Situation is similar in France. Teachers are underpaid and in some fields (e.g. maths), it gets hard to fill open positions. The gvt tries to improve slightly t

Situation is similar in France. Teachers are underpaid and in some fields (e.g. maths), it gets hard to fill open positions. The gvt tries to improve slightly the entry level salary to make the job more attractive, while betting that senior teachers are stuck there with no other job alternatives. And they compensate by hiring under qualified, short term, teachers. To some extent, it's similar in higher education. The relative freedom enjoyed in academic jobs isn't enough to compensate an increasing salary gap between public/private sectors. In expensive cities, it can even be hard to live decently with a teacher/lecturer salary, and certainly not possible to save for your retirement. If you can't rely on external sources of income, I think it's not reasonable to engage in these activities if more lucrative alternatives exist. And considering France increasing public debt, I don't see how the situation is going to improve.