"Don’t Become A Teacher Unless You Hate Money": Women Are Revealing Their Jobs And Salaries, And Wowwwww
Lauren Garafano
Tue, February 3, 2026 at 12:31 PM UTC
9 min read
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A while back, we wrote about the various salaries men were earning. Then, a TON of readers shared their own, and it was just as fascinating. Here are some of those responses from our female readers:
1. "I am a registered veterinary technician with 15 years of experience. I make $28 as an emergency tech, which is by far the most I have ever made. It is such a demanding job in every way, but we make so little that most people in vet med have multiple jobs."
—Anonymous, 41, female, North Carolina
2. "I work in middle management for a nonprofit and make $93k a year plus bonuses and stipends, so my take-home pay is almost six figures."
—Anonymous, 39, female, Baltimore, Maryland
3. "I make about $146k at a public research center with almost 20 years of experience and an advanced degree. Not worth it."
—Anonymous, mid-40s, female, Southern California
4. "I'm a branch manager for a library. I make $91k. I have 12 years of experience and FINALLY just paid off my student loans."
—Anonymous, 48, female, Arizona
5. "I’m a fifth-grade teacher. I am in my ninth year, I have my master’s degree, and I make $62,000 a year."
—Anonymous, 40, female, Michigan
6. "I make $31.48 an hour as a school cafeteria manager. I don't work nights, weekends, or holidays, and I get the summer off. I love it."
—Anonymous, 54, female, Charleston, South Carolina
7. "I have worked as an ophthalmic technician for 40+ years and only make $58,000 per year with two weeks of PTO."
—Anonymous, 62, female, Ohio
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8. "I'm an outpatient pediatric speech-language pathologist with 10 years of experience. I make $81k."
—Anonymous, 34, female, Midwest
9. "I own a small healthcare consulting firm, and I earn $200k-$250k per year. I take off six weeks a year and have two subcontractors who work part-time."
—Anonymous, 62, female, California
10. "I’ve been a Medicaid supervisor at a hospital for 13 years. I started at $13/hr; now I’m at $37/hr. No bonus, but pretty good health benefits. I get five weeks of vacation annually."
—Anonymous, 58, female, Upstate New York
11. "I'm an account executive for a large print and promo company, and I make about $100,000 per year base salary, plus another $50,000 per year in commissions. I have a degree in sociology and have more than 30 years of experience in the industry."
—Anonymous, 57, female, Modesto, CA
12. "I'm an analyst for a STEM nonprofit. I make $73k base and $85k with overtime."
—Anonymous, 57, female, Central Ohio
13. "I make $170,000 as a manager in the IT project management department for a tech company."
—Anonymous, 41, female, MA
14. "I have 20+ years of experience, both in large corporations and small nonprofit. Just now earning $75k. I love what I do, but geez..."
—Anonymous, 44, female, Northeast Ohio
15. "I'm an RN, and I do inpatient dialysis at a major hospital in Pittsburgh. I have an associate's degree and no student loan debt. I make $58/hr with a flexible schedule, so about $120,000 a year. I have 11 years of experience. The flexibility and ability to travel to new sites are my favorite things about my job. "
—Anonymous, 44, female, Pittsburgh
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16. "I'm a teacher with a master’s degree and 16 years of experience. I make $53,000/year."
—Anonymous, 66, female, Florida
17. "I'm an exotic dancer making $400 a night (that's for four hours of work)."
—Anonymous, 64, female, Chicago
18. "I teach fifth grade at a private Catholic school. I make about $35,000 per year. I have a Master's degree in education."
—Anonymous, 37, female, USA
19. "I'm a teacher. I have a master's degree and 11 years of experience. A ton of student loan debt. I make about $52,000 a year. No bonuses."
—Anonymous, 44, female, Maine
20. "I make $60,000 per year as a nonprofit development manager, raising money for the arts in Washington, DC. I have one master's degree and three roommates."
—Anonymous, 35, Female, Washington D.C.
21. "I make $68k a year as a finance manager for a small social services nonprofit. I have 13 years of experience at the organization and a Bachelor’s in Behavioral Science. No student debt."
—Anonymous, 39, female, Nevada
22. "I'm a medical technologist, making about $82,000. I have seven years of experience in the field. This job requires a bachelor's degree, but there are associate-level programs people can start with (such as a medical laboratory technician) to get into the field. Often, hospitals will help pay your school tuition if you're full-time."
—Anonymous, 35, female, Maryland
23. "I’m a special education assistant at an elementary school. I have a bachelor’s degree. I make just south of $17,000. I only work during the school year, but those days are demanding — physically and emotionally. I was making in the low $40s at an office when I quit to have babies. Then my babies started school, so I kept this job to keep their schedule."
—Anonymous, 46, female, Kentucky
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24. "I make $125k as a product manager for a tech company. I have a Master's degree in Education. I'd be making maybe half as much if I were still teaching. I work 100% remote and have so much less stress."
—Anonymous, 34, female, Maryland
25. "I am a VP of marketing without a college degree, at a mid-size tech company. My base salary is $265,000, with a 30% bonus based on revenue attainment, for a total of $344,500."
—Anonymous, 40, female, Texas
26. "I’m a teacher in the public school system. I made the wrong career choice! I am not respected and make $43,000 a year. Don’t become a teacher unless you hate money."
—Anonymous, 49, female, Hawai’i
27. "I'm an English teacher making $62,000, but in actuality, it is less due to the money spent on students over the course of a year. The $300 stipend is not sustainable given the cost of teacher-supplied materials for students. Also, need to deduct money to supplement health insurance, vision, and dental — this is not free for teachers."
—Anonymous, 56, female, Florida
28. "I'm a proposal manager for a Big Four. I get good benefits, I'm fully remote, and I have four years of relevant experience. I get $130k base with $2-5k bonus."
—Anonymous, 33, female, Long Island
29. "I have an Associate's Degree in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, and after working five years in a busy hospital, I started teaching at a college full-time. I have been there for over three years, am now a Clinical Director for DMS, and make $95k."
—Anonymous, 38, female, Texas
30. "I was a certified teacher with a master's degree. I made $40,000 a year last year, I had six years of experience, and I brought home $30,000 after retirement and taxes were taken out."
—Anonymous, 39, female, Missouri
31. "I make $160k as an insurance agent. All it took was a six-day course. I work from home on the telephone."
—Anonymous, 65, female, SoCal
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32. "I’ve been a teacher for eight years. I have my master's and still have not hit $70,000 a year. My brother, who is seven years younger than I am, is about to graduate from college. He already has a job lined up, and his starting salary is what I will make by year 11 of my career. The health insurance is great, I’m paying into a great retirement plan, and yes, we get summers off, but money can be tight!"
—Anonymous, 29, female, Ohio
33. "I'm a labor and delivery nurse with an associate degree and five years of experience. My base pay is $47/hour. Working the night shift, I get an additional $4/hr differential. As a charge nurse, I get another $3/hr differential on top of that. So, I make about $54/hr most nights. Working full-time, my gross pay is about $101,000/year before taxes."
—Anonymous, 31, female, South Metro Minneapolis, Minnesota
34. "I'm a private school teacher with 10 years of experience. I have $40k in student loan debt, and I make $56k a year."
—Anonymous, 34, female, Wisconsin
35. "I’m the head of social media at a large ad agency holding company for one of our largest clients. I oversee a team of about 60. I’ve been with my current company for a year, but have been working in social media marketing and marketing strategy at ad agencies as well as in-house for my whole career, so about 17 years. I make $250k a year."
—Anonymous, 39, female, NYC
36. "I work as a nurse executive. I've worked for 40 years as an RN, the last decade as the top nurse executive. I make $327k/yr."
—Anonymous, 63, female, California
37. "I make roughly $107k/year as a mental health therapist for the military. I get full benefits, a pension, and retirement, as well as school loan forgiveness. I have a master's degree and about $100k in student loan debt."
—Anonymous, 38, female, San Diego, California
38. Lastly, "I'm a veterinarian. I make about $112,000 with 30 years of experience. I owed almost $200,000 in student loan debt. And yet so many people complain we are in it for the money."
—Anonymous, 55, female, Buffalo, NY
Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
What do you do for work? And how much do you get paid? Let us know (only if you're comfortable) in the comments. Or, if you prefer to remain anonymous, leave your submission in the form below.
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