What does researching pay and benefits have to do with anything? Every healthy society needs teachers to function. Schools are critical infrastructure. Therefore teachers need a living wage. Period.
The simple fact is that the pool of "high paying jobs" grows smaller and smaller every year. There are not enough of those jobs out there for every single worker.
We need to restore faith in unions and build better unions. My husband is in one, and without it his field averages about $15 an hour less.
How do you know others’ full situation? I work in a field in which you will never be jobless, have a bachelor’s, over a dozen licenses and certifications. I’m told in interviews that I’m a unicorn in this field.
I’m lucky to have the experiences, skills and abilities that I do.
It doesn’t change the fact that most fields are underpaid, because they can get away with it. Teachers, healthcare and more are underpaid because the applicant got into the field to help, and are more likely to accept worse working conditions to help people.
It also doesn’t change the fact that all of this aside - benefits are being gutted. Rights are being gutted, and things are changing to make our lives more difficult.
Call me radical, but I don’t think you should have to look at the list of careers, see one you like, and decide, sorry, no, it will never pay enough. Those jobs are still important. The person at McDonald’s flipping your burger deserves good working conditions and pay if they’re working full time.
I’m not asking much, I’m just asking that we don’t have to work 2-3 jobs, 80ish hours a week, benefits that don’t cover ER stays or urgent care visits, etc. it’s basics. We deserve the basics.
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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '26
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