Although it seems to be hitting basically every job market lately, it has been in the news a lot that schools are having a hard time finding teachers. Even areas that once attracted dozens if not well over a hundred applicants (elementary, phy ed, social studies) are often unfilled now. Certainly a concerning trend – full disclosure, I am a teacher. Are you seeing this in your local area as well?
Under paid over worked. Pointless agendas teaching alot of useless information. I guess I get it. Who wants to go to college to make 50k a year
The old adage, teachers teach because they love it.. not for the money.. is now a really old adage.
I wouldn’t want to be a teacher for the pay now days either
50k for 8 months a year isn’t that bad.🤷♂️
50k for 8 months a year isn’t that bad.🤷♂️
Do they even make that much?
what I found…
The average High School Teacher salary in Minnesota is $63,400 as of July 26, 2022, but the range typically falls between $51,400 and $78,900
Dumbest comment ever heard-Who wants to go to college to make 50k a year.
I have two family member that are teachers…both make over 75K a year in public schools. In fact one is spending 6 months in the southern hemisphere as we speak. They will have a sub for him until the 1st of the year then gets his job back.
Who wants to go to college to make 50k a year….absolutely comical.
We are subjected to the low birth rate. As a end of baby boom era finding a decent career job was a tooth and nail fight. Now I see jobs offered that I would have died for back then. Getting in a construction union was a catch 22. Go to a contractor and unless you had a union card it was no hire. The go to the union hall and unless you had a commitment to hire…no card. Now I’ve seen local 139 operating engineers advertising for apprentices that will get over 50k to train. I can’t complain, I became a Firefighter after 4.5 years as a paid on call. These days there’s a stigma about women having more than 2 or 3 kids. Shrinking labor force.
I do think there are some other issues beside pay..
Our schools here are really pushing some of these new “agenda’s” and if you disagree you are pushed aside. Add to this how you have to speak to or treat students. You cannot say the wrong thing or will hurt some ones feelings and could get you fired. The list goes on.
It has to be pretty hard being a teacher that does not agree with what’s being taught in some schools. This might take the wind out of what you love to do and make some leave and not look back.
The pay is one thing. Dealing with kids today is another head wind facing the teaching profession. Lots of terrible parents raising terrible kids.
Dumbest comment ever heard-Who wants to go to college to make 50k a year.
I have two family member that are teachers…both make over 75K a year in public schools. In fact one is spending 6 months in the southern hemisphere as we speak. They will have a sub for him until the 1st of the year then gets his job back.
Who wants to go to college to make 50k a year….absolutely comical.
My teacher friends seam to do alright as well and they don’t work 60hours a week 12 months a year.
Busch and gitchi nailed it from my perspective who has several family members teachers.
Average $75k a year with summers off, that ain’t a bad deal. Get into admin you’re looking close to six figures.
I wonder how many teachers really appreciate their union…? Talk about a political machine. 
St Paul’s teachers wages average over 85k per year and they have great benefits. That’s pretty dam good for approx 8.5 months of work in my mind.
Would I do it – Nope
Busch and gitchi nailed it from my perspective who has several family members teachers.
Average $75k a year with summers off, that ain’t a bad deal. Get into admin you’re looking close to six figures.
Funny. In the district I work with it takes approximately 15 years to make $60,000 with a bachelors degree. Metro teachers get paid more because well, it’s metro. Teachers must get graduate degrees to make any amount of money at all. In rural areas the pay is considerably less. My wife works in Red wing, has a graduate degree, and does not make $75,000 a year. This is with 31+ years of experience. Those teachers that make 85K a year are at the end of their careers with PhD‘s level of education. Other states are far worse obviously. I read some thing that the starting pay in Montana is 32K a year average. And they wonder why they can’t get teachers? Willmar schools just hired some teachers from Nicaragua and the Philippines to fill the void. I’ve been in the business for 31+ years And will get out as soon as I can. Teachers in special ed are in and out of the profession very quickly. Anyone who wants to be a teacher, I think they are still giving out teaching licenses if you wanna give it a shot.
A couple reasons why teachers salaries are low – society does not value teachers and it’s a profession dominated by women. Do you think that if the profession was dominated by men the pay would be as low as it is? I think not.
My wife works in Red wing, has a graduate degree, and does not make $75,000 a year.
That’s surprising, my mom retired from teaching 10ish years ago and made close to that at the end of her career at the top of the pay scale. And she taught in Avon. I went to college to be a teacher originally, but wound up at Gustavus where it just didn’t make financial sense (Paying 30k/year tuition to get out and make 35k/year). I think about switching to it now, as I think I’d enjoy the teaching and coaching but there is no way I could tolerate the parents or the admin I don’t think.
So somewhere between 40k and 100k a year. Depending on who you ask. It is still 8-8.5 months a year. I can think of worse jobs.
Don’t get me wrong not saying it’s a walk in the park job.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>dirk-w. wrote:</div>
My wife works in Red wing, has a graduate degree, and does not make $75,000 a year.That’s surprising, my mom retired from teaching 10ish years ago and made close to that at the end of her career at the top of the pay scale. And she taught in Avon. I went to college to be a teacher originally, but wound up at Gustavus where it just didn’t make financial sense (Paying 30k/year tuition to get out and make 35k/year). I think about switching to it now, as I think I’d enjoy the teaching and coaching but there is no way I could tolerate the parents or the admin I don’t think.
Yeah, teachers who graduate with 30 to 50 K in student loans are going to have a tough for quite a while. Luckily I work with some great administrators so that’s not an issue, but yeah, I know what you mean. It’s the life we both chose though and we could’ve got out whenever we wanted and tried something else, so we bitch and complain a bit but we stuck with it. And the time off is, of course, a great perk.
to all the teachers out there.
to all the teachers out there.
+1. Amen to that. Cheers to you all
Only thing worse than being a teacher (respect wise) would be being a cop.
The pay is one thing. Dealing with kids today is another head wind facing the teaching profession. Lots of terrible parents raising terrible kids.
More like there’s more dit-bag parents out there failing to parent then sending their ignorant and bad-ass mannered rats to school where the teachers cannot do a thing to control them. Teaching would not be a bad profession if the bleeding hearts got pushed out of the school boards and some legislation was passed to get corporal punishment back in the schools and make striking a teacher at any age a class A felony, then hold the prick kid’s ignorant parent accountable.
Lots of perspective here.
I outlined several months ago what I thought to be some of the downsides to the education profession. I was thoroughly rebuffed by many who have “friends” “daughter” “dad” ( who started 30 years ago ) in the field and I must not know anything.
34 years in admin Community Ed Director, Ed Masters and MBA along with my undergraduate.
I sat on cabinet and city officials and community power brokers, school board members and the likes were on my speed dial because REALTIONSHIPS ARE IMPORTANT ( and learning how to create, maintain and nurture those is critical to success.) If I needed 30 K to start a program or create opportunities for families or kids I could pick up the phone and get it done. That is the beauty of a Community Education Director. We are the entrepreneurs of the education system .
Not saying I was “someone” – just laying it out.
My job is radically different in that I was there 12 months, ALL non school days and of course summer. We ran programs from 6:15 am to 11:00pm 5 days a week, all day sat and sunday as we managed facilities. And we got to work with kids all day every day.
BEST JOB EVER!!!!
There are a LOT OF FABULOUS teachers. Most are NOT prepared by our college system to be ready for what awaits them. I believe teachers need to do their student teaching “twice” – once within your first year of college and once at the end. You would weed out MANY folks who think it is still 1960 – it is NOT.
Parents are not the same and the onus is on teachers to do the right thing, not the students or the parents and personal responsibility is a rare trait to find these days. Let’s teach CRITICAL THINKING skills as a base – there are teachers who understand this but most get lost in the morass that is public education and their curriculum directors.
Teachers have a HARD job no doubt and I applaud those that can stay in it for the right reasons. If you are a more conservative individual the left side of the education spectrum will wear you down.
Are there exceptions? You bet, several here have had great careers of work with quality people. In MY PERSONAL experience quality leaders have been few – 19 superintendents in 34 years. Even my good ole Mankato math tells me that average is pretty scary. I worked in 5 districts. Small metro, large metro (11th largest in the state) outstate in one small and one large district.
Pay is not stellar ( last district I was in they started around 41K and with Continuing Ed and Masters they could make 90K when they retired.) You know EXACTLY how much you will make by looking at the scale in your contract. Avg 2% each year plus your step and lane and you can pretty easily chart out your compensation career. If you last the whole term you can retire very comfortably as the pension is good and the benefits better for teachers and administrators. Community Education Directors do not get the same contracts as teachers or admin as we do not have the same unions. We bargain for ourselves.
Governor Waldo wants to give even more money to teachers and we are expected to be lockstep because it is education. Education needs a re-tool nationwide. We have done the same thing since the late 1800’s. Woke education, teaching to the test, pressing for EVERY child to go to college. The list is long. Special Education needs to be FULLY funded by the government – not just 60% and mandated. EVERY CHILD deserves an education. STOP with the Chromebooks for 5 year olds and lets let them learn to play and learn how to develop relationships.
Our leaders need to be versed in finance as well as leadership. The rest of admin, the same.
Government needs to understand that just throwing more money at salaries will not change your current problem. People will still come on board, burn out in 2-5 years and either look for something else or just try to hold on for 25 more years as they “can’t afford to change jobs now” (don’t know HOW MANY times I hear that in our meetings.)
Teachers ARE NOT respected right now like they should be and that saddens me. Same as the police. What is more important than a good education?
To answer the question? The job is hard because of the kids the parents and the system and the money is just not enough – the almighty dollar rules.
Educators ROCK, they always have and they always will. My issues are with leadership and Govt and higher Ed and they have a tremendous impact on the teaching force and the way we structure the business and YES, it IS a business. $151 million dollar yearly budget with 1800 employees is a business.
My two cents – let the detractors in…….
So somewhere between 40k and 100k a year. Depending on who you ask. It is still 8-8.5 months a year. I can think of worse jobs.
Don’t get me wrong not saying it’s a walk in the park job.
I think that’s pretty accurate, depending on tenure and location. My Father retired from full time teaching at Hopkins 8 years ago. He was near the top end of the pay scale for his position and had a Masters in education. For the final 10 years, he only taught advanced statistics with accelerated students looking to get college credit.
He NEVER worked summers, ever. On occasion he will still sub for a school district near his house (north metro). He said he gets no less than 20 calls or emails daily asking to sub during the school year, but the pay is dog chit since it’s non-contract.
Having summer, spring break, every holiday, Thanksgiving, MEA, winter break, and weekends off while making the amount listed above is not a bad gig. You aren’t going to get rich, but you sure do get a lot of time off.
He could have moved up into administration to become a principal, but did not have the desire. Not much more pay, and a lot more responsibility.
My daughter’s 11th grade high school teacher sent out an email last week addressed to her asking how she would like to be identified and what her choosen pronoun should be.
Shits getting out of hand with some of these public institutions…
I agree with much of what you say.
I’m an AD, have been a Dean of Students in charge of attendance/discipline (not on an administrator contract) and often teach a higher level class or two a year to fill gaps. I stepped down from coaching football after 9 years due to my family needing more from me with the intention of jumping back in down the road.
My perspectives are just that…my perspectives.
Teacher pay outside the metro is an issue. I know for a fact our district starts at $46k. The top earners with Masters Degrees and 30 years + coaching, advising, etc are probably in the high 70k’s. Out of our regional grouping of 32 nearest schools, we are slightly above the average. This isn’t a poverty stricken wage, but it does limit housing opportunities substantially and pinches people with the cost of college. People simply don’t want to pay ~80k+ and spend 4 years of their lives in college to come out making $45k a year while their buddy who majored in marketing, construction tech, business, nursing, etc makes $70k without a struggle. I don’t blame them and I don’t see a teacher shortage going away at all.
As far as the kids go…Kids today are the same as they were 10,20,50 years ago. What is different is what they’re exposed to, have access to, how they’re controlled/managed by parents, and the homes they are coming from. 56% of students in MN public schools come from split families in 2022. Social media has a stranglehold on the masses, parents included. Instant gratification is a cancer to society with very few cures. It makes teaching kids tougher than ever as it makes parents more distracted and disconnected from their kids than ever. I hate when people blame kids for how they are. Little Johnny didn’t come out of the womb as an a**hole or lazy, his parents let him be that. This country has far more of an adult/parenting problem than it does a problem with its youth.
The political climate has turned people off to teaching. Media has taught people to speak poorly of their public schools and plays on fear of the unknown or something that’s too often fabricated. I’m in probably 25 schools a year and I’ve never seen a litter box. I’ve never been asked about pronoun titles. Media and the political climate has also conditioned people to open their mouths about things they know nothing about and angrily lash out at anything they slightly disagree with. We had a brand new fresh out of college 23 year old math teacher leave the profession this Spring. She was called and verbally assaulted by a parent over her kid missing out on NHS due to an EARNED C- in Math. The parent themselves couldn’t probably reduce a fraction, but annoyed everyone up the chain to the superintendent about getting a grade changed. The teacher left and said someone else can do this for $46k and was probably much happier.
I genuinely enjoy this job. There are parts I don’t always enjoy…but that’s every job. I take classes in the evenings in summer while working ~60 hours a week at the lumberyard and doing my own side jobs with contractors. I could not afford the life my wife, daughters, and I strive to live on education alone. We all know things are crazy expensive. The teacher shortage and some experiences have made me substantially less worried about what parents or administrators think as job security is all but a given. I know nobody is coming through that door with experience to take my spot as does administration. If a parent is out of line I remind them just like I do a student/athlete as often the apple fell directly under the crooked tree. Last year a parent asked why their kid’s participation rubric for an elective college level class was an F. I responded calmly telling them it was because that’s as low as our current scale goes. I then reminded them it’s posted daily and to not just check on their kid’s academic standing the day before the term ends. That’s like rushing to check your oil after 3 months of a knocking sound in your truck.
I don’t know if I’ll stick with education for the next 30 years as one of my jobs or if I’ll opt for something more lucrative. If I got fired tomorrow I would have a few options to do something else for more pay and less stress. Before people start bashing kids’ schools or teachers, remember that almost every teacher in todays world is in the same boat with more career options than ever. For now, my family and I are content. Working in a school isn’t the nightmare some assume, nor is it a walk in the park. Before passing on the media driven hate and fear-filled rumors, go attend a local board meeting, take in a few different athletic events, eat lunch with your kid and their friends, swing by the IT lab to see the students running the plasma cutter or changing oil, have a conversation with a teacher/liaison officer/para/secretary about their job………and you may be very surprised it’s not anything like the headlines you see.
UMY
Well said!
My daughter’s 11th grade high school teacher sent out an email last week addressed to her asking how she would like to be identified and what her choosen pronoun should be.
Shits getting out of hand with some of these public institutions…
Was it just from 1 teacher or a letter the school district sent out to all students? If it is sent to all students this is just crazy. If it is from 1 teacher I would be contacting administration.
By the way my daughter is a teacher.
My wife makes approximately $75k a year to teach fourth grade and gets all summer off with the kids. Could be worse.
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to all the teachers out there. 
