Why are teachers and nurses underpaid?

[Anonymous]

In my state, when you move school districts, the new district won't credit you for all your years teaching. I have 20+ years of public education experience and only get paid at the 13 year rate. I'm underpaid by about 25K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my state, when you move school districts, the new district won't credit you for all your years teaching. I have 20+ years of public education experience and only get paid at the 13 year rate. I'm underpaid by about 25K.

This is something that even I as a teacher didn’t realize early in my career. You are not paid for experience if you move districts. It’s really unfortunate and part of the reason I won’t leave my current district because I would be leaving at least 8 years of experience on the table. It isn’t worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can't teachers get paid like Google Software Engineer?

are they going to work the hours of google software engineers? are they going to go through the rigid hiring processes and get the education of google software engineers?

I’m fairly confident I work similar hours. I worked 65 last week and will likely work more this week since papers just came in. I definitely have the education (2 advanced degrees).

Here’s the problem with your 3rd point: we can’t fill positions NOW. Our standards for entering this profession are pretty low, and we still can’t find people who want to teach. I suppose we can make an argument that raising standards will attract people because they’ll see teaching as a prestigious career. What comes first, though? How do we raise the bar for entering the profession without first making it more appealing?

I am going to side eye your hours a week 52 weeks a year.

Side eyeball you want. The only time I work less than 55 hours a week (minimum) is during the summer. I am between contracts for 7 weeks, not the 3 months people usually like to attribute to teacher summers. I may work 10-20 (unpaid) hours each week, just updating material and attending trainings. This is pretty standard for many in the profession.

I don’t even work 55 hours a week and I am VP at a big company making great money. You either need to find a new job or work smarter.

[Anonymous]

The patriarchy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can't teachers get paid like Google Software Engineer?

are they going to work the hours of google software engineers? are they going to go through the rigid hiring processes and get the education of google software engineers?

I’m fairly confident I work similar hours. I worked 65 last week and will likely work more this week since papers just came in. I definitely have the education (2 advanced degrees).

Here’s the problem with your 3rd point: we can’t fill positions NOW. Our standards for entering this profession are pretty low, and we still can’t find people who want to teach. I suppose we can make an argument that raising standards will attract people because they’ll see teaching as a prestigious career. What comes first, though? How do we raise the bar for entering the profession without first making it more appealing?

I am going to side eye your hours a week 52 weeks a year.

Side eyeball you want. The only time I work less than 55 hours a week (minimum) is during the summer. I am between contracts for 7 weeks, not the 3 months people usually like to attribute to teacher summers. I may work 10-20 (unpaid) hours each week, just updating material and attending trainings. This is pretty standard for many in the profession.

I don’t even work 55 hours a week and I am VP at a big company making great money. You either need to find a new job or work smarter.

Oh, shut up. There is no “work smarter” in teaching that would allow you to do a decent job and work less than 50 hours a week. I taught for 10 years and moved to a software company in the private sector, where I stayed for 10 years. The workload and stress levels and demands in all of us, including our executives, was much lower than I had had as a HS English teacher and much lower than I have as an elementary teacher now. You have no idea. I do.

[Anonymous]

The teachers and their whining....I can't even.

I guess a 10k is also hard for some people, But all the serious runners know that, while its an accomplishment for them, for us it's just breakfast.

Is grading papers at home really that much of a trial? It's not surgery, or managing a billion dollar budget. So you have to answer some emails in your off hours? Try getting calls
From clients who are getting sued by the federal government while you are at parent teacher conferences.

There is zero comparison between teachers' lives and those of adult professional careers. Administrators? More so, but really, come on. Stop whining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The teachers and their whining....I can't even.

I guess a 10k is also hard for some people, But all the serious runners know that, while its an accomplishment for them, for us it's just breakfast.

Is grading papers at home really that much of a trial? It's not surgery, or managing a billion dollar budget. So you have to answer some emails in your off hours? Try getting calls
From clients who are getting sued by the federal government while you are at parent teacher conferences.

There is zero comparison between teachers' lives and those of adult professional careers. Administrators? More so, but really, come on. Stop whining.

I am the teacher above who posted my work hours. You need to understand that I don’t really care what you believe or think. You won’t belittle my work, though: I was up from 3am-7am grading yesterday to get diagnostic essays back to my seniors. From 8 until 2 yesterday, I was in front of students delivering 6 hours of instruction. I had one 22 minute break, during which I made one bathroom trip and ate. Guess what I didn’t do? ANY of my grading, planning, emails, etc. That happened again last night from 7-10. I don’t need your sympathy. I’ll do the work. You just don’t get to tell me my reality doesn’t exist, nor do you get to tell me to “work smarter” when there is no way for me to do so. Too many responsibilities and not enough hours.

Here’s what some posters refuse to understand: this job is so overwhelming and so demanding that we are LEAVING. How many articles about school districts going to 4-day schedules or hiring any warm body do you need? I lost another teacher in my department last week. That’s 3 teachers out of 16 who left in September. Her reason? It was too much work. We can’t find anybody to take those openings. Those students are going to have rotating subs for the rest of the year. I’ll be one of them.

You try to belittle my work, but you can’t. Educating the next generation is important. I know that and you know that. That’s the only reason I haven’t quit yet. As for accusations of “whining,” I don’t see whining on this thread. I see teachers trying to educate thick-headed people who simply want to see teaching as some easy, unimportant job. We keep doing it because, as teachers, we hate to see people fail at a subject.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The teachers and their whining....I can't even.

I guess a 10k is also hard for some people, But all the serious runners know that, while its an accomplishment for them, for us it's just breakfast.

Is grading papers at home really that much of a trial? It's not surgery, or managing a billion dollar budget. So you have to answer some emails in your off hours? Try getting calls
From clients who are getting sued by the federal government while you are at parent teacher conferences.

There is zero comparison between teachers' lives and those of adult professional careers. Administrators? More so, but really, come on. Stop whining.

I am the teacher above who posted my work hours. You need to understand that I don’t really care what you believe or think. You won’t belittle my work, though: I was up from 3am-7am grading yesterday to get diagnostic essays back to my seniors. From 8 until 2 yesterday, I was in front of students delivering 6 hours of instruction. I had one 22 minute break, during which I made one bathroom trip and ate. Guess what I didn’t do? ANY of my grading, planning, emails, etc. That happened again last night from 7-10. I don’t need your sympathy. I’ll do the work. You just don’t get to tell me my reality doesn’t exist, nor do you get to tell me to “work smarter” when there is no way for me to do so. Too many responsibilities and not enough hours.

Here’s what some posters refuse to understand: this job is so overwhelming and so demanding that we are LEAVING. How many articles about school districts going to 4-day schedules or hiring any warm body do you need? I lost another teacher in my department last week. That’s 3 teachers out of 16 who left in September. Her reason? It was too much work. We can’t find anybody to take those openings. Those students are going to have rotating subs for the rest of the year. I’ll be one of them.

You try to belittle my work, but you can’t. Educating the next generation is important. I know that and you know that. That’s the only reason I haven’t quit yet. As for accusations of “whining,” I don’t see whining on this thread. I see teachers trying to educate thick-headed people who simply want to see teaching as some easy, unimportant job. We keep doing it because, as teachers, we hate to see people fail at a subject.

Thank you. Some of these posters need to face reality. Maybe they have not been affected by the teacher shortage yet. The only people I see whining on this forum are the ones who are finally being asked to return to work in person after 2+ years. Welcome to the real world! Thank you, teachers, for showing up for our kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can't teachers get paid like Google Software Engineer?

are they going to work the hours of google software engineers? are they going to go through the rigid hiring processes and get the education of google software engineers?

I’m fairly confident I work similar hours. I worked 65 last week and will likely work more this week since papers just came in. I definitely have the education (2 advanced degrees).

Here’s the problem with your 3rd point: we can’t fill positions NOW. Our standards for entering this profession are pretty low, and we still can’t find people who want to teach. I suppose we can make an argument that raising standards will attract people because they’ll see teaching as a prestigious career. What comes first, though? How do we raise the bar for entering the profession without first making it more appealing?

I am going to side eye your hours a week 52 weeks a year.

Side eyeball you want. The only time I work less than 55 hours a week (minimum) is during the summer. I am between contracts for 7 weeks, not the 3 months people usually like to attribute to teacher summers. I may work 10-20 (unpaid) hours each week, just updating material and attending trainings. This is pretty standard for many in the profession.

I agree about the time between when the contract ends and the new one begins. It’s about 7-8 weeks (not a complaint for those of you who might read it as such). I do wonder why you are putting on 10-20 hours a week when off contract in the summer. Where do you teach that you are required to attend trading during that time? DH and I are both teachers and we don’t put in any hours, or we work only a handful over the summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can't teachers get paid like Google Software Engineer?

are they going to work the hours of google software engineers? are they going to go through the rigid hiring processes and get the education of google software engineers?

I’m fairly confident I work similar hours. I worked 65 last week and will likely work more this week since papers just came in. I definitely have the education (2 advanced degrees).

Here’s the problem with your 3rd point: we can’t fill positions NOW. Our standards for entering this profession are pretty low, and we still can’t find people who want to teach. I suppose we can make an argument that raising standards will attract people because they’ll see teaching as a prestigious career. What comes first, though? How do we raise the bar for entering the profession without first making it more appealing?

I am going to side eye your hours a week 52 weeks a year.

Side eyeball you want. The only time I work less than 55 hours a week (minimum) is during the summer. I am between contracts for 7 weeks, not the 3 months people usually like to attribute to teacher summers. I may work 10-20 (unpaid) hours each week, just updating material and attending trainings. This is pretty standard for many in the profession.

I agree about the time between when the contract ends and the new one begins. It’s about 7-8 weeks (not a complaint for those of you who might read it as such). I do wonder why you are putting on 10-20 hours a week when off contract in the summer. Where do you teach that you are required to attend trading during that time? DH and I are both teachers and we don’t put in any hours, or we work only a handful over the summer.

Quoting myself to add that during he school year I probably work in the 52-55 hour range each week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can't teachers get paid like Google Software Engineer?

are they going to work the hours of google software engineers? are they going to go through the rigid hiring processes and get the education of google software engineers?

I’m fairly confident I work similar hours. I worked 65 last week and will likely work more this week since papers just came in. I definitely have the education (2 advanced degrees).

Here’s the problem with your 3rd point: we can’t fill positions NOW. Our standards for entering this profession are pretty low, and we still can’t find people who want to teach. I suppose we can make an argument that raising standards will attract people because they’ll see teaching as a prestigious career. What comes first, though? How do we raise the bar for entering the profession without first making it more appealing?

I am going to side eye your hours a week 52 weeks a year.

Side eyeball you want. The only time I work less than 55 hours a week (minimum) is during the summer. I am between contracts for 7 weeks, not the 3 months people usually like to attribute to teacher summers. I may work 10-20 (unpaid) hours each week, just updating material and attending trainings. This is pretty standard for many in the profession.

I agree about the time between when the contract ends and the new one begins. It’s about 7-8 weeks (not a complaint for those of you who might read it as such). I do wonder why you are putting on 10-20 hours a week when off contract in the summer. Where do you teach that you are required to attend trading during that time? DH and I are both teachers and we don’t put in any hours, or we work only a handful over the summer.

I’m the PP. I use the summer to get work done so I can free up time during the school year. My courses don’t come with a county-written curriculum, so I revise or write major units over the summer. I also write 40-50 college recommendations over the summer so they aren’t competing with my teaching in the fall. (At our school, requests are made in May, which works well since it gives me the summer to write.) I also do all my recertification and certificate trainings over the summer.

All of this could be done during the year, but this frees time and helps me avoid more backlogs of work. This is worth giving up a portion of my summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The teachers and their whining....I can't even.

I guess a 10k is also hard for some people, But all the serious runners know that, while its an accomplishment for them, for us it's just breakfast.

Is grading papers at home really that much of a trial? It's not surgery, or managing a billion dollar budget. So you have to answer some emails in your off hours? Try getting calls
From clients who are getting sued by the federal government while you are at parent teacher conferences.

There is zero comparison between teachers' lives and those of adult professional careers. Administrators? More so, but really, come on. Stop whining.

At the very least, teachers should be able to sleepy soundly at night knowing they contribute to society vs. help defend corporations that can just pay their way out of the evil shite they do in the world. We all pick our poison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The teachers and their whining....I can't even.

I guess a 10k is also hard for some people, But all the serious runners know that, while its an accomplishment for them, for us it's just breakfast.

Is grading papers at home really that much of a trial? It's not surgery, or managing a billion dollar budget. So you have to answer some emails in your off hours? Try getting calls
From clients who are getting sued by the federal government while you are at parent teacher conferences.

There is zero comparison between teachers' lives and those of adult professional careers. Administrators? More so, but really, come on. Stop whining.

Bah you have to be a troll; holy freaking smugness on so many levels. A 10k for breakfast?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The teachers and their whining....I can't even.

I guess a 10k is also hard for some people, But all the serious runners know that, while its an accomplishment for them, for us it's just breakfast.

Is grading papers at home really that much of a trial? It's not surgery, or managing a billion dollar budget. So you have to answer some emails in your off hours? Try getting calls
From clients who are getting sued by the federal government while you are at parent teacher conferences.

There is zero comparison between teachers' lives and those of adult professional careers. Administrators? More so, but really, come on. Stop whining.

Bah you have to be a troll; holy freaking smugness on so many levels. A 10k for breakfast?

I rolled my eyes at that post, too. It’s remarkably self-important and out of touch. That’s a person who is completely clueless and needs to insult others to make themselves feel better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my state, when you move school districts, the new district won't credit you for all your years teaching. I have 20+ years of public education experience and only get paid at the 13 year rate. I'm underpaid by about 25K.

This is something that even I as a teacher didn’t realize early in my career. You are not paid for experience if you move districts. It’s really unfortunate and part of the reason I won’t leave my current district because I would be leaving at least 8 years of experience on the table. It isn’t worth it.

This isn’t the case in a lot of places. I moved all over Virginia in the first half of my career and was always paid for my years of experience. This is something that greedy school systems do that only want young and cheap teachers they can brainwash with their toxic work culture.