<p>Sorry, I do not know the resource of the following article (copied in quotes below) . It was just interesting to me, so I saved it. Despite what we tend to hear from others, I never really thought teachers were paid that low considering their schedule. Plus, the teachers I know have shared that they expect to receive 60 - 75% of their salary upon retirement. Not bad.
So despite the headaches (all jobs have those), and considering all the intangile rewards, teaching seems like a fine career choice to me!</p>
<p>" In the 2000-01 school year, the average teacher made $43,250, according to the AFT’s most recent salary survey. By comparison, midlevel accountants earned an average of $52,664 and lawyers, $82,712.</p>
<p>To Podgursky, those comparisons are misleading because teachers generally have shorter workdays than other professions.</p>
<p>And typically they are on the job fewer than 190 days a year or about 30% fewer days than an accountant or lawyer, even after vacation time, paid holidays and personal leave are taken into account, he said.<snip>
When salaries are computed on an hourly basis, public school teachers generally earn more than registered nurses, accountants, engineers and other middle-class workers, says Michael Podgursky, chairman of the University of Missouri’s economics department.</snip></p>
<p>The figures cited by Podgursky are in line with the results of a Tennessean report last month showing that Metro teachers will make $30.41 an hour next year during their 10-month contract more than civil engineers, registered nurses and police officers in the city.</p>
<p>Some teachers also enjoy fringe benefits superior to those in the private sector. Under Missouri’s pension system, for example, teachers with 30 years of service can retire at 55 with 84% of their annual salary, Podgursky said."</p>