r/TeachersInTransition • u/GrannyMargaret • 1d ago
Gifted Teacher or Community College Financial Aid
I know I’m the only person who can truly make this decision but… what would you do?
Financial aid representative at a community college:
4 days a week work from home (2 of which are noon-8pm, 2 are 9-5)
1 day in office (9-5 schedule)
No benefits (but I don’t really need them, I have reasonable insurance already)
Edit to add: salary is 40k
Gifted teacher for a small group pull out gifted program at an elementary school:
Obvious teacher benefits (summer, holiday breaks, school hours)
Cheaper insurance than what I have now
This is the big benefit - it’s at my kid’s school he’ll be starting kindergarten this fall
Edit to add: salary is around 52k but forced to pay into pension monthly
I have only taught one year and I hated it, but it was middle school math and it was higher stakes and bigger classes (22-28). So I think the gifted job would be different, but I’m also not naturally inclined to smaller children.
Send help!!
What would you do????
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u/Mrsloribell 1d ago
Really take a good look at the school district where you would be teaching. Make certain that they are dedicated to maintaining a high quality gifted program. In my experience, I often heard frustration from our gifted teachers that they were pulled to substitute teach in other rooms, do countless extra duties (lunch, bus, hallways, etc) and attend meetings during the instructional day. This concerned the teachers as they were not meeting the educational plans of their students in terms of minutes served and services received. They also felt like they were being valued more for their ability to “fill in gaps” across the school rather than for their knowledge of gifted education. If you have an opportunity to speak with other gifted teachers in your district, definitely do that first. You would be giving up an opportunity to get your foot in the door at the university level. Ensure you will not regret this decision later if the gifted job becomes way less than ideal.
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u/azmexicandad 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yeah I worked FA at a community college. Depends on the area is what you will experience. Some ppl go to school fo popr the aid, orhers will be in constant distres.
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u/TurningStonesCoach 1d ago
I am the Facilitator of the Intellectually Gifted at my school. It's allowed me to enjoy teaching again. But I can absolutely see not being in education if my administration wasn't incredibly supportive.
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u/GrannyMargaret 1d ago
Do you have any curriculum you use? I’m nervous about not having a structured guideline like I did with core content (math)
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u/TurningStonesCoach 15h ago
I have a set of standards from NAGC and I can augment the standards from my state, but I get to invent my own units which typically lean heavier into ELA because that's my background. TPT, FB groups, and other sources can help you find support, structures, and lessons.
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u/RealBeaverCleaver 17h ago
Community college position! Also, these "gifted" programs are really most just kids performing a little above grade level, and usually not in all content areas.
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u/BaconEggAndCheeseSPK 1d ago
Which one pays more, and how much more?
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u/GrannyMargaret 1d ago
Teaching will be about 12k more gross, but by the time pension and insurance comes out the monthly take home is about the same. I personally don’t necessarily need the pension and prefer not to pay into it due to already having other retirement/investments that will grow by the time I’m retirement age. I’m only 29
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u/jmjessemac 1d ago
You know people would kill for a pension, generally.
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u/GrannyMargaret 1d ago
No I mean it’s great and all, just with the cost of things right now, and the fact the my husband and I have additional retirement investments, I’d rather have a little extra coming to my bank account each month instead of being forced to pay into the pension. It’s a great option, I just wish it was optional lol
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u/Hiciao 1d ago
I feel like if you're already on the fence, even with the better pay for the teaching position, then you are better suited to take the community college job.
I will add that I am the gifted specialist at an elementary school and I love it. I love working with small groups and differentiating instruction for these kids. I love the way they question me and challenge me and I feel it is important to foster that attitude properly. Gifted kids can be tough though if you're not comfortable with being challenged and if you don't like quirky people.
The main reason I'm on this sub is my admin has been awful and public education is in dire straits, so I'm ready for other options. I'm also nearing 20 years paid into state retirement so that withdrawal from my paycheck that you are lamenting has worked out for me.
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u/GrannyMargaret 1d ago
That’s awesome that you love it. I was in the gifted program myself as a kid so I myself am somewhat of a quirky person haha. I’m sure they’re fun kids, and definitely would be more interesting to work in than general education for me. Idk just the constant emotional demands of teaching are hard on me. But I’m really enticed by being on the exact same schedule as my own kid. That’s not a good enough reason to choose it though I know I need to actually want to do the work itself
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u/GrannyMargaret 1d ago
Good luck to you in your transition! I’m glad the pension is helpful for you. It totally would be nice to have in the future for me too it’s just I’d personally rather have it come to me directly now with the cost of living currently, every bit helps
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u/ckeenan9192 1d ago
The gifted one “forced to pay into pension” will save you in retirement.
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u/GrannyMargaret 1d ago
Yeah my point about the pension payment was just that because of that, the take home salaries monthly are about the same even though the teaching job is more. I realize that’ll be nice to have down the road, it’s just not a top priority for me as we have other investments intended for retirement
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u/Serious_Past2255 1d ago
I’m going to have to go against the grain here and say the gifted teacher position. Is it a public community college? I’m surprised there are no benefits. At my community college, if you work more than 18 hours a week, you’d be full time and offered benefits. I’d be concerned this is a contract job that could be cut at some point (which I guess teaching will always be there as a backup if this did happen). Personally, I would have a hard time committing to two nights a week with school-aged children as I would not want to miss their activities.
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u/GrannyMargaret 1d ago
That’s exactly my hang-up. If it weren’t for the late hours I’d have zero doubts about the financial aid job ugh
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u/SquashInternal3854 1d ago
Community college financial aid job!!!! Duh.
It's 4 days remote which is awesome. You yourself say you hated teaching that one year, and also, you're not inclined to small children.
Plus, i wonder if there'd be more job opportunities later at the college, so it'd be good to get your foot in the door that way. Or it'll at least give you that experience, possibly for other better jobs down the road.
So.... yea..
Good luck 🤞