate program prepared them for the financial realities of becoming a teacher. Methodology: WeAreTeachers conducted an online survey with 1,157 full time Pre-K through 12th-grade teachers. Data collection took place in late August and early September of 2013. The responses represent only those surveyed and cannot be generalized to the population of PreK-Grade 12 audience. 1/4 OF TEACHERS NEED A SECOND JOB to survive financially. TYPE % of teachers Average who get none number of days