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There are bubbles, for sure; tech is probably bubbly more frequently than other areas. But IMO the salaries and benefits of government and many other non-indus

by ptero 10y ago

There are bubbles, for sure; tech is probably bubbly more frequently than other areas. But IMO the salaries and benefits of government and many other non-industry workers form one of the biggest bubbles right now (an average public school teacher with seniority paid 120-200k if our local paper is to be believed and that is not in the most expensive area on the East Coast). This bubble may overstretch public finances and pop or slowly deflate via retirements, but given the choice of two bubble areas I will choose tech over mail delivery as even after a pop the skills (I think) are easier to apply elsewhere.

tedmiston 10y ago
> an average public school teacher with seniority paid 120-200k While teacher pay definitely varies by district in public schools, that range seems absurdly high. I'm unclear precisely what you mean by "with seniority" but often the max comp for teachers is defined as being at the highest salary level with "Master's Plus 30". The NEA lists average teacher starting pay at $35k, and it doesn't exactly rise dramatically after that. A teacher making six figures in the midwest is almost unheard of. A common max in Ohio is $65–75k. http://www.nea.org/home/20620.htm http://www.nea.org/home/20620.htm
- ptero 10y ago
  I live in a pretty well off, but not the wealthiest East Coast suburb and out local newspaper occasionally prints a list of folks who have to report their salaries and make over 100k. My guess there were periods in the past when new teachers started with decent salaries and given guaranteed yearly raises, seniority moved them beyond this. Im interested now myself (did I make a mistake?) and will look for an online copy or save next version
  - tedmiston 10y ago
    One thing that can happen with really senior teachers is "double dipping": they retire, start drawing from their retirement fund, then get rehired by the same district at a lower salary (like a starting teacher). That combination might be enough to push into six figures but only for teachers that are at retirement age.

by ptero 10y ago

tedmiston 10y ago

> an average public school teacher with seniority paid 120-200k While teacher pay definitely varies by district in public schools, that range seems absurdly high. I'm unclear precisely what you mean by "with seniority" but often the max comp for teachers is defined as being at the highest salary level with "Master's Plus 30". The NEA lists average teacher starting pay at $35k, and it doesn't exactly rise dramatically after that. A teacher making six figures in the midwest is almost unheard of. A common max in Ohio is $65–75k. http://www.nea.org/home/20620.htm http://www.nea.org/home/20620.htm

ptero 10y ago
I live in a pretty well off, but not the wealthiest East Coast suburb and out local newspaper occasionally prints a list of folks who have to report their salaries and make over 100k. My guess there were periods in the past when new teachers started with decent salaries and given guaranteed yearly raises, seniority moved them beyond this. Im interested now myself (did I make a mistake?) and will look for an online copy or save next version
- tedmiston 10y ago
  One thing that can happen with really senior teachers is "double dipping": they retire, start drawing from their retirement fund, then get rehired by the same district at a lower salary (like a starting teacher). That combination might be enough to push into six figures but only for teachers that are at retirement age.