Before Teaching

Many teachers only look for one thing when choosing a district to work for: are there any jobs available. Unfortunately, choosing the right district may mean the difference between a great teaching career and a horrible life-long situation. It is that important. Listen to this podcast to gain some insight on what to look for but the same info and more can be found on my website in article 15.

I see this question asked very often on teacher forums. The answer is very simple but some still don't follow the advice given to them. Check out today's podcast to find out which college you should attend.

I know it sounds weird but some teachers actually get paid well compared to their cost of living. Listen to this podcast to get a better understanding about pay vs cost of living. Don't forget to go to https://beforeteaching.com to see the chart I'm talking about on the website where you can compare pay from various districts throughout the U.S.

There are several ways to get your credential but one of most costly is to combine it with your regular degree and do it in 5 years. Listen to this podcast to consider all the options before you commit to your plan.

For a long time time I thought that whatever came out of my paycheck was set in stone but over the years I've realized that we do have a say in how much gets taken out. Listen to the podcast to get some insight on what you have control when it comes to your paycheck.

When I first wrote the article for this topic, I thought it was going to be pretty easy. It was but as I researched pay contracts throughout the U.S. I noticed that there are other pay scales that don't look the sam and that work a little different than what I consider the typical way a pay scale works.

https://beforeteaching.com/ There are two types of teacher discounts. Three kinds if you consider those teacher appreciation day free burgers but I say there are two. One type of discount gives you a percentage off a school supply product your school should be providing you. The other type of discount on something you buy for yourself. Today's focus is on the things that you buy for yourself.

I love telling new teachers about extra work. Their eyes light up because they’re at the bottom of the pay scale and are usually considering a second job just to make ends meet. However, they don’t have to look outside the teaching profession for a second income. There are many ways to make more money beyond your regular pay. Of course, not every school or district has these options so it might make a difference if you’re trying to decide between districts when looking for a job. In this podcast I list 7 jobs you can get through your district which usually pay more than a retail job.

If you are new to teaching and even if you’ve never taught a single day of your life, there’s something every teacher should be explicitly told when they get hired by a district. Here’s the issue, not every year you work will count if you move to another district. Let me explain.

Teaching Credentials are supposed to be valid in every state and there's even a very official sounding website that guarantees this agreement between states. However, what it doesn't say is that each state may add on requirements beyond the credential in order to teach in their state. Plan ahead because it can hurt you more than you think in certain situations.

Loan forgiveness sounds like an awesome idea. It is but just like any other idea, it's the execution of that idea that makes it great or just more bureaucracy. First, most loans accumulate interest on the day the money is dispersed but some loan’s interest is covered by the government and the other loans have the interest accumulated. Which means that if you took out a loan of $10,000, by the time you have to start paying it could be $13,000 or more because of interest. The real problem comes when you are dealing with much larger amounts. Obviously, the greater your loan amount, the faster your interest can climb. However, there's more.

https://beforeteaching.com/ I think most teachers go into teaching wanting to change students’ lives. Why would this be a topic on this site? When I first considered teaching as a profession, I wanted to change lives through my lessons and example as a male hispanic making it in the world. What I wish I knew before teaching was that my lessons will help kids, but my comments and stories might have a greater impact than anything else I do. Good or bad.

https://beforeteaching.com/index.php/2021/11/15/not-every-teacher-has-to-take-work-home/ I used to be one of those teachers who would work late into the evening grading papers, creating stuff for the class and preparing lessons but something changed that made me realize not every teacher does these things. I also learned that this was ok. You can be an awesome teacher and not give up all your free time.

Today's podcast is going to focus on one of the worst things a person can do before they even start teaching. We are talking about student loans. Student loans are bad but combined with all the other stress you have as a new teacher, it can end your teaching career very quickly. Listen to the podcast to find out.

Hi everyone, In today's episode I'm going to introduce myself and explain the reason and purpose of this podcast. http://beforeteaching.com/