Why teachers at the top of their pay scale want out of classrooms

Readers inundated Barefoot with support after he called out the health insurance sector for being unaffordable and confusing. But this week, teachers get schooled.

Scott Pape is The Barefoot Investor. Picture: Jason Edwards

The prisoner walked into the jail meeting room, sat down in front of me, and stared into my soul.

“Hello”, I said nervously.

Silence.

At the back of the meeting room there was a big clock on the wall that ticked loudly every second … perhaps a passive aggressive reminder that the prisoners were ‘doing time’.

A full 60 ticks later she opened her mouth.

“When I came in here …”, she whispered, softly enough that I had to lean forward (even though I knew I should not have been leaning forward), “I brought only the clothes on my back … and your book.”

“Okay”, I said, even more nervously.

“Okay”, she repeated without blinking.

I was in a women’s prison completing the mandatory workplace experience component of my Diploma of Financial Counseling … and what an experience it was!

Now, there are still people who see TAFE Vocational Educational Training (VET), compared to a university degree, as the educational equivalent of Aldi. But I strongly disagree … and I have both qualifications.

It’s said that uni is for learning and VET is for earning: VET/TAFE qualifications are more practical, shorter, and are generally much cheaper.

And I think it’s a very rational choice for a lot of teenagers who have no idea what they’re going to be when they grow up.

Does it really make sense to spend $40,000 on a degree you may never use?

After all, not only does the research say that the average person will have five careers over their lifetime, the World Economic Forum says that two-fifths of workers will be disrupted by technological change (read: AI) within the next three years.

And that’s why I was surprised this week that the Government released the Australian Universities Accord Report, which set out an ambitious goal of doubling the number of university placements over the next 25 years.

Does it really make sense to spend $40,000 on a degree you may never use?

(Today many people are finding their HECS-HELP debts are rising faster than they can pay them off. Last year the debt was increased by 7.1%; this year it will jump by another 5%.)

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want my doctor to have a ‘Diploma in Appendix Removal’ from Broadmeadows TAFE. There is absolutely a need for quality tertiary education.

However, it’s also true that many universities have become highly profitable diploma mills: rapidly ratcheting up their fees, jamming in full-fee-paying Chinese students, and all too often delivering a Zoom-like learning experience. Which may explain why the number of students studying for a degree has fallen by more than 13% since 2016.

TAFE courses, meanwhile, are widely available and increasingly well funded. In fact, the prisoner I was speaking to was getting her life back on track from behind bars by doing … a VET course.

Tread Your Own Path!

Barefoot … You’re a Vulgar, Right-Wing, Nutjob

Hi Scott

You are a piece of work. The problems in the private health insurance industry have been ongoing for years, and Labor has been in power since the middle of 2022. That didn’t bother you! Instead you chose a cheap political hit-job on a very hardworking minister (Mark Butler). For all your spin, the facts are the facts: the more people we have in private health insurance, the less strain on the public system. In the future, keep your vulgar right-wing comments to yourself.

Linda

Scott Pape says the health insurance industry needs a ‘bloody shake-up”.

Hi Linda,

Given we’re talking about healthcare, I suggest you check your blood pressure (it might be a smidge high). A few weeks ago I was accused of being a Greens Party shill – this week you’re saying I’m to the right of John Howard. So I must be doing something right.

Now the hardworking minister got caught in my squirrel grip because he’s the guy in charge who can make changes. Fact is, the Government whacks people with a stick to buy private health insurance, but does nothing to rein in the deliberately confusing way it’s sold to us.

That’s not just my opinion: this week I was inundated with readers’ responses (many from workers in the industry!) telling me how unaffordable it is, how confusing it is, the gaps and the gotchas, and generally how terrible the industry is.

And to your point, a research paper by Melbourne University set out to answer whether private health insurance cuts public hospital waiting lists. They found it barely made a dent. Right, left or Green, the message is clear: the industry needs a bloody shake-up.

Teacher Gets Schooled

Hi Scott,

I love teaching. I love the sparkle in a student’s eye when they ‘get it’. I love being a stable and consistent cheerleader in their lives. Yet things have changed in the past five years – the challenges that come with students who didn’t receive the support they needed during lockdown, and the challenges of the ‘screen kids’ – a generation with too much time on TikTok and not enough time socialising, imagining, reading or being outside. The role of teachers has never been more important, never harder and never less respected.

I am at the top of the classroom teacher pay scale ($120,000) after 10 years (I’m 37), with no possibility of progression unless I want to take on a Head Teacher, Deputy or Principal role – and I don’t. We can’t ask for a payrise annually like your book suggests. We have a teacher shortage and an impending education crisis, with three out of four teachers having considered a career change in the past five years. So my question is: how does a highly qualified and experienced teacher transition into another career without taking a huge pay cut?

Jim

Top classroom teachers earn up to $120,000 in some states.

Hi Jim,

So what you’re telling me is that the grass is much greener on the other side of the oval.

How much green are you chasing, Jim?

Let’s say you could earn an extra $60,000 a year. That’d give you an extra $3,000 a month after tax, which, if you invested it, would make a huge difference at your age.

However, it would also mean giving up your calling in life, something that clearly gives you a deep sense of meaning and purpose. You need to put a value on that – and I think it’s worth a lot more than $3,000 a month.

If I were in your shoes I’d look at your costs, and perhaps entertain the idea of moving to a regional area where you can live cheaper. I’d also think about how you could boost your income from tutoring. Remember, the grass isn’t always greener. Sometimes it’s just astroturf.

Let’s Talk about Bill Gates

Hey Scott,

I love your column and read it every time! I do have a question though: you’re extremely quiet on the global situation that’s been happening since the pandemic. WHO, WEF, global elitist groups calling the shots over health, food, money, energy, climate scams, digital currency, cashless societies, global vaccine passports. You get my drift, I’m sure. I would LOVE to hear your opinion! Is that why you took your family around Oz and overseas?

Mandy

US billionaire Bill Gates. (Photo by Christophe Viseux / COP28 via Getty Images)

Hi Mandy

You are right, I am extremely quiet about these things … and there’s a very good reason for it. Look, I know a guy, who knows a guy, who used to work for a guy, who swears what I’m about to tell you is true:

One of the richest men on the planet has created a social media website that is fed by an artificial intelligence algorithm that targets unsuspecting anxious-prone people and feeds them with a never-ending supply of wild conspiracy theories and outright lies. Some say that his evil aim is to keep these people chained to his website day in and day out so he can make a fortune from advertising.

So that’s why I stay off social media and instead read books. The one I’d suggest you read is Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think, by Hans Rosling.

Trust me, you’ll love it. After all, it’s one of Bill Gates’ favourite books.

DISCLAIMER: Information and opinions provided in this column are general in nature and have been prepared for educational purposes only. Always seek personal financial advice tailored to your specific needs before making financial and investment decisions.

Originally published as Why teachers at the top of their pay scale want out of classrooms