Last week, over at Canadian Finance Blog, I wrote a post that was supposed to be an ode to working hard. I told the story of a shopkeeper who worked his tail off, never taking a day off, in an attempt to get ahead. As the post continued, I wanted to encourage people of every profession to stop watching episodes of Vampire Diaries and to start working on a side hustle, both because I want them to increase their income and because shows about vampires generally don’t float this author’s boat. As I wrote the post, I wanted to use an example of a profession that could easily do a side hustle.
And, foolishly, I picked teachers. I am such an idiot sometimes.
At first glance, it appears teachers have all sorts of downtime. School is out for 2 months in the summer, as well as 2 weeks over Christmas and a week over Easter. Sure, I thought, there’s prep work to do, and marking, and so on, but it can’t possibly take that much time. The teachers I know do take work home with them, but so do all sorts of other people in other professions. Anyway, judging from the comments, I was very, very wrong. A small sampling:
I found your example of “lazy” teachers to be totally unfair. Students leave at the ring of the last bell, teachers don’t. There are a lot of prep work to do, parents to call, classroom to tidy up and homework to grade. That’s on a normal day. Let’s not even talk about the burning of the midnight oil during report card time. If you believe that teachers can just wake up in the morning and improvise an entire day of lessons than either you think teachers can do the impossible or maybe you had a lazy teacher when you were younger.
But wait, there’s more. Another comment:
While you’re right in thinking that they often are able to leave the school at 4.30p — especially in this era of non-existent funding for extra curricular activities — you’re dead wrong in thinking they go home without work. Many of them spend their evenings grading and doing lesson prep. The prep time that many of them used to get in the AM is time they’re also now expected to be available to students and parents, so if they planned on that time to prepare for their day, they may get a rude awakening. Those two months they get off in the summer? They’re expected to take at least some of that time to upgrade their skills at their own expense.
As I read those comments, one thought went through my head. I thought wow, teaching is the worst job in the world.
Low Pay For The Hours Worked
Obviously I have to make some assumptions, but bear with me here. The average teacher in Canada makes a little over $71,000. (Source) Let’s assume they spend 9 hours per day times 5 days a week at school teaching and what not. They also work hard outside of school too, so let’s assume an additional 10 hours per week doing stuff like marking, lesson plans and extracurricular activities. Also, let’s assume they take one university level course over the summer, which takes about 40 hours. That means they work 55 hours a week times 41 weeks, plus an additional 40 hours over the summer. That equals 2295 hours per year. Once we crunch the numbers, it turns out the average teacher in Canada makes only a little more than $30 per hour. Oh, the humanity!
Just to play devils advocate here, just how much does the average person work? I spend about 9 hours a day working, times 5 days a week, times 49 weeks per year. It turns out I work 2205 hours per year. Pretty comparable amounts, and I have time for a side hustle. Interesting.
The Job Must Be Horrible
Considering how excited they get whenever someone questions the amount of time teachers work, teachers must really be sick of the public thinking they’re a bunch of slackers. That’s totally understandable, and I don’t want to degrade the profession at all. I wouldn’t be writing this right now if it wasn’t for a bunch of different teachers giving me the tools needed to communicate.
But yet, it seems like every comment section on the entire internet talks about how horrible of a job teaching is. The hours are long, the kids don’t behave these days, and budgets are tighter than ever. Extracurricular activities have been cut to the bone, class sizes have increased, and looming government budget deficits mean less potential for raises in the future. Looking at all that would lead one to believe that teaching is kind of a crummy job with a not so bright future.
But wait. If all that’s true, why is there a surplus of teachers in Canada?
Just Stop Whining
I’m going to repeat myself, again, for those of you who’ll end up getting excited and leaving an angry comment about how I hate teachers. Nothing could be further from the truth. What they do is a noble profession, definitely a hell of a lot more worthy than selling potato chips. They work just as many hours at their job as what you or I do, albeit a little differently. If they’re any good at their job, (which most are) they will influence kids to follow their dreams and give them the tools needed to pursue them.
But, working hard isn’t exclusive to teachers. Annoying customers (those would be parents) are present in every business. Misbehaving students can be annoying, just like slacker co-workers. Every business has pluses and minuses, I don’t care what it is. And yet, when someone has the audacity to point out this stuff, teachers get more excited than a fruity guy discovering a Glee marathon. There can be no balanced discussion because teachers immediately go on the defensive.
I’m not calling any teachers lazy, or a slacker, or anything like that. I am, however, calling them whiny. The world has had enough of your complaining. If it’s so bad, get another job.
I think teachers are lazy, and overpaid. If teachers weren’t lazy, they’d fight for results based pay. Unfortunately, as it is right now, all teachers (at least in most US school districts) get paid more just for being around longer. A poor quality teacher who has worked in one area for 10 years would make far more than an awesome teacher who has been there only 5 years.
When compensation starts revolving around the amount of time you stay in the same place, it just so happens that the worst people stay in place for a really long time, and get paid really good money to do it.
As for government employees in general, few will ever realize the benefit they have that no one else does: almost zero turnover. In the US, public employees have something like a 10% annual turnover rate. Surely, if working conditions were so miserable, it’d be much higher than that.
You are an extremely bright kid; what are you, like 18 years old? Anyway, your opinion doesn’t matter until you’re at least 30. You can go back to reading old copies of ‘National Review’.
LOL Holly you are pathetic. Don’t get all defensive and start attacking a poster personally when you are offended. Try to explain why you disagree with his comments. Deep down inside you know some of his post makes sense. That is why you have this cognitive dissidence now and are so angry.
Holly, looks like you picked up the bad habits of the kids you used to teach.
Have you watched Waiting For Superman? That’s pretty much the message of that documentary.
But, your opinion doesn’t matter, since you’re only a young guy. Sorry about that.
There are 4 teachers and a principal (Headmaster?) on my wife’s side of the family and they all brag it up in the summer about all of their time off. Sure, the senior administrators go back to work a bit early for a grueling Banff retreat to kick-off the year…that’s gotta be tough.
I work in the public sector and can assure you I have no incentive to work any harder than the next guy to get ahead. As JT points out, most of the public sector have it pretty good. He hits the nail on the head when he says, “When compensation starts revolving around the amount of time you
stay in the same place, it just so happens that the worst people stay in
place for a really long time, and get paid really good money to do it.” How is that guy so smart? Isn’t he like, 21?
JT is the man.
Part of me wants to get a cushy government job and slack off forever. The other part of me thinks it would drive me nuts. I like your setup, having the security of a government job and the ambition (and spare time at work I’m assuming) to pursue something on the side.
I will say what I always say to all of the teacher-bashers…have you ever tried teaching? It’s kind of like all of those who think waitressing would be a great paying and easy side hustle. Have you ever waited tables? It sux hard.
I say the same when people claim that my husband is overcompensated with good health benefits as a police officer…have you ever strapped on a bullet-proof vest and wrestled a gunman/knife-wielder to the ground at your job? How about it?
I DID teach and yes, it is, in all honesty, just about the worst job in the world. You have to realize that kids can suck the LIFE out of a person, and I have three of my own. You have to be there very, very early and stay late and then get to do more work when you get home. And a ton of BS all the way around…
You don’t get to leave the school and go to lunch with your co-workers/’buds’, you get to sit in the lounge and listen to the principal explain the next disciplinary action to take if the kids call you ‘fart-knocker’ one more time.
Listen, you have no clue (I love your blog, though!)…and unless you take on a real teaching assignment (grades Pre-K – 8) and prove to yourself and to your 10 readers that you are indeed ‘right’, and that teachers are whiners, then go ahead. But it doesn’t matter, ’cause blogging and chip-selling (?) sure is HARD and TIME CONSUMING and I wouldn’t expect you to give a $!)@T about kids since you have none (I’m assuming) NOR do you want to. And I thank you for it!
Holly you sound so bitter. Obviously you and your family enjoy working for the government. Hopefully one day you will get the chance to work somewhere that rewards you based on merit, not on time spent at a job.
And you know there are a ton of slacker teachers out there that overshadow the good ones. The good ones get burnt out and then either become slackers (realizing they can’t be fired) or get a better job.
No, I am not bitter, just tired of the private sector coming down on the public. My husband paid his dues for 20 years w/a very demanding job. He paid 5% of each paycheck into his pension from the start. He rec’d a mug when he retired this summer.
Now he is in the private sector…he gets the following perks:
Paid for plane trips up and down the east coast (w/an AmEx card for breakfast, lunch, dinner, no price limits) in $170/night hotels
Restaurant dinners w/clients, wine included
Company car which he can trade in after just 5 years for a new model, obviously free gas and maintenance as well
Free NICE cell phone
Free NICE laptop
Free GPS
Health Insurance
401K with match
Chances to win family vacations
Christmas bonus
April (tax-time) bonus HUGE!
Christmas party at an upscale restaurant (went to two in the past as guests)
Etc., but I’m tired of typing now
I myself have a decent job (private sector). I work for a doctor. And trust me, doctors whine may more than teachers.
I didn’t teach at a public school, BTW, so I know they have it even worse.
My wife has been teaching for going on 4 years now without a raise and making 30,000. She is a lot better teacher than most of the teachers making twice as much, but it is based on length of service.
There is no way to motivate teachers and they get burnt out. There is no opportunity for career growth. Her fellow teachers lack the same determination as her. She ends up making lesson plans for all the teachers teaching the same class as her. Her pay is dreadful. She is stressed out not just from kids, but from the administration pushing down different pathetic tactics to make sure kids that have no desire to pass are “successful”. The school system offers no real way to learn any new skills. Funding has been cut for continued education of teachers. The only reward she gets from teaching is the intrinsic satisfaction from helping the children, but that now is struggling to overcome the other disgraces in the teaching system.
Teaching is the ultimate comfort zone. The law requires each one of us to spend our first 12 years in a classroom. After that, it’s fairly standard to spend another 4 years in a classroom.
How unimaginative a person do you have to be to think, “The world is my oyster now. I can do anything I want, work wherever I want. I think I’ll spend my life…in a classroom”? There’s something curious about being an adult and choosing to spend your workday interfacing with immature people.
Don’t give me the standard reply about how if it weren’t for teachers, I’d be writing this in pictographs instead of words. Fine. If it weren’t for janitors, I’d be writing this up to my knees in filth. Which is worse?
I rarely hear the people who truly make this world a better place – physicians, engineers, farmers – brag about how important they are. Teachers do it as a matter of course.
This is why teachers shouldn’t be giving out career advice. Most of them have barely had a summer job that wasn’t in the classroom.
Of course a teacher is going to recommend more schooling. It’s worked pretty well for them. For a lot of people though, it’s incredibly bad advice.
Financial Uproar – you my friend, are as refreshing as a cold beer on a hot summer day. I agree with your post 100%. Most of my university buddies became teachers, and they are all smart guys, they all work hard and they all do extra stuff like coach teams after school etc. However, now that they have been teaching for a few years, they all admit that teaching is a sweet gig. Sure you have a lot of planning to do the first time you teach a course. Guess what, the next time, a lot of the planning is done, and you tweak it, to make sure it’s current and fix any problems. Same the next year etc. Some years you teach something new, and have to put in some extra time on that course, but few teachers get completely new course loads every year, year after year. Pay, pretty damn good. Pension – I’d trade for it – yes they do contribute a lot, but nice to have. Time off each summer – don’t get me started.
If teaching were truly so horrible, then the people doing it would quit and do something else – let’s face it, they have university degrees and surely have some other skills. As it happens, there are multitudes of teachers trying just to get onto supply lists who can’t, and often the retired teachers come back to supply – if it was really the hardest job on the planet, wouldn’t they be happy to sit at home and collect the pension?
So, to summarize, I agree, most teachers work hard, ( a few dial it in just like people in any profession). Most do a great job, and have to put up with some BS (just like people in any profession). And, just like people in any profession, they can leave anytime if the job is that bad. So, quit whining and admit it’s actually not that bad a gig.
PS – If I was supreme ruler of the universe, teachers would work a full year just like everyone else, doing those PD days, any upgrading and summer courses through the summer, except for the vacation time they had earned (like anyone else – start at 2 weeks and progress to max 5 or 6 after a number of years). I would be so kind as to give them the extra time off at Christmas, March break and a few other holidays like Easter. Know what I think – there would still be a lot of people clamouring to to teach, and the ones only ones who would leave probably don’t really like teaching or kids anyway, just do it because it’s so much better than any other job they would likely get.
Just my 2 cents – as mentioned – love this blog – you say it as you see it. You and my favorite running blog guy should get together – he writes exactly the same way, and it’s great to read.
take care
Chris
I believe a lot of women are partially motivated to go into teaching because it meshes real well with their unborn child’s future schedule. And, because they just love school that much.
Thanks for the kind words. I give you three weeks tops before you leave a comment about how you’re unsubscribing forever.
Nice followup! Hey, I had my “Communications Majors” moment, which was pretty brutal. Anyway, my wife’s a teacher, so depending on the district, I’d agree that are paid OK, but I think people very much underestimate how much time (the good ones) teachers spend working outside of regular school hours. My wife used to be there well before school started, well after it ended, and spend a lot of time talking and emailing with parents about their kids. On top of it, at least in America, like half that class has special needs of some type, even in affluent areas – ADHD, behavioral disorders, discipline problems, etc. So, it’s got its challenges, which many people don’t recognize.
[...] Financial Uproar – Teaching’s the Worst Job in the World? [...]
[...] “Teaching Is The Worst Job in the World” – Catchy title, arguments in the comments, success! [...]
$71,000? I’m in the wrong country for sure. I have a phd and am a university professor and make over $10,000 less. But that said, when school is out, teaching is a sweet gig, when school is in, it is terrible. I work all day to come home and grade, prepare lectures, answer student emails. During the school year I work every day, 10-15 hours a day. Notice i’m rarely posting in the school year? There’s a reason for that, and it isn’t because my social life got a whole lot cooler.
Hi, Nelson. I thought this post was interesting – and you probably are much more familiar with the subject than I, having posted about it (I’m not a teacher), but humor me for a moment if you will:
You make two main arguments against these topics: a) Low pay for the hours worked, and b) the job must be horrible.
Regarding low pay, you did a great calculation about making nearly $30/hours on average, using 2295 hours per year as a calculation. Can’t argue with that! Those summers must be nice. But what caught my eye was the source that you listed showing the average of $71k/year. Your source specifically noted, “The reason for my post originally wasn’t for that discussion – instead I wanted to show the inequality in pay across the provinces.” Your source is saying there’s a notable inequality. For example, I clicked on your source and found that new teachers in Newfoundland, for example, make only $29,685/year. Utilizing your estimate of hours worked (2295 per year), that equals approximately $12.93/hour. Not shabby, but not great, and certainly far from the $30/hour calculation you arrived at in your post. And I suggest that there’s a strong possibility that first year teachers are working longer hours because they do not have prior work to pull from; they’re establishing their materials (and combined with the likelihood they also have debt incurred from recent college/university schooling, I would venture to say they work more and have greater direct work-related costs than established teachers)
Here in the states, the U.S. government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates new teachers make a similar amount ($33,227, or $14.48/hour given your 2295 hours/year.) Likewise, the median salary for all teachers tops out at $51,180 (or $22.30/hour). Not too bad, but not remarkable, either. (source: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos318.htm)
Your second point relates to job satisfaction. You write, “Looking at all that would lead one to believe that teaching is kind of a crummy job with a not so bright future. But wait. If all that’s true, why is there a surplus of teachers in Canada?” You’ve got a great point there: if it’s a bad thing, why are so many teachers hanging on to their positions instead of retiring or leaving to go elsewhere. My answer is speculative at best, but I would imagine that given the state of the economy, people in most professionals are holding onto their job, even if they hate it, due to lack of other options (a Google search of job attrition will show several examples of how attrition is currently lower than normal in many fields because the lack of other options.)
Comparatively, despite most teachers having a requirement of at least four years of schooling (here in the states) along with continuing education, certification, and other requirements, more than half of teachers leave the profession within the first ten years (source: http://www.teacherpolicyresearch.org/portals/1/pdfs/Initial_Matches_Transfers_and_Quits.pdf)
That statistic indicates, at least to me, that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
Let me compare some of the above to another profession: the guy who delivers and sells snack chips to my local convenience store. If I understand correctly, this may be similar to what you do. Again, I’m using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for this information, which may differ from your area. It says in part, “driver/sales workers or route drivers, have sales responsibilities. For example, many driver/sales workers deliver and arrange goods to be sold in grocery stores….Some companies give 1 to 2 days of classroom instruction covering general duties, the operation and loading of a truck, company policies, and the preparation of delivery forms and company records. New drivers may also ride with and observe experienced drivers before getting their own assignments.” The same website also estimates the pay scale as follows:
Median hourly wages of driver/sales workers, including commissions, were $10.70 in May 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $7.74 and $15.82. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $7.09, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $21.32. (source: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos246.htm)
If I recall correctly, that’s in the same ballpark as teachers (using the numbers above $12.93-$22.30), but without the stress of many factors (schooling, liability, performance standards for 18-36 different students, at-home preparation, etc.) Now I’m not salesperson or driver, but I would guess that such a job becomes easier as time goes on (you learn the route, product, customers, etc.), similar to teaching.
And what follows is strictly my opinion, but it is one that comes from much thought about the “human condition.” Some jobs are more stressful because they’re not the kind you can leave when you go home. I would imagine that a paramedic, for example, is affected by a patient dying that day on their route. Likewise, someone who is responsible for harmful chemicals, or who is in charge of human resources in an industry that is failing, probably also has difficulty with the stress of their job. I bet they all “clock out” each day, but have a hard time dealing with it as they’re trying to sleep at night. I believe teaching must be that way (again, I’m not a teacher, so I don’t know for sure.)
It’s a teacher’s responsibility to make sure little Billy is learning, passes standardized tests, makes it to the bus, plays nice with others, is dealing well with whatever home situation may be present, and much more. Given the other variables that are out of a teacher’s control (did he eat this morning, get sleep last night, is someone working with him at home with homework, etc.), I can understand why it is a stressful profession (aside from the pay scale.)
Because quite frankly, teaching (like other professions), isn’t as straightforward as following directions on a page. There’s are a lot of variables. A bag of chips, for example, is pretty straightforward. You have a bad day at the office and someone’s dissatisfied with their product, , or insurance pays for a fender bender from the truck, etc., and everyone moves on. Teachers, I would argue, have much larger emphasis on most of their decisions than you or I do in our roles. And they don’t get a “do-over” with little Billy’s life.
Personally, I manage apartments. I slap some paint on the wall, fix the sink, and collect rent. I, for one, wouldn’t want to be a teacher.
In closing, I think you have a promising blog that may be of interest to me and others. But I hope that you will consider other perspectives (as yours appears greatly limited). A young single guy with a “side hustle” can’t well be compared to a married soccer mom of three (just as an example) who is working more hours than you (using the calculations in your post); and you label them as “whiny”?
I’ll use a line I read in Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People”: Nelson, your bad manners are exceeded only by your bad manners.
Please add some perspective. “Shock” in your posts is fine, as long as you’re relevant. In my opinion, despite how obviously ambitious and smart you are (and I mean that, not sarcastically), you’ve missed the mark on this one.
[...] thing ever lately. It’s kind of a weak segue, but you should still go check out my post about how teaching is a horrible job. How’s that for shameless self [...]
”I’m not calling any teachers lazy, or a slacker, or anything like that. I
am, however, calling them whiny. The world has had enough of your
complaining. If it’s so bad, get another job.”
They do. According to the latest statistics, be mindful again that this in the worst recession since the GD, 30 to 50% of new teachers leave within the first 5 years. Hmmm . . . I guess that combined with the fact you’ve never taught professionally means its time to shut down this site and for you, Nelson, to have a big gulp of Shut the $#%^ Up since you patently no nothing about the gulf between unreasonable expectations for teachers and the limits of the human body.
I quit teaching as it was the workload is totally ridiculous. I know I sound moany (As this article suggests) but it has to be experienced to be believed. I started out and was literally working from 8am-11pm every day and also used up half of my saturday planning. If you take that into consideration teaching actually gives you less time off than most other professions.
If someone works 8-6/9-5. They potentially have 6 hours a day off. Times that by 5 or 6 depending how many days worked a week plus any annual leave and you’ll find out most other jobs have a pretty sweet gig. So what about the extensive holidays you say? Half of that is spent doing medium term planning, marking, more planning or creating new schemes, developing the classroom/school etc and learning yourself. The six week holiday is pretty much the same gig as you have to start out from stratch with new children. Then i guess we get 2 1/2 or 3 weeks off. Oh the bliss….
But teaching is SO rewarding and interesting I hear you say…It’s so much better than sitting down at a computer or serving customers. Is it? Is it really? Realistically you have to agree that most children would rather be other places than at school. So to start with your against a negative crowd. That said, you can win some children around but there are others that will make your life hell and are pretty much energy vampires.
Teaching is relentless, there are no minutes to breath no minutes to have a cup of coffee or take a step back. Its GO GO GO for the whole day. To be an oustanding teacher (which every school wants) you must constantly shift around your groups making sure every child is reaching their maxiumum potential, bearing in mind that they all learn at their own pace and have different learning styles. On top of that ‘some’ children strive off negative attention so you have to work your butt off to convert them to positive thinking and behaviour etc.
Did i mention you also have no breaks? Woops,,, I forgot about that… It’s stated that you have a 10-15 minute break in the morning and 50 minutes-1 hour for lunch. What a load of ****. Different lessons require different resources and other adults need to be informed if they don’t arrive in time for prep talk/you cant talk to them at the end of the day. Add to the fact that you might have to keep a child in to complete work or possibly take one to the medical room if they hurt themselves at break and its safe to say that your break is gone.
Lunchtimes were a similar drill plus in my particular case I had two very bad behaved children in my class. The head said she didn’t want to see them as it wouldn’t help their behaviour in later years…. What a load of shit.(I’ve said it now). The management knew these two children were awfully behaved as they caused a lot of trouble by themselves in seperate classes. The school decided to add another class to make it single form entry (1 class per year group) and slapped them both together. I was given no support (You normally never do) and I was told to keep them in every lunchtime until they behaved. So even after setting up for the afternoon, I couldn’t get a drink/coffee etc. ******* ridiculous. Needless to say, their behaviour improved ever so slightly but was it worth not having a lunchbreak? No….
I could go on and on. Annoying parents stating that their child is a genius when she is clearly struggling. Them gaining a whole levels progress and you still getting the blame. An incredible amount of other little tasks that take up all your time, the pain that is OFSTED etc etc. So yes, teaching may not be ‘The Worst’ job on the planet but it comes pretty damn close!
OP you are an idiot, Lets switch jobs for a month and we”ll see who feels more fresh, happy and satisfied…
[...] (Related: Why teaching is the worst job ever) [...]
I’m a teacher who works 70+ hours a week for under $50k. I work summers as well. All the long hours and low pay were, believe it or not, tolerable until the profession was usurped by draconian administrators pushing the latest greatest education fad. It’s all BS that weakens the purpose as well as the individual.
Teaching is awful. Have you teacher bashers ever tried teaching? Teaching kids who don’t listen and who don’t care is just painful everyday.