Teacher Gets Schooled

Hi Scott,
 
I love teaching. I love the sparkle in a student’s eye when they ‘get it’. I love being a stable and consistent cheerleader in their lives. Yet things have changed in the past five years – the challenges that come with students who didn’t receive the support they needed during lockdown, and the challenges of the ‘screen kids’ – a generation with too much time on TikTok and not enough time socialising, imagining, reading or being outside. The role of teachers has never been more important, never harder and never less respected.
 
I am at the top of the classroom teacher pay scale ($120,000) after 10 years (I’m 37), with no possibility of progression unless I want to take on a Head Teacher, Deputy or Principal role – and I don’t. We can’t ask for a payrise annually like your book suggests. We have a teacher shortage and an impending education crisis, with three out of four teachers having considered a career change in the past five years. So my question is: how does a highly qualified and experienced teacher transition into another career without taking a huge pay cut?
 
Jim
 
Hi Jim,
 
So what you’re telling me is that the grass is much greener on the other side of the oval.
 
How much green are you chasing, Jim?
 
Let’s say you could earn an extra $60,000 a year. That’d give you an extra $3,000 a month after tax, which, if you invested it, would make a huge difference at your age.
 
However, it would also mean giving up your calling in life, something that clearly gives you a deep sense of meaning and purpose. You need to put a value on that – and I think it’s worth a lot more than $3,000 a month.
 
If I were in your shoes I’d look at your costs, and perhaps entertain the idea of moving to a regional area where you can live cheaper. I’d also think about how you could boost your income from tutoring. Remember, the grass isn’t always greener. Sometimes it’s just astroturf.

Scott.