Chicago teacher reveals one reason that led her to quit her job and it’s a wake-up call for America

A teacher’s pay being way lower than the average is becoming a rising concern each day. While it is affecting statistics for the country, it’s impacting the lives of students and also deeply burdening educators. In a clip shared by @salarytransparentstreet, an English teacher in Chicago revealed that she is leaving her job because of its low pay. She mentioned how the workload is way more exhausting than what she is paid for, and even doing extra hours is not helping her become financially stable. Her heartbreaking revelation that she will never be able to afford a home with this kind of finance is a relatable and eye-opening reality. 

The woman explained that she was a high school public teacher in Chicago and taught English. However, she also added that it would be her last year teaching. “This year, before tax, I made a base salary of $74,000,” the woman explained. She noted that working after school hours on the campus was termed as “OST funding” and that she made a few extra dollars from that, too. “Because I ran my school’s drama program this year, I earned an additional $5,000,” she revealed. The teacher’s salary was now $79,000. When asked if she felt well-compensated, she explained that because she was single, had no kids, and was living on rent, she felt her salary was fine. However, her next statement was heartbreaking. 

“The reason I’m leaving is because I wanted to buy a house but with the salary alone, I was not going to be able to do that in Chicago,” she said. In a previous post, the street interviewer compiled the different salaries of teachers, and it was shocking. A pre-school teacher noted that she made only $33,000. A science teacher added that she made around $46,000 to $47,000. A few other teachers revealed that they made between $65,000 and $80,000, but that depended on the area, the subject they taught, and their degrees. Data from the Teacher’s Task Force revealed that teachers’ pay has been seriously decreasing over the last 20-plus years.

 Unfortunately, it is getting harder and harder for many educators to make a living with the quickly reducing paychecks. This has caused many teachers to give up their jobs, even if it was their passion, and look for something that’s more financially rewarding. A report shared by UNESCO revealed that by 2030, there will be a worldwide need of around 44 million teachers to battle the ongoing shortage. It was further noted that to finance this huge recruitment, it will cost around $12.8 billion for universal primary education, and $106.8 billion for universal secondary education.

Counting both, affording these teachers by 2030 will require $120 billion. The question is whether this will be enough and whether teachers will be able to achieve stable and independent lives for themselves. Many people are calling out the pay disparity. @hannhawill3ams said, “Lost another good teacher because we don’t care enough.” @notarobotmaybe added, “For those who say $80,000 is a lot, it’s not for the city of Chicago. It’s a major US city and is expensive.” @ggoad16 noted, “This was exactly me. Going into my last year of law school but was sad to leave teaching.” 

You can follow @salarytransparentstreet on TikTok for more content on salaries, finance, etc. 

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