Teacher Vision.com, a resource site for educators, proposed a simple question for teachers to answer. The question asked, “Are You Paid Enough?” Participants could choose from 4 different answers, which included, “Yes, I think I’m well compensated for my work,” “Maybe, but I wouldn’t mind make more money,” “No, teaching is a hard job and I deserve more,” and “Definitely not, I’m having a hard time making ends meet and may need to change jobs.” The results were not surprising, but gave a better look at how teachers really feel about their paychecks.

24 % of teachers selected, “Definitely not, I’m having a hard time making ends meet and may need to change jobs.” If you are having a rough time paying regular bills, it’s almost impossible to effectively teach in the classroom. It’s easy to build up resentment for your job, students, and every aspect of daily life.

42% of educators that participated in this survey agreed that, “No, teaching is a hard job and I deserve more.” Educating and influencing young people is a tough profession. Teachers have a strong impact when it comes to molding the minds of young people, second only to parents or parental figures, but compensation does not reflect this fact.

Together, that’s a total of 66% of teachers who feel without doubt that teachers are underpaid.

27% of teachers said, “Maybe, but I wouldn’t mind making more money,” and 8% responded with, “Yes, I think I’m well compensated for my work.”

This survey at the time of this article included 255 responses from teachers.

If you took this survey, how would you answer?