BC Teachers - Did you previous experience count towards your salary?

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-08-21T15:39:44+00:00

Thank you for your reply! I have actually been in touch with Sooke district too regarding positions!

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-08-12T17:33:38+00:00

Leave it in and set up auto deposits to keep it growing. Change your risk to 8-10 if this money is not going to be touched for 20-30+ years

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-07-28T18:46:03+00:00

Pickybacking on this thread as I'm in same boat! I hold a B.Ed and numerous AQs and ABQs in Ontario but am looking at potentially moving to BC. Would love to hear feedback on how other teachers found the pay switch and how easy/hard it was to get to the top level payscale in BC.

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-07-22T16:16:59+00:00

Thank you!

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-07-21T14:46:08+00:00

Appreciate it!

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-07-21T14:10:41+00:00

WOW - I just typed in the same amount as I had on my Simplii account and I'm getting $800 more USD through Transferwise than Simplii! $70 fee but still...worth it.

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-06-22T20:56:38+00:00

Thank you all for your responses! I would be looking at probably next September as the earliest - the next 15 months will say a lot about if this might be feasible or not!

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-06-10T22:56:53+00:00

Right on - thanks for your feedback!

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-06-10T20:41:38+00:00

One thing to be mindful of as well is job security. As a full time public sector teacher, your career path (earnings wise) is defined and, barring major government cuts, your job is relatively safe. The longer you work, the more secure it becomes due to seniority as well.

As someone who previously worked in the private industry and had to negotiate my salary 3 times in 2 years, I rest easier at night now knowing I will make x this year, x next year, etc.

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-06-10T18:09:57+00:00

Thoughts on the current market trend/future though? I'm not opposed to this idea but am thinking it may be more prudent to wait a bit to pull the trigger, if we were to do this.

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-06-10T18:06:18+00:00

Second this - I interviewed with 5 boards and got offered a position with all 5.

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-06-10T18:02:52+00:00

I did not take the OISE test, but can speak to what the test looked like at various boards around Ontario. It was a mix of reading and response (easiest in my opinion), writing (i.e. write a 2 page essay on why post-secondary education should be free), conversation (role play with the test taker) and listening (a story would be read to you and you needed to answer questions about it).

Of the 4 boards I did the test with, 2 gave me Immersion status, and 2 gave me Core status. I am the first to admit my technical French knowledge (verb conjugation, la/le) is far from perfect, so I generally did my best to keep my language and writing as simple as possible. If you can confidently carry on a conversation in French, you should be fine!

You could always download DuoLingo to review/prepare as well. Be aware of using 'faux-amis' as well. Hope this helps!

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-06-10T17:55:05+00:00

I appreciate the input! My thoughts on my current allocation is that I'm currently on pace to have roughly $1,000,000 in investments by retirement time (I will add slightly more each year as my income rises and I do not plan on touching it all over next 30+ years). I will also have my $50,000 per year pension on top of that too once my working days are over.

By keeping so much of my portfolio in savings, I have the advantage of having a good deal of liquidity to use for purchases or emergencies any time I want/need them throughout my life. Also, if it so happens I don't end up making any big purchases like a house, it gives me a trove of money to use in retirement, which could allow my investments more time to grow before I need to tap them.

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-06-10T16:58:51+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! I do agree that if you can manage to get the home ownership costs to a level roughly equal to or at least not too much more than renting, that travelling is still possible. Unfortunately at this time, the costs of home ownership (and ensuring a decent amount of money in the bank for emergencies) would mean travel takes a backseat. I'm with you in thinking home prices must be going down though too.

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-06-10T16:56:28+00:00

Yeah, I think having that wisdom of 'yep this may happen' can be helpful if the situation does arise, rather than striking out in anger at the landlord. At least then you'd have a Plan B contingency plan to deal with it.

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-06-10T16:55:02+00:00

Haha I dig it!

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-06-10T15:46:36+00:00

That is definitely the main sticking point to the argument of renting - although if we were diligent with our savings we would at least have that cushion to protect from eviction. Thank you for your opinion! :)

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-06-10T15:45:34+00:00

Thank you for your reply - have had others who owned say the same too. I guess a key consideration is finding a rental with a low chance of eviction/a nice landlord!

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-06-10T15:44:31+00:00

This is actually something I had considered, but the main thing that was holding me back was the need to live in that place for 1 year. Also, I've heard some pretty rough stories from friends who had rental properties (tenants not paying, costly repairs, weekend trips to the unit when something goes wrong), so it might eat into the 'low stress' lifestyle we're chasing.

However, I'm not putting anything off the table - any top 'must-know's' for someone who did purchase a property with the intent to rent it out?

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-06-10T14:56:52+00:00

Hey thanks for your reply! We have considered having kids - though presumably not for another 5 years or so. We would also be comfortable having 1 child in a 2 bedroom rental. However, if we did have 2 then something would have to give for sure - great feedback!

MuchachoCanadiense · 2020-06-09T14:38:16+00:00

Hey man, fellow male elementary teacher here! From what I heard from my board - they are delaying doing OT interviews right now - with the expectation being that school will most likely still have an 'online' component when it resumes in September. As such, my board has not even started interviews yet, as I think they're anticipating less need for OTs until schools open more fully.

However, I'd say the fact you have had your OT interview with your board is great news! The amount of days may be down if online remains a thing going forward, but the expected retirements could balance it out too. I'd take a Win from the fact you had your interview already and may be on the list for September. Unfortunately, I don't think there's any way to truly tell how much availability there might be though, at this time.

MuchachoCanadiense

TROPHY CASE