So, are professors really underpaid?
In general I think that when one hears complaints about people being
underpaid it is because their earnings are low compared to what other
people with similar credentials are being paid. In my experience most people
don't think in terms of markets setting
Once again, it goes back to supply and demand. People with good
writing skills seem to be more numerous than those that can teach
math. Thus, the price of writers should (and is) lower than
mathematicians.
-fabio
Are Humanities less real skills that, let's say, maths or economics? If
So, are professors really underpaid?
A few thoughts. When people say that teachers are underpaid I don't think that they
are mainly referring to professors. I think its K-12 where unfavorable comparisons
are often made between the salaries paid to BA teachers and HS grad semi-skilled
Ed Dodson responding...
John Samples wrote:
... complainers evaluate
themselves according to their (self ascribed) "merit". Labor markets, on the
other hand, evaluate them according to their value to others. Which
evaluation should we trust? Someone who is the judge in their own case or an
fabio guillermo rojas a *crit :
Technical schools (teaching colleges, many "state" schools) probably pay
what the private market would pay: almost zilch for most humanities
and something decent, but not spectacular, for people teaching
real skills.
Are Humanities less real skills that,
Armchairs,
Here's a question that puzzles me every now and then. People from all walks
of life tend to complain that their salaries are (injustly) low. Ok, why
not
complain, right?
I too have often noticed this. I have concluded that such complaints should
carry no weight whatsoever. Here's
I have often wondered what would happen if universities shut down everything
but the vital organs--engineering, nursing, etc. (How could the "essentials"
be determined? By asking "Would you have a job if you did not teach?") I
have a hard time believing that a Classics dept. would survive
So, are professors really underpaid? (if such statement makes any sense at
all).
I recommend that you read chapter 5 of Stinchcombe's "Information
and Organizations." That chapter is all about universities. One
good observation (not unique to Stinchcombe) is that US universities
seem to be
Armchairs,
Here's a question that puzzles me every now and then. People from all walks
of life tend to complain that their salaries are (injustly) low. Ok, why not
complain, right?
But when I think of professors, particularly university faculty and --if you
push me harder-- economics
