“However, with my salary and knowing I can make nearly double in the private sector, I am tempted to move on from higher ed.”
When I was hired as a full-time professional staff member in 2015, my salary was $38,000. My net pay after deductions was about $500 per week. Shortly after I was hired, I began researching local daycares for my newborn daughter. I was shocked to learn that every daycare in my area was at least $450 per week – nearly my entire take home pay. I sincerely considered leaving my job at the college and becoming a stay-at-home mom, however, my family needed health insurance.
Speaking of health insurance: The cost of my health insurance plan has more than DOUBLED in the 10 years I have been working at the college. In fact, between March 2015 and January 2020, my net pay DECREASED because my salary and 2% raises could not keep up with the increasing cost of health insurance. At this point, we had no choice but to opt out of GIC health insurance and use a very limited plan through my husband’s work, which has presented its own challenges, but we simply could not afford GIC health insurance any longer. In 2020, just as I was considering leaving my job to work in the private sector, my colleague in a higher pay grade in my work area at the college left their position (and the state of Massachusetts entirely due to lack of affordability) to take a job in Rhode Island. In a very lucky turn of events, I was able to move into their position of a higher pay grade for a slight increase to my salary. Of course, inflation hit us hard in the following years, and we are now left exactly where we were before I moved into a higher pay grade: unable to get ahead and living paycheck-to-paycheck, barely scraping by.
My husband and I work full time and are college educated. We have one child. Why are we unable to save for our futures? Why are we unable to grow our family while living and working in Massachusetts? I would have loved to have had more children in my lifetime. Unfortunately, I cannot fathom the cost of having 2 or more children who need childcare. It is simply not possible with my salary. I do not have help from family members, and my job is not one I can do from home, so paying for childcare is not an option, but a necessity.
I love working at a community college. I began my college education at a community college. I am so proud to live in a state that values education and provides free community college for its residents. I would love to stay where I am for the rest of my career. However, with my salary and knowing I can make nearly double in the private sector, I am tempted to move on from higher ed. Thank you for taking the time to listen to my story.