Comments on: Delusional

By: radmila

radmila — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:04:30 +0000

Typical.
Social services and services that are predominantly female employed always, always, always have a lower salary than even menial jobs that are done by men.
That’s why pay equity was brought forward in this province, but it’ll take a hundred years before we’re even close.
The same goes for men moving up a lot quicker in any social service field.

When we were calculating pay equity comparisons for similar work to men’s positions…one of the occupations on the list was “zookeeper”.
That’s what working with children with special needs equates to in the eyes of the government.
It’s fury inducing.

By: DrunkBunny

DrunkBunny — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:39:03 +0000

Hi Victoria! Yeah, it’s all relative. $50K would have been pretty good in Wichita, Kansas about the time I moved away from there, but still not good for those with Masters degrees.

Keep in mind that in Wichita, my house payment was $550/month and my grocery bill was $130 every two weeks. So with 50K, you could support yourself in Kansas.

In Denver my townhome payment is $1600 (plus another 125 for homeowners fees), and my grocery bill is $285 every two weeks. It’s the housing that kills ya!

By: DrunkBunny

DrunkBunny — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:05:56 +0000

I think the reason that “help” professions like cops, firefighters, social workers, teachers, and nurses are traditionally paid so low is because people have a calling to go into those professions, and therefore the market can get workers more cheaply because they’re “doing what they love”.

That being said, cops and firefighters always made more than paramedics in the cities I worked in, because there were more female medics than there were female cops and firefighters. Traditionally (although this is changing), to be a paramedic required more college than that required to be a cop/firefighter (now some police forces and even some fire districts are putting priority on at least an associate’s degree to be hired), but that investment didn’t have a return.

Teachers and social workers will never get decent pay until at least 50% of them are made up by men. Look at school ADMINISTRATORS (a higher percentage of men) - their pay is disproportionately higher than the staff working under them.

Nursing is getting better pay for the “crap” jobs but only because they can’t get anyone to work them otherwise. If states didn’t require care to be given by RNs, they would never hire nurses to do the job that it requires that kind of training to do. Compare that with IT, where you don’t HAVE to have certifications to work on computers, yet people hired have to have either certs or work experience to prove they know what they’re doing. And they don’t even have people’s lives in their hands! All I have to say is everyone should be very grateful there is legislation making sure that licensed people give you care when you’re in the hospital.

When I was an RN in the jail, I made as much an hour as my brother made working the line at Sudsweiser.

If the workforce of a profession is disproportionately female, it will have low pay. Period.

I just couldn’t believe that job wanted a MASTERS and would only pay $50K.

By: Victoria

Victoria — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:01:52 +0000

Gees, Boise’s pay rate sucks!!!!!!!! $50K is unheard of here unless you’re an engineer or a doctor.

By: Bianca Reagan

Bianca Reagan — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:18:55 +0000

What kind of nonsense is that? That kind of pay disparity for female-dominated professions is exactly the reason why I have chosen not to become a teacher, among other comparable reasons relating to lack of respect. :mad:

By: Jenn

Jenn — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:40:34 +0000

One of the things that drives me crazy about the government is their educational requirements. If you’re new to the government, even with a Masters, the grade and pay level they start you at is insanely low. It’s better if you have a little experience, but generally I can not believe the salary some of the new employees agree to take.

Btw, I am apparently a complete moron. I gave you my work number, huh? I just checked my office voice mail and got your message. Very helpful on a Saturday afternoon, huh? Sorry about that. It wasn’t a big deal at all though, Katie and I were going to go to the park no matter what. Hope we can meet up another time! And I think in my reply email I actually did give you my correct cell number.

By: Jim

Jim — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:40:08 +0000

My wife is a teacher and is in a similar position vis-a-vis salary, even with a Master’s degree. You can tell from the pay rates that our society doesn’t really value occupations that are supposedly the most important ones.

Somebody told my wife once that they don’t pay teachers very much because they don’t want people going into the field just for the money. Perhaps there’s a similar attitude toward nurses, police officers, etc. Yeah that makes sense. Hmm, but why do doctors and lawyers make so much money???

By the way, my mother is a longtime Hospice nurse, and my cousin is a nurse in a neonatal ICU. I don’t know how they do it!