Is it easy being a teacher in new york city?

New York City teacher salary too little? I think not.. looking at the numbers. Opinion?

• According to the government website, the average salary for teacher in NYC is 70,000. Isn't that good enough? Heres the link: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes252022.htm I think 70,000 is a fairly good amount, but yet again I'm still young and living with my parents so dont know how far 70,000 will get me on my own. I hear teachers always saying that they dont make enough, or that they make very little. Which is it? Is 70,000 not enough?

• Answer:

  Those are interesting statistics. Now go look at the New York newspapers, at the rent for apartments in decent areas. It's really, really expensive to live in New York City (which is what is bringing that average up). Here's an article about the cost of living in New York, titled "N.Y.C. so costly you need to earn six figures to make middle class". It says: "A New Yorker would have to make $123,322 a year to have the same standard of living as someone making $50,000 in Houston." "The average monthly rent in New York is $2,801, 53% higher than San Francisco, the second most expensive city in the country." So that means that teachers are not even considered middle class in New York. Do you think that's right? Most probably have to live way outside the city, in New Jersey or somewhere, and have a long commute to work each day - and they have to be there much earlier than the 9-5 office worker. That chart you found shows that the salaries for teachers range from $26,000 to that $70,000. With any job, you have to consider the cost of living before you can compare salaries in one place to salaries in another.