How much do principals and teachers make in Montgomery County?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a 5th year MCPS teacher with a masters degree. I make 58,000 as a full-time teacher.

Thanks for your input. I know nothing about teacher pay. Do they pay higher for certain subjects than others? Or is the pay the same for all subjects?

$58k for 5 years and a masters sounds low on first blush, but if you factor in that you work 10 months, you are getting the equivalent of $70k annually. So I guess the trade off is a lower pay for more time off. Plus, I hear you get superb benefits. Can you please tell me a bit more detail about what the benefits entail? Wouldn't mind a lower salary if the job came with excellent benefits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thinking about a career change and becoming a science teacher. Have BS and MS in science. Not certified, no teaching experience. About how much could I expect to make teaching middle school? High school? Thank you for any input.

You would need to become certified before any public school would hire you. You might want to look into a program for people switching careers.

Not always true for shortage areas (and high school math and science often qualify). For instance, I was hired in Arlington to teach ESL--and granted provisional VA licensure--while only part-way through my M.Ed. Agree with suggestion to look into programs for career-switchers. With science you'd be an attractive candidate.

[Anonymous]

You would need to become certified before any public school would hire you. You might want to look into a program for people switching careers.

For critical need areas, you do not necessarily need to be certified, but you need to be part of a program that is on the way to certification. If interested, look on the MCPS web site and search for "partnership programs." There are several partnerships with Montgomery College, GW, Johns Hopkins, UMD, etc that allow you to teach in the classroom on a provisional basis and attend classes to get a masters degree or alternative certification. There is one (ProMAT) with Hopkins that MCPS will pay for tuition if you are accepted, and in exchange you teach as a long-term substitute, which is significantly lower pay, but still doable.

for salary of teachers look at http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/ersc/employees/pay/schedules/salary_schedule_fy11.pdf

The "teacher salary" is on page 2. The steps are how many years in MCPS--although teachers have not gotten step increases for several years due to budget cuts. If you are a first year teacher with a BA, you would start at roughly $46k for full time. With a masters, $51k.

Of course, this info is all relative to MCPS, not necessarily any other county.

[Anonymous]

Potential career changer here again-

Thanks for the chart link. What do "MEQ," "MEQ+30," and "MEQ+60" stand for? Thank you.

I also saw the benefits. They look pretty standard to me -- on par with non-education private sector industry-- unless I am missing something? Don't get me wrong, they are pretty good, but I was told by teacher friends that they were "excellent."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Potential career changer here again-

Thanks for the chart link. What do "MEQ," "MEQ+30," and "MEQ+60" stand for? Thank you.

I also saw the benefits. They look pretty standard to me -- on par with non-education private sector industry-- unless I am missing something? Don't get me wrong, they are pretty good, but I was told by teacher friends that they were "excellent."

Within a certain number of years you need to earn a Master's Degree or a Master's Equivalent (MEQ). An MEQ would be 30 graduate credits. An MEQ+30 would be an additional 30 graduate credits (for a total of 60 graduate credits) and so on.

[Anonymous]

OP- If you have no background in teaching, I would try to avoid teaching and taking lots of courses at the same time. The first year of teaching is a LOT of work and I would avoid trying to do it while taking a bunch of graduate level courses at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP- If you have no background in teaching, I would try to avoid teaching and taking lots of courses at the same time. The first year of teaching is a LOT of work and I would avoid trying to do it while taking a bunch of graduate level courses at the same time.

This is something to consider. I did a partnership program that was two years (the same program is now 18 months). I worked full time teaching and had classes 1-2 nights a week... it was a lot. If you have school-age children at home, especially elem, it can be next to impossible. However, two years of pulling my hair out and stress was worth it to me in the end. There are a lot of different programs though--some you can take up to five years, which means you could get it done in the summers while others can be as short as one semester for just certification.

I think the benefits are "excellent" in terms of having full health and dental insurance with a minuscule co-pay, decent retirement, plenty of paid sick days, etc. Nothing to brag extensively about, but especially in the current economic climate, I count myself as very fortunate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Potential career changer here again-

Thanks for the chart link. What do "MEQ," "MEQ+30," and "MEQ+60" stand for? Thank you.

I also saw the benefits. They look pretty standard to me -- on par with non-education private sector industry-- unless I am missing something? Don't get me wrong, they are pretty good, but I was told by teacher friends that they were "excellent."

Within a certain number of years you need to earn a Master's Degree or a Master's Equivalent (MEQ). An MEQ would be 30 graduate credits. An MEQ+30 would be an additional 30 graduate credits (for a total of 60 graduate credits) and so on.

OP here. thanks for the insight. Maybe a stupid question, but can the "additional 30 graduate credits" be in any subject? Say I have an additional degree, for example: MA, MPH, MBA, JD, MD, or PhD, etc. (Which I do). Could the credits earned in those programs be applied toward the "additional 30 graduate credits" requirement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Potential career changer here again-

Thanks for the chart link. What do "MEQ," "MEQ+30," and "MEQ+60" stand for? Thank you.

I also saw the benefits. They look pretty standard to me -- on par with non-education private sector industry-- unless I am missing something? Don't get me wrong, they are pretty good, but I was told by teacher friends that they were "excellent."

Within a certain number of years you need to earn a Master's Degree or a Master's Equivalent (MEQ). An MEQ would be 30 graduate credits. An MEQ+30 would be an additional 30 graduate credits (for a total of 60 graduate credits) and so on.

OP here. thanks for the insight. Maybe a stupid question, but can the "additional 30 graduate credits" be in any subject? Say I have an additional degree, for example: MA, MPH, MBA, JD, MD, or PhD, etc. (Which I do). Could the credits earned in those programs be applied toward the "additional 30 graduate credits" requirement?

Very likely.http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/personnel/certification/current/salary/post-baccalaureate.aspx

see here for more info

[Anonymous]

OP here. thanks for the insight. Maybe a stupid question, but can the "additional 30 graduate credits" be in any subject? Say I have an additional degree, for example: MA, MPH, MBA, JD, MD, or PhD, etc. (Which I do). Could the credits earned in those programs be applied toward the "additional 30 graduate credits" requirement?

Yup. I work with a teacher who has a PhD in a field unrelated to education, and she is on the +60 salary lane. There are also several classroom-related courses offered throughout the year for staff that can count for credits and are inexpensive/free.