The Big Adventure Into Higher-Ed
This summer I made the leap from public education to a private Midwest college. I hope to highlight and document the differences in finances and benefits as the year goes on.
Like so many teachers this past year I have also chosen to leave the traditional high school classroom (mainly). Many factors lead to this change. Struggling infrastructure, lack of respect from students and adults, a corroding benefits package, and uncertainty of being able to keep grinding for 30 more years as a public school teacher pushed me to switch gears into higher-ed. Higher-ed still has it’s problems and in many ways is also not currently sustainable but it was time to see what that world is like. I just wish I could bring my colleagues and students with me.
Things I did when I left my public education job
- DO NOT TOUCH THAT PENSION!
- Left my 403b account alone
- Monitor my Spending
PENSION – Don’t touch it. It might be tempting to withdraw your contributions for some short term cash. Don’t do it. With 10 years of service I am vested in my state’s retirement and if I never contribute again I’ll be eligible for $4,000+ a year. Might not seem like a lot but with COLA once I start collecting that will be a decent little chunk of money coming in each year. And that’s guaranteed income.
403b – My new employer uses a difference group for 403b (Thankfully they still offer vanguard funds) so I’ll be opening a new 403b account. That’ll be my 3rd 403b… It seems like a lot but after listening to everything the professor went through I’m not too eager to try to roll one into another.
Monitor Spending – My days of building intricate full blown budgets might be over but with an impending paycut I am paying attention to where I’m spending my money. I’ll have to cut back in some areas I’m sure, I am just trying to identify these areas before they become a problem.
Those have been my immediate steps as I anticipate a career change. There have been others, including selling my house! I’ll be covering some of those more directly as the year goes on.
I am hoping to provide all of you some insight into the benefits and costs of the world of higher-ed to see if that’s a viable career path for you to consider. Best of luck and god-speed to teachers at the start of this upcoming school year. I hope there are positive changes on the way.
Keep Stackin!
I have been a lurker for a long time. Always enjoy your posts, very informative. I suppose at your private university you can’t choose between TRA DB or the DC plan.
Just remember that TRA pension gets no raises until 67 without 30 years in, only two non-hybrid states worse than us in the nation and both of those are better at 62+.
Good luck in your next role! If you ever come back to teaching, join the fight for tier 2 pension reform!