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Swampfox10mm
Joined: 24 Mar 2011
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World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
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 Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 7:03 am Post subject: Re: Worst-paying degrees of 2011 (USA) |
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| Swampfox10mm wrote: |
| Interesting that elementary education, along with special education is on the list |
Well American teachers work only 180 days per year. Since they are working way less days than the typical worker, it would make sense their salaries are lower.
Here's the list. All pay better than an ESL teacher in Korea.
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1. Child and Family Studies
Often a step toward further studies (in education or family counseling, for instance), this degree is the lowest-paying on the list, in terms of both starting and mid-career salary. On the other hand, this degree also prepares a person for parenthood -- which many people consider to be the most rewarding job possible.
Starting median salary: $29,600; mid-career median salary: $40,500
2. Elementary Education
Teaching is a noble career. While teacher salaries are low, job opportunities for teachers are expected to grow by 14 percent this decade, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Starting median salary: $32,400; mid-career median salary: $44,000
3. Social Work
Social workers offer an indispensable safety net for people who've fallen on hard times. And the BLS reports a favorable outlook for opportunities in this field -- particularly for social workers who work in rural areas or with senior citizens.
Starting median salary: $32,200; mid-career median salary: $44,300
4. Culinary Arts
For food lovers who dream of becoming chefs or opening their own restaurants, happiness is about cooking up delicious dishes, not a big paycheck. Plus, in this field, meals are often included in a day's work.
Starting median salary: $29,900; mid-career median salary: $46,800
5. Special Education
Although the pay may be low, this is work anyone can be proud of. Traditional licensing in this field requires the completion of at least a bachelor's degree; some states require a master's degree. The BLS predicts excellent job prospects, in part due to reported shortages of qualified teachers.
Starting median salary: $34,300; mid-career median salary: $47,800
6. Recreation and Leisure Studies
It shouldn't come as a surprise that a degree in leisure will not put you on the fast track to a supersize salary. All joking aside, this field of study covers leisure, recreation and play-related phenomena, including human behavior, social issues and public policy. Grads who earn this degree often seek further education (becoming, for instance, recreational therapists).
Starting median salary: $34,500; mid-career median salary: $49,100
7. Religious Studies or Theology
People who earn this degree aren�t in it for the money. They often feel they're pursuing a higher calling and have a strong desire to do good in the world, no matter the cost.
Starting median salary: $32,300; mid-career median salary: $50,600
8. Athletic Training
The benefits of being in great physical shape -- and helping others stay that way -- go way beyond monetary compensation.
Starting median salary: $34,600; mid-career median salary: $50,200
9. Public Health
Public health offers many career paths. Whether you crunch numbers, conduct research or work with people, you know you�re working to improve others' lives. Higher-paying careers in public health generally require an advanced degree.
Starting median salary: $35,500; mid-career median salary: $51,700
10. Art
A degree in art prepares you for many careers in visual arts -- but, unfortunately, art is one of those fields where many of the most famous practitioners didn't find commercial success until it was too late for them to enjoy it.
Starting median salary: $35,300; mid-career median salary: $52,400 |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 7:07 am Post subject: Re: Worst-paying degrees of 2011 (USA) |
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| World Traveler wrote: |
| Here's the list. All pay better than an ESL teacher in Korea. |
Except they have to pay rent and suffer higher tax rates. |
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World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 7:21 am Post subject: |
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Spoken like a true apologist/recruiter.
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Amid complaints about high taxes and calls for a smaller government, Americans paid their lowest level of taxes last year since Harry Truman's presidency, a USA TODAY analysis of federal data found.
Some conservative political movements such as the "Tea Party" have criticized federal spending as being out of control. While spending is up, taxes have fallen to exceptionally low levels.
Federal, state and local income taxes consumed 9.2% of all personal income in 2009, the lowest rate since 1950, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. |
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2010-05-10-taxes_N.htm
| kimchipig wrote: |
With the taxes in Korea along with the exchange rates, what people make there is really chicken feed compared to what a well developed career back in the real world can make.
I returned from Korea to Vancouver six years ago and built up my own private tutoring agency. Six years on, I am making what I only dreamed of in Korea. |
| Unposter wrote: |
| Just my opinion but if you are at least somewhat talented and you are interested in making a lot of money, Korea is not for you. This is especially true if you are an American as salaries and benefits are much better. |
| World Traveler wrote: |
| Stalin84 wrote: |
| It sucks that you have to have an MA to make more than 20k per year in the West. I wrote another post about this but I was told by the employment centre here to take my BA off my CV or else I wouldn't find a job. In this area, it overqualifies you for all the crappy jobs and... well, there are nothing but crappy jobs on this side of Canada. Don't think it's much different elsewhere. |
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf
Official statistics for 2011 in the United States:
The median salary for an adult male with a bachelors degree only is $60,788.
...with an advanced degree it is $81,744.
| yfb wrote: |
| silkhighway wrote: |
| myenglishisno wrote: |
| BroodingSea wrote: |
| I live in the north east of England and all we have are 12k customer service jobs. The place has seen endemic under and mis investment by successive governments. It's a real challenge to break even and I know so many people in their 30s still living at home. I can see the appeal of Korea for sure. Few privates and your clearing �1000 a month. |
I'm from Canada and all we have is 12k (after taxes) customer service jobs. That's $12,000 per year which is half what you guys are making in England. |
Yes, as time and time again as shown on Dave's, all the smart ambitious people go to Korea and are making boatloads of money and are indebted to nobody but themselves. They have it all figured out and everyone left in Canada is stupid and broke. Not only are they clearing $12,000 a year, they have car and house payments on top of that! The banks must be really stupid giving $250,000 mortgages to people who clear 12K a year. |
this times 1000.
You're not fooling anyone but yourself if you stay here content with your measly 2.2 million. Unless you marry a Korean, one day you will have to go back and face reality. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 7:29 am Post subject: |
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| World Traveler wrote: |
| Spoken like a true apologist/recruiter. |
You said they made more. Long-term they will certainly make more than the poor bastards who stay here for years without qualifications. I plan on getting out of here after this year for that very reason. What you said, however, was that they make more money right now, which really isn't true. My salary, severance, and pension comes out to around 28 million per year after taxes, on top of which I don't have to pay rent. Right now, I'm making more than I would in any entry level position using any of the degrees you cited. |
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litebear
Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: Holland
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 9:41 am Post subject: |
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To World Traveler. Why do you want to continue working and living in Korea? Seems like you hate it  Why not just move on and go somewhere else? You have great qualifcations, you're hardly restricted to Korea like alot of are.
If you want to continue working in Education and would be interested in a sideways move (and have a EU passport) drop me a PM |
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Triban
Joined: 14 Jul 2009
Location: Suwon Station
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 5:23 pm Post subject: |
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| I am sure my degree is number 11. |
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Leon
Joined: 31 May 2010
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 6:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Actually as a young person, a year in Korea can net a lot more money than any of those jobs, for people starting out in their first year in that job. My pay for one year is about 25 thousand, but when you add severance and pension it's around 29 thousand or so. I don't pay rent so that's about an extra 6,000 or so. Which puts my direct benefits at around $35,000 or so. If you look at indirect benefits like the fact that I pay no taxes, don't need a car here (I would almost certainly use one back home), and the general cheapness of life here (mostly due to the fact that it's temporary so no need to make major purchases) a person staying here for a year can save much more than someone at a entry level job in those fields. With that money they can invest it into education or starting a business, or it can buy them to to search for a good job instead of having to take the first one offered to them. I think that financially it is a good move for the average person one or two years out of college if they only stay for one year, or maybe two. |
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Triban
Joined: 14 Jul 2009
Location: Suwon Station
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Leon wrote: |
| Actually as a young person, a year in Korea can net a lot more money than any of those jobs, for people starting out in their first year in that job. My pay for one year is about 25 thousand, but when you add severance and pension it's around 29 thousand or so. I don't pay rent so that's about an extra 6,000 or so. Which puts my direct benefits at around $35,000 or so. If you look at indirect benefits like the fact that I pay no taxes, don't need a car here (I would almost certainly use one back home), and the general cheapness of life here (mostly due to the fact that it's temporary so no need to make major purchases) a person staying here for a year can save much more than someone at a entry level job in those fields. With that money they can invest it into education or starting a business, or it can buy them to to search for a good job instead of having to take the first one offered to them. I think that financially it is a good move for the average person one or two years out of college if they only stay for one year, or maybe two. |
This. Also combined with the exorbitant US tax rate to feed our war machine, you end up saving more in Korea even with double the salary in America.
Considering the options available in America ATM, I believe our choice is fairly simple for the next few years. |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Triban wrote: |
| I am sure my degree is number 11. |
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nukeday
Joined: 13 May 2010
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 6:33 pm Post subject: |
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This all assumes you get employed at all back in the states. I know quite few graduates who I consider intelligent and affable and are unable to even secure part time work delivering pizzas.
Any income is better than none. |
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cbert
Joined: 13 May 2011
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| Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 11:38 pm Post subject: Income figures are misleading |
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Those are the averages for full-time employees. A growing and somewhat high percentage of Americans are part-time employees. Full-time employee averages don't account for these workers, who usually make much less per hour and without benefits. Then the averages include all workers, but entry-level salaries are much lower. Unemployment is double-digit, but there are huge numbers of people under employed, trying to patch together part time jobs to make ends meet.
I have 2 B.A.s, an M.A. and soon will add a M.F.A. to the resume, along with a lot of meaningful experience. I've only been offered part-time (adjunct) teaching positions in the USA (I applied for about 50 jobs all over the world, about half in the USA last year). The job I have here in Korea is what I considered the best of the 5 full-time positions I was offered after weighing all the plus/minus factors. I suppose if the apartment and other benefits are factored into income, I'm maybe making over 40K US$: salary @ 2.85/mo., apartment, RT and the usual health, etc. package for govt. edu. positions. |
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Koreadays
Joined: 20 May 2008
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| Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 2:13 am Post subject: Re: Worst-paying degrees of 2011 (USA) |
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| northway wrote: |
| World Traveler wrote: |
| Here's the list. All pay better than an ESL teacher in Korea. |
Except they have to pay rent and suffer higher tax rates. |
you going to live in that shoe box for ever?
raise a family in that shoe box? |
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Louis VI
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
Location: In my Kingdom
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 6:35 am Post subject: |
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| Leon wrote: |
| Actually as a young person, a year in Korea can net a lot more money than any of those jobs, for people starting out in their first year in that job. My pay for one year is about 25 thousand, but when you add severance and pension it's around 29 thousand or so. I don't pay rent so that's about an extra 6,000 or so. Which puts my direct benefits at around $35,000 or so. If you look at indirect benefits like the fact that I pay no taxes, don't need a car here (I would almost certainly use one back home), and the general cheapness of life here (mostly due to the fact that it's temporary so no need to make major purchases) a person staying here for a year can save much more than someone at a entry level job in those fields. With that money they can invest it into education or starting a business, or it can buy them to to search for a good job instead of having to take the first one offered to them. I think that financially it is a good move for the average person one or two years out of college if they only stay for one year, or maybe two. |
I make more than 2x what I ever did in Korea yet I save less. Why?
1. Rent ($16K right there adios)
2. More expensive to eat and drink out (no cheap soju, good draft beer costs 6-8 bucks/pint, a cheap meal is generally $8 or more)
3. Transportation costs are generally higher
4. More taken out of my paycheck. My gross income is more than 2x but take home is less than 2x what I made in Korea.
5. More temptations to spend money (although that might just because my interests and social circle have expanded since I lived in Korea).
Yes, one of the best financial moves I ever made was moving to Korea right after college. |
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