Not sure where you live, but teachers in my neck of the woods hardly make "minimum wage." (Bucks County, Pennsylvania)
The starting salary of a public school teacher right out of college is about $43,000 (plus generous benefits) ...
Within two years, they make about $55,000 a year plus ADDITIONAL benefits.... such as 100% paid top line Blue Cross, plus a district-state matched pension.
And within seven (7) years they 'max' out, so to speak, at between $85,000 and $100,000 depending on which school districk they work at.
If they coach a sport, or do any extra-cirricular activity they receive an additional $5,000-$7,000 each year.
Add in the fully paid sabaticals and the fact they only work 9 months a year (actually only 185 working days)... they hardly make minimum wage.
I guess my statement was pretty vague...I don't believe many are worth minimum wage, based on performance. In such cases; they certainly aren't worthy of the benefits you cite in your post. We didn't seem to have a problem with socialism in this country until public education came along.
Yep! Thanks for pointing that out! I have quite a few friends who are teachers in PA. One teaches an AP science class, and because she took an algebra course at a local college, got a pay raise. Which is ridiculous because you need to know at least pre-calculus to teach the course in the first place.
Other teachers who have long retired at 6-figure salaries are now collecting their lifetime pensions.
My husband read somewhere that govt employees make 44 cents on the dollar more than the private sector.
I should quit my job and become a PA teacher. That 6 figure income for working 9 months of the year and lifetime benefits sure sounds nice. On the other hand I’ve also heard dreadful stories about how the unions and administration treat the people (both students and teachers) in the schools, so maybe it is not worth it.