Teacher wonders if she should ‘jump ship’ to district with better pay

Q: My colleagues have been talking a lot lately about better pay at nearby districts, and many of them have told me they’re already firing off applications to teach in these other districts. When I comment that the grass isn’t always greener, they say that may be true, but then they may as well get paid more. They’re determined to make a switch and aren’t conflicted about the decision. They also involve everyone within earshot in these conversations, which tend to occur in the staff lounge or at the end of department meetings, so they’re hard to avoid.

This has been creating some internal tension for me. I’d of course like to make more money. And, like many teachers these days, I also have frustrations related to how my district treats employees, but I’m generally happy at my school. If I weren’t privy to their conversations, I doubt I’d be considering a job shift. At the same time, I don’t want to be short-sighted — the last loser on a sinking ship. How does one determine whether to “jump ship”? How heavily should I be weighing compensation against other factors such as job satisfaction? And how should I respond to colleagues who make dumb comments and make me feel stupid and naïve when I tell them I don’t think I’ll apply elsewhere?

A: I’ll start with your last question. Determine who has earned your trust and only discuss your career plans with these individuals. Have these talks in private, too. You might conclude, for instance, that there’s no upside to weighing your options with current colleagues. And while you can’t stop someone from firing off a judgmental comment, you can limit their opportunities to make you feel dumb and naïve. You also can try not to internalize their critical statements, which likely reflect their own internal tension. You note that they aren’t conflicted about their decision to apply elsewhere, but if that were true, they wouldn’t be initiating so many conversations about their choices in public forums. Plus, consider the “spotlight effect,” a term psychologists use to refer to an individual’s tendency to overestimate how much others are thinking about them. Research shows that people are far more preoccupied with themselves than with others’ flaws or missteps.