Quit teaching to work at a mart... "Earning a 15-year teacher's salary in 1 year" sparks buzz in the US

US Teachers Suffering from Low Pay and Heavy Workload... Leaving the Profession
"I'd Rather Work at Costco," Jokes Arise

A story about an 8-year veteran teacher in the U.S. who quit teaching and re-employed as an employee at the large discount store 'Costco' has become a hot topic. The teacher reportedly increased their income by nearly 50% within just one year after re-employment. Some point out that this vividly reflects the reality of the American education system, which is suffering from chronic staff shortages and controversies over declining service quality.

The protagonist of the story is Maggie Perkins, a 31-year-old Costco employee this year. Perkins, who contributed her experience to the U.S. economic media 'CNBC,' worked as a teacher until last year and was in her 8th year at that time.

However, suffering from heavy workload, low pay, and job stress, she eventually gave up her beloved teaching career and started a new career as a Costco employee.

American teachers holding a wage increase rally in Oklahoma, USA, in 2018.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

After working as a Costco employee in Georgia, her income reportedly jumped by 50%. Perkins explained, "It’s a salary that you would get at your 15th year if you had stayed a teacher."

Perkins said, "I taught history and language to middle and high school students in public and private schools for 8 years. In my last school year in 2022, my salary was $47,000 (about 63.5 million KRW)." She added, "I worked 60 hours a week and did a huge amount of unpaid overtime. It’s a job that requires tremendous patience," and confessed, "I could no longer find fulfillment or value in (teaching)."

She emphasized, "This fall marks my first anniversary working at Costco. Now, I am happier than ever."

Perkins also added that many teachers in the U.S. are currently considering quitting teaching. She said, "My fellow teachers joke about 'thinking of quitting and working at Costco,'" and added, "I just turned that joke into reality."

Costco, the American warehouse discount store. [Image source=Yonhap News]

In fact, in the U.S., cases of teachers leaving the profession due to low pay and heavy workload continue. The chronic shortage of personnel is worsening the public education crisis.

The U.S. media 'Axios' criticized in an article titled 'Empty Classrooms' last August, stating, "The teaching profession is facing an existential crisis due to declining popularity."

The media cited a study from Kansas State University, pointing out, "There are currently tens of thousands of teachers missing in the U.S.," and "160,000 teaching positions are being filled by underqualified teachers." Some schools that cannot find teachers are hiring college students as apprentice teachers.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median wage for U.S. teachers in 2021 was about $61,000 (approximately 82.38 million KRW). However, teacher salaries vary greatly depending on the region. About half of all teachers reportedly earned around $30,000 (about 40.51 million KRW).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.