- A few weeks ago, we were sitting around the office arguing over this simple question: Who had richer parents, journalists or people working in finance? Doctors or artists? More generally: What's the link between household income during childhood and job choice during adulthood?
Just goes to show that being born into a well-off family gives you a leg up from day one. I do think that some of these categories are overly broad, but it still gets the point across. Something is wrong when childcare/homecare workers are valued that much less than Human Resources. That might just be the way I view things though.
Also, people who need the services of childcare/homecare workers more than those of Human Resources personnel may say something is right when those services are more abundant and affordable.Something is wrong when childcare/homecare workers are valued that much less than Human Resources.
The fact that they are paid less does not mean that they are valued less. I pay less for water than I do for liquor, but I value the water more.
I realize those two terms don't necessarily equate, but in this case I would say the combination of lower pay, lack of training, and lack of benefits shows a lack of value from an industrial point of view. More detailed analysis here. Granted, this is finally starting to change but it's been a long time coming. If it were me I'd rather take comfort in the fact that the aide has been properly trained, has some sort of licensing, and is being properly compensated for their work in order to convince myself they are doing the best job they can do of taking care of x person. Many of the public programs that provide these services qualify for Medicare which makes it possible for lower-income families to afford them anyway.
I don't understand what "an industrial point of view" means. Pay for childcare/homecare workers comes from customers, people like us. If I needed to hire someone to care for a loved one, I would shop around and look for candidates that meet my expectations for experience, CPR training, or whatever else is important to me. If there are multiple options with similar qualifications, I would choose the less expensive one. I follow the same pattern when shopping for cell phone plans, shoes, movie tickets, and car washes. Do you do something different?
Interesting. I'm a life scientist, and I'm definitely doing better than my parents were at my age. My fiancee also doesn't quite fit the mold. She's a designer, but quite a successful one. Not sure how she compares with her parents' income at her age, but I imagine it's ahead. I'm not sure designers should be lumped with artists and musicians, however, because designers get industry jobs, whereas the others don't. Also, who knew that police officers did so well? That makes me and my tax dollars angry :/
Yes, because putting your life on the line every day should come cheaply, of course. I do have arguments with the police, corruption, and our legal system, but when you have a very real risk of death or serious injury on a job, I think the compensation should account for it. $75k a year (approximately and on average) isn't a mindblowing salary, either.Also, who knew that police officers did so well? That makes me and my tax dollars angry
Well, handing out traffic tickets and harassing citizens for pleasure isn't all that dangerous. And, well, pay isn't typically commensurate with how dangerous a job is. In fact, many of the most dangerous jobs in the US (police officer isn't among the top ten, FWIW) aren't well compensated at all.
Yeah, but that's not all cops do. I totally understand not liking cops, and sure, maybe in small rural communities that's the extent of their work, but in most major metropolitan areas the police do more than traffic tickets and pulling people over for being black. My point is that $75k a year is not really that much for a job that does have a risk of physical injury that is greater than the average, say, desk-job worker. I would say $75k/year is a nice salary, but not a high salary and certainly not a ridiculously high one.Well, handing out traffic tickets and harassing citizens for pleasure isn't all that dangerous
Haha, I was just typing an edit to say that I understand that there's a difference between urban and suburban police officers in terms of risk to their person. My contempt for police was borne out of being a kid in a suburban environment where nothing ever went wrong, yet they were always there to act like huge a-holes. That, plus the few cops I know personally are giant racists, half retarded, scum bags who make me feel less safe as a citizen. That said, I'm sure it's terribly dangerous to be a cop in Detroit, South Central, or the south side of Chicago. I don't envy them.
And see my comments are flavored by the fact that I have a co-worker who used to be a cop. He loved it. He worked in West Philly. He fucked up his knee and destroyed both Achilles' tendons chasing after suspects. He had a baby die in hs arms as he was trying to give it CPR. See, shit like that? Yeah, I'd say that deserves $75k a year. He was dischaged becasue he destroyed his body working for them and I guess could no longer keep up. That makes me sad. He's a good man. So, anecdotes. They're great for flavoring opinions :)