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Jobs pay as much as it costs to replace you, which is a function of how many people want to do the job and how many people have the skills to do the job. Many
by vasco 3y ago
Jobs pay as much as it costs to replace you, which is a function of how many people want to do the job and how many people have the skills to do the job.
Many people enjoy doing jobs with meaning, many people enjoy working with kids, and many people enjoy teaching things.
Teaching is like nursing, many people find meaning in it and want to do it, and the skills required aren't too difficult to get. Just as many people likely want to be doctors or university professors, but less can do it, so pay goes up, comparatively.
Or on the other hand, many people can do jobs like working in an oil rig but not many want to. Once you look at jobs like this you understand most of what dictates salaries.
Find something hard to do, that not many people want to do, and you'll always be fine.
If tomorrow all teachers quit because the pay wouldn't be worth it anymore to counterbalance their love of teaching and the feeling of accomplishment of molding the next generation, pay would go up because kids still need to be taught.
- h0l0cube 3y ago> Jobs pay as much as it costs to replace you It also depends on the minimum competence people will tolerate. There's plenty of competent people who would consider teaching if the compensation was worthwhile. It all depends on how much a country and its voting population care about education and how much more in taxes are they willing to pay to support that.
- beej71 3y ago> Jobs pay as much as it costs to replace you Since there is a teacher shortage (i.e. people are not being replaced), this would appear to not be the case.
- resonious 3y agoIf there really is demand for teachers then this shortage will eventually balance out with more expensive education and more teachers. If I'm understanding the argument correctly that is.
- ChuckNorris89 3y agoMore expensive education rarely translates to better paid teachers.
- vasco 3y agoNot so fast, there are other explanations, such as they are not actually trying to be replaced by governments.
- qgin 3y agoThat's the other half of the equation: the government is not actually doing what is required to replace the teachers, which would be to raise the wages. So you get paid the minimum required to replace you OR the maximum the employer is willing to pay before saying "we'll just go without this role being filled", whichever is lower.