Is Elementary Teacher a Good Career? 12 Things To Know

Being an elementary teacher can be challenging at best, especially when the environment is getting tougher. While the position can be incredibly fulfilling, it’s natural to wonder whether the perks of being an elementary teacher actually outweigh the downsides.

Being an elementary teacher is a good career, despite the stress and effort, because of the impact you can have on children. As their first educator, you can shape their attitude and path toward learning. Being able to do that effectively is incredibly rewarding.

As you may already know, the teaching profession has its challenges. However, it also comes with great satisfaction, and this article will help you see if you can find that balance as an elementary teacher.

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Things To Know Before Becoming an Elementary Teacher

Before becoming an elementary teacher, you need to know the pros and cons, qualities, skills, and responsibilities you should meet for this profession. Knowing these details helps you decide if being an elementary teacher is a good, if not perfect, career for you.

For instance, you may realize that while you like children, your personality isn’t fit for teaching them. To know if being an elementary teacher is a promising career for you, here are some things you should know beforehand.

1. Being an Elementary Teacher Is Stressful But Rewarding

According to US News, the stress level of an elementary teacher career is above average. That’s because of the many responsibilities that fall on a teacher, such as:

Making lesson plans
Preparing for activities
Grading papers and assessments

Settling classroom conflicts
Communicating with parents
Filing reports

Decorating the classroom and display boards

Keep in mind that the job will always be more challenging when you start as a new teacher. For instance, you enter the profession without having past lesson plans or activities to serve as fallback options.

However, if a career is so burdensome, why do many people still go for it? Being an elementary teacher is also among the most rewarding professions.

The satisfaction of elementary teachers comes from the long-lasting impact they have on their students. They play vital roles in shaping a child’s attitude and foundation for learning and teach academic and social skills while enticing the lessons.

If elementary teachers can mold the child’s point of view effectively, their impact is gratifying, valuable, and memorable. Indeed, many of them have experienced being invited by grateful students to celebrate milestones like college graduations, weddings, or baby showers.

2. An Elementary Teacher Must Be Creative and Flexible

Elementary teachers must be more creative than other educators because they cater to young children. These kids are just starting to explore learning and get easily distracted or uninterested.

Therefore, you need to be creative with your lesson plans and activities. Some teachers incorporate games and crafts in the classroom to make learning exciting.

If you’re looking for some game ideas for grades four and above, check out this video:

Besides creativity, you also need to be flexible. This often involves thinking quickly on your feet to address issues and overcome obstacles. If your class’s pace is slower or faster than expected, for example, you must adjust your lesson schedules accordingly.

Moreover, every child is different, so you need to adapt to their personalities as much as possible. Students learn using various teaching styles and methods; it will be up to you to identify and accommodate this.

3. An Elementary Teacher Must Have Plenty of Energy and Patience

Young children have endless energy, and elementary teachers must match that, or your students will quickly lose interest in your lessons. Worst, they may turn to disruptive behavior to release their pent-up energy.

It is vital that you attend work fully rested and well-nourished so that you are physically and mentally prepared to tackle the day ahead.

Besides energy, you must also have boundless patience. Students are likely to say and do things that are immensely trying, but you must deal with any frustrations responsibly and patiently. You’ll also need to exercise patience with the parents. Some of them can be hard to communicate or coordinate with, but you must remain level-headed.

4. An Elementary Teacher Must Have Good Observational Skills

Attention to detail when observing your class is crucial in the progression and safety of students. Paired with insight, these two qualities help teachers identify how and why students might struggle in class.

Insightful and observant teachers often see certain signs earlier than parents or other individuals in a child’s life. In some cases, this can be vital as the child might be able to get the necessary support earlier, which makes managing any potential conditions easier in the long term.

Another reason why teachers need good observational skills is to monitor social relations within the classroom and spot any unwanted interactions. Students do not always inform adults about any harassment or bullying they might be experiencing. Therefore, being attentive and vigilant would enable you to identify and deal with such issues, even if students do not tell you directly.

5. An Elementary Teacher Needs To Be Very Knowledgeable and Well-Rounded

Elementary teachers, unlike other teachers, handle several subjects in one class, such as math, science, writing, reading, etc.

With that setup, you must have a good working knowledge of all subjects. If you earned a bachelor’s in elementary education program, you would be prepared for it. Even so, you’d still need to learn independently, especially if you want to impart updated knowledge and progress in your career.

Besides gaining and imparting much knowledge, you also need some crucial non-academic skills, such as:

Time management: You must set a good pace, schedule activities appropriately, and leave time for breaks and transitions between lessons.
Organization: You’ll spend time organizing activities, planning field trips, collaborating with other teachers, and more. You’ll need to think ahead and organize yourself suitably to perform these tasks successfully.

Conflict resolution: If there are conflicts or disagreements between students (or even between colleagues), you must be able to resolve them responsibly. You must be a reliable mediator; otherwise, problems will escalate.
Emotional and social skills: Your students are young children and will learn essential emotional and social skills from you. Thus, you must exhibit model behavior for them to emulate.
Communication skills: Good communication skills are used when talking to your students, coordinating with administration and other faculty, or corresponding with parents.

Teamwork: You must work well with your students, co-faculty, and administrators. There’s also teamwork between parents and teachers. If you are not a good team player, all parties will have an unpleasant experience.

6. An Elementary Teacher’s Work Goes Beyond School Hours

School hours may be relatively short, but teachers’ working hours are long, as you must be at school before classes start and often stay behind long after the students have left.

You’ll need to monitor students during breaks, like lunch or recess, and after classes, you may conduct remedial courses, meet with parents, grade papers, or make lesson plans. Thus, when the school year begins, teachers hardly get a break.

You also need to take the time to set up materials or talk with students.

Teaching is not a typical profession where you can clock off at a designated time. Most teachers will tell you that they are working during evenings and weekends, even if they might not be in school. You certainly need the fortitude and endurance to last through those long hours.

Aside from the length of working hours, the job itself is demanding. You will become a jack-of-all-trades to cater to your student’s needs, and you’ll find yourself doing things outside the job description.

For instance, it is not uncommon for teachers to clean up vomit from a sick child or counsel a student experiencing domestic issues. Being an elementary teacher is not for the faint of heart.

7. A Public Elementary Teacher Needs a License

If you aspire to be a public school teacher, you need a license. However, before taking the licensing exam, you must comply with specific requirements, such as:

Bachelor’s degree

Field learning hours
Transcripts
Background check

Entrance exams
Skills test

The requirements, exam, and license vary per state and country. However, whatever documents or assessments they ask for, you must prepare for each of them. Thus, becoming an elementary teacher needs time and effort.

If you prefer working in a private school, some institutions may be more lenient by not asking for a license. However, they may ask for alternative requirements, like certifications, to compensate.

Make sure to continue reading to find out

8. Elementary Teachers Are in Demand

Besides satisfaction from helping children, this profession flourishes because of the current medium to high demand. For instance, in 2021, there were 1,487,000 open jobs for teachers in the US.

But why so many? Many states and municipalities have growing populations, and to accommodate that, they hire more teachers yearly. Thus, there are many open positions for teachers, whether public or private, which makes your options quite flexible in terms of location.

You can apply for a teaching job close to you or transfer elsewhere.

Another problem plaguing the education system is the high number of teachers leaving the profession. According to The National Education Association poll, 55% of teachers said they would leave teaching sooner than they had initially planned. This is due to several important factors, including work conditions, the effects of the pandemic, and pay.

Anyone considering a career in teaching should study the reasons behind the current teacher shortage.

9. Elementary Teachers Have Low to Average Salaries

That high demand doesn’t necessarily translate into high earning potential. If you aim to become rich in your job, being an elementary teacher is probably not the career for you. That’s because the wages for this profession usually range from low to average.

The 2021 US median salary for elementary teachers was $61,350 per year, while the median household income was $70,784.

Additionally, average wages vary per state and country. For instance, California offers teachers the highest annual mean salary of $85,110. At the same time, the average teacher salary in Mississippi is only around $48,000. However, keep in mind that living expenses in California are also higher than in most other states.

In Canada, the average salary for an elementary teacher is $79,957.

If you want to land a well-paying elementary teacher position, you can try applying in higher-paying states or improving your credentials. Some schools may increase your wage if you earn a master’s degree.

However, there are only a handful of high-paying elementary teaching positions. Moreover, some opportunities may pay better, but you’d have to take on more roles and responsibilities, such as administrative work.

10. Elementary Teachers Have Job Security

High demand and location flexibility make teaching professions secure even in this ever-changing job marketplace. Besides that, teachers may also be offered tenure and union benefits that often come after years of teaching.

Teachers are often well protected against the threat of getting fired. Individual states outline the conditions for dismissal, which is often a complex procedure, so losing your job as a teacher is, in reality, rare.

11. Elementary Teachers Have Limited Funding

Another downside of being a teacher is that you are constrained by your available funding.

Schools often operate on a tight budget. Each department or section in a school may be allocated some funds to spend on resources for the classroom. However, these funds barely cover basic supplies like stationery and books, so what teachers can do is limited.

As much as you want to conduct engaging and interactive activities, they will cost money, so you will have to scale back specific plans due to finances.

Sometimes, you may even be forced to spend on classroom materials, resources, or projects using your own money. Teachers also occasionally buy food or materials for less fortunate students, and the cost of that is subtracted from their own wallets.

12. Elementary Teachers Get Vacation Days

The abundance of vacation days is one of the biggest perks to weigh up when considering working as an elementary school teacher.

Elementary teachers receive a relatively long break during the summer to compensate for the heavy workload and long hours during the school year.

Although the vacation period for teachers is shorter than what the students get, it’s still an advantage. Moreover, being a teacher makes it easier to plan family vacations as you and your children will have similar schedules.

Teachers usually don’t get paid in the summer because they don’t complete any working hours during the holidays. However, some districts offer to prorate a teacher’s annual pay across 12 months instead of 10, so teachers will sometimes receive their pay even in the summer.

The six to eight week summer holiday allows teachers time to relax or travel with family, away from the stress of the job. Although most teachers still have to prepare next year’s lesson plans during that time, the workload is still lighter and allows you to enjoy some personal time.

Some teachers may even work a second job for extra income during the summer break, but this depends on individual preference.

Final Thoughts

Few careers are as impactful on individuals as elementary teaching. These educators shape children’s academic, social, and emotional foundations. Such an effect makes the profession rewarding, despite the stress and challenges.

However, being an elementary teacher requires dedication, patience, creativity, flexibility, and much much more. This profession is demanding and entails many responsibilities, as it influences a child’s future.

Anybody thinking about becoming an elementary teacher should consider all the points outlined in this article. In addition, try to make contact with teachers and ask them for their honest and open perspectives.

A final recommendation would be to apply for volunteering roles at a local elementary school to get first-hand experience of what working in an elementary school would be like.

Sources

US News: Elementary School Teacher Reviews and Advice