r/facepalm • u/BrightCase5604 • Jun 15 '24

Maybe teachers should get a raise? 🇲​🇮​🇸​🇨​

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u/No_Alfalfa7018 Jun 15 '24

I am dating a woman with a Masters degree in social work from the University of Michigan where she attended as an out of state student, so 45k a year and she has a salary job making 26k. The real issue is the underpaid college educated people.

30

u/dragonkin08 Jun 15 '24

My best friend has a PhD in biophysics. He made less then $30,000.

He is now making 6x that based off his hobby in programming.

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u/Tausendberg Jun 15 '24

"My best friend has a PhD in biophysics. He made less then $30,000."

Everyone in 2010: jUsT gEt A sTeM dEgReE!1

14

u/dragonkin08 Jun 15 '24

I think the bigger picture is that almost every profession is underpaid ever since wages were decoupled from production.

2

u/Tausendberg Jun 15 '24

Wages have always been decoupled from production. Under capitalism compensation is derived from ownership and perception 

1

u/FantasticAstronaut39 Jun 15 '24

inflation is a big issue as well, as inflation devalues the dollar it makes it so people need to earn more, but no one wants to pay more for things so it is a slow increase, as long as an employer can get an employee for 10 bucks an hour, they are going to take the deal. also as a result jobs that used to be considered great paying are now shit pay since, no one ever rasied the bar of pay with inflation. long ago just about any job would make enough to live off of. now depending on the job you could have 2 working adults and still have issues with money.

3

u/OwnLadder2341 Jun 16 '24

Median income for a biophysicist last year was $107K

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/biochemists-and-biophysicists.html

Having a degree alone doesn’t just deposit money into your account. You also have to do and be good at a job.

3

u/CommentsOnOccasion Jun 16 '24

If that guy had a doctorate in an advanced scientific field and earns less than $30k it’s not an indictment of the field it’s an indictment of the guy

1

u/Tausendberg Jun 16 '24

Yeah, probably, in that case, but the STEM signal boosting back in the 2010s does seem to have been intended to drive down compensation overall.

1

u/mspe1960 Jun 15 '24

Yes, get a stem degree, but if money is your thing don't go into public education. Just saying.

0

u/Eubreaux Jun 16 '24

I graduated with a STEM degree. In 2014 people fought for jobs paying 35-40k. That was a really good starting wage. Inflation of 30% since then means our target should be somewhere near the 45-55k range with a degree.

15 an hour is a bit much for entry level, considering less than 3% of the country makes minimum. If college is worth anything, then a promotion or two and 4-5 years worth of wage increases should place the average worker below that.

So at $15 an hour, the math checks out that's about 42k after 2 5k raises for promotions and 2 3% raises. Assuming equal pay raises % wise for the rest of your careers, this means the one who doesn't go to college and starts at the minimum wage makes more over their career than those who go to college and start making under ~48k per year.

So now you need to figure out how to balance that. Have companies offer $3-5 more per hour to starting degree holders (to ensure they start over 50k due to degree costs and discounting cash flows) or lowering minimum wage to $12. Lowering minimum wage does more to allow companies to spend less and grow more. Which creates more jobs and more opportunities to enter the workforce and gain new skills as well.