Jobs.

[DeereClone]

It's a good thing to explore the world. I'd recommend that any Iowan live out of state for at least 3 years. If a person wants to move back then the doors are always open for a return. However, there's a big horizon out there that needs to be explored! Pack the wagons and head west! Those experiences will stay with a person for a lifetime

I don't disagree with your statements, that is why I said financially.

I took a job close to home because I started farming in high school, continued that through college when I went to ISU, and still farm while working my day job. I love it, it is what I was born to do, but some days I wish I was working in a place like KC, Denver, or Louisville (I had job offers in these 3 cities) just to get out on my own and experience a different way of life.

I would have liked to gone and worked for a while then come back to the farm, but I already had a couple hundred acres put together to rent and I didn't want to give that up.

 

[KnappShack]

I don't disagree with your statements, that is why I said financially.

I took a job close to home because I started farming in high school, continued that through college when I went to ISU, and still farm while working my day job. I love it, it is what I was born to do, but some days I wish I was working in a place like KC, Denver, or Louisville (I had job offers in these 3 cities) just to get out on my own and experience a different way of life.

I would have liked to gone and worked for a while then come back to the farm, but I already had a couple hundred acres put together to rent and I didn't want to give that up.

I don't disagree with your statement either! In general (pulling out the broad brush) I'd say it's good for anyone to live in a new area for some time, however there are a lot of pieces to the puzzle

Heck. If my employer said I could relocate to Seattle I'd jump all over the chance right now! When I graduated I left Iowa the next day and started my career in Chicago. I was dirt poor and didn't have heat in my apartment for a year....but it was great experience to leave the nest and grow. I moved back to Iowa and could better appreciate all Iowa has to offer

The wonderful thing about life is that it's not one size fits all. The OP is at an exciting time in their life

 

[AuH2O]

so all those 55 year old teachers...

I think if they got into teaching in the state right out of school at 22 and taught continuously they would be eligible to retire at 55 with a nice pension - probably pushing $40k/year I believe. I thought it was something like 60% of their highest 5 years of pay. Don't quote me on that.

Not too bad considering they also worked about 9 months a year. I know that some teachers put in lots of extra hours, but I see plenty of them rolling in to school at 8:15 when I'm dropping the kids off, and if my kids play at the playground for a while after school I see most rolling out before 4:00.

So, no, you definitely aren't getting rich teaching, and it can be a tough job (especially dealing with idiot parents) but it can pay off in the long-run.

 

[00clone]

I don't think anyone is whining. But I do think we approach teachers wrong. We need to look at them more as an infrastructure, because everything we have in the future is built upon what they do. Instead we currently treat them as a dispensable asset. I wonder how many actual good teachers we lose just because we don't pay them their value for what they do.

Considering the state of our bridges and dams, I'm not sure teachers should be treated like our infrastructure...Spend a lot of money to get them in place, then ignore them for 75 years and hope everything goes well?

wink:

I get what you're saying though.

 

[acoustimac]

I think if they got into teaching in the state right out of school at 22 and taught continuously they would be eligible to retire at 55 with a nice pension - probably pushing $40k/year I believe. I thought it was something like 60% of their highest 5 years of pay. Don't quote me on that.

Not too bad considering they also worked about 9 months a year. I know that some teachers put in lots of extra hours, but I see plenty of them rolling in to school at 8:15 when I'm dropping the kids off, and if my kids play at the playground for a while after school I see most rolling out before 4:00.

So, no, you definitely aren't getting rich teaching, and it can be a tough job (especially dealing with idiot parents) but it can pay off in the long-run.

It's unfortunate that the education community is stained by those who show up right before class and beat the students to the door at the end of the day. They are the minority in most cases. Teachers put in long hours in the evening and on weekends to prepare for the children they teach each day. They are required to continue their education throughout their career to stay abreast of the latest information. Unlike many businesses this comes out of their pockets. I went with my wife to Learning Post a week ago to get supplies. They ask each person if they are using a school purchase order for the materials they are buying. Everyone always gets a laugh out of that. Of course the teacher pays for the supplies in their classroom. I could go on, but the bottom line for all of us teachers is we do what we do, no matter the pay, because we make a difference in people's lives. We change things. And the reward we get is the look in our students' eyes who they get it. The most memorable words I ever heard from a student was at graduation when he introduced me to his parents by saying, "this is my favorite teacher..."

 

[cowgirl836]

just to be clear, I don't think that's a bad salary at all. I would guess that 2015 could get more, so I'd definitely negotiate it up. Starting salary has a big impact on your lifetime earnings so even getting them to bump $5k up could pay big dividends over time. Definitely look at the complete benefits package - what kind of 401k, healthcare, etc. will you be available to you? Are a decent number (and quality) of medical providers within their network? You've mentioned health issues so that should be something you look at very closely. Have you had an on-site interview and met the people you would be working with? Like Carver said, work environment is a big thing to consider. You may take a lower paying job because you like the atmosphere better at a different company.


They gave you 30 days though, so use all of them - no need to accept today or next week!

 

[besserheimerphat]

Just FYI, Washington has no income tax. Sales tax out here is like 9%. You won't be able to afford a house, but you probably aren't looking to buy a house yet anyway. Gas is expensive (around $4/gallon) but utility bills are very cheap - low heating costs and many places don't even have air conditioning. Groceries are a wash - you will pay more for some things but less for others (but organics are MUCH cheaper here than in Iowa). Insurance is a little cheaper here because we don't get hail, floods, tornados or high straight line winds. The only natural disasters are earthquakes which are rare. Basically, if home ownership isn't a big deal to you then $75k/year is plenty to live on in Seattle.

 

[VikesFan22]

I would have been okay with 75 grand out of college.

 

[tigershoops31]

70,000 dollar a year teacher salaries in our 1400 student K-12 system is VERY Common the top end is $100,000.00 is the top end. Huge top end homes are 250K to 300K. Small town treasures!!! OH ya the insurance is awesome also. Play your card right and you should have tons of money saved, your home paid for and IPERS by 60.

What area are you in? In my district, which I would say is in the top 10% in Iowa, a teacher with a PHD would top out at 75k. By no means am I saying it's a terrible profession to get into in any way, as I chose to do so myself. But I see a lot of crazy numbers thrown around for teacher salaries and having been in 3 districts within 40 miles of Ames over the last 10 years I know that those salaries aren't close to reality in this area at least.

Ohh those poor, poor underpaid teachers who were forced into teaching. If teaching doesn't pay well enough choose a career that does pay what your are worth. If you love to teach and the lifestyle recognize it is not a lucrative choice. I get so darn tired hearing about how underpaid teachers are. It is a lifestyle choice, deal with it.

By the way most of the HS coached around me are right at or over $100K and all they do is coach but that is Texas high school football for you. http://www.chron.com/jobs/gallery/High-paid-high-school-football-coaches-69043/photo-5038115.php

I imagine there would be a bunch of whining about that is Iowa...

Who is whining? As a teacher myself, I was just taking issue with the amounts thrown around in this thread. In my experience, those are nowhere near reality. I enjoy teaching/coaching and chose to go into it at a time where I was an average paid teacher in my first year at almost exactly 1/3 of the OP's offer. While the salaries have come up, at least in most every district in Iowa they aren't close to what some of the people in this thread are claiming.

I don't think he was whining, just stating realistic numbers for teachers, most likely in Iowa. Base rates & top end rates fluctuate nationally because of the differences in cost of living, just like almost every other job. $40K is a decent (if frugal) salary when living in Iowa, not so much when living on either coast.

Thank you, that's exactly what I was doing.

 

[MaccloNe]

Teaching is a part time job, so the pay should be less than 12 month professions.

 

[tigershoops31]

Teaching is a part time job, so the pay should be less than 12 month professions.

Can't expect it to pay as well as your full-time job of being a troll I suppose...

 

[00clone]

Can't expect it to pay as well as your full-time job of being a troll I suppose...

He's not a troll, but as a Mac guy, he's just naturally smug and elitist.

 

[Doc]

Just FYI, Washington has no income tax. Sales tax out here is like 9%. You won't be able to afford a house, but you probably aren't looking to buy a house yet anyway. Gas is expensive (around $4/gallon) but utility bills are very cheap - low heating costs and many places don't even have air conditioning. Groceries are a wash - you will pay more for some things but less for others (but organics are MUCH cheaper here than in Iowa). Insurance is a little cheaper here because we don't get hail, floods, tornados or high straight line winds. The only natural disasters are earthquakes which are rare. Basically, if home ownership isn't a big deal to you then $75k/year is plenty to live on in Seattle.

Aren't people thinking a 9.0+ earthquake is due, though?

 

[00clone]

Aren't people thinking a 9.0+ earthquake is due, though?

And Tsunamis.

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/coast/waves/tsunami.html

 

[Rabbuk]

And Tsunamis.

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/coast/waves/tsunami.html

SHARKNADOES.

 

[besserheimerphat]

Aren't people thinking a 9.0+ earthquake is due, though?

It's impossible to predict earthquakes - just like "500 year floods," there is a constant probability of it occuring during a given time period, and just because there hasn't been one for a while doesn't mean that it's "due."

And Tsunamis.

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/coast/waves/tsunami.html

The biggest tsunami concern is on the coast, but tsunamis can travel into Puget Sound. Our house sits at about 500' elevation. Generally with a tsunami you get a few hours warning - enough time to evacuate if necessary, which is better than you get with a tornado.

 

[MaccloNe]

He's not a troll, but as a Mac guy, he's just naturally smug and elitist.

Or it could just be the short name for my home town.

 

[Wesley]

It's impossible to predict earthquakes - just like "500 year floods," there is a constant probability of it occuring during a given time period, and just because there hasn't been one for a while doesn't mean that it's "due."



The biggest tsunami concern is on the coast, but tsunamis can travel into Puget Sound. Our house sits at about 500' elevation. Generally with a tsunami you get a few hours warning - enough time to evacuate if necessary, which is better than you get with a tornado.

The largest possible earthquakes projected on the coast are: 8.9 Alaska > 8.6 Seattle > 8.4 Portland > 7.8 SF/LA

 

[CyFan61]

FYI, $75k in Seattle is like making $57k in Des Moines or $63k in Akron.

http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/

 

[besserheimerphat]

FYI, $75k in Seattle is like making $57k in Des Moines or $63k in Akron.

http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/

I looked at the categorical breakdowns and I disagree with several of them. Housing being 39% cheaper in Des Moines is probably close, as is transportation (cost of gas) at 19% cheaper. But in my experience, having moved from Ames to a town 60 miles north of Seattle two years ago, groceries will be a push and utilities will be less. It rarely gets over 90F in the Seattle area (many places don't even have AC because it's not needed), and it rarely gets below freezing. So there's no cooling cost in the summer and much less heating in the winter. Healthcare is hard to say because so much depends on your insurance plan.