Random Thoughts - Part Deux [NO POLITICS]

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Yep, and good luck even trying it.

I'm 5.5 years older, but I do have some counterpoints. She took off two years when our youngest son was born, and for 30 years she hasn't worked school holidays so there is another 7 years or so she didn't work while I did.

Seems we are even....well until we talk so yea like you said, no reason to even try.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

I'm 5.5 years older, but I do have some counterpoints. She took off two years when our youngest son was born, and for 30 years she hasn't worked school holidays so there is another 7 years or so she didn't work while I did.

Seems we are even....well until we talk so yea like you said, no reason to even try.

My wife has worked ten years less than me. She is talking about retiring in the next year or so. I however have to work until I am about 108. Not even worth bring it up.

[EAGLE5]

Originally Posted by humfrz

My take on compensation, after about 50 years in the work force full time, is that it don't make much difference on how much you make as long as your basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, medical) are taken care of.

Why? Because you will spend as much as you make anyway -

I suggest it's more important to enjoy your work and your work environment, than your compensation.

No matter the job, I've always been a saver. We saved for our first house. We saved for a bigger house. Now we're saving for retirement. We didn't used to max out our 401ks, but now we do. We could retire right now and live a working class lifestyle without the work, but I'd rather retire in 5-10 years and live well. Plus the grandparents might choose not to pay for the kids' college educations.

[EAGLE5]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

(Full disclosure, MomHawk works in the school system, not as an educator but a therapist, and works the same scale as a teacher, so I've put thought into this)

Here's the thing with teachers from my prospective, and based on the Georgia school system published STEP rates.

A first year school teacher in our county makes $43,465 a year. This is with 0 experience, a 4 year degree and a teachers certificate. (An advanced degree gets you more pay, up to $59,540)

They also work a 188 day schedule, versus the full time 260 day schedule for most working stiffs. So, the net annual salary equivalent is $59,591 per year.

Yes, they work outside school hours (don't we all if you are salaried?) and there are other expenses that come with the job but they all also go into it knowing what the positions pay, and God bless them for doing it. Any increase in pay would result in an increase of property taxes as well, which about 70% of the property tax already goes to pay.

I realize this varies greatly from area to area of course, but it's not a bad starting job. The other end of the scale is a little more painful in that someone with 30+ years of experience only makes about 40% more than a starting teacher.

I'm SURE that my wife would make more money if she wasn't teaching in public school, and that's with 19 years or so on the clock. She makes as much as a beginning Google engineer, but the Google engineers get about $50k in benefits, between health insurance, retirement, free food, and other perks. She just gets a semi-decent retirement.

As for a 188 day work year, when I was a beginning teacher, if you added in weekends and days before school opened to set up, I probably did 205 days. Still less than a full school year, no doubt, but it wasn't like I could get another job in summer. Well, there was summer school, which paid maybe $2k for 2 months. Yeah, not worth it.

Teaching in public or private school K-12 is a shit gig unless you love the work. Then it's just a shit gig you love.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Shhhh…. I like to think I have the unicorn of '13s, not that it's "normal".

Yep, same here, my 2013 doesn't have any squeaks, nor any crickets, nor a torque dip (noticeable to me, at least), nor any oil leaks, and never had a CEL, so, ain't nobody gonna rip into its engine.





humfrz

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by jsimon7777

Teaching in public or private school K-12 is a shit gig unless you love the work. Then it's just a shit gig you love.

I wouldn't say it's a shit gig, it can be a lot more rewarding than my job in IT, but the pay potential definitely sucks.

I actually looked at switching to teaching a few years back, trying to give something back and having a little more time at home. Problem was, they would give me zero credit for real world experience so I would have started at step 1, even though they were desperate the time for computer science type teachers. I just couldn't do it.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

My wife has worked ten years less than me. She is talking about retiring in the next year or so. I however have to work until I am about 108. Not even worth bring it up.

Yea I always say "Based on my current 401K, and my extensive life planning I can happily say I've gotten my retirement age down from 7 to 4 years after I'm dead"

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Yea I always say "Based on my current 401K, and my extensive life planning I can happily say I've gotten my retirement age down from 7 to 4 years after I'm dead"

But YOU can always get part time work to supplement your retirement income.





humfrz

[Sapphireho]

I plan on a second career at the Cheesecake Factory. Full benefits with 25 hours.

[EAGLE5]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

I wouldn't say it's a shit gig, it can be a lot more rewarding than my job in IT, but the pay potential definitely sucks.

I actually looked at switching to teaching a few years back, trying to give something back and having a little more time at home. Problem was, they would give me zero credit for real world experience so I would have started at step 1, even though they were desperate the time for computer science type teachers. I just couldn't do it.

"more time at home" Hehehehe. The shittiness of teaching comes in several varieties.
1. Poor pay. I now make easily 4-5 times what I'd make if I'd stayed in public school. Not only that, I surpassed peak public school pay within about 3 years of being on my own.
2. Low respect. Sure, the kids and parents respected me, but not the other teachers and definitely not the administration or district. It didn't matter how effective I was in my first few years, equaling more experienced teachers. No, gotta do as you're told, no matter how shitty the teaching.
3. Long hours. 12 hour days 2+ days a week all school year long. The rest were 8 hour days. Oh sure, I could have left shortly after the bell, but I wanted to do a good job. Get all my planning and grading done in an hour a day? Hah! Good classroom teaching takes planning, and planning takes time. I've seen one estimate of 400 hours of unpaid work per year by teachers, which essentially means it's the equivalent of a full year's job in 9.5 months.
4. Job insecurity. I was laid off 3 years in a row when I started teaching. If the kids move away or the district restructures, say bye to your job. They pass a law to make classes larger? Same thing. There was absolutely no stability.

If teaching wasn't a shit gig, then it would not be the case that "Nearly 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession within their first five years." -- https://www2.ed.gov/documents/respec...sion-facts.doc

It really is a painful profession. For all those reasons, it's a calling.

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Yea I always say "Based on my current 401K, and my extensive life planning I can happily say I've gotten my retirement age down from 7 to 4 years after I'm dead"

That's the second time somebody totally outdid me today. Damnit!

Yesterday, no joke, a bacon and salami truck on the 580 caught fire. I just made some jokes with my employees, and then one of them says, "I guess they never brought the bacon home." Damn her!

[EAGLE5]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

I plan on a second career at the Cheesecake Factory. Full benefits with 25 hours.

Not the Beefcake Factory?

[Sapphireho]

Originally Posted by jsimon7777

Not the Beefcake Factory?

Nah, I like cheesecake.

[humfrz]

Today is a major milestone.

The toddler is officially potty trained -

Well, OK, it IS and BIG day in pa-pa's world -


pa-pa humfrz

[Sapphireho]

Got the new carpet in the master bedroom installed yesterday. Almost done with the inside of the house.