Alternative Title: “Why does my husband (with high school diploma) make $20,000 more than me (with Masters degree) every year?”
The inconsistencies between my salary and my husband’s were bothering me for quite awhile, enough so, that one day I sat down and did the math. And what I uncovered was shockingly depressing…
It all seems okay at first glance (sorta):
I officially work about 190 school days each year, with about 2 months off in the summer. With my Masters degree and about 8 years teaching experience, I made about $44,000 before taxes. My husband, with his high school diploma, works all year with only 2 weeks of paid leave, and earned $45,000.
44 VS 45. Not terribly unfair YET. But let’s take a closer look…
THE HUBBY:
*There are 260 work week DAYS in one year. With my husband’s 2 weeks of paid vacation and minimal holidays off, he technically works about 240 days in a year.
*On those days, his hours are 7-3:30 with a half hour lunch break.
That means that he works 8 hours a day, 40 hours week, and about 1,920 hours each year.
ME, THE TEACHER:
*I work from about 7-4:30 each day (and that’s being VERY generous) plus I spend 3-5 hours every Saturday at work or home preparing for the week ahead. (We won’t bother with all the extra time I spend in the evenings, grading papers, planning, or preparing materials.)
That means that I work 9 hours a day+, around 50 hours a week, and about 1,900 hours.
IN SUMMARY:
In one year, I work about 20 hours less than my husband. So me, with my Masters degree, make about the same amount per hour as my husband with his high school diploma and the same number of years experience – approximately $23 an hour.
COMPARING WITH SALARY PACKAGE
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ME, THE LOWLY TEACHER
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DEAR HUBBY
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Pricey College Education
from top-rated university + Masters Degree
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High School Diploma
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about 8 years experience in my field
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about 8 years experience in his field
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works about 1,900 hours a year
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works about 1,920 hours a year
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base salary: $44,000
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base salary: $45,000
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overtime pay: $0
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overtime pay: double pay
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healthcare benefits:
charged $500 a month for family on lowest plan offered, pay everything out-of-pocket until $12,000 deductible is met |
healthcare benefits:
FREE for entire family low deductible, low copays
*$3,000/year of out-of-pocket expenses REFUNDED!
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retirement: taken out of pay
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retirement: $7,000 employer contribution to 401K
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bonus pay: $400
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bonus pay: $1,300 Christmas bonus
+$75 gift certificate to fancy-pants restaurant
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Is it just me or are things starting to look a little UNBALANCED?
If I were on my district’s health insurance (and used my Christmas bonus to cancel out some of my retirement contributions) that would leave me with about $35,000 a year. (We won’t bother adding in the hundreds of dollars of my own personal money I’ve spent on classroom supplies, resources, furniture, books, etc.)
My husband gained $3,000 for healthcare reimbursements, plus his $7,000 401K contribution, plus his “just-for-fun” bonuses and he ends up with about $56,200 a year.
What?? That Can’t Be Right!!
I think this warrants repeating and lots of “screaming” capital letters.
Here is a summary table just to drive home my point…
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ME: TEACHER
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HUSBAND: SHOP MANAGER
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Over-Priced College Education
& Masters Degree *about 8 years experience in my field
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High School Diploma
*about 8 years experience in his field
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Hours Worked Each Year: about 1,900
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Hours Worked Each Year: about 1,900
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incredibly important job
teaching the youth of our nation
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driving around parts to
various construction job sites
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$35,000
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$56,000
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In case you missed it, that’s a $20,000 a year difference!!!
Let’s conclude before my head explodes.
Are teachers underpaid? Under appreciated, to say the least!
Why are the benefits and compensation so drastically out of proportion? Is this because teachers are typically women? If there were more male teachers, would the benefits and pay scale increase?
I’ve heard the argument that women are paid less because men are typically the breadwinners in a family, but we all know that traditional family dynamic went out the window with parachute pants and boom boxes. These days, single mother and single income families are just as common. I can think of half a dozen ladies I work with, just off the top of my head, who are supporting themselves and at least one child on their own.
Or maybe politicians and school districts have realized that teachers teach because they love kids and value education and will continue to do so even with pathetically lesser compensation and benefits. I am a perfect example of that, I guess. My job is hard, but I know that what I do it is important. And even though I want to pull my hair out, cry, and or punch someone on a daily basis, I know that what I am doing matters and I will continue to do it.
Oddly, even my 3-year-old’s toys seem to reflect society’s take on teachers as you may have noticed in the first photo…
Quick Disclaimer: No husbands were harmed in the writing of this blog post. My sweet husband gets just as riled up as me over the sad state of teacher compensation.
I’d love to hear your take on this. Why are teachers paid so poorly? What is the cause of this drastic discrepancy in salary?
