The "New Normal" Dream Job: CA State Workers Earning $822,000

Zero Hedge ^ | 12-11-12 | Tyler Durden

[ExxonPatrolUs]

Become a California state worker, preferably one who deals with neurotic and/or crazy people (i.e., a psychiatrist), and rake it in. The following chart from Bloomberg shows just how generous the otherwise insolvent state of California is when it comes to paying its public servants, and the 100%+ increase in California employee state pay since 2005. Needless to say, this is a rate of increase in compensation that 99% of workers in the private sector would die for.

Some other stunning observations from Bloomberg on the best job taxpayer money can buy. The best paid job: psychiatrist. At this pace, they will have lots and lots of patients.

Psychiatrists were among the highest-paid employees in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and New Jersey, with total compensation $270,000 to $327,000 for top earners. State police officers in Pennsylvania collected checks as big as $190,000 for unused vacation and personal leave as they retired young enough to start second careers, while Virginia paid active officers as much as $109,000 in overtime alone, the data show.   The numbers are even larger in California, where a state psychiatrist was paid $822,000, a highway patrol officer collected $484,000 in pay and pension benefits and 17 employees got checks of more than $200,000 for unused vacation and leave. The best-paid staff in other states earned far less for the same work, according to the data. ... Mohammad Safi, graduate of a medical school in Afghanistan, collected $822,302 last year, up from $90,682 when he started in 2006, the data show. Safi was placed on administrative leave in July and is under investigation by the Department of State Hospitals, formerly the Department of Mental Health.

[Crazieman]

Wow, I don’t even get paid a fraction of that as an already overpaid postal supervisor. :P

Must be NICE!

[Gay State Conservative]

I worked for years at one of the world's most famous hospitals (it's in Boston) and I know for a fact that there are neurosurgeons and cardiac surgeons (among other specialties) who don't make *nearly* that much for doing a much tougher job over a much longer work week...not to mention the fact that the residency for such surgeons is in the vicinity of 8 years (can't recall exactly).