Why don't all degreed occupations get paid the same? e.g. teacher gets paid less than engineer?

Answer 1

well using your example, it's based on value.

look at the quality of our education system, and how much farther US students fall behind the rest of the industrialized world and most of the teachers should have to PAY money to teach.

One thing you don't take into account, is: in public sector jobs the pay isn't the attraction. It's the guaranteed benefits and retirement. You don't get those in private sector jobs. The engineer may get paid more annually, but he/she has to plan for their own retirement. To match a public sector retirement the average person needs to have between 2 and 3 (ready?) million dollars invested at retirement. public sector employees earn far more, over their lifetime, because most can retire earlier than private sector employees.

so, if they public sector employees are willing to completely relinquish many of their "perks" then yes, they should be paid the same. but if they're not, no, they shouldn't. (you also have to factor in that their retirement benefits are based on their pay. so if y ou pay them more to work, you pay them more to retire).

Answer 2

In a free society, everything is worth only what someone will pay. A teacher makes less than a pro football player because simple economics will not support teachers receiving such a high amount.
People who "pay the price" to get what they want are more likely to get it. But there is never a guarantee. If you will (1) take the training the higher paid work requires, (2) go to where they are paying a lot for people with your skills, (3) do what the employer asks even if you don't really want to...you will end up in middle age with a stronger possibility of being financially comfortable. If your refuse those three items, you will probably be poorer. But there are exceptions even to these rules of thumb.
A wise man once said, there are always two questions to ask yourself at any given moment: (A) What am I doing now? and (B) Does it really help?

Answer 3

We have a free market economy and that is the way you should want it. If we do as you suggest (a command economy), the economy would stagnate and all would be poorer. That is the objective of those who advocate it. Raising teacher pay is a political question right now for the states. This is because of the near monopoly government has over the early educational system. Monopolies are a problem in free markets and distort the economy. The solution is obvious to all who think and it will not happen soon.

Answer 4

Difficulty and accountability. In general, an engineer can generate more revenue than a teacher- hence they are worth more. Look at Harvard teachers though.. they make way more than the average engineer. Be careful with your assumption. The answer always hides in the money.

Answer 5

Income generation. Any employee is worth more when they are more valuable to a firm. If teaching was run the same way then one class would probably be over filled while the lousy teachers would have few students. Universities recruit professors by name recognition - bigger names bring in more students.

Answer 6

I'd say Demand and supply... There's more demand for engineers.. more work to be done... more competition to get the most skilled ones and hence better pay for that...

Answer 7

because engineers are smarter