Sunday, May 9, 2010

If Moms Earned a Salary, How Much Would They Make?

With Mother's Day upon us, I've been thinking about the "Mom job" and how many different jobs it really is. Can you imagine if moms got paid for all they do? Obviously moms don't take the job for the money, but it does make you wonder what their earning potential would be if they were actually compensated financially for all they do.

Here is a list of all the jobs moms do and their corresponding salaries according to Payscale:

#

Job Title

Hourly

Annual

1

Daycare teacher

$9.94

$26,600

2

Restaurant cook

$10.52

$28,900

3

Medical assistant

$13.84

$30,200

4

Tutor

$16.74

$35,000

5

Van driver

$10.48

$28,300

6

(Mental Health) Counselor

$19.00

$44,700

7

Housekeeper

$11.05

$29,000

8

Sr. administrative assistant

$17.56

$43,900

9

Event coordinator

$16.40

$45,500

10

Drug counselor

$18.18

$39,800

11

Writer (notes, letters)

$19.06

$51,939

12

DJ

$27.41

$42,700

13

Career counselor

$18.19

$50,300


That adds up to over $500,000 a year, a nice little chunk of change! And I've even got a few of my own jobs to add:

  • Referee -- for all that sibling rivalry
  • Child advocate -- to deal with the abundances of injustices in most school systems
  • Costume designer -- think of all those school plays
  • Editor -- how many of your kid's research papers have you had to read?
  • Fundraiser -- schools always need people to help them raise money
  • Tour guide -- what mom among us hasn't chaperoned a class trip?
  • Entertainer -- moms know this one needs no explanation

The list goes on and on. The reality, however, is that women don't get paid a dime for parenting and society tends to value paid work over non-paid work. And even though moms who work outside the home may "outsource" some of these jobs, they still have to squeeze most of these duties into the evenings, weekends and days off.

So what's my point? It's that we all need to thank all the stay-at-home moms and working moms -- not just on Sunday but every day. And, although there's no salary, bonus or service awards, for many moms the "benefits package" makes it all worth it. Happy Mother's Day!

VIA

1 comment:

jmmb said...

Most Mothers would be the highest paid people in the world! And most children could never afford to pay us for all that we have done and so unselfishly continue to do. Nice thought though!

Everytime I get a call from one of my children I consider their debt to me paid in full. Everytime I hear them say "I love you, Mom" I consider that they are free of the debt with me. I don't need to be paid with money....although I sure could use it to buy the things they "think they want".

I don't need the $6 Hallmark card. I have Mother's Day cards made with their own little hands with beautiful boquets and hearts colored with their own crayons. Who cares if they signed their names with some letters backwards. When you've had the very best who need Hallmark?

And I don't need a fancy FTD vase of flowers because my children have given me the real boquets. The boquets of buttercups presented to me with their dirty little hands wrapped around those delicate tiny stems. Those kinds of boquets have generated enough hugs to last me a life time. And knowing that my children still remember that daisies are for giving AND FORGIVING! is priceless.

It's the strong arms of my son and my daughter wrapped around me with each cheek pressed upon each side of my face that makes them not owe me one darn thing..... except the acknowledgement that I am their Mother.

Every single day is Mother's Day to me.....and no matter how many times a day they call or what the problem is or if they just call to see what I am doing they are never charged for the call.