new teacher articles
How to read the salary chart
Aug 7, 2008 11:35 AM
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).
Steps: If you teach without interruption, you can move through the steps at the rate of two steps per year. These are indicated along the vertical axis of the schedule, from 1A to 8B. (In addition to that, 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, except 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 should have supplied this information to the DOE through an online form you could fill out during your induction. If you qualify, you could receive credit that could bring you to as high as Step 8B. If you need more information about such salary credit, check with your school’s payroll secretary or call a salary rep at your UFT borough office.
Differentials: Salary differentials are granted for academic credits you earn beyond your bachelor’s degree, but you must apply for each differential. For information about applying for a differential, speak to your chapter leader or contact a salary expert at one of our UFT borough offices.
Differentials are shown along the horizontal axis of the chart. Here is a brief summary:
C1: This is the basic salary for those who have only 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 page 32] or a combination of them all.
C2+ID: This column, the intermediate differential (ID), applies to people who have 60 credits beyond the bachelor’s.
C2+PD: This is called the promotional differential or PD. It requires 36 credits in an approved subject matter 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
C6+PD: This is a combination of the second differential and a master’s degree.
- 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.
- Certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
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, that means that when you reach Step 5B with C2+PD differentials, you would earn $56,048. And, with your help, those salary numbers will go up still higher when the union negotiates the next contract.
