Anonymous

Teachers are among those who receive the lowest SAT scores.

Well, I am a teacher, and had very high SAT scores. Any time you'd like to take an IQ test against me, PP, you just say the word.

Anonymous wrote:I previously was a teacher. I did work nearly every evening. I was at school 2 hours before it began and at school an hour after it ended. I did all I could to enrich each of my students. It was a tremendous amount of work. This was FIRST grade. For those that aren't putting in extra hours, P.S. IT SHOWS. You are described as "average" behind your back or "eh" or fill in whatever defines mediocre. If you are not doing work at home and on the weekends, you are doing the bare minimum...

I teach young children, too. There is a lot to do! I get it...ESPECIALLY if you want to do your job well. This age group requires A LOT of differentiation, prep time, communication with parents, hands-on "dirty" work, enthusiasm (even when you have to fake it,) and being "ON" 24/7....and SO much more.
But I LOVE it....and, YES, wish that I got paid what I deserve for such an important job, and a job so well done...

Anonymous wrote:Most teachers are morons. Some are fine.

Most PEOPLE are morons. Some are fine.

I am a private school teacher with 20 years experience and a masters. I make almost $50,000. (Although I do have a retirement package and healthcare.) But, YES!!!, I do feel I am massively underpaid for my work. 1) VERY important job. 2) I do a GREAT job! There is little room for $ growth, except for the 2.5% raise each year. FYI: Privates typically pay less...much less. (Without going into the details, at this point, going public school is not a possibility. I also LOVE my school- minus the paycheck.) The holidays/summers off are another perk, although contrary to the belief of many, we are not truly "paid" for the summer. Money is deducted from Sept-June to ration out for the summer.

Anonymous wrote:I would love to go back to teaching, but it just doesn't pay well enough. I earn 3 times as much in the field I now work in. And as PP notes, I'm sure if I did go back, I wouldn't get that great pension.

You're making $300,000?

for pension? I'll earn about 60% of the average of my three highest years.

Clearly some industries are, given that, if houses are selling for $600,000-$1,000,000+, somebody is buying them. And I don't think it's all Russian oligarchs finding a place to stash their money in the West, as with the expensive apartments in London.

A few things

1) A lot of people spend more money on housing than in the past and really stretch. It's not unheard of to spend 40-50% of your take home on housing.
2) A lot of people work in high paid jobs AND also get a big chunk of change from their parents for a downpayment. A lot of people in professional jobs have professional parents. So you just need to make enough money to pay the mortgage and taxes, which is often on par or cheaper than rent.
3) The few industries that do pay that highly seem to include Big Law, lobbyists, CEO, doctor (but only specialist), finance person, some defense contractors.

Anonymous wrote:Which industries do pay enough to live in all of the expensive housing in this area? The average price of a 4 bedroom single family house in Fairfax and Montgomery must be around $600,000 by now and $1 million plus home are being built daily.

Clearly some industries are, given that, if houses are selling for $600,000-$1,000,000+, somebody is buying them. And I don't think it's all Russian oligarchs finding a place to stash their money in the West, as with the expensive apartments in London.

Anonymous wrote:Teachers are among those who receive the lowest SAT scores.

Yes, somebody on DCUM keeps saying that -- is it you? Do you have a source for that statement?

Also, assuming it's true (which remains to be seen), do you think that people with higher SAT scores might go into teaching, if teaching paid better? The magic of the free market place, and so on?

Anonymous wrote:Look, per hour, teachers make more than pediatricians when you take education into consideration. A teacher with similar education (PhD) and training (8 years of experience), makes more per hour than a newly minted pediatrician. And I haven't even considered bennies.

I am trying to understand why you are comparing the hourly wage of a teacher with a Ph.D. and 8 years of experience (who would be on salary in any case) with the hourly wage of a brand-new pediatrician.

Teachers are among those who receive the lowest SAT scores.

Which industries do pay enough to live in all of the expensive housing in this area? The average price of a 4 bedroom single family house in Fairfax and Montgomery must be around $600,000 by now and $1 million plus home are being built daily.

Look, per hour, teachers make more than pediatricians when you take education into consideration. A teacher with similar education (PhD) and training (8 years of experience), makes more per hour than a newly minted pediatrician. And I haven't even considered bennies.

Anonymous wrote:Middle Class Pay Elusive for Teachers, Report Says (NYT)

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/03/us/middle-class-pay-elusive-for-teachers-report-says.html?_r=1

You missed this part,

Districts like Washington, D.C., and Dallas have restructured their pay scales so that young, high-performing teachers can reach the top quickly. In Washington, a teacher who is rated highly effective for nine years in a row can earn more than $130,000."

And, I wonder if that $130k is annualized.

Middle Class Pay Elusive for Teachers, Report Says (NYT)

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/03/us/middle-class-pay-elusive-for-teachers-report-says.html?_r=1

Instead of talking about which professions are underpaid, I think it would be more helpful to talk about which ones are overpaid. They're the ones driving up the costs of everything and making others feel like they are underpaid. Maybe if society could get a grasp on which people other than CEO's are grossly overpaid, things would even out a bit.