No, a teacher's salary is not sexy, and that's an absolute crime. But you're not here for my views on social injustice, so I won't say any more about that. Except that it's a disgrace.
But yeah, the money thing... that's where the "passion" and "calling" come in. If teaching is truly your calling, you won't really care about the money. Nobody goes into teaching for financial gain. Of course you have to make enough to pay the rent and buy groceries, and you will. Barely. It will be a challenge unless you are very good at living on a budget.
You just have to decide what is most important to you in a career: the work or the money? When I hear someone talk about "true passion" and "calling," I think of people like teachers or ministers or social workers who have decided that helping people (or animals or the environment or whatever) is more important than a "sexy" salary. You're probably making better money than a teacher right now, but you hate your job. Is the money worth that misery?
I wouldn't take any plunges until you are absolutely sure of what motivates you. If it's money, great, nothing wrong with that, but teaching isn't for you. If you're having to work this hard to accept the financial reality of teaching, you might want to question your "calling." In my mind, a calling means you feel driven do a thing in spite of the negative aspects--low pay, long hours, harsh conditions, etc.--that keep most people from considering it. Are you really called, or are you just miserable and looking for a way out of your current situation?
That's how you come to terms with it: by figuring out what is most important to you and deciding that the rest doesn't matter. That's a calling.
Thanks for the question.
You should go for it.
I'm going to be a teacher too, and everybody tells me not to because I'll make a crappy salary. But I know that's what I wanna do, so I just ignore them.
The most influential people in my life have been my teachers, and if you or I can have somebody say that about us, wouldn't it be just amazing?
:)
So yeah, I definitely think you're making a great choice.
If everyone based what they wanted to do in life on how much they'd make, we'd never have scientist, cops, or teachers. Everyone would be an investment banker or CPA. (Not that there's anything wrong with CPAs) Cary's right, if you really do want to teach it'll work itself out somehow.
In the meantime, I would ask about job shadowing, or talk to someone in career counseling for a better idea about who exactly you would be best at teaching. Remember, college professors with full tenure and everything, are teachers, too.
I disagree - the fact that you're already concerned with the salary and not how you will effectively teach your students says it all. There are enough crappy teachers out there that give their students sub-par educations for a hundred personal reasons. Don't be one of them. When you're a teacher your career doesn't just affect you, it affects hundreds of other people that could become disadvantaged due to simply how you feel about your own job and that's not fair to the kids and parents relying on you. I give good teachers a lot of credit - it's a tough job for little pay. It's not a job for everyone. Please take it very seriously before you even enter a classroom.
Good point!
as someone who has been to teacher's college and is not a teacher, spot on awesome answer.
Even though a teacher's salary may not be "sexy" I don't think it's as dismal as WA implies. I work for a non-profit. My salary when I started was not "sexy," but it was plenty for me to live on and also enjoy myself: I had money to go out with friends and indulge my clothing/shoe fetish. Even now, after a couple of raises, my salary isn't as much as I could make at a for-profit, but I'm definitely comfortable. To me, that plus doing what I enjoy and having a boss and coworkers I actually like is much more important that pulling some huge salary.
But I agree with what dominique said--really take the time to consider if teaching is your calling. It is a difficult job that affects many lives and is not compensated as highly as it should be.
I have 2 semesters to go before I graduate with an Art Education degree. I can tell you now, please find a new "calling." If you're worried about the money, you will not be a good teacher, because that means you are not taking it seriously as the extreme service to the community that the calling to teach is.
I'm becoming a teacher because there's nothing more wonderful than seeing a student become passionate about a subject and to fully enjoy learning that subject. NOT for the salary or for the prestige. I hope you will take time to reconsider.
Teachers are very sexy. Particularly the one who is my girlfriend.
Being a teacher should be something that you do because you love it. Not because it's a pay check with "paid summers off" (in quotes because it's not entirely true if you do your job right). I'm a teacher and I don't make a lot of money... I live paycheck to paycheck and I struggle to make sure basic bills are paid.
But at the end of the day, there is not another position that I have held that gives me as much satisfaction or fulfillment as being a teacher and watching students who are struggling, finally "get it". I have horrible days where I feel like an awful human being because I didn't do something quite right or because I failed at something (as a teacher you will most certainly fail far more than you feel like you succeed... especially in your first year), but those days are leveled out by the days when your students get excited about the material and put extra effort into it and you can see the progress. It's on those days that you feel like you've finally gotten it right and it's the most incredible feeling and it makes everything worth it. It's that feeling that makes it possible to wake up after one of the bad days and try again.
If that's what you're looking for, than do it and don't look back. If you're looking for an easy job and a paycheck... work for a call center.
I remember when I was like 5 I would constantly ask my parents why hockey players made so much money when the people who taught them made so much less, never made much sense to me... still doesn't...