Good news for college grads, not so great for N.C. teachers

Friday, May 12, 2017 -- Average starting pay for college grads hit $49,785. North Carolina public school teachers will have to work 25 years to hit that.

Posted 2:21 p.m. May 12, 2017 — Updated 2:22 p.m. May 12, 2017

The celebratory headline in today's Wall Street Journal boasts: "Salaries Soar for the Class of 2017." The article goes on to note the average pay for this year's crop of college grads is the highest in a decade -- $49,785.

"Adjusted for inflation, today’s salaries are 14% higher than those of students who graduated in 2007 before the start of the recession ... (and) given longer-term salary trends, this year’s grads will likely be the highest earning class in recent history."

Grads entering North Carolina public school classrooms to teach better not be expecting that -- unless they're willing to wait ... a quarter century.

Under the teacher pay plan in the budget approved early Friday by the North Carolina Senate, it will take N.C. public school teachers 25 years to reach that mark. Starting salary for teachers is $35,000 and hits a peak of $51,000 after 25 years of experience.

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