I’ve gone on record before saying how I think not only are nurses underpaid for what they do, but doctors actually are too.  Anyone that can “work” on and diagnose the most complex machine in the universe deserves every penny they earn.  This is the opposite of pro athletes, who make exponentially more than someone who can Fix A Heart Or Brain, who are so out of touch with reality it makes me watch sports less and less each year.  If you’re not a pro golf or tennis player, you don’t really deserve what you make.  You can argue how pro athletes have a limited window for their peak earning potential and I will counter with the fact that they’re still PLAYING A GAME.

Anyway, on to the point of this post was how there are other professions that I think are grossly underpaid as a whole.   I was talking to the officer (who has now been promoted to sergeant and is only 2 years from retirement) who works the Gladiators hockey games on the side and he is obviously near the top of his pay scale (based on rank and years served).  He was saying how his retirement pension is x% of his salary range and gave the amount he’ll be earning his last year on duty.  I felt embarrassed because my salary is considerably more now and I’m only 35, not to mention my life is never on the line when I go to work (except of course when I’m navigation our wonderful highway system here in Atlanta).  This isn’t bragging on my part about my salary at all; rather it’s a reflection that I think a police sergeant in charge of hundreds of other officers, having survived decades of foot and car patrol shifts dealing with the lowest of lowlifes, makes well below what I make for testing stupid web sites.  Some things simply aren't fair.

Here's some other examples:

Airline pilots – Yes, I know that commercial pilots make six figure salaries but let’s consider what their task at hand is.  They need to fly an aluminum tube into the sky at 30,000+ feet altitude and then have to land that same contraption without burrowing it into the ground.  Add Mother Nature to the mix with her bouquets of rain, snow, sleet, wind, and overweight tourists and the fact that this is a safer mode of transportation than most options speaks volumes to the integrity of their profession.  Unlike a bus driver, who may be able to divert a bus to the side of a road, pilots have no such option.

Aeronautical engineers – Sure it takes a skilled person to man a plane but who was the one who designed those contraptions in the first place?  The engineers who design not only the planes to actually fly but also the electronics in the cabin have made a system that makes the pilots’ job “easier” need to be commended. 

Air traffic controllers – I’m not sure why I’m fixating on flying today but the fact remains that it takes a lot of people concentrating nonstop to keep all those airborne tubes of pressurized steel from running into each other.  Pay these guys what they want.

Good teachers – No explanation needed here, right?  Extra bonus points should go to every teacher for having to deal with this insipid No Child Left Behind Act too.  Our kids are going to be the masters of one test and nothing else.

Social workers – My question here is, if a position like this were high paying, would less-qualified people who don’t care about helping people become more pervasive?  To be able to deal with the gutwrenching stories that day in and day out takes a special kind of person.

Stay-at-home parents – I saved this one for last.  This is hands-down the most underappreciated profession out there.  For any of you out there with children, you know this already.  When a parent says they are a stay-at-home mom/dad, uninformed people don’t think this is a 24-hour job, or somehow it doesn’t count as a real job.  It’s not all bonbons and soap opera time – in fact, there’s none of that for the stay at home parents I know.  Kids require constant attention and while it’s extremely tiring at times, most parents wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. 

It’s the least paying job but the most rewarding and for those families that are able to afford to have one spouse stay home, I tip my cap to them because nothing can replace a parent’s guidance at that early age.   Obviously in today’s age of inflation and rising housing costs, it’s almost impossible for most families to have this luxury without some serious sacrifice.  Currently our youngest is being watched by my mom and while that’s not the ultimate ideal, at least we’ve kept it in the family for now.  Two husbands that I know who read this blog are stay-at-home dads and I salute them for being there for the crucial development time of their child.  Your devotion will pay off exponentially down the line.