Y’all. While my summer may have gotten off to a rough start, I recently got the best news that has made it one of the best summers ever. In 2020, my job initiated a salary study for several groups of employees, my role included. Of course, the pandemic happened and we were told that the study was continuing but that it would obviously now take longer. Fine. So time kept ticking by and we kept asking our then boss for updates and all she would ever say is, “I haven’t heard anything about it.” Fast forward to this year and we’ve gotten a new boss that’s directly over us and a new superintendent, who is over everyone. A few members of my group met with the new superintendent and he basically told them that the salary study had actually been completed a while ago but it had sat on someone’s desk and was now old and outdated. He also indicated that the study did support a raise for us, but it wasn’t what we “deserved”. So, I thought the whole thing was over and done with at that point. BUT THEN - I heard that the school board would be holding their yearly budget meeting and that we, the psychologists, we’re about to be “VERY happy”, according to someone who works in HR.
Y’all. She was not lying. I would have been happy with any raise, no matter how big or small, but what we actually got is stunning.
So anyways, I knew the date and time of the budget meeting and that several psychs would be watching. I figured if anything happened, our group text thread would light up. Well, I was out at the lake having a cookout and hadn’t gotten a single text, so I figured nothing good had happened.
We get home from the lake and I’m sitting there eating a big bowl of chocolate ice cream watching Southern Charm when one psych I’m friends with texts me, asking where I am and why I’m not texting back. I was like why, what??? She said Ashley, we are getting a HUGE raise! It turns out the psychs had been texting, but someone had started a new thread and me and some others were left off of it (not intentionally, we have so many people to keep up with, it happens from time to time).
We have always been paid on the same scale as teachers, but the board approved a whole new salary scale for us, speech therapists, and the OTs and PTs. And I’m telling you, when I calculated my new yearly salary, I felt dizzy. I literally couldn’t believe it. It’s a $24,000 dollar raise!!!!! Yes, you read that right! It may be tacky to talk about numbers, but this is my diary and I can do whatever I want. Currently, I am making $60,444 per year. On the new scale, I’ll be making $83,837!!!!!!!!!!! In education, you do not make that much money unless you’re in administration. It’s just a dream come true and so shocking!
What’s crazy is the amount could potentially be more than what I calculated. The scale that was approved only shows hourly rates per years of experience. As of right now, we are not sure how people with different degrees will be compensated. For example, most psychs have a Master’s +30, but we have a couple who have their PhDs. So we currently aren’t sure if the scale represents a base rate for just a Master’s or what. Maybe I’ll actually be a step higher than I thought or something. Another technicality that we need to find out is if we multiply the hourly rate by 7.5 hours per day or by 8 hours per day. The difference in that calculation is like $6,000! If I’m paid for 8 hours per day, then my salary would be $89,426! Insane. Just insane. Either way, I will be making more than I ever thought was possible in public education. Had we stayed on the teacher scale, I would have topped out in the upper $70k range at the END of my career. I am not even 1/3 of the way through my career, and I’ll be in the $80k range! That means by the time I retire, I should be making over $100k per year. INSANE!!!!! Again, this is just more than I ever thought possible or dreamed!!!!
I’m still not sure how this all came to fruition since the superintendent had said the salary study did not reflect this much of a raise, etc. However, I recently heard that our new boss really advocated for us getting this raise and one of the psychs reached out to one of the board members personally to explain in detail just how much we do in our role in the schools. I also think the most recent school shooting in Uvalde, TX had been in everyone’s mind and we all are more aware than ever how important mental health is in the schools. I was just in the right place and the right time!
I have always liked where I work and who I work with, but to be respected and appreciated with a raise of this magnitude is the icing on the cake. I definitely will now never leave this job lol. I still can’t believe I’ll be making $53+ an hour! My mom estimates that my net monthly income (what I actually take home after taxes and stuff) will be around $4600 or something. That’s $1400 more per month! Wild.
I am so, so thankful! And no, I’m not going to go wild and get a new car or do anything like that. I’m sticking to how I currently spend money. I will definitely maybe send a little more to savings and my 401k, but I also want to enjoy the extra money NOW, while I’m young. I can’t save it all for when I'm older and retired! That’s no fun!
You know, sometimes I worry that things are going too well for me and something bad is bound to happen. Isn’t that sad that getting paid what I deserve is making me uneasy?? I just feel so incredibly fortunate. I own a house that will be paid off in less than 10 years, me and my husband both own cars that will be paid off next year, we don’t have any debt other than our mortgage, car payments, and my student loans (which will be forgiven in 2024). We have great families that we enjoy spending time with. I have a new sweet little nephew.
Life is good and I'm so, so thankful!
1:02 p.m. - Thursday, Jul. 07, 2022