[shadowflit]

> So teachers total comp is $60k per 9 months, just starting out (equivalent to $80k/year).

On one hand, I understand this statement - afterall, you're getting those summer vacation months. On the other hand though... if I'm used to a salary of 80k/year, it's going to be quite a cut to go to 60k. I would have to spend the summer working somewhere else to make up the missing 20k, or else get used to a different standard of living. Maybe I can find a summer job that combines my ideas of vacation with earning some money (probably less than 20k with those goals), but the whole prospect is not that appealing yet.

People are willing to take paycuts for increased benefits, but here what we're saying is you're simply taking your 80k job and deciding not to work for three months. Sure, the annual salary is the same, but 60k is a lot less attractive than 80k. And of course it's not 60k today either, it's 45k with 15 in the future.

Anyhow, what I'm trying to say is that while the number manipulation makes things look better, 45k/y + summer vacation + 15k/y in pension does not sound like enough compensation to forgo that 80k/y engineering job yet. Especially if I need to deal with the hassle of finding alternate income for the summer months. Also, I would imagine that similarly to SF, NYC offers >80k for starting engineers (if only because of living costs).

[yummyfajitas]

If you want money, trade time for money. If you want time, don't make that trade. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Incidentally, the median starting salary for students at NYU/Poly (NYU's new engineering school) is only $62k/year. So it looks like teachers are getting paid the same for 9 months of work that engineers get paid for 12 months of work.

http://www.poly.edu/news/2010/07/26/nyu-poly-jumps-5th-place...

[shadowflit]

Sure, but I'm saying I want money. And given that I want money, a teaching position is a worse proposition for me than an engineering position (whether due to the annoyance of finding a high-paying summer job every year, running a second job in the extra time I have, or simply because the salary is less regardless). If this holds for other people as well, the only people a teacher's salary would attract are people who want time. Which means the salary is not high enough to attract smart people out of industry whose goal is also to make money.

[jbooth]

Is that the median starting salary for NYU students who stay in NYC? Or is that including people who move to New Hampshire?