Is Teaching the Right Career for You?

Looking for a vocation rather than just a job? A career in teaching may be right for you. Take a look at what teachers do each day, how much they earn, and what the future prospects are.

What Does a Teacher’s Day Look Like?

Teachers have busy days, and because they’re interacting mostly with children or teenagers, every day is different. Generally, though, it looks something like this:

Arrive at school at least one hour before the students
Pour big mug of coffee
Review lesson plans, print what’s needed on the copier
Meet with other teachers if needed
Attendance register with students, hand out announcements
Lessons
Mid-morning break of 15 to 20 minutes
Lessons
Lunch break of 40 to 50 minutes, but if on duty, only 20 minutes
Lessons
Students leave for home, study hall, or aftercare
Assist specific students with school work if necessary
Parent conferences or teacher meetings
Grading papers and recording grades
Prepare for the next day
Once a week prepare lesson plans for the next week
Check classroom and desk are tidy
Go home, hopefully not taking unfinished tasks

The day is filled with intense concentration and listening and responding to students, and you’re on your feet much of the time. A hard day, but worth every minute when a child suddenly understands a concept or has insight into an ethical dilemma you’ve discussed.

Are There Different Types of Teachers?

A teaching career path can take a variety of routes. Depending on the age group you’re interested in teaching, you can opt for early childhood education, elementary school teaching, or middle school instruction. If you’re interested in specific subjects, such as the arts, sciences, or languages, secondary school teaching is a good choice.

Other fields are also open to teachers, such as school counselor, special needs education, and teaching English as a second language. Home schooling is a growing industry, and you may be interested in tutoring children, either online or in their homes. Teachers can opt to work in state and federal-funded public schools or privately owned independent schools. Adult education in language and computer literacy is another arena open to qualified teachers.

How Much Can You Earn as a Teacher?

Typically, teaching salaries are very dependent on factors such as location, level of qualifications, and amount of experience. The state where you work, and whether you’re in an urban or a rural school, all count toward what salary you earn. Paysa has gathered information about pay levels for teachers, and the average teaching salary is $53k per year, with the low end of the scale at $32k and the high end $85k.

As well as salary, you also need to take benefits into account. Those for teachers are fairly generous and tend to include: