My daughter was just three years old when she got to spend a day at school with me as part of a ‘bring your family to school’ day. I’ll never forget how much fun it was to watch her interact with my middle school math students as they came in-and-out of the classroom all day. 

Just before 3rd period, I took my customary position at the door to greet each student as they arrived, leaving Ally at my desk. As the last students were dragging through the door, I heard several students chuckling from behind me. As I turned to see what they were laughing at, I saw my little rascal daughter sitting up on my high stool, in front of the class, pointing at students with my ruler and telling them to “SIT DOWN!” and “QUIET DOWN!” Ally did (and still does) have quite a strong presence and the students just loved it. Apparently, this was just my cute little daughter mimicking what she had been watching during the first two periods of the day.

On the way home, I asked her if she thought she would like to grow up to be a teacher just like her mom and dad. She immediately exclaimed “NO!... Those kids are bad and you have to work too hard and yell a lot!” Ally went on to become a burn unit ICU nurse (certainly a more spirit-draining occupation than teaching). But what she didn’t see, or at least didn’t recognize, was the immeasurable rewards and blessings that teaching offers to those who truly invest in kids’ lives.

And while the intrinsic rewards are what brings teachers satisfaction and feelings that they are having a positive impact on the world, there are many other extrinsic benefits to teaching that today’s high school and college students, along with recent graduates, should know about as they consider their life’s calling and future profession. Teaching IS an attractive career, despite what you might hear in the news today. This article explores some of the benefits unique to the teaching profession that should be considered by young people today.

The Field Is Wide Open

The first reason why the teaching profession has emerged as an enticing career choice is simply opportunity. There is a widening shortage of qualified educators across most states, with an estimated 55,000 vacant teaching positions and a staggering 270,000 underqualified teachers in American classrooms. This pressing need for educators coincides with a concerning decline in enrollment in teacher certification programs and a notable increase in teacher attrition over the past two years when compared to the previous decade. This imbalance in supply and demand creates a unique opportunity for aspiring teachers to enter the profession and make a substantial and impactful contribution to the education field.

Teacher Salaries Are Increasing Nationwide

Another compelling reason to consider entering the teaching profession now is the significant shift in government support for educators' compensation. Lawmakers in 23 states have proposed bills aimed at increasing minimum teacher salaries, offering annual bonuses, and providing financial boosts to paraeducators and special education teachers. These proposals have already become a reality in states like Arkansas, Florida, Maryland, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington, while others, including California, Maine, Missouri, and Oklahoma, await final approval from their governors. 

Currently, American teachers earn an average salary of $66,397. This represents an increase of $2,225 since the 2019-20 academic year – the same year schools shut down and shifted to remote and hybrid learning. In California, the average teacher salary is $88,508, according to the National Education Association (NEA), which ranks California teachers as the third highest compensated nationwide. 

Moreover, this surge of legislative action comes on the heels of 29 state governors prioritizing teacher staffing concerns and increased compensation in their 2023 state of the state addresses. Federal lawmakers have also joined the chorus, with President Joe Biden advocating for pay raises and senators like Bernie Sanders and representatives like Frederica Wilson introducing bills to establish a $60,000 minimum salary for teachers nationwide. This bipartisan support for teacher pay signifies a level of commitment to educators that hasn't been witnessed in decades, making it an opportune moment to embark on a teaching career.

Your Valuable Pension and Net Worth

A third reason to consider a teaching career right now is the retirement benefits offered to educators, particularly in California. Unlike many other professions, teachers in California do not contribute to or receive Social Security benefits. Instead, they are enrolled in the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) – a defined benefit pension system protected by state law. Recent data from CalSTRS reveals that teachers who retired during the 2020-21 period had, on average, dedicated 25 years of service and were enjoying a yearly benefit of approximately $57,700. 

With the average life expectancy in California currently standing at 79, and with an automatic yearly 2% COLA, retirees from 2021, on average, can expect to receive a net worth bump of approximately $1.4 million over their first 18 years of retirement, just from their pension. This substantial post-career, defined and guaranteed income from the CalSTRS retirement system, adds an enticing dimension to the appeal of teaching as a long-term profession.

The Teacher Work Year: 180 Days of Work

What would you do if you were offered a professional job where you are guaranteed 80 days of leave to do whatever you wanted to do? That is the reality for teachers in California (and for the nation) whose average work year stands at 180 days. The reality is that teachers spend substantial time outside of those 180 days getting ready for the new year, preparing lesson plans, grading papers, meeting with parents, determining and posting grades, and other necessary tasks. Some might argue that those 80 days are “unpaid leave.” But the teaching profession clearly has an edge on other professions simply due to the “Groundhog Day” nature of each year having a beginning and ending, where time off in the Summer and Winter allows teachers clean-break periods of leave without the anxiety of unfinished work hanging over their heads.

Forbes studied employee personal time off (PTO) data for American employees and found:

• Twenty-eight million Americans don’t get any paid vacation or paid holidays.

• Nearly a third (31%) of U.S. employees do not have access to PTO.

• Over half (52%) of employees report working while on PTO.

• On average, U.S. workers get eight days of sick leave per year.

• The average employee in the U.S. receives an average of 7.6 paid holidays.

• Employees take an average of 20.3 days off per year.

So, a definite value in the teaching profession is the amount of PTO teachers receive, the higher number of sick days (generally 10) granted, and the greater number of holidays enjoyed by school employees. 

Active Social and Professional Networks For Teachers

Teaching has increasingly become a social profession where teachers form deep personal and professional relationships both on their school campus and across online social networks. A vast majority of teachers use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok to connect with fellow educators, find new resources, and observe innovative instructional ideas. 

20th century constructivist thinkers like Dewey, Elwin, Deutsche, and Piaget laid the foundation for social learning, cooperation, and hands-on problem solving for students, but this never really translated into the teacher’s lounge to significantly alter the way teachers interacted and collaborated with each other around teaching and learning – until recently. Historically, teaching was a fairly isolated profession with minimal collaboration, high teacher autonomy, and low collective accountability. That has changed over the last couple of decades as teachers have discovered the power of collaboration through social networking. 

Local, state, and national teacher networks are vibrant, alive, and supportive. Social media platforms have become powerful catalysts and connection points for educator support and development all over the nation. Hashtags, forums, virtual events, groups, and lesson exchange sites all provide spaces for teachers, counselors, and school leaders to meet from all over the world. Some of the most popular and effective connection sites include: Classroom 2.0, Edutopia, Teachers 2.0, Teachers.net, edWeb.net, Global Classroom, Instructional Designers, iTeach, OnlineProjects4Teachers, The Teacher Collaborative, Learn Central, Better Lesson, and WhoTeaches – all online spaces to bring students, parents, and teachers together.

One of ONLY A Few Professions Where You Can Positively Alter A Child’s Future 

A final and powerful reason why a teaching career might be right for today’s young, aspiring professionals, is found in the unique nature of the profession. Teaching allows direct access to young and impressionable students who are seeking positive adult role models. According to a recent YouGov poll, when Americans were questioned about teachers who left a profound mark on their lives during their K-12 or post-secondary educational journey, the results were revealing. More than half (53%) of respondents acknowledged the influence of a teacher who positively changed the course of their lives, while 32% indicated that they had encountered no such teacher. Another 15% of participants expressed uncertainty on the influence of teachers in their lives.

It has been said in many different forms that “every interaction you have is an opportunity to make a positive impact on others.” A good educator friend of mine altered that a bit by saying that “every interaction between a teacher and a student is an opportunity for that teacher to either build a wall or build a bridge to that child.” As I think back over my 30+ years in education, I wish I could have lived that ideal every single day, in each and every interaction with my students. I would have been so much more effective. I might have changed more lives. I might have even saved a kid from prison… or something worse. 

I guess I’ll never completely know about the ones I missed-on – where a sarcastic remark, assumption of guilt, look of disdain, or misplaced blame – created a permanent wall between me and a kid. However, I do know about several of those I was able to help – and it makes all of those years of toil and trouble worth it. Teaching still is a GREAT profession and future educators should ignore the negativity about teaching swirling around American school board rooms, and just make a decision to change the world for the better – ONE CHILD AT A TIME.