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Calculations
Oct. 15th, 2015 12:34 amI decided I was going to sit down and figure out exactly what kind of life I could expect if I became a High School teacher from this point forward.
I'd need at a minimum four more years of education, which works out to be about $96,000 in debt ($12,000 Tuition and $12,000 living expenses/fees etc. per year)
The interest on that alone, assuming at least half of that debt (or more) would be private loans, would be around six percent average.
That's $5,760 in interest.
Around here, the median wage for teachers is closer to the lower end. Assuming the first ten years or so are around $35,000 before taxes, I'd end up with something like $25,000 in disposable income.
Take the interest off, down to about $20,000.
If it's a twenty year payment plan, it's another $5,000 per year.
Interest drops incrementally obviously, but I'd still be looking at $10,000 a year for a number of years. Leaving me with only $15,000 to live off of.
That's worse than a $10/h job with no debt ($17,000 after taxes) and teachers arguably put more hours in for those 9 months they do work - probably at least 10-11 a day, and some weekend reading and work most likely.
That all being said, I also did some calculations on what I'd need to continually save enough for general maintenance, an average house mortgage or rent payment w/ utilities ($700/mo) and saving for a new car for every ten years. Turns out a $10/h job can /barely/ do this when you're renting - but you'd need more like $12-15/h to own a house (and save enough for new appliances, roof, siding, etc.) Obviously there'd be no room for retirement savings or investment, and very little, if any room, for things like a new computer every so often, or even the internet. Definitely no room for travel, or any entertainment at all really. I'd be living on something like $50/week for food.
Moral of the story is, I don't think High School Teacher is a viable option. I'm not willing to put myself in that sort of situation long term, and it would be especially precarious because I don't know if I'd like teaching until I've done it for awhile. I do feel bad for saying all of this, in a way, because I think one of my only real gifts is that of being somewhat well read and liking to spread ideas...but no society should expect me to carry a burden of debt like that to aid in raising the next generation.
I would grumble about the fact that, given this economy, we're all supposed to hitch up with someone else and share the financial burdens (and get better tax breaks) but that's simply not gonna happen for me any time soon (if ever?) Pointless to grumble about it anyway. I think I'd actually be scared if a woman showed any interest in me at this point, so it's really the furthest thing from reality at this junction.
Seems to me my best option is to go into a trade of some sort. I guess I'm basically set on that. I don't want to live in a city, which eliminates most of the educated options anyway. Would I like to get a bachelor's degree still? Yes. But I can't justify the cost at this moment in time, and schooling online isn't a tried and true method for real upward mobility - most of the people I know who've done it have made absolutely zero use of it.
I do think the lineman/electrical utility industry has a lot of longevity and is going to be the future, so I really think that might be one of the best places to go. It's arguably one of the most important infrastructures we have, and there are no real alternatives to it, nor will there be for a very, very long time. That's what I'm looking at primarily right now.
On that note, I have to help my uncle out again tomorrow, and he worked for REA for most of his life. Maybe he can give me an idea as to whether or not they hire general laborers and then send them to lineman school, or if I'd have to take myself through it first.
I'd need at a minimum four more years of education, which works out to be about $96,000 in debt ($12,000 Tuition and $12,000 living expenses/fees etc. per year)
The interest on that alone, assuming at least half of that debt (or more) would be private loans, would be around six percent average.
That's $5,760 in interest.
Around here, the median wage for teachers is closer to the lower end. Assuming the first ten years or so are around $35,000 before taxes, I'd end up with something like $25,000 in disposable income.
Take the interest off, down to about $20,000.
If it's a twenty year payment plan, it's another $5,000 per year.
Interest drops incrementally obviously, but I'd still be looking at $10,000 a year for a number of years. Leaving me with only $15,000 to live off of.
That's worse than a $10/h job with no debt ($17,000 after taxes) and teachers arguably put more hours in for those 9 months they do work - probably at least 10-11 a day, and some weekend reading and work most likely.
That all being said, I also did some calculations on what I'd need to continually save enough for general maintenance, an average house mortgage or rent payment w/ utilities ($700/mo) and saving for a new car for every ten years. Turns out a $10/h job can /barely/ do this when you're renting - but you'd need more like $12-15/h to own a house (and save enough for new appliances, roof, siding, etc.) Obviously there'd be no room for retirement savings or investment, and very little, if any room, for things like a new computer every so often, or even the internet. Definitely no room for travel, or any entertainment at all really. I'd be living on something like $50/week for food.
Moral of the story is, I don't think High School Teacher is a viable option. I'm not willing to put myself in that sort of situation long term, and it would be especially precarious because I don't know if I'd like teaching until I've done it for awhile. I do feel bad for saying all of this, in a way, because I think one of my only real gifts is that of being somewhat well read and liking to spread ideas...but no society should expect me to carry a burden of debt like that to aid in raising the next generation.
I would grumble about the fact that, given this economy, we're all supposed to hitch up with someone else and share the financial burdens (and get better tax breaks) but that's simply not gonna happen for me any time soon (if ever?) Pointless to grumble about it anyway. I think I'd actually be scared if a woman showed any interest in me at this point, so it's really the furthest thing from reality at this junction.
Seems to me my best option is to go into a trade of some sort. I guess I'm basically set on that. I don't want to live in a city, which eliminates most of the educated options anyway. Would I like to get a bachelor's degree still? Yes. But I can't justify the cost at this moment in time, and schooling online isn't a tried and true method for real upward mobility - most of the people I know who've done it have made absolutely zero use of it.
I do think the lineman/electrical utility industry has a lot of longevity and is going to be the future, so I really think that might be one of the best places to go. It's arguably one of the most important infrastructures we have, and there are no real alternatives to it, nor will there be for a very, very long time. That's what I'm looking at primarily right now.
On that note, I have to help my uncle out again tomorrow, and he worked for REA for most of his life. Maybe he can give me an idea as to whether or not they hire general laborers and then send them to lineman school, or if I'd have to take myself through it first.
