Teacher Quits Job For Better Salary At Wal Mart
A teacher has gone viral on social media for claiming he quit his teaching job for a higher paying gig at Wal Mart.
Teachers are leaving the education profession at alarming rates. Weeks to months before the start of the 2022-2023 school year, districts are reporting hundreds of vacant positions, with a near inexistent applicant pool to canvass. There are various reasons for this mass exodus, but much of it deals with money or lack thereof. Now, teachers are turning to alternatives that don’t even require a college degree, just to bring home a more comfortable living salary, as is the case with one Ohio teacher, who left the classroom behind in favor of a better-paying job at Wal Mart.
@sg_powerlifting Replying to @thethomasarias ♬ original sound – Sethy Gabriel
Seth Gabriel, an Ohio early education teacher, has been turning heads on social media for his Tik Tok posts discussing his departure from teaching. Like countless others leaving the profession behind this past year, Gabriel was fed up with being given a low salary in return for his long, strenuous work weeks. So instead, the teacher will now work for the retail behemoth, Wal Mart, where he can work fewer hours and bring home more dough.
In his first released Tik Tok announcing his big career change, he can be seen flaunting his new work outfit, giving the news that he left behind his six-year job as a teacher for a management position in which he wouldn’t need a degree. Gabriel later clarifies that he was hired as a Wal Mart Coach. According to responses from Gabriel in the video’s comment section, he was making $43,000 as a teacher. While he didn’t make it clear how much he brought home in his new position, he added that the starting salary for his new job is anywhere from $65,000 to $70,000, with room for growth.
According to Wal Mart’s website, GM Coach’s “lead and develop” a group of employees through training and management techniques. Information available on Indeed states that the average salary for a business coach at the retailer nets around $58,992. For perspective, the national average that teachers make across the nation sits at $54,990.
Some users were quick to point out the possible negative aspects of taking this job with higher pay at Wal Mart. They noted that Gabriel would no longer have the summer off to do with as he pleases. However, the idea that teachers are paid to enjoy summer recess is built around a falsity, and many educators have to seek summer jobs to stay afloat. Likewise, some pointed to the long hours and weekends Gabriel would now be required to pitch in. To this, the teacher responded that while not necessarily on the clock, he was putting in hours at home creating lesson plans and grading. He even made note that he should, in fact, be working fewer hours in his new position.
While some remain skeptical that Gabriel is being completely open about how much more potential this new Wal Mart job will truly hold, the story shines some light on a growing trend in the nation. More and more people feel that college degrees aren’t worth the cost. Teachers take on massive amounts of debts and work through years of college, master’s programs, and certifications to oftentimes make less money than those in fields that don’t require a college degree. Many states are taking action to increase pay rates for educators in an attempt to keep them in the classroom, but the efforts may just be too little too late.
