(LIBERTY UNYIELDING) – The average teacher salary is over $70,000 per year, but most Americans assume teachers are paid far less. The typical American erroneously believes the average teacher salary is about $45,000. Due to teachers’ perceived low pay, most people with math and science degrees won’t even consider a job as a math or science teacher. They want to be paid at least $60,000 per year, which is less than what most math and science teachers actually receive:
Most teachers like teaching, enjoy the flexible work schedule, live comfortably and are no more likely to quit their profession than accountants or social workers, writes Chad Aldeman.
He cites Get the Facts Out, a campaign launched by the Colorado School of Mines and six national STEM societies to persuade more young people to become teachers. Nearly half of science, technology, engineering and math majors consider becoming a K-12 teacher, an American Physical Society survey found in 2017. Many cite the low pay. But they “underestimate teacher compensation, and the salaries they report would interest them in teaching are close to actual salaries.”
