College majors that pay you back (2021)

[sanantone]

Roi isn’t only  measured monetarily. Also The teacher shortage isn’t because of money. Not all worker shortages are because of money. Take software engineers Or nurses.  I’m not even Convinced that  there is a teacher shortage.

There is a teacher shortage. In 2019, the estimated teacher shortage was 100k. Even when I was in high school 17 years ago, they couldn't find enough math and science teachers. My pre-calculus and geometry teacher had a degree in biology; he said that he was pretty much voluntold to teach math, and he was miserable. Those were the worst math classes I had ever taken. My physics teacher had a degree in microbiology, and you could tell she was a bit lost. Some school districts have started temporarily hiring people with no teacher training, not even alternative teacher certification training. 

While some districts pay well, others do not. When I moved to Austin, they were starting teachers at $38k while San Antonio districts were starting teachers at $50k or $55k. Considering that Austin is the most expensive big city in Texas, I wouldn't apply for Austin teacher openings. I don't think they cared because they were shutting down schools anyway. Families were fleeing the high housing costs. 

The reason why there's a shortage of software engineers is because the career requires a high aptitude. It's estimated that the average software engineer has an IQ over 110. While it's possible to become one with a lower IQ, it'd be quite difficult. The dropout rates for STEM majors are high because American high school students do not have strong mathematics preparation. 

As for the nursing shortage, the shortage in California that was talked about during the 2007 recession turned out to not be real. The problem was that California's hospitals didn't want to hire inexperienced nurses. The Great Recession saw a huge increase in nursing school applicants and enrollees. Due to there being a limited number of seats in nursing programs, many applicants were waitlisted. In 2020, over 80,000 qualified nursing school applicants were turned away due to a shortage of nurse educators. 

I certainly do believe a lot of teachers leave the profession because of stress. Many have quit this past year because their state governments haven't cared about their safety. But, when it comes to attracting people to go through teacher certification programs in the first place, the salaries are not enticing when one can make more as an accountant or some other profession that only requires a bachelor's degree. Let's not forget the 2018 teacher walkouts over pay and benefits. Over 100k teachers walked out that year. 

Teacher Walkouts: A State By State Guide : NPR Ed : NPR