new teacher articles

How much will I earn?

Aug 13, 2009 11:04 AM

Although money isn’t usually the main reason people go into teaching, the UFT takes the bread-and-butter issue of wages very seriously. Over the years, the union has had considerable success in raising salaries to professional levels, with higher pay for newcomers and a top salary of more than $100,000.

As a first-year teacher in the New York City public schools, your gross earnings will be at least $45,530 per year or $1,897.08 each paycheck during September. (You will receive your paycheck semi-monthly at school. If you opt for direct deposit of your salary, you will receive a pay stub at your school.)

And that’s just for starters. You could earn more than that basic starting salary because the UFT negotiated a number of ways to boost the paychecks of newer teachers and put more money in your pocket.

For example, you can earn thousands of dollars more right from the start if you have enough college or graduate credits to qualify for a permanent wage enhancement called a differential. You can also increase your income if you qualify for a higher salary step based on eligible prior teaching-related work experience. Finally, you will earn more as you complete years of service. Automatic increases kick in as you move through the salary steps from 1A to 8B, plus there are longevity bonuses, starting with $1,000 for completing five years of service, that are permanently added to your salary as you reach key anniversary dates.

To check your earning potential — now and in the future — consult the UFT salary schedule on this page. Then plan to take advantage of every opportunity to increase your income.

Understanding the salary schedule

The UFT salary schedule allows you to see how you can earn more money — thousands of dollars more each year — as you get credit for time on the job (in what are called steps) and as you earn more academic credits (in what are called differentials).

As a newly hired teacher, you should complete the DOE’s online salary step application when you start working. This application establishes your correct starting work date, salary step and earnings. It is especially important if you are claiming salary credit for prior teaching-related experience outside the New York City public schools [see below]. If you have already completed this online application process and realized that the information you submitted was inaccurate, you can download, print and fill out a paper Salary Step Application by going to the DOE Web site at http://schools.nyc.gov.

Steps: If you teach without interruption, you can move through the steps at the rate of two per year. These are indicated along the vertical axis of the schedule, from 1A to 8B. (In addition, you will qualify for longevity increases after five, 10, 13, 15, 18, 20 and 22 years of service.) You will automatically get pay increases based on steps, but you must apply if you want credit for prior experience [see below].

Credit for prior experience: If you taught in another school system or had work experience related to your license area, you may qualify for salary credit. You can supply this information to the DOE by completing an online form during your induction. However, if you want prior experience credit for subbing or teaching under another license in the New York City public schools, you must submit a hard copy of the DOE’s Application for Salary Step Placement within six months of taking up your new teaching position. Make a copy for your records of this and any other forms you submit to the DOE. If you qualify, you could receive up to 7½ years of credit which could bring you as high as Step 8B. Check with your school’s payroll secretary or call a salary rep at your UFT borouugh office for more information about such salary credit.

Differentials: Salary differentials are wage increases granted for credits you earn beyond your bachelor’s degree, but you must apply for each differential. The DOE has instructions and an online application for salary differentials at http://schools.nyc.gov; click on Employees, then on Salary Steps and Differentials under Teachers, Principals and School Professionals; then on Teacher Salary Steps and Differentials. You will need a DOE e-mail address to complete the form online, but original transcripts still must be submitted to 65 Court St., Room 102, Brooklyn, NY 11201. It is strongly suggested that, if you cannot hand-deliver your application, you send it return receipt requested. For more information about applying for differentials, speak to your chapter leader or contact a salary expert at your UFT borough office.

Differentials are shown along the horizontal axis of the salary schedule. Here is a brief summary:

C1: This is the basic salary for those who have a bachelor’s degree.

C1+PD: This column applies only to teachers hired before 1970.

C2: This is called the first differential. It requires 30 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree requirement. These may be all excess undergraduate credits, all graduate credits, P credits [see “P credits: Another way to earn differentials” on this page] or a combination of them all.

C2+ID: This intermediate differential (ID) applies to people who have earned their first differential and in addition have 60 credits beyond the bachelor’s.

C2+PD: This combines the first differential with the promotional differential or PD. It requires 36 credits in an approved subject area; those 36 credits may be undergraduate, graduate, or a combination. Generally you qualify when you get your master’s degree.

C2+ID+PD: This is for people who have met the requirements for the first differential, the intermediate differential and the promotional differential.

C6: This is the second differential, which can be achieved with:

1. A master’s degree plus another 30 credits that were taken after the date of your bachelor’s but not as part of your master’s credits. They can be undergraduate, graduate or P credits.
2. Certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
   C6+PD: This is a combination of the second differential and a master’s degree.

Putting it all together

As you can see, you may be entitled to more than one differential at a time, and these combinations are shown above. If you already qualify for one or more differentials, waste no time in applying. Any salary increase you are granted for a differential will be retroactive if you apply within six months of eligibility. And if you also qualify for salary credit for prior experience, you may be able to earn even more.

But even if you begin at the basic starting salary, you stand a good chance of increasing your income significantly by completing your master’s degree, which New York State requires you to do within your first five years on the job. Using the numbers from the current contract, five years from now if you are at Step 6A with C2+PD differentials, you would be making $57,639. And, with your help, those numbers will go up when the union negotiates the next contract.