How does a Special Education Teacher get rich?

Question

I just graduated in December and am confused with how to gather the proper work experiences that will increase my earning potential. Most districts will only pay about two thousand more for a masters degree in education. I love teaching but I don't want to work into my eighties before I can retire.

Answer 1

Well, you might have phrased it better as 'How do I retire comfortably at a reasonable age?' On that basis...

As well as finding the best paid job that you can, you need to invest as much as you can, say 10% of your net salary, into a retirement fund.

This might be a pension plan or a mutual fund/unit trust inside any tax-free wrapper offered by the government (ISA in the UK). Its difficult to predict which actively managed fund will do well, since the managers change every 18 months or so.

Look into what tax you pay in your country on contributions to the fund and income from the fund. Get advice.

Go for an index tracker that invests in all the companies of a particular stock market, to reduce risk and volatility, such as a FTSE All Share tracker in the UK or Wilshire 5000 in the USA. Find one with very low entry and annual management charges.

You can reduce the risk from changes in currency levels over the decades by sticking to your own countries stock market.

Be patient and don't worry about short-term fluctuations in the value of the fund. Don't switch funds. Your money will grow exponentially. I read somewhere that the long term annual rate of growth is something like 7% - 11%. Pension salesmen are only allowed to quote a certain figure such as 7% to avoid promising more than they can deliver or that the past few years performance will be repeated.

You may be able to double any money you contribute every 7 to 10 years, so it grows x 2, x 4, x 8, x 16, etc. Therefore, any money you can contribute early on contributes far more than money contributed later.

You might see whether you can get a 2nd income doing something online one or two evenings a week, such as selling goods or a service on eBay. See the 'speciality services' section for examples. Ask for any technical help on here.

You might offer private tuition in some subject online via a website or just by gathering customers by word of mouth and getting their email address. It may be a subject you already know or you can learn something new online, then teach it. For example, getting a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) qualification and teaching english, in english to advanced students. It could be coaching in basic math or english grammar for school kids, etc, or it could be something based on a hobby, such as art-appreciation, guitar, a computer skill like photo-manipulation, etc.

If you do some work online, you are not limited to work available in your area. You can work anywhere, anytime.

The last link is to a previous question about paying off debts, but I gave some suggestions for extra income.

Answer 2

I am not saying this to earn prayer points or anything but working with special needs children you will have a very rich mental life they can provide a since of wealthy to your heart I have worked with them for 5 years and make only about 2000 a month and I never can complain about money when I think of them and how they are so positive no matter what is wrong with them. However if you want to work with Special needs and make a lot you can become a doctor for them. Writting a book may help but what would make your diffrent from the millions out there?

Answer 3

I'm using my wife's Yahoo account to answer your question. No, they are not going to cut special education. It is actually just the opposite. The government is spending more money to increase awareness and research. The number of children being identified with special needs is increasing ever year. There is no way they can just cut special education from our system. Don't jump the gun, just because you have good grades and have a degree, doesn't mean you will get a job right away. There are a lot of factors that go into hiring a special education teacher, and good grades is just one. Best wishes.

Answer 4

Did you go to school for all those years to do what you love or to get rich? I have the most profound respect for special education teachers. If you are looking to make money than try investing in the stock market or buy lottery tickets. This isn't the field to get into if what you really want is money. Truely, I do understand your concern and I'm not saying any of this to be rude. I just know of several people personally who got into this field with te best of intentions and none of them are doing it now because they couldn't handle it. Not to mention, there certainly isn't the money in this field that these teachers so desperately deserve. Unless your heart is in this 110%, you shouldn't enter this field. I do wish you the best of luck.

Answer 5

Its called starting from ground zero. And, if you don't like the idea of earning the salary that Special Ed teachers make or the benefits that they obtain or the idea of budgeting or putting away for retirement....try marrying someone who is rich or dance as a stripper in Las Vegas during vacations.

Answer 6

The only way I can think of is if you have some inspiring student or class and the Teacher writes a book about it which then gets made into a movie.

Answer 7

People that choose that line of work arent usually looking to get rich.. They do it because they actually care and want to make a difference.If you are looking to get rich you should choose a different line of work..

Answer 8

Marrying a rich person.

Answer 9

by writing a book