30k is decent for a young teacher just out of Uni. Last year it was only 23k I think so it was good jump in money. The problem is teaching salary goes up for about 10 years then stops. So effectively you will be at the top of the scale in your early 30s and that's the most you'll get until you retire. A teaching salary is decent money. You'll never be rich but you'll not be poor either. A lot of other professions start to leap frog past teaching salaries after about 10 years.