would you go into teaching?

L

lived666

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You always hear that teachers get paid peanuts, but my daughter has finished her engineering degree and studied to get her teachers diploma this year in order to stay alert instead of taking a gap year and was offered a teaching position, which I don't think is peanuts but maybe I have no idea what salaries are.
Its around 200K package plus a few extras, and to me that sounds very decent for a 22 year old to earn?
Ok so she hasn't really planned on becoming a teacher, but she has enjoyed the training and teaching at schools and most jobs require some working experience and this looks like a decent option to gain some working experience for a few years?
 
that is quite decent! I'm getting slightly more with my BSc CS hons as a developer...
I think with teaching salaries though, you can flat line though pretty quick and unless you make the move to headmaster of school, increases are mostly inflation related? Could be wrong though..
 
lived666 said:
You always hear that teachers get paid peanuts, but my daughter has finished her engineering degree and studied to get her teachers diploma this year in order to stay alert instead of taking a gap year and was offered a teaching position, which I don't think is peanuts but maybe I have no idea what salaries are.
Its around 200K package plus a few extras, and to me that sounds very decent for a 22 year old to earn?
Ok so she hasn't really planned on becoming a teacher, but she has enjoyed the training and teaching at schools and most jobs require some working experience and this looks like a decent option to gain some working experience for a few years?
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Thats not a bad salary, but i am not sure how much it increases over time?
In terms of promotions, you gotta wait for a department head to leave
 
What does she want to do? Is teaching experience really relevant to an engineer? If she wants to do both teaching and then pursue a career in engineering, she'd be better off in a TA (teaching assistant) or junior lecturer post at a university. Some of my friends did TA jobs when we were doing post-grad, and they were earning more than 200k a year. I was earning more than 200k a year, studying full time on a bursary.
 
I'm currently teaching, and 200k is a decent salary. As stated above, increases are a problem. They literally give you inflation rated, according to CPI. So that stupid little basket they use, which doesn't realistically cover the day to day expenses of a professional, is a massive hindrance. I've looked at my own personal basket that I started with, and what it contains now, and it is depressing. I'm technically speaking worth 10-15% less than when I started, but have 4 years more experience. Go figure. So I'm looking for an out.
 
You must be passionate about it plus you can go overseas easier I would think.
 
The problem is this.. teaching as what? secondary education as in university/techinikon/technology? or are we talking high/primary schools. If the latter she is limiting herself in a bad way unless she is really into teaching for a long period of time. I don't understand why a female engineer would want to teach(female engineers are rare and sort after in industry earning companies lots of brownie points too) unless it's that she doesn't like the corporate environment or engineering? From a salary point of view it's a bit less to the same as she would be getting in a decent engineering position but the growth would be a lot more in engineering.
 
lived666 said:
You always hear that teachers get paid peanuts
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No. The issue is that they get paid peanut when taking into account the level of ability/knowledge they have. i.e. It affects the senior lecturers more since they are often at the top of their field yet don't get paid well compared to those in the corporate world.

The engineering angle is good though. All of the "professional" degrees are somewhat shielded from this effect because the person standing in front of the class *must* have qualification X else they just don't have the credibility needed, so nobody from another field lowballs the job. Its still no where near what could be earned in the corporate world, but the gap is not as bad as say in a BA field.
 
Goodness.. I was in exactly the same position.
I studied engineering, and was offered a teaching position (without the teaching diploma) and it was R8k pm and they could place me in any rural school anywhere in SA.

Needless to say, I declined. I started out as an Engineering Intern on 180k, so 200k is not half bad. However, it might not go up much for a very long time.
It might be a good thing to do to get a bit of experience, and its a job that she can do now until she figures out what she wants to in future. Also, the experience definitely is a plus when applying for a job with a company.
 
If she studied engineering, why on earth would you go into teaching? Unless you really dislike engineering, but I'm sure after a bit of engineering experience she could "teach" in that direction rather, and make a lot more money than a normal teacher. The teachers I know are really frustrated and would like a way out.
 
Sounds like OPs daughter is just teaching for 1 year so that she does not lose her academic edge.

From what OP has said it doesnt look like his daughter is going to career in education.
 
I would love to teach but i think that salary is an exception to the norm
Also when i hit the roof salary wise i get very jumpy
But ye I would love to teach some things I am very passionate about

I remember an english teacher who was extremely theatrical ,a bit over the top. But he taught very well and got classes of delinquents to listen intently
I imagine myself somewhat like that
 
Its not a bad salary, but she could earn more in engineering. Also a teacher doesn't really have many opportunities to get promoted.
I'm earning 60%+ more now, than when I started, and I have only been working for 2 and a half years in the engineering industry.

But liking your job also plays a factor, so if she enjoys teaching, then why not - she is still young, so if she doesn't like it, she can always change careers.
 
RustyPrincess said:
Its not a bad salary, but she could earn more in engineering. Also a teacher doesn't really have many opportunities to get promoted.
I'm earning 60%+ more now, than when I started, and I have only been working for 2 and a half years in the engineering industry.

But liking your job also plays a factor, so if she enjoys teaching, then why not - she is still young, so if she doesn't like it, she can always change careers.
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yeah if she teaches for 2-3 years she can still change careers fine, rather earlier than later (for expirience sakes)
 
Don't forget all the school holidays teachers get. That is a LOT of paid leave. Makes the R200K look even better.
 
Thorin said:
Don't forget all the school holidays teachers get. That is a LOT of paid leave. Makes the R200K look even better.
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But they also spend most evenings and weekends grading work and setting up papers, as well as planning lessons.
 
There are other professions that pay more, and don't lead to you pulling your hair out.
 
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