I LOVE kids & all the career aptitude tests show that I should be an elementary school teacher but...?

Question

everyone's saying that elementary school teachers make nothing and I'm a smart girl and I should go into some better....

I personally really would love working with kids and teaching them new things. I've worked at daycare before and done a LOT of babysitting. I love it. But it's true. There's not that much money here. I was thinking of opening up the best daycare ever... with really good programs and very healthy food.

Do you think I should go for it? (of course, I will do all the research and get licenced). I'm 20 years old by the way and sick of studying university math... I hate it! What was I thinking...

Answer 1

I'm not sure that they make nothing, but I do know that in the USA they generally have a good insurance and retirement policy, plus they get summers off, and substitutes if they can't make it due to illness or if their own children are sick.

The difficulty here is continually having to jump through the hoops of the "no child left behind" laws, trying to balance the learning needs of kids that are at different levels, and in getting parental help with the educational system.

The entry level for teachers seems to be around $30,000 (for nine months work) and around here, if you work in a high need area, you may possibly get part of your tuition paid for.

Since you are now at a university, why not go down to the career office and see how much the elementary teachers are making in your area, and what degree minors are the most desirable? They seem to ask for specific sets like math/science or English/literature.

Here's a salary search site.
salary.com - you'll have to search for your area - US
http://salary.com/

National USA average for elementary teachers - I think the private schools/people with masters degrees must be figured into the higher-level salaries.
http://hrsalarycenter.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/swzl_localrangebell.asp?r=salswz_swzseljob_swp&jobcode=ED03000010&jobtitle=Teacher%20Elementary%20School&narrowdesc=Education&zipcode=&metrocode=&wsrcode=SW1&yearsofexp=&geo=U.S.%20National%20Averages&narrowcode=ED01

And of course, you could also do daycare for kids during the summer/holidays/snow days for parents who need it during those times.

Good luck making your decision.

Answer 2

Just make sure you really really do not mind screeching and screaming kids. Babysitting 1-1 is not really the same as taking care of a bunch of toddlers at a time.

Besides that, you have to look into how much people are willing to pay for a new startup daycare centre. Most rich kids go to an established one and others might be reluctant to pay a premium. Normal day care centres are limited by the amount of kids that are allowed to be intake (not sure if that applies for US, i live in Singapore by the way)

Still , my advise is to go through university, look for degree in "early childhood education" (okay..again not sure if there is such program in USA but in Singapore it is available). Also keep a lookout for interesting programs that might interest people to send their kids there to pay a premium. Example, there are some child care centres over here which provides programs that develop cognitive process and learning skills.

Answer 3

Sometimes you have to sacrifice something you love to do and take a cut in pay. If your really loved being a school teacher, why should money really matter? You found your place in life.

Answer 4

Pay your dues working public schools, then go to a private school, high end.