Hellobee Boards

@matador84: Once you factor in the tuition discount, how much is the difference in pay? (Or is that the 15k?)

@matador84: Same question as @crazydoglady about the tuition discount.

I’m not a teacher but just taking all of this at face value, it’s a tough one! The offer sounds good with a few exceptions and I love how it sounds like life could be much saner with being in the same schedule as your older ones. Hidden paycheck! More-involved parents sounds like a plus, too!

The thing that doesn’t make it a slam dunk is losing the state teacher retirement. I’ve never had that but I understand it’s much better than 401Kz because it’s employer paid, right? How vested are you? What would you lose? Does the new place offer a employer match to their 401K and can you make up for what you might lose by abandoning the pension?

My heart says do what makes life easier and enjoyable for your family, but the geek in me would want to justify it on paper.(or spreadsheet!)

@matador84: + I guess you'll safe additional money on not having to pay for summer camp/childcare if you don't have family nearby that could help out during those 4 weeks a year.

I’d take the job offer. I did something kind of similar: accepted a job at 5k less but am now much closer to home so it’s made our lives much easier. It’s the same organization so benefits don’t change. I have no problem being “mommy tracked” for a few years. I still have a higher level job at my organization, but it’s much less stress and responsibility than my old one which is what we needed as a family right now. 15k is a lot but it sounds like maybe it would pay off with the tuition costs.

@matador84: one thing to consider is how many years you already have in your public teacher's pension (I assume current job is public) and how moving jobs affects your overall retirement picture.

There's a well known "retirement penalty" for teachers who switch states or switch careers, but that may depend on how many years you currently have vested. I'm not an expert on any of this, so you'll want to do your own research, but there's a chance that there's a big penalty if you try to withdraw the money you have in your public pension fund and try to switch it to your potential-future 401k, and at the same time, you won't have the years of service + age formula to get a very big payout if you decide to move jobs and just keep whatever you have in the pension system. I mean, you'll have way less than someone who stayed in public for all those years. You'll have your 401k at your new school, but again, you'll have fewer years to have that money compound than someone who has been working in the private school the last 15 years.

All this depends on your state. But I moved from TX to NJ and my current retirement projections if I work from now till age 70 is way lower than if I'd had all my years of service in just 1 state. When my husband mentions moving again to a potential 3rd state, I just think of how much retirement money I'd lose again.

Anyway, some retirement calculators may help you. Good luck. =)

Hmm the pension to 401k thing would be a potential deal breaker for me (Im a public school teacher). I’m assuming the first job is a private school - I’d also be concerned about having to take on additional unpaid responsibilities but I don’t know if that’s the culture of the school. Also do any other benefits come into play (health insurance?)?

It sounds like for now the pay difference isn’t really that big taking into account tuition and summer childcare however it could be a huge difference in retirement. 9 years is a really long time.

That being said, which one did you think you’d like better? If you think you’d be happier at the new job then the switch might be worth it.

I think I'd take the new job. The other thing I'd consider as a big pro is commute costs/time!

@matador84: Congrats! I think with the even more pay increase, it's a great move!

@matador84: hey, just seeing your update! Yay!!!