Less testing, relaxed schooling?

[eyephone]

1)  It's unfair to add in benefits as part as pay.  Most people get benefits but most don't know what their total benefits packages costs. 

Yes and no...  I've yet to work at a company that offered benefit packages at that price.  That column also includes overtime pay and other bonuses.  Also, my kids teachers are still 6 figures without the benefits.

Yes but when people talk about what one earns, benefits are not usually in the discussion.  Teachers' benefits are public information so the figures are out there.

Again...teachers can get to 6 figures if they have a lot of experience and advance degrees.  Starting is around $55K...not great if you're talking about a job with an advanced degree.

People may not consider them, but they should. Does a company offer a huge 401K match, a pension, free healthcare...those are all things that you should factor into what I call "total" comp. Do you get 40 days of vacation vs. 10. Now you need to individually weigh the importance of these benefits to you, but you absolutely should compare. 

If Joe blow makes $70K and gets nothing else and Joe Lucky makes $70K base, but gets 8% of every dollar he makes which is put in his 401K (plus a 50% match of any of his investments...no maximum) and then gets healthcare that Joe blow pays $13,000 / yr for his insurance (family of 4). Came up with a rough estimate based upon fact that Obamacare, average family of 4 pays about 16K (if you made 120K...so I adjusted downward for a few grand for simplicity). We'll also assume Joe Blow gets 10 days of vacation and 3 sick days plus 8 holidays.  Joe lucky gets 10 holidays, 5 sick days, and 20 days of vacation.

If you don't look at total comp...you just blindly assume the same. Yet, without even factoring in the cost for the additional vacation time...Joe Lucky actually gets (whether he can use it all now or later) makes significantly more. 

Now you don't  blindly just go off of the benefit factor (as you may not actually benefit from whatever a companies cost is so when you decide between job x and job y, you pick x) but you should look at what your overall comp.

Agreed but that's not what we are talking about about.  We are talking about comparing apples to apples when talking about teacher's salaries.  If we include benefits for a teacher in the discussion while comparing it to just earned income for others, it's an unfair discussion.

I think it's fair and reasonable to compare the whole financial package.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

I think it's fair and reasonable to compare the whole financial package.

Yes it is but how often do you see non-teacher's compensation packages valued and then disclosed?

 

[riznick]

Again...teachers can get to 6 figures if they have a lot of experience and advance degrees.  Starting is around $55K...not great if you're talking about a job with an advanced degree.

What is the starting salary of those with advanced degrees these days?  55K with incredible benefits doesn't seem low. 

It's a secure job, that has structured growth and great benefits.  Also, many of our teachers already have the experience.  As stated, all the teachers I've run into so far were 6 figures.

The point I was making, though, is we are often told that teachers and police officers are grossly underpaid.  That's just a common thing that's repeated frequently.  Police officers are one of the highest paying jobs when you factor in the benefits.

 

[riznick]

Agreed but that's not what we are talking about about.  We are talking about comparing apples to apples when talking about teacher's salaries.  If we include benefits for a teacher in the discussion while comparing it to just earned income for others, it's an unfair discussion.

Not unfair at all.  I have to spend 15-20K per year on healthcare for my family.  It would be much less than that if I was a teacher.  There's no pension plan for me, but there is for a teacher. 

 

[Irvinecommuter]

Agreed but that's not what we are talking about about.  We are talking about comparing apples to apples when talking about teacher's salaries.  If we include benefits for a teacher in the discussion while comparing it to just earned income for others, it's an unfair discussion.

Not unfair at all.  I have to spend 15-20K per year on healthcare for my family.  It would be much less than that if I was a teacher.  There's no pension plan for me, but there is for a teacher.

Teachers also pay for their pension and healthcare.  It gets taken out of their checks automatically.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

Again...teachers can get to 6 figures if they have a lot of experience and advance degrees.  Starting is around $55K...not great if you're talking about a job with an advanced degree.

What is the starting salary of those with advanced degrees these days?  55K with incredible benefits doesn't seem low. 

It's a secure job, that has structured growth and great benefits.  Also, many of our teachers already have the experience.  As stated, all the teachers I've run into so far were 6 figures.

The point I was making, though, is we are often told that teachers and police officers are grossly underpaid.  That's just a common thing that's repeated frequently.  Police officers are one of the highest paying jobs when you factor in the benefits.

What are the benefits you speak of?  Health insurance and pension?  Those are paid for by the teachers as well.

Yes, teacher do make 6 figures...those who have worked for 10+ years.  People who work 10+ years at their professions often make more than that.

 

[jmoney74]

Teachers can be bad at their jobs.. and keep them. 

 

[eyephone]

Teachers can be bad at their jobs.. and keep them. 

Don't get me started on the pension. They get a percentage of the final pay depending how many years they work. (Depends on the union agreement and time they join) I'm not calling out IUSD, because I don't know the pension agreement. But when I find out, you all will be the first to know.

#PublicInfo

 

[Kangen.Irvine]

Teachers hired before 2012 currently contribute 9% of their gross pay to CalSTRS, it will increase to 10% next year. With these increases it makes most teacher salaries stagnant since 2008.

The earlier comment about teachers working six hours a day is definitely flawed. Lesson planning, grading, and prep time definitely add two hours a day and that would be a very low estimate for what I have seen. Yes it's flexible time so many teachers can grade in different places.

I will consistently say, any parent who values their child's education must fight for this same investment in their child's teacher.