Just don’t get an ivory tower attitude. You went into teaching to help people not to make money. Teachers get perks/respect. Not large sums of money. Be happy about it. You chose to become a teacher so don’t hate the world because of it.

It will depend upon the the school district that hires you…each school district has a different salary schedule.

A salary schedule basically has “steps” and “columns”. Every year you move up one step (get a raise) and if you acquire a certain number of credits or get a Masters or PhD you move over a column as well….

Most school districts will will pay you a little more if you have a masters and then a little more than that if you have a Ph.D…however, it is usually not that much more…in fact, depending on the expense of the program you choose, it may take you over 10 years before you make back the money you spent on the Ph.D program.

Also, in some states which step you start on is negotiable. This is an important FACT that many don’t realize. In NY for example, it may be your first year teaching, but you can claim your life experience should put you on step 4 or 5 instead of step 1. This is done all the time, but most new teachers don’t know this…

Good luck! And remember, teaching jobs are very difficult to get these days, the fact that you will be a science teachers gives you a little advantage, but don’t think it is going to be easy. Read these articles to give you an edge on your competition: http://www.TeacherInterviewTips.com/teacher_interview_articles.htm

Once you get your job, there are some things you can do to raise your pay. most districts have a system where time and schooling both affect the rate of pay increase. If you’ll look at the link I provided, you’ll see that a teacher moves to the left based on time, moves down based on units above their BA. I would recommend not going for your doctorate. If you really want to teach, start now! You need to learn things you can only learn on the job. You may hate it, 50 percent of new teachers leave within 5 years. The high school job certainly does not require a phd. You can see on the link also, that a phd earns a teacher in my district an extra 1200 or so per year, not much I’d say.

Ask your professors about your specific area of study. For example, I’m a candidate for a Masters in Communication right now. I want to work in the corporate world. The only reason for me to go on to get my PhD would be to teach Communication at the college level. So, it really depends on what you want to do. But honestly, yes, having a PhD generally leads to a higher paycheck, yet, most with a PhD teach in the post-secondary field. So, again, ask someone who does what you do…find a mentor…see an advisor…and most importantly make sure you have a passion for what you do or else the pay check won’t matter.

a phd usually only pays minimally more than the highest paid non-phd teacher. if you’re going to get a phd skip public school and go into administration, university teaching, or work for the school district or state dept. of ed. you’re pay will be much better without all the classroom headaches.

if you really want to be a classroom teacher then a master’s degree in bio or science education will do the trick. teacher pay is based on experience and education. most school districts offer pay raises up to 2 master’s degrees or equivilant credits with the credits broken up in smaller increments of around 15. it varies by school district but most allow for education up to 75 credits and about 20 years experience.

a great start is to get your master’s before you start teaching. once you’re working it’s much more difficult to go back to school.

if i could start over i’d make my decision to become a teacher much faster instead of fooling around for 3 years in college and delaying my grad date. i could have started working 3 years earlier than i did. that’s 3 years of pay and retirement i’ll never get back.

I am not certain it would be in your best interests to go for a phD in education without sufficient experience in the field. I think a better way to supplement your income is by committing extra hours to the school through coaching or other organizations that pay a stipend, tutoring h.s. or college students, and really researching your school district to find what they reward. For example, in my school district, nationally board certified teachers are rewarded annually. Another way to supplement income is with No Child Left Behind. Many teachers and administrators are receiving large ($4000-10,000) bonuses for meeting AYP with high standardized test scores. If you are not intimidated by poverty, working in low-income schools often entice teachers with student loan forgiveness and bonuses for staying the entire school year. Many of these options are better than the phD stipend which is typically only $1000-2000 per year. Better to save the PhD for moving into school administration with some experience behind you. I think you should enter a masters program (make sure it is one that includes initial liscensure in the state you want to teach in!!!) to get certified in h.s. biology.

Obtaining your Ph.d is the best way to go if you are concerned about the money. The more you go to school and obtain degrees, the more the school system should pay you. President Bush’s Educational Plan ( No Child Left Behind) calls ALL school systems to hire ONLY “highly qualified teachers”. This has caused a lot of school systems to search and PAY teachers a lot more for having higher level degrees and teacher certifications.

I have a vast amount of experience and not enough educational documentation and it’s holding me back. I have been a private teacher for many years and make good money on a flexable basis. And I am in college again trying to get that paper to hang on the wall.

You will make more with the degree.

English Literature…yes PhD will bring in more pay…

If you want to be a well paid teacher …..

Step 1: LEARN HOW TO SPELL “PAID”

Step 2: There is no step two for you.