A teacher on TikTok revealed that her typical workday doesn’t end at school but at Domino’s, where she works a second job to make ends meet.
By day, Alexis Longcrier works as an English teacher in Forth Worth, Texas. However, at night she often hops in her car to deliver Domino’s pizza orders.
Longcrier doesn’t deliver cheesy slices because she wants to. She does it because she can’t afford to live off her teacher’s paycheck, especially now that inflation has impacted the cost of everything.
“I’m a full-time teacher. And here it is, 8 o’clock at night, and I’m delivering pizzas. I’m doing this because I can’t survive on my teacher’s paycheck,” Longcrier, sitting in her car wearing a Domino’s uniform, explains in one viral video.
“Everyone is talking about all of the teachers that want to leave, but what about the teachers that want to stay but literally can’t afford to?” she asks.
According to USAFacts.org, in 2021 the average salary for a public school teacher in the U.S. was $65,090 — an increase of only 1.49 percent (or $957) from 2020.
Like many people, educators nationwide are feeling the additional stress caused by inflation. As a result, many have been forced to step away from their underpaid teaching roles to take on other professions in industries with higher salaries.
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In a follow-up video, Longcrier responded to a TikTok user who pointed to teachers having summers off as a plus side.
“Hey man, if my job is so easy, why don’t you come do it? I mean, if everybody in the U.S. wants this job, there wouldn’t be a teacher shortage, right? Oh wait, there is,” Longcrier quipped.
In the comments section, fellow teachers chimed in with their own stories about being underpaid.
“I’m a teacher with a master’s degree, and I sell my plasma to get by,” one viewer revealed.
“Teacher with a master’s degree, and I have a second job to pay my bills. It shouldn’t be this hard,” another shared.
“I used to tell all of my teacher friends in college to marry well, or you’ll be miserable,” someone else commented.
“I have a master’s degree, work extra duties, work a part-time job, and sell my plasma. We need a livable wage,” another user wrote.