My wife is a teacher with 20 years in and a masters. One thing she has never done is complain about the pay. If she was in the private sector, with a masters and 20 years, she would make more money in almost every job. But, she does get a lot more time off than any other job.

However, it isn't as much time off as people think. Fist, she has to be at school by 7. They have morning duties and afternoon duties as well as meetings at least twice a week after school hours. She is very rarely home before 6. She often spends Sunday afternoon at work. The amount of paperwork she has to complete is stupid. She has no break during the day, so she has to do it after school hours. She often brings work home. Teachers have to be back at school at least a week before the students at the beginning of the year and at least where she has taught, their classrooms have to be ready by that first official day back. So, she usually starts back about 2 1/2 weeks before students arrive. She also usually has to spend about a week in professional development classes every summer.

We do pay a lot out of pocket for stuff for her classroom. She often complains about her job, the kids, etc. But, never about the pay.

The benefits are great, the retirement is still pretty damn good, but not as good as it used to be. But, no way I could deal with the parents or the kids.