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Say what you will about the pay, there are still jobs to be had if you are a teacher looking for work in Wake county. I found it interesting that the article states that 59% of the recent hires are from out of state.
Yes, but most of the shortages are in high school math and sped. Us elementary teachers are a dime a dozen. I've found it to be pretty competitive at the elementary level. I've had several interviews, one job offer which fell through and a I was a top three candidate at another school. And I have a MA with several years of experience! But alas, I decided to stay home one more year with my little ones.
I have noticed every year around this time they say that they have a shortage of teachers for the start of school. Why that is I don't know. They have teacher fairs each year it seems. I do know that teachers seem to come and go in my children's schools. I wonder if this has anything to do with it along with growth that wer are seeing.
It's quite sad that one of the most important jobs in US is the one of the most underpaid ones. I know that as school systems continue to hire more teachers, it seems that even more kids are showing up.
I have noticed every year around this time they say that they have a shortage of teachers for the start of school. Why that is I don't know. They have teacher fairs each year it seems. I do know that teachers seem to come and go in my children's schools. I wonder if this has anything to do with it along with growth that wer are seeing.
A lot of the reason is that N.C. doesn't do much to encourage teachers to stay here. There are a lot of teachers who get a few years experience and then move to one of the northern states that pay more.
Also, teaching is just a high turn-over job. There are a lot of teachers that don't stay with it for more than five years.
If NC grads are moving up north for higher paying jobs, then why are so many northern teachers moving here and accepting lower paying ones? I'm wondering if many of the norhtern teachers moving here are moving with a S/O with a job transfer or something and they decided to keep teaching? If so, that may be a part of the turnover here in Wake. Maybe many of them don't "need" the job and decide the money isn't worth it?
In any case, I do think teaching in general is a high turnover job. It's a lot of work and stressful and not really "high paying" anywhere in the country. Yes, I know some states pay significantly more than others, but it's still not a profession one usually goes into for the money.
Also, I am personal friends with many Wake teachers and they have expressed their dissatisfaction with teaching here less over the money but more with growth and administrative issues.
My best friend is a KG teacher getting ready to leave the profession after 6 years because she says she just can't deal with the administrative and school level politics, even though she loves the kids and the actual "teaching" part of the job. She's going into private tutoring for kids who are behind in school and is making the same amount of money, with 1/2 the stress.
This year, at my daughter's school (north forest pines) which is a new year round school, because of the results of the wakecares lawsuit, the population of the school dropped by 200, and they lost TA's, mainly in the lower grades, but especially in kindergarten. So now there are 4 classes that share 2 ta's. That could burn anyone out quickly!
If NC grads are moving up north for higher paying jobs, then why are so many northern teachers moving here and accepting lower paying ones?
I certainly can't speak for all of the teachers that come for the North, but I can speak for myself and the teachers I know (I moved from Ohio to teach in Durham and know a few others that did the same). Most of the teachers I know that moved here when they first start teaching did so with the plan of only staying a few years. I know that it was very difficult for my friends to find jobs in Ohio without any experience, yet there were many offers from N.C. and other states. They come here to build up the experience they need, then head back North for the better paying jobs that they want.
While I can't speak from personal experience, I can say this. One of the main reasons we are moving from NJ to NC is because my girlfriend who graduated college last year, cannot find a teaching job in NJ. The turnover up here is extremely low. Most teachers have been teaching 15-30 years in the same district. Probably because they pay so well, some make upwards of $80k a year as a regular teacher. She applied to nearly 100 districts over the past 6 months and no one is hiring, and even if they are, they want someone with 3-5 years experience. So for last year and this year she is stuck subbing which does not pay that much. Two of her friends that graduated with her went down to NC and got jobs on the spot. The difference in starting pay is not that much. Up here you would likely see $37-39k starting where down in NC it is more like $31-34k. But you have to remember cost of living, up here in NJ a small 2 bedroom condo in the suburbs with no land (likely 30-40 years old) will run you near $200k. Down in NC (outside the city itself), you can get a new construction 3-4 bedroom house on some decent land for that much money. Plus the property taxes on that condo in NJ are about $3k a year, while they are closer to $1k a year in NC on that house.
Here is a link to Teachers in my town sorted by experience in years:
NJ Public School Results (http://php.app.com/edstaff/results.php?pageNum_Recordset1=0&totalRows_Records et1=465&county=MERCER&district=EAST+WINDSOR+REGION AL&school=%25&tfm_order=DESC&tfm_orderby=EXPDIST - broken link)
And what is amazing is that I actually had a lot of these teachers when I was in school some 10-15-20 years ago. Just showing how low the turnover is.
Last edited by jesseschulman; 08-14-2007 at 05:39 AM..
A lot of young families have been priced out of areas in NY & NJ. That cuts the demand for teachers.
The town I grew up in, Oceanside LI, closed a school because of demographic changes in the community.
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