We all recognize that some of the most essential careers in American society are largely underpaid. Firefighters, police officers, and teachers (to name a few) are chronically underpaid and underappreciated. A teacher in Arizona decided to demonstrate just how underpaid teachers in America are today. Elisabeth Milich shared a picture of her pay stub and it’s caused quite a stir.
Milich hopes her paystub will inform a bigger discussion on what hard-working teachers actually make. She hopes that the life-changing work teachers do every day will be recognized and that teachers will receive a livable wage. We’re often told not to discuss personal finances, but this “rule” has perpetuated wage inequities across the nation. It’s allowed employers to pay women less than men for the same job.
And some very important jobs are deemed less worthy than others, leaving many people working in important jobs, like those in public service, vastly underpaid. Elisabeth Milich’s pay stub is disturbing. She wants to support striking teachers to show America that many teachers do not make a livable wage. Milich’s pay stub showed that she received a raise of $131 compared to last year, bumping her salary up from $35,490 to $35,621.
“I actually laughed when I saw the old salary versus the new one,” she wrote. “I need a college degree to make this? I know I don’t make a lot of money, but then when I see it in black and white I’m like ‘wow!’ I mean, I love teaching, absolutely love it, but when you see what the salary is, you cannot live on it.” Teachers across the country make vastly different salaries depending on which state they live in.
The average teacher in West Virginia, for example, earns around $45,000 per year. The average teacher salary in South Dakota is around $42,000. Teachers in other states, such as California and New York, earn significantly more, with salaries ranging between $77,000 and $79,000. Teachers are frequently underpaid in comparison to other professions.
And, given their responsibility for educating America’s children, it’s disappointing to see that their hard work, and for many of them, sacrifice, is not rewarded with a living wage. Milich has been an educator for seven years. She currently teaches second grade in Phoenix, Arizona. Arizona is one of the lowest-paying states in the country for public school teachers. “My teacher friends I work with work three or four jobs to make ends meet,” she explained.
“I know teachers who teach kindergarten all day and then go work as waitresses at Applebee’s.” Milich admits that, in addition to low pay, many teachers pay for their own classroom supplies. Milich does not get paid to buy markers and tape for her students. She is also working to pay off her student loans. Her life is fraught with financial difficulties, as it is for far too many teachers in America.