Should Teachers be paid as much as Doctors?

Written by: K Vedika and Maha Laxmi Nitturi

Edited By: Simir Reddy

As we know we need both health and education to survive in society. And there are two types of people who provide us with these services – doctors and teachers.

Many people do not give credit to teachers, but as Malala Yousafzai once said, “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” We have to respect teachers for the time and effort they spend, but teachers are being paid lesser than other professions. And if we cannot satisfy the needs of our dear teachers then there will be fewer teachers in society, decreasing the quality of education. The last word which can describe a teacher is expendable. Teachers are crucial to the development of society, but most people don’t prefer being a teacher because of less salary, which is why we need to appreciate teachers for their contribution to the lives of students. Therefore, we argue that teachers should be paid more.

Teachers and Doctors seem to be in totally different professions, but doctors too had once been taught by a teacher, which brought them to this admirable post. An average first-year teacher’s salary is less than $40,000 annually while the salary of a doctor ranges from $189,000 to $421,000 annually depending on their speciality.

However, it takes so much more years of schooling and resources to become a successful doctor, whereas studying to become a teacher is less expensive.

Also, spiking the teachers’ salary would just mean expensive education and most people around the world cannot afford such an education. When most people do not have access to quality education, they are likely to be unemployed in the future which will eventually lead to getting trapped under the poverty cycle and affect the economic development of any country.

More research into the topic actually reveals points pertaining to whether teachers are being paid enough. Teachers who teach advanced stages of education are actually paid more than realised. The base salary of a college professor is $94,868 annually and the average salary of professors at Ivy League Universities is $226,394 annually. Another factor that teachers’ salaries depend on is the way institutions use the fees. Some institutions keep investing in their infrastructure. Instead, they could increase the salary of their fellow teachers who are the main contributors to the school.

While there cannot be anyone as deserving as teachers, and spiking their salary is a great way to appreciate them, sometimes we must understand that even this is possible to a certain extent. But we must show our appreciation in any way possible, like providing free transport and meals during school hours, and giving education to their children (if any) at a reduced fee.

References -

1. The Business Insider, Melanie Weir, October 4, 2019, 20:36 (IST), 10 Alarming Facts about Teacher Pay in the United States

2. The Business Insider, Lauren F Friedman, April 21, 2015, 16:30 (IST), Here’s how much money doctors actually make

3. The Business Insider, Erin McDowell August 12, 2019, 20:29 (IST) Here are the average salaries of professors at all 8 Ivy League schools