IMO folks miss the boat with teaching...big time. I say this as a man whose father taught for 45 years in the Chicago schools system and who just retired in spring 2020.
I come from a family of teachers on my dads side. Pretty much everyone on my dad's side of the family who has a college degree is either a school teacher, a principle, a sports coach or doctor. That side of the family came out of Mississippi and anyone who knows that area understands the older generations of black folks took up teacher as a way to matriculate to middle class. Cause due to racism that was one of the few educated jobs you could get there cause you were gonna teach your own and because of the state having HBCUs.
The last year my dad worked he had made well into the early 100k salary and had been making 100k for at least 20 years without working the summer. Hell truth be told my dad was working summers at the chicago board of education playground district as a teacher organizing summer camps and making 100k then with his teacher job and summer teacher job.
So when folks mention salary they fail to realize that's the salary over working 10 months or 189 days. Since you get paid for spring break, paid fall break, paid 2 weeks for Christmas break. Plus paid for the local holidays and weather days. So you might work for 10 months but you getting at least 4 weeks in holidays and don't forget you get 2 to 3 weeks of vacation time.
And if you get a job out west or up north or north east with a strong union. You getting a mandatory 3 to 5 percent raise, a good retirement plan and other great benefits.
My dad retired and getting 85k a year in pension now. One more thing being a teacher has some of the best job security there is around. My dad put it to me like this when I was young. Yeah some of my college friends make more. They have bigger salaries and big bonuses. But they also been laid off 2 or 3 times. Took them 6 months to a year to find another job or have to stress about layoffs every few years. Where as my dad never had to worry about layoffs or it being difficult to find a new job or having to relocate to find a new job or getting laid off due to ageism.
The problem is starting around the gen x and millenials generations being a teacher became negative in view. It wasn't looked at as an exciting job or a job to brag about. But forgetting that it was an honest profession with good benefits and job security. The pay wasn't big but nor is the pay big in some of these garbage degrees kats going to school to get in 50k and more of debt with no job in sight.
. Most of brothas that teach are at middle school,high school level. I kid yall not they DONT want any black men teaching elementary unless they gay . White or black elementary they resent men in those offices.
