Want to know the secret to maxing out your salary? Sometimes, it's as simple as picking the right industry or knowing which state pays the best. If you're not willing to settle with being average, here are four salary secrets you can take to the bank.
Secret #1: Geography
Teaching is teaching, right? Typical basic credentials for a public school teacher are a bachelor's degree from a teaching program and state certification. From Springfield, Illinois, to Spartanburg, South Carolina, the job is essentially the same. So, would you be surprised that where you teach can make as much as a $30,000 difference in what you make?
Here's your first lesson in maximizing your salary. High school teachers in the top-paying state of Illinois make an annual mean wage of $69,830, according to May 2008 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Teachers in nearby Iowa, meanwhile, make $39,150 annually. This gap is true for elementary education, too. Rhode Island's mean annual salary for elementary school teachers is $66,790, while North Carolina's elementary school teachers earn a mean annual salary of $41,610.
Want to know which states top the pay list? In addition to Rhode Island and Illinois, here are your best bets:
- New York
- Connecticut
- California
- New Jersey
To find out where your state ranks, log on to the BLS website. If your pay lands on the low end of the spectrum, you're not stuck. Many states have reciprocal agreements -- meaning your teaching certification might move with you. Otherwise, find out what it takes to get certified in your target state.