[dustyn]

The problem with teaching is that it's basically a "dead end job" in that there's little opportunity for advancement, switching jobs without taking a huge paycut or doing anything other than teaching. Sure, you can become a principal, but those slots are fairly limited relative to the large pool of teachers.

At least in business, most people can switch roles to some degree without much career ruin, but in teaching, that is less possible. And teachers work a lot; just because they don't work the standard 8 hour day, 5 days a week and 48 weeks a year doesn't mean they don't work just as hard as someone with "normal business hours." Their work happens to be more concentrated during certain times of the year. At best they may work slightly less than an "average" white collar professional.

But back to the question, I think it varies. In some states/cities their pay is "ok/decent." In other areas, it's simply terrible. But teachers in SF are paid terribly relative to what other jobs for people with similar levels of education are paying. In Scranton, PA, a small city that is very cheap and in a state that pays teachers pretty well, a teachers salary is pretty solid. In general though, I think teachers are paid rather poorly considering how inflexible their career is and how little opportunity for advancement they have relative to other professions that require similar education levels to teaching. Still, I think it's important to consider geography when evaluating teacher pay. It makes a big difference.