After 5 p.m., his time is relatively free. Jae can make more than $100,000 a year if he wants to.
We’re not talking about finance or computer workers. This is Jae Byun, 31, a 1.5 generation Korean American who teaches math and coaches basketball at Sunny Hills High School in the Fullerton School District in Orange County.
CNBC featured Byun, a UC Irvine business economics major, in its “Make It’s Millennial Money” series on September 29, as he enjoys the time and financial freedom that comes with earning $114,999 a year in his seventh year of teaching.
Byun, who moved to Fullerton with his parents when he was 4 years old, did a few internships in finance after college, but realized it wasn’t for him, so he turned to teaching.
It started with a football coaching job offered to him by his high school before he graduated from college. Byun, who played football and basketball in college, realized that he loved coaching because he could use his experience and knowledge to help and encourage the next generation.
He returned to college to complete his teacher certification program at Cal State Fullerton and began teaching math at his high school, Sunny Hills, in 2016. He also completed his master’s degree in educational administration at Concordia University.
His first year’s salary was $59,000, but he added to his income by coaching and running a summer school program. He also receives a separate stipend from the district for coaching basketball.
His current salary is higher than the average salary for teachers in California and the U.S. as a whole. According to the National Education Association, teachers in California make an average of $88,000 a year, while teachers in Mississippi make $48,000 a year.
“They were a little disappointed at first, but they didn’t really know the rewards and the benefits that also come from teaching,” he says. However, they’ve come around to the idea.
Byun, who still lives with his parents, has been carefully preparing for the future by saving more than one-third of his annual salary in a retirement savings. He’s also thinking about independence and how he can best support his parents when they retire.
My parents taught me the value of money and that money doesn’t grow on trees,” Byun says. “There’s a limited supply of it, so you have to use it wisely and use it towards the things that really matter to you. I hope my story will inspire more young people to become teachers and show them it’s possible to earn a good income while doing so.”
BY NICOLE CHANG [chang.nicole@koreadaily.com]
