ILMathTeachr wrote:
>
> HOLY SMOKES! Given I'm seeing people on here cite salaries of ~$30-40K, I didn't
> think that level of savings was doable, especially since many cite the benefits of IT
> as including convenience of travel. If you started at age 26 with $400/month invested
> at 11% return, you'd have $2MM by age 62. That'd be nice. But saving $20K annually,
> starting at age 26 at a more conservative estimate of 8% return, would make you a
> poor in 20 years, and worth $5MM by the time you're Medicare eligible. Are IS
> teachers, broadly speaking, actually pulling this off? Or is Caesar the exception to
> the trend?

I'm at what most here would consider a "tier 1" school and the salary reflects that. I'm also pretty frugal!

ILMathTeachr wrote:
> I'm curious how well lifelong career IS teachers are able to really save
> for retirement. In the US, most states have varying levels of pension
> programs that you are automatically enrolled in. At worst, you have a
> hybrid system with a modest pension plus a 401K. Different states have
> different rules, but a lot of folks do little financial planning and still
> wind up with a pension of $50K-$100K, usually pegged to how much of a
> salary you made at the end of your career, after 35 years, give or take, of
> teaching. In exchange, those teachers usually can't draw Social Security.
> I estimate I'd need about $1-2MM in cash saved to finance my retirement at
> the level my pension will give me me. I feel confident I NEVER would've hit
> that level if I had to save it all by myself. Mad respect for anyone who
> can!

I've been investing $20-25k per year into a taxable account. The pension issue isn't that big of a deal to me because if I returned to the States, it would be to work at an independent school. My state has great public schools, but I like the freedom that working at an independent school provides.

I'm not on the recruitment train this year, but I've been reflecting on whether I should continue to teach abroad (year 3 now) or return to the US and find a good independent day school or boarding school (most of my experience is with boarding schools, including the one I'm at now).

For the IT veterans out there, I would be interested to hear about what you think are some hidden costs or downsides to staying overseas? Things like missing family, not being able to find a partner, ect.

intotheblue wrote:
> The only schools in actual Ivy league that offer a masters degree in
> education are Harvard, Columbia and Penn.

Not necessarily true. Brown offers a AM (Master of Arts) in Urban Educational Policy and a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) in several fields. Both are considered degrees in education.

The PLT is incredibly easy.

Leadership screwing faculty might sound good in the short-term, depending on your definition of "good," but it most definitely hurts the institution in the long term. Who would want to work at a school like that? As others have mentioned, I hope OP is documenting this and the school name on the paid side of the site and the forums.

I'm also interested on where to park a license. I have 2 years of IT experience (ESL) and I'm currently in a MAT program (for Social Studies). I'll be graduating in May with certification and already have a Social Studies IT position lined up.