In our last post, we addressed starting salaries, benefits, and days worked per year. If the salary you saw in that post still isn’t right where you are hoping it will be, we want to explain some ways to increase your pay as an educator!
Work more, make more!
We can safely say that teachers have a lot of extra time during their summers than other careers offer. Although some time is spent preparing for school, a large portion of it is free! Because of this fact, teachers often work during their free summer months to supplement their income. You can also take on extra responsibilities throughout the school year. Here are just a few of the ways we've heard of teachers getting paid more through working a little more:
teaching summer school
manning booths for events
after school tutoring
teaching driver's education
running school clubs
assistant coaching
extended days/ taking on another class
Gain Experience
So, how much can teachers make as they gain experience?
The way it works currently, teachers get paid according to their district's salary schedule. Every school district's salary schedule is public and can be easily accessed. Each year worked always correlates with more money earned; so you steadily climb the ladder. The private sector is much less stable, as you could face unexpected pay cuts at a moment's notice. On a salary schedule, a teacher's pay moves up and it is very clear what you will be payed, offering unmatched security.
Here's an example of the Nebo School District Salary Schedule for 2023-24
Further Your Education!
As you can see, there are "steps" on the left. For each year worked, you move up one step. But that's not the only way to make more money. When you earn "semester hours" through programs offered either through the district or at universities, you can qualify for a jump to the next column over. Master's Degrees will offer around $4–$5K salary boosts, evident in the example above.
There are also other career opportunities within education. In almost every case, the more education you receive, the more opportunities are available to you — and these opportunities correlate with higher salaries. Higher level jobs, such as school administration, have higher-paying salary schedules. We will be addressing these opportunities in our upcoming blog post! In the meantime, check out teach.org for other education career paths. Also, read through our salary series posts!
Feel free to reach out to us with any further questions at mckayambassadors@byu.edu or by scheduling a virtual appointment!