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Comment by dboreham | Hacker News Reader

Underlying problem: people don't want to pay teachers enough.

Compensation is a vector. Teachers who are government employees receive their cash compensation, paid leave, summers off, job security through formalized tenure, generous pensions, generous health care benefits, and some lifetime benefits if they reach retirement age.

Have no fear, the requirements to receive the benefits is rising; such as 30y teaching not before 68yo. When my SO went full time as a public school teacher her salary only modestly contributed to our retirement, healthcare costs, and covered childcare for the kids too young for school. Our bank account didn't receive enough money to cover the other bills when I was briefly laid off. She considered teaching a net loss and didn't renew her contract.

My wife taught for about 10 years. Can confirm, at least in our state, the benefits are not the “cushy” state employee benefits that many suppose exist (actually, our state employees have trash benefits, too—you go federal if you want good bennies in that sort of job, here). Only way to have decent benefits in education is to go into admin (supers and assistant-supers get totally different, and far better, benefits in many districts—go figure)

She left teaching for WFH, a ~40% total-comp increase, and a far better work environment. Turns out the skills and experiences a good teacher tends to accumulate are really valuable to companies.

Looks like a permanent rentier gig these days - how many teachers are earning enough money to buy their own home in the community in which they are teaching? If that's not a plausible outcome, if living in a rental unit your whole life is part of the job description, then it's not an attractive deal.

thats not just teachers - thats about 70% of the population right now - fix the inflation and interest rate problem, and that problem will get better over time.

>Compensation is a vector.

This misses the point. To go along with your terminology, the problem is that the norm of the vector isn't large enough.

But calling it a vector in the first place is pretentious and unnecessary.

Teachers are paid around the median wage for someone with a college degree. The job neither has a high skill requirement nor difficult work conditions. What is the rationale for paying them more than the typical person with a college degree?

I'd count "dealing with parents" as difficult working conditions.

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