PhD Prof paid less than grade 11

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    Grade 11 Phd
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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the perceived disparity in salaries between university professors with PhDs in Physics and Mathematics and other professions, particularly in Canada and the US. Participants explore various factors influencing these salary differences, including management roles, funding sources, and societal value placed on different jobs.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express concern over professors earning less than other professionals, such as housekeeping directors or maintenance managers, questioning the societal value placed on academic roles.
  • Others argue that management positions typically command higher salaries regardless of educational background, suggesting that this is a common trend across various fields.
  • A few participants highlight the complexities of salary reporting, noting that public records may not reflect total compensation due to private funding sources.
  • Some contributions mention the historical context of salary trends in Canada, suggesting that efforts to attract talent have led to increased salaries for professors in recent years.
  • There are discussions about the relative value of different professions, with some arguing that the demand for certain roles, such as maintenance management, can lead to higher pay compared to academic positions.
  • Participants also reflect on the challenges and sacrifices involved in obtaining a PhD, contrasting this with the earnings of individuals who may not have pursued higher education.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the appropriateness of salary levels for professors compared to other professions. There are multiple competing views regarding the value of academic work versus other roles, and the discussion remains unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include varying definitions of "value" in different professions, the impact of private funding on reported salaries, and the influence of regional economic conditions on salary scales.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in academic salaries, the economics of education, and the societal value of different professions may find this discussion relevant.

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I don't know how things work in Canada, but in the US you'll see such oddities when the local paper gets bored and reports salaries at our university too. The catch is that only the portion of one's salary paid by public funds is reportable through the FOIA, so it doesn't reflect the rest of someone's salary that may be paid through private endowments (for example, in public records, it looks like our dept chair makes close to as much as our football coach, when the reality is that the football coach makes many times more than that salary, just all of the rest comes from athletic funds that are private money, not state or federally funded).
 
Well, you should look at some other countries where a University professor with PhD, is payed twice less than a cleanser at the post office. This sucks!
 
well, sadly, cleaning sutff up is more useful in society than knowing about bosons and the strong nuclear force.
 
I know that assistant professor at a regional state school in Kansas pays less than I'm making as a Master's holding second-year high school teacher.
 
What kind of assistant professor? The real money in Kansas is in Intelligent Design.
 
Poop-Loops said:
What kind of assistant professor? The real money in Kansas is in Intelligent Design.

That's awful :smile:
 
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Anyway, I think the keyword in the original post is "director". Management is almost always paid more than non-management, regardless of the education required.
 
Having been department chairman a couple of times, I have great respect for people who really can manage other people effectively. They deserve every penny they get.
 
  • #11
Gokul43201 said:
Wow! Faculty in Canadian physics departments are very well paid compared to those in US depts.

not really many of them are in the range of 65-75K and they are not reported since Salary Disclosure applies only to those earning over 100K
 
  • #12
jtbell said:
Having been department chairman a couple of times, I have great respect for people who really can manage other people effectively. They deserve every penny they get.

Absolutely. I've met dozens if not hundreds of good engineers and researchers during my career. If you cut off a finger for every good manager I've met, I could still bowl.
 
  • #13
Hmm I didn't know that the profs at the University of Toronto Physics Department were so well paid. I looked up the salaries of all the "young-looking" faculty and they all seem to make over 100K.

But I bet that 50K is withheld due to Canadian taxes.
 
  • #14
There's a U Toronto prof on that list that moved there from my university about 5 years ago. He's making a lot more there than he would be here. I don't know what salary he started at, but he's an excellent theorist, so may have climbed up fast.
 
  • #15
You know, once upon a time you could joke about those salaries being in Canadian dollars...
 
  • #16
Based on a few articles I've read, the brain drain in the 90's nudged Canada to make effort to retain and attact bright talents, and during the 2000's climbing of funding directly related to research funding is beginning to reverse the trend, where now researchers are being attracted to Canada. And it looks like from oppinions(and the data sheet) taken from this thread, their salaries have been increasing as well.

Not to mention many Universities in Canada are very underrated, overshadowed by the big name universities down south. University of Toronto paying high salaries shouldn't be surprising because it is actually comparable to top 30 Universities around the world. (even sometimes top 10-20 when looking at natural and applied sciences) based on rankings available around the internet.

Side note for the curious:
As far as taxes go, these 6 figure salaries stand in the highest tax bracket, so it will come down to (rough esitmate) 40-45%, and probably 35-40% if they are married. But most would choose to take a chunk of their salaries out to their Registerd Retirement Savings Plan, which means they can reduce their taxes even more, down to the 30's

And I'm sure these profs have gotten loop holes figured out to pay less taxes.
 
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  • #17
Please try to understand those salaries are not as high as they should be comparing Grade 7 graduate working as Maintenance Manager for Dog Food Industry and making $118000.00/yr plus $20000.00 bonus pay, or Millwright working for Hydro One and making $117000.00/yr
while my math professor with PhD in math and engineering physics from University of Waterloo is not on the Salary Disclosure list because he earned $89000.00/yr and he has 6 yrs experience, so sad.
It's soooooooo embarrassing.
Should we study?

*****NO, I am not going to cling to my books for the whole week I will be on strike!
 
  • #18
tyro1 said:
Not to mention many Universities in Canada are very underrated, overshadowed by the big name universities down south. University of Toronto paying high salaries shouldn't be surprising because it is actually comparable to top 30 Universities around the world. (even sometimes top 10-20 when looking at natural and applied sciences) based on rankings available around the internet.

Regardless no one should do their undergraduate physics work at the U of T Physics Department. Because the best place you will be able to get into grad school with your crappy GPA will be at U of T.
 
  • #19
pornographers like hugh hefner make more too. pay is not related to quality, it is related to demand.
 
  • #20
Serbian.matematika said:
Please try to understand those salaries are not as high as they should be comparing Grade 7 graduate working as Maintenance Manager for Dog Food Industry and making $118000.00/yr plus $20000.00 bonus pay, or Millwright working for Hydro One and making $117000.00/yr
while my math professor with PhD in math and engineering physics from University of Waterloo is not on the Salary Disclosure list because he earned $89000.00/yr and he has 6 yrs experience, so sad.
It's soooooooo embarrassing.
Should we study?

*****NO, I am not going to cling to my books for the whole week I will be on strike!

I don't see the problem, $89 000 is not enough for you? Okay so a maintenance manager makes 6 figures, what about the rest of the people who are not professors or maintenance managers, what about grade 7 graduate who works minimum wage at mcdonalds? what about 90% of the other people who get paid roughly by their level of education?
on the other hand, what about a economics dean who makes $225 000 a year? or a dean of college of surgeons who make 300k? do they sound more fitting to you?

you will find people doing all kinds of stuff and make a wide range of income doing it, If i could get paid $40 000 to do what I absolutely love, I wouldn't give a nack to trade my plase with my neighbor bus driver who works over times and weekends to earn $120 k a year.
Sure, be a little concerned if it takes 10 years to get a PhD, and you make minimum wage, money is important too, but saying that 89k is too little? Can you even be sure that 10% of people you know personally makes more than that?

I am sounding a little harsh, I am just frustrated that you might be serious. But don't take it personally, you hold your right to your oppinion.
 
  • #21
tyro1,Oh no, not at all I am not taking it personally , I am just trying to say how much work and time and nerves and money it takes to get PhD while someone who left schooling at the age of 14 and is chasing girls and/or boys and having a really good time and physics formulas are the last thing to bother him/her they get so much money and less stress than my professor.

***** I need money for a new car, new dress for my Easter -April 27, new high hills , expensive books, several bags of top soil for my miniature garden, brother I need a lot of stuff and I need money for all those things:-)

Thank God I have wealthy parents otherwise I would be in a big trouble.
 
  • #22
Lucky you. ;)

Then again, being a graduate student is by all accounts intensive, but aren't you there because you love it? How often do you think that maintenance manager wakes up in the morning beaming with excitement for that days challenges? Every day? Half the time? Ever? Quite frankly I'm just glad that someone's willing to pay me to spend my time like this.
 
  • #23
will.c , I understand you, you are very right, but you know how it is ; all of us are expecting to get a bit more for the sacrifice we made during our studies.

You know how it is; while some girls have fun going out with their boyfriends I can't afford it because my courses are too difficult, I have no time for fun , I have to study a lot and after all these struggle the reimbursement is going to be just because I love it, yay.
 
  • #24
mathwonk said:
pornographers like hugh hefner make more too. pay is not related to quality, it is related to demand.

I don't know, I'd say he has some quality girls in his there magazines.

Err... and articles. The ones I read... yes.
 

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