Teacher divides TikTok with ‘pathetic’ salary increase after getting her master’s

A teacher revealed that she will only receive a $3,000 salary increase after getting her master’s degree, sparking debate about pay on TikTok.

The middle school teacher, who posts under the handle ms.zak, shocked thousands of people in her viral video after sharing details about her salary.

In the clip, which has amassed over 467,000 views, Ms. Zak revealed that her salary is expected to go from $53,000 to $56,000 per year after she finished a master’s degree in Education.

“My friend, who only has a bachelor’s degree, makes about 30,000 dollars more than me (while working less hours),” she added in text-overlay.

The middle school teacher can be seen grinning with her thumb up, and she’s captioned the video “COOL COOL COOL COOL COOL” with hashtags like ‘slay’ and ‘slayallday,’ used sarcastically.

Many people were divided on the $3,000 salary increase, which led to a debate in the comment section about fair wages.

TikTok users divided on teacher’s salary increase

Many commenters were less than impressed with Ms. Zak’s salary.

One person wrote: “This is why I’m not getting my master’s. Bachelors of Education will have to be enough.”

“If teaching was a male-dominated field, the minimum pay for teachers would be at least 80K” a top comment read.

“Mine will go from 46,000 to 50,000 with my Masters after 7 YEARS in the profession” a teacher commented, to which Ms. Zak responded “So disappointing!”

Other commenters criticized the teacher, with several pinning the blame on her following through with the degree that is notorious for being underpaid.

“Surely you knew this ahead of time?” one viewer wrote.

“Your choice. Live with the consequences. You could’ve chosen to do something else. ALSO you get a nice pension, insurance, summers off. Not a bad deal” someone else added.

In response to the comment above, Ms. Zak said in a follow-up clip, that while she chose to go into the profession, she should be “allowed to advocate for better working conditions and better wages.”