Choosing To Teach Doesn’t Pay In NJ – But It Should, Study Says

TRENTON, NJ — It’s no big secret that New Jersey has some amazing schools. After all, the state commonly ranks on lists of the “best education systems” in the nation, and is home to a college that topped the entire U.S. in a recent report.

But despite the bragging rights that New Jersey parents get every year, the median salary of teachers in the state – which now stands at $68,985 according to recent Department of Education figures – is “substantially less” than their peers who choose other careers, researchers say.

On Monday, nonprofit advocacy group New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) released a study on the state’s teacher workforce. Read the full report.

According to the NJPP, teachers in New Jersey make 14.5 percent less than similarly educated residents who chose other lines of work. Benefits such as pensions and health care don’t appear to make up for the gap in wages.

It's even worse for teachers who continue their higher educations. On average, New Jersey teachers with master’s degrees make 17.3 percent less than other workers with the same, the NJPP stated.

• See related article: NJ Teachers Spend This Much Of Their Own Money On Supplies

Much of the difference in teacher salaries can be explained by a gender-wage gap, NJPP researchers said. However, college-educated women still see a decline in pay when they choose to teach.

• See related article: Female Graduates At This NJ College Are Beating The Gender Wage Gap

Some other findings in the NJPP study included:

• “Teacher salaries tend to be lower in less-affluent school districts”
• “Teachers are overwhelmingly white and female, and there is little indication the state’s teaching workforce is becoming more diverse”
• “Given the wage gap for teachers, New Jersey should not degrade the value of teacher pensions and benefits, which help to close that gap”

When all is said and done, the lack of pay incentive to choose a teaching career in New Jersey is putting the state’s reputation as a top-ranking education leader in jeopardy, the NJPP claimed.

“Attracting well-qualified candidates into the teaching profession is critically important if New Jersey is to develop an educated workforce and overall thriving economy in the coming decades,” NJPP researchers stated.

• See related article: 10 Stories About Awesome New Jersey Teachers

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