Anonymous
04/12/2026 19:18
Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Is the pay at the elite local private schools competitive?
No.
St. Alban’s might be the best. They used to cover your kid’s tuition also.
No others do. Retirement and benefits far below public schools.
This is what I don’t understand - how are private schools a much better education than public if their teachers are getting paid less? Wouldn’t better teachers go public for more money?
It's not a strict calculation of dollars. There are things in private school that can be appealing - smaller classes, more control in lesson planning, fewer discipline problems.
I agree. I transferred to a private school after many years in public. I gave up slightly higher pay, but I gained a better work/life balance and more respect. I don’t feel beat-down and defeated at the end of the day.
Many private school teachers left the public districts for similar reasons.
Teachers at the top privates won’t cross six figures.
Incorrect. I'm in a Midwestern "top" private (excuse me while I gag) and I am making 100K+. But I was making 12
Anonymous
04/12/2026 19:16
Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Is the pay at the elite local private schools competitive?
No.
St. Alban’s might be the best. They used to cover your kid’s tuition also.
No others do. Retirement and benefits far below public schools.
This is what I don’t understand - how are private schools a much better education than public if their teachers are getting paid less? Wouldn’t better teachers go public for more money?
It's not a strict calculation of dollars. There are things in private school that can be appealing - smaller classes, more control in lesson planning, fewer discipline problems.
I agree. I transferred to a private school after many years in public. I gave up slightly higher pay, but I gained a better work/life balance and more respect. I don’t feel beat-down and defeated at the end of the day.
Many private school teachers left the public districts for similar reasons.
Teachers at the top privates won’t cross six figures.
Anonymous
04/12/2026 19:04
Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Is the pay at the elite local private schools competitive?
No.
St. Alban’s might be the best. They used to cover your kid’s tuition also.
No others do. Retirement and benefits far below public schools.
This is what I don’t understand - how are private schools a much better education than public if their teachers are getting paid less? Wouldn’t better teachers go public for more money?
It's not a strict calculation of dollars. There are things in private school that can be appealing - smaller classes, more control in lesson planning, fewer discipline problems.
I agree. I transferred to a private school after many years in public. I gave up slightly higher pay, but I gained a better work/life balance and more respect. I don’t feel beat-down and defeated at the end of the day.
Many private school teachers left the public districts for similar reasons.
Teachers at the top privates won’t cross six figures.
Anonymous
04/12/2026 15:08
Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Is the pay at the elite local private schools competitive?
No.
St. Alban’s might be the best. They used to cover your kid’s tuition also.
No others do. Retirement and benefits far below public schools.
This is what I don’t understand - how are private schools a much better education than public if their teachers are getting paid less? Wouldn’t better teachers go public for more money?
It's not a strict calculation of dollars. There are things in private school that can be appealing - smaller classes, more control in lesson planning, fewer discipline problems.
I agree. I transferred to a private school after many years in public. I gave up slightly higher pay, but I gained a better work/life balance and more respect. I don’t feel beat-down and defeated at the end of the day.
Many private school teachers left the public districts for similar reasons.
Anonymous
04/12/2026 12:42
Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Someone fresh out of college with a bachelor’s and no experience is cheaper to the county than a teacher with 2 decades of experience and masters.
But who is the better teacher? Does that matter?
But who is the better teacher? Does that matter?
Anonymous
04/12/2026 08:55
Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Fairfax! Do not work it Alexandria!!!! The city government is completely trash. The superintendent was asked to step down to pending lawsuits. The entire system of the Alexandria local government is doomed. Taxes are highest in the state with no educational return on investment for our youth. The city has failed its residents. Mayor is too busy playing dress up with ribbon cutting events for her votes. Apply anywhere else in the DMV!
Anonymous
04/12/2026 08:52
Subject: Job Market for Teachers
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Is the pay at the elite local private schools competitive?
No.
St. Alban’s might be the best. They used to cover your kid’s tuition also.
No others do. Retirement and benefits far below public schools.
This is what I don’t understand - how are private schools a much better education than public if their teachers are getting paid less? Wouldn’t better teachers go public for more money?
Because there are other tradeoffs. Public school teaching is very hard work. Private school teaching is more cushy. Better facilities, teachers teach less classes every day, fewer students per class, etc. The day to day can be pretty gruelling in public school
Anonymous
04/12/2026 03:49
Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Market is still strong and there is more than enough choice available for you in this region. VA will take your previous experience up to 22 years. Maryland only takes up to 10 with a Bachelors and 12 years with a Masters. DC has a flat 10 years.
Pick your poison. DC gets paid really well but it affects your mental health and at times it's physically unsafe.
MD has a good pension but you must work for ten years before you are fully vested. They also have strong unions and pay well if you are a Nationally Board Certified teacher.
VA - well it's Virginia and they don't believe in unions. Pay is okay but they seem to be more flexible on days off and a better calendar schedule.
Different districts in MD have different policies on how many years of teaching experience they will give you credit for on the salary pay scale.
My district is PGCPS and currently, they will give you credit for all your teaching experience - no cap on what transfers, I believe.
MD's pension for new hires isn't so great. The multiplier is only 1.5% and to retire with full pension (i.e. no reduction) you need to meet "the rule of 90". years teaching in the state + age has to equal 90. So with 30 years' experience you can retire at age 60, and your pension will be 45% of your average high 5 years.
I heard about a teacher retiring at 55 after 30 years teaching, but that most likely wasn’t in Maryland then.
The profession is very highly regarded in my home country, not here in the US, and I have countless times heard that the kids are hell.
Apparently private school parents are a constant pain as well.
Anonymous
04/12/2026 01:17
Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Is the pay at the elite local private schools competitive?
No.
St. Alban’s might be the best. They used to cover your kid’s tuition also.
No others do. Retirement and benefits far below public schools.
This is what I don’t understand - how are private schools a much better education than public if their teachers are getting paid less? Wouldn’t better teachers go public for more money?
It's not a strict calculation of dollars. There are things in private school that can be appealing - smaller classes, more control in lesson planning, fewer discipline problems.
Anonymous
04/11/2026 22:37
Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Is the pay at the elite local private schools competitive?
No.
St. Alban’s might be the best. They used to cover your kid’s tuition also.
No others do. Retirement and benefits far below public schools.
This is what I don’t understand - how are private schools a much better education than public if their teachers are getting paid less? Wouldn’t better teachers go public for more money?
Anonymous
04/11/2026 22:25
Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:Is the pay at the elite local private schools competitive?
Try Potomac. No personal experience but I’ve heard the pay is competitive and they do give some tuition remission.
Anonymous
04/11/2026 21:22
Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:Is the pay at the elite local private schools competitive?
No.
St. Alban’s might be the best. They used to cover your kid’s tuition also.
No others do. Retirement and benefits far below public schools.
Anonymous
04/11/2026 20:57
Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Is the pay at the elite local private schools competitive?
Anonymous
04/11/2026 15:16
Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:High school ELA is very competitive right now. Not many jobs at all.
This hasn’t been my experience. While we get more applications than other fields, it’s not what it used to be.
I applied four years ago and received offers from three districts and two private schools.
Four years ago in ... 2022? We were still experiencing the after effect of COVID and distance teaching. Many teachers had left and we had a lot of vacancies.
We still have vacancies in some areas, but not high school English.
We regularly have vacancies in our English department, usually 2-4 a year. There are more English teachers, that’s true. But it has a higher turnover because of the grading load.
So if someone is looking for an English position, they can find one.
Maybe you have vacancies, but how many applicants do you get for each vacancy? FCPS's website this year only showed short-term postings due to people leaving and the jobs were quickly snapped up. Even now there are only 8 or 9 ELA positions showing as open for the entire county.
Anonymous
04/11/2026 11:43
Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
market seems okay for certified teachers with masters. enrollment is down in some MD counties which is going to lead to budget cuts and more shuffle. I think this will be tough on career changers and will favor young teachers.