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Comment by ShabbyDoo | Hacker News Reader

If she is current on other financial obligations, should't she be able to finance that $30K at much less than 10%? So, the interest portion would be $3K/year. Is that a significant portion of a Dartmouth Assistant Professor's income?

I live in the MidWest, and cleaning "ladies" want $20-$25/hour under-the-table. Perhaps she should take on such work on Saturdays to reduce her debt load.

[As an aside, I can't understand how bad America can be if one can make this much cleaning houses. Some of these people aren't even all that good at it!]

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That's what I'd like to know - how LITTLE does an assistant professor make that 60,000 dollars of debt will take a lifetime to pay off, even in the absence of a mortgage (and presumably a car) payment?

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/14/aaup might be a good starting point ... looks like the average for an assistant professor is around 60k, but Dartmouth is likely to be above that.

Assistant professors in humanities (even at an Ivy League school) don't make much money.

There is no demand for Humanities professors. Look at the job boards of the colleges and most of them are hiring either science, math or nursing professors.

Also this person seems to have studied a fringe subject that would have a far weaker demand.

according to the chronicle the average assistant professor salary is ~$80k. I doubt that a native american studies assistant professor will get that much but I have been wrong before.

http://chronicle.com/stats/aaup/index.php?action=result&...

That seems like a lot of money. But if you will, please consider this simple scenario:

Even after you obtain your degree you will start out as an Adjunct Professor. These jobs pay about 2-4K per course.

After you have done that for about 10 years or so you might land a job as a professor at a community college.

Now you're making about $40-55K. Teach there for another 5-10 years until you finally get a job at a University to make that $80K.

Compare this (if you will) to the same person who leaves college with Ph.D and starts at $75K.

The difference in earnings over a lifetime is huge.

That averages the science and engineering professors with the liberal arts professors. At my school, I know the starting salary for a CS professor is going to be around $85k. But looking at the History department, I see some assistant professors as low as $52k.

See: http://www.collegiatetimes.com/databases/salaries/salary?nam...

I only make about $30.00/Hr as a professor of Computer Science.

The colleges don't pay very well and the degree required to get the job is very expensive and time consuming.

I think that she mentioned 'bad debt' -- this is typically a reference to consumer-level debt, often at 15-26% interest. Assuming 20% usury, the interest payments alone are $500/month, or 20% of her disposable income assuming she's lucky enough to have a assistant professor post (45-60k) -- adjunct professors make far less. Likely she also has another 20-60k in 'good debt' as educational loans at a more reasonable 8-12% interest.

Strictly speaking, if you make more than that you are better off hiring someone to clean for you.

Realistically, if an hour of free time is worth $25 (and to many people it seems that it is), you should go for it.

I agree. However, with all the bitching about how bad it is to be "poor" in America, there ought to be people standing on the sidewalks in nice communities advertising their cleaning services if they can get these prices.

It's worth it, but I question why the market clearing price isn't lower.

Because cleaning ladies don't sell cleaning. They sell trustworthiness. You have to be able to trust this woman to spend a lot of time in your home, without supervision.

Anyone can clean. Only some people can be trusted.

This is the same reason that bank tellers are paid a lot more than Wal-mart cashiers.

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