NEW YORK, March 13, 2008
Finding Work ... In School
As Other Jobs Shrink, Education Sector Is Growing And Wants Expertise
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Play CBS Video Video It Pays To Teach In the current market, many employers are being forced to trim their staffs. But there are good jobs out there if you're willing to do your homework. Michele Miller reports.
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Evan Weinberg had a bachelor's degree in engineering but couldn't find a job he wanted. Now he's teaching high school physics in the Bronx. (CBS)
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Interactive On The Job Explore America's labor economy, track recent major layoffs and meet key economic players.
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Interactive Eye On The Economy In-depth features on U.S. markets, taxes, employment and the Federal Reserve.
After 22 years as a corporate lawyer, Debbie Kurtzberg wanted to check out a new career, one more stable and satisfying: teaching elementary school.
"One of the factors was that I would definitely be able to get a job," said Kurtzberg.
Becoming a teacher at age 50 isn't nearly as difficult as Kurtzberg expected. She learned it can be done with just two years of graduate school.
"I also discovered how valuable and influential my son's teachers were to his life, and I wanted to be a part of that world," she said.
Good reasons - especially when the latest employment numbers tell a grim tale: 63,000 jobs were lost in February. But the healthcare and education sector was an exception, with a gain of 30,000.
The Department of Education says there's a critical need for teachers in inner-city schools and rural areas, especially in math and science and special education.
"It's definitely possible to become a teacher if you've never taught before," said Assistant Secretary of Education Kerri Griggs.
In fact, of the estimated 160,000 new teachers hired last year, 60,000 came from so-called "alternate routes." In other words, they are people who didn't start out with teaching degrees.
They are people like Evan Weinberg. He had a bachelor's degree in engineering but couldn't find a job he wanted. Now he's teaching high school physics in the Bronx.
And it didn't hurt that the bulk of his graduate degree was paid for. All he had to do was teach three years in the public school system.
And the perks include:
The average teacher salary is about $47,000, with starting salaries at $32,000. Top earners in some districts make $95,000.
And for Weinberg, two years beyond his scheduled commitment, there's an added bonus.FYI: Learn more about getting a teaching job.
"The minute I walk into the classroom and I see the kids there, it erases everything else and makes my reason for being there very clear," he said.
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- Teaching? Teaching as a career change.What? They are giving massive PINK SLIPS to teachers here..
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- Our life are short, so don''t care about our salaries much everyone of us should enjoy every day in our life, I found a nice site recently and I got pleasure from there, I wish everyone can get pleasure from the site, it called%u201D militaryfriends.com/blog/military_single%u201D
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- $32 K as a starting salary? Not where I now live. Try $25 K. And the upper end? $55K.
And a masters is a normal requirement.
Maybe more research needs to be done with the numbers and a little more said about specific places. - Reply to this comment
- The top salaries mentioned in the article are earned by only a few teachers in only a few school districts. These teachers have advanced degrees and extensive experience. Most of them teach in school systems in wealthy areas of the country. The DC suburbs, for example, have several outstanding school systems that pay well. The catch is that many of the teachers in these counties can''t afford to live where they teach, because real estate there is also costly. Many teachers in Montgomery County, MD, for example, must commute long distances in heavy traffic because they can''t afford a home within the school district.
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- MORE SOBERING FACTS ABOUT TEACHING 7th to 12 graders: 1) It is not about teaching the curriculum IT IS ABOUT CLASSROOM CONTROL it is about teaching behavior to teenagers that they missed at home. 2) Parents are the hidden factor to the teaching profession. Parents can control the destiny of a fresh graduated teacher under probation. It is estimated that 80 percent of the parents have no time to educate their kids at home how to respect school and the teachers. Teenagers get confusing behavior rules from parents at home and in each different class they attend at school, beside searching for their identity. 3) About 25 percent of new teachers under probation get burned because they can''t handle the pressure in the center of the triangle being shot at from 3 corners : Students, Administrators and Parents at the same time in addition to paying their student loans and working more that 12 hours a day plus weekends to satisfy an underpaid job.
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- I considered becoming a teacher . . . . . for about thirty seconds. Today it is more about teaching kids how to act right than it is teaching them reading, math, science, etc. Too many kids are not prepared for school because their parents raised them in front of the TV or video games. Too many parents should have used birth control and got a dog instead. Some kids are more like wild animals than children, so all in all, I''d rather be an animal trainer.
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- I agree with Mom_O_Truth!! I also am a person over 50 who went back to school 3 yrs ago to get another certification after my kids were grown. I have applied and applied for elem positions and no such luck!! Someone always younger gets hired. Around here in WI there are 300+ applicants for one opening!!! It is impossible to get a job unless it is in the inner cities etc. I also have one of my cert in Special Ed - but the wrong one and would have to go back to school again to get what is called Cross Cat. - not happening. I have too much time and $$ invested already with no results. And those quoted wages on the news report - where are they?? Never have I heard of teaching salaries that high - administration yes - but not teaching! I love teaching but have come to the conclusion that it''s not going to happen for me which is unfortunate because I am a very qualified teacher.
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- Im sure most of the far higher salaries are for areas of either great concern or for private schools.
I know the school my brother went to in NJ, had no teacher with less than a PHD and in the 80s were being paid higher than major colleges.
The school my sister went to there was less but very high paid and both were private schools.
But besides the those types of jobs, you could use your high degrees and many years experience in the system to become a VP or a Principal or even a SuperI.
Also you have to realize that most public school systems are run like mini-empires and therefore by nature of individuality not the same everywhere.
And like other industries, not all areas are discussed in this article. You know there are places that are hurting worse than others from the economy and credit crisis, and in general places that treat teachers better and worse.
You all should have a national teacher forum if you dont now and have teacher blogs and info for careers and job postings. - Reply to this comment
- GOOD For these people! ITs great to have people come into the teaching world with real world experience and education in different professions.
As well its great to see people come in there who really want to teach and be a good part of children''s lives. - Reply to this comment
- I wholeheartedly agree with the majority. I do not know why the counselor''s at schools and the media want to push teaching as a lucrative career. Teachers all over are getting let go of their jobs. Most available teaching jobs are in the inner cities and do not pay all that well because the money is not there to do so. I think it''s just a ploy to try to turn peoples attitudes around about the truth that our schools are failing, just like Pres. Bush saying that the economy is strong and we are not headed for a recession. I Think CBS needs to do a follow up on this story.
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- $95,000 a year? Please tell me where. I teach in a rural school in Indiana. I have a masters degree and 35 years of experience. I am at the top of our pay scale at approximately $54,000.
New Jersey pays like this, some districts and with experience. - Reply to this comment
- $95,000 in your dreams. Not in California and not as a starting salary, not even with 3 years teaching experience an MS or a Ph.D bonus.
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- WARNING****If you are thinking to change you career to school education be ware that schools prefer to hire the younger fresh graduated teachers not those over 50. A fresh graduated new teacher is on a 2 year probation and can be fired any time without reasoning. BE WARE of the teacher education scam at Cal State teacher ed: After 3 years of night courses hard work, $10,000 tuition fees and a GPA of 3.6 an engineer (MS)who taught high school Math as an intern for 3 years was denied the preliminary teaching credential and was terminated only because he did not satisfy the observations of a 72 year old elementary school evaluator in the final practicum part of the program. The CSU bent their own rules to satisfy their age and racial discrimination. A law suit is pending.
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- Are you kidding me? CBS News is obviously not covering the tens of thousands of teachers who are receiving pink slips this week in California due to the Governator''s slash and burn budget proposals! Teaching is an honorable profession, but unfortunately our leaders have other priorities.
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- I find this golden opportunity ironic considering the headlines in my local newspaper just two days ago:
"SD school district sending 900 layoff notices"
"Poway trustees to notify 180 teacher of job cuts"
"San Marcos school board to cut 40 jobs next year" - Reply to this comment
- I agree with others'' comments about the relative availability of teaching jobs. I live in Seattle and last year completed a Master''s degree in Teaching with an math/science endorsement for teaching middle school. You''d think it would be easy to find a job, right? Not at all. I have excellent references and credentials, but have only found a part-time job for $26,000 this academic year. I''ve learned that, due to budget cut-backs, my position (and others) will be eliminated next year.
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- This is something... I''ve got 2 degrees, I''m an award winning teacher... with over 24 years experience IN TEACHING and I''ve been told over and over again that ''you''re OVER QUALIFIED''. This state where I live (WA) does NOT require teachers to have an education beyond High School in my area of specialty. My specialty is Early Childhood Ed. I would have worked at minimum wage because I LOVE teaching, but was never given a chance. So I wouldn''t say that all areas of the country are in need of teachers.
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- This is something... I''ve got 2 degrees, I''m an award winning teacher... with over 24 years experience IN TEACHING and I''ve been told over and over again that ''you''re OVER QUALIFIED''. This state where I live (WA) does NOT require teachers to have an education beyond High School. My specialty is Early Childhood Ed. I would have worked at minimum wage because I LOVE teaching, but was never given a chance. So I wouldn''t say that all areas of the country are in need of teachers.
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- Great story!!! I''m glad to see the media trying to help our economy. Makes me think twice about going back to school. FYI dpfalen, if you''re broke and have a family there are millions of dollars in grant and scholarship money to help.
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- $95,000 a year? Please tell me where. I teach in a rural school in Indiana. I have a masters degree and 35 years of experience. I am at the top of our pay scale at approximately $54,000.
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