Teachers Salary? (Phoenix, Flagstaff, Prescott: rent, insurance, condo) - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum

sofakingspoiled · 07-02-2007, 01:25 PM

Good Day!

I am moving to AZ from NY in the near future. I am looking for a job there. I am a teacher here in NY and make a good salary. The cost of living here in NY is high, but as I understand it, it is a bit better in AZ.

Any teachers out there who can share with me cost of living and salary info?

I would greatly appreciate it!!!!

Danni

Nice Nice Baby! · 07-02-2007, 02:06 PM

Depends if you bring equity with you for housing. A teachers salary if your single will get you a cheap townhome/condo(don't buy one), but if you have a considerable amount down on a 3 bedroom house which goes for $150 k-$225 k, depending on where in the valley you live, then you can swing it. Just a rough estimate as I don't know what you'll be paid with your experience. Starting salaries with 5 years experience can run up to $40k/year. This also depends on which district. If you rent first, which is recommended, then look for $900-$1000/month.

BlueStone · 07-24-2007, 09:34 PM

Be real careful out here; there's a lot of double speak at the districts about "years of experience" credit on a salary scale. Regardless of years of experience, you may start out at max. 4 years - hence, without a masters, you are looking @ $31,000, give or take 1-2 grand. Yes, it's pathetic. Careful. I moved here from Minnesota and took about a 20,000$ pay cut - of course like a dork I trusted I would get 100% pay credit for years of experience - they maxed me @ 4... One district south of Flagstaff offered me 28,000$ a year. No, I did not stay. The unions are also very weak out here - it's a "right to work" state which loosely means, "If yer don't like it, get the F out." The general expectations and work loads are comparable to most districts in the US, however there seems to be a blind side re: class size. Welcome to the state of 28-29 kids in a room, complete with all the IEPs, 504s, special needs, meds, etc., etc.. Again if you're looking for a desert experience and would like to have a place to work that beats 50 hours at a WalMart, teach. If your looking for a career as a teacher in this state and are planning to announce your pregnant within 1 year - hence, the job "keeps us in insurance", your husband works at Intel @ 57,000$ + start a year, great. If not, keep looking - don't come here - California, etc..pay so much better - this state is about the lowest in the nation for teacher salaries. Again, be very careful. It's not a bargain here - you don't have a 40% decrease in cost of living coming from let's say MN or anywhere around the Lakes...It's a good experience coming out here, but professionally I can't take staying here seriously. I have too much pride, sorry.

ibarrio · 07-24-2007, 09:52 PM

This state is not the lowest paid.

You are coming from New York so I'm sure you will be High Qualified here in Arizona. It pays to come from a state that has outrageous requirements for teachers as it means you can have a job pretty much anywhere you want. Trust me, You will be in demand!!

I'm Highly Qualified (From California) and I took a job at $56,000 base with many opportunities to earn more (such as AIMS tutoring...which can pay as high as $40 per hour).

LBear · 07-25-2007, 01:35 PM

It all depends WHERE you live in the state. If you are in NORTHERN AZ, then your pay will be horrible. If you are in the Phoenix area, then you will have a decent wage.

The other person who stated that pay is not low, doesn't know what they are talking about, read the REAL story in the Prescott Courier:
http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?Sea...ectionID=1&S=1
The Prescott area is one of the LOWEST PAID districts IN THE COUNTRY. They had over 100 teachers quit this year alone in that area. A teacher with a masters degree, 10 years experience, ESL, was making $33K a year with LAME health benefits.

GO to Phoenix if you want better pay, stay away from Northern AZ.

artyst · 07-25-2007, 01:43 PM

even within the phoenix metro area, each district has a different wage scale. some pay more, some pay less.

ibarrio · 07-25-2007, 07:11 PM

Quote:

he Prescott area is one of the LOWEST PAID districts IN THE COUNTRY.

That may be true but Arizona is not the lowest paid state as a whole. As the other poster claimed.

If you are highly qualified and shop around then you can get decent money.

As for California, you cannot just go in and get a job as a teacher. A master degree may buy you one year in Cal but other then that it is worthless. You need a Cal Credential which is pretty much equivalent to another Masters Degree. Despite what you think or heard the bar is set high in California.

ddnmill · 07-26-2007, 01:28 AM

It completely depends on the individual qualifications and experience of the teacher as well as what district they are on. I teach math and science, with a master's degree+ and have National Board certification. So I make $70,000+ from my district with 10 years of experience. If you have a master's in a highly desired subject (not education but in a content area) you can also teach adjunct at one of Maricopa's community colleges. That can bring in another $15,000 to $25,000 depending on how much you want to teach. The great thing is the state pension system, which if you stay in for 30 years will easily give you a $60,000+ pension for the rest of your life. All in all, the pay is excellent and you can certainly afford to buy a nice house here.

grisandole · 07-26-2007, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddnmill

It completely depends on the individual qualifications and experience of the teacher as well as what district they are on. I teach math and science, with a master's degree+ and have National Board certification. So I make $70,000+ from my district with 10 years of experience. If you have a master's in a highly desired subject (not education but in a content area) you can also teach adjunct at one of Maricopa's community colleges. That can bring in another $15,000 to $25,000 depending on how much you want to teach. The great thing is the state pension system, which if you stay in for 30 years will easily give you a $60,000+ pension for the rest of your life. All in all, the pay is excellent and you can certainly afford to buy a nice house here.

Where do you work? My husband had a masters and nine years and was making a base of 33ish in Northern AZ. The highest paying district we found in the state would have paid him about 42ish (they won't true year-for-year credit).

We just moved to CA

ddnmill · 07-26-2007, 02:23 AM

I work in the Phoenix area (in a career ladder district which pays VERY nice bonuses). In Phoenix, districts REALLY have to compete for teachers, especially in math, chemistry/physics/physical science, and special ed. I started in my district so I didn't need to transfer any years of experience. But, I do know some teachers in the above high need areas that have been able to negoiate for credit up to ten years of experience. But, as I said, its all a matter of supply and demand.

I have heard that the pay is horrible in Northern Arizona and is generally half of what a teacher can make here.... but it's really a matter of supply and demand. I think teachers do need to make themselves more marketable like people in other professions do. For example, content area master's are much more desireable than master's in education (and are more work because they require years of research) as are certifications (both state and particularly national) in high-need areas, so districts will offer a prospective teacher more, even though this is not something they want other applicants to know (and they ask that it not be divulged). But, education is becoming more like business because of the teachers shortage so this will probably only increase in the future.