In order to retain the most talented and promising new teachers, Michael Fullan (Change Forces, 1993, p. 58-59) indicates that we need to understand what talented young teachers value:

• Job security is less important than growth opportunities, leadership opportunities, and a focus on student outcomes
• The relatively low status of teachers in our society is a source of dissatisfaction for promising teachers
• Work structures, incentives, teaching and learning, and performance outcomes must be tightly linked.
• High-ability teachers see their career options as more open-ended, and do not see themselves as being locked in to their current roles. They are committed to making a difference, but only if the school is structured in a way that makes this feasible.

The theme of challenge and performance is a thread in all six findings of Hart and Murphy (1990), whom Fullan cites as his source. The most talented young teachers have to choose between teaching and other professions, and usually teaching is not the highest-paying option. Therefore, the opportunities for growth and recognized achievement, measurable through student outcomes, are important motivators for promising new teachers.

Career mobility is also much higher now than it was when veteran teachers entered the workforce, so new teachers often do not plan to spend their entire working lives in one career field. The pay ladder, wherein teachers earn more as they accrue years of experience, does not present a compelling future for talented young professionals.

Harry Wong says “You can have any job in education in three to five years, with a raise in salary of 25 percent or more” (First Days of School, 2004, p. 25). While this may not be completely accurate, as a 27-year-old is not likely to be appointed superintendent, it is critical for young professionals to have a clear sense of the prospects for career advancement within education. Their friends from college who now work in the business world have opportunities for advancement, and in some cases an entry-level employee in the corporate world earns more than a teacher with six years of experience.

New teachers who are well-rounded, having the skills to compete in a variety of fields, no longer see education as their only career option. However, many in the corporate world appreciate the “giving back” feeling that being an educator provides, and find no meaning in merely working for money. Teaching certainly has something to offer talented young professionals.

For men in particular, issues of status, leadership, and growth are critical. If they do not have room to pursue these drives as educators, they will leave education in search of an outlet for their ambition.