Thursday, October 17, 2013

The Latest Wage Crime in Educational Publishing

Image credit: crystalmedia.com
Today, while job hunting, I noticed this little gem:
Editor for English/Language Arts Curriculum
wowzers - Chicago, IL
Full-time, Temporary
We are looking for an editor for a English/Language Arts curriculum program. This position would entail reading passages of varying length and checking to make sure they are at the appropriate reading level, flow well, contain no spelling or grammatical errors, and that the accompanying questions test the students' comprehension.

Duties, Responsibilities & Expectations:
  • Edit passages of varying length and subjects.
  • Assist the writers in brainstorming topics and questions.
  • Ensure the questions appropriately test the students and follow our rubric.
  • Check informational passages for accuracy.
Qualifications, Skill, and Abilities:
  • An excellent grasp of grammar, spelling, etc.
  • Education background is preferred
This is a temporary position of 4-6 weeks that may lead to full-time employment. The position will pay around $13/hr, depending on experience. Writers must work in-office at our downtown Chicago location.
That's all very ordinary—until you get to the final paragraph: $13/hour. Really?! Here is why that turns me into the Angry Editor:
  • In Chicago, that's 115% of the poverty level for a family of four. 
  • $13/hour equates to an annual salary of $27,040/year. Of that, maybe you'll take home $1,700 a month after taxes. Considering that Chicago's average rent is about $1,200 a month, that leaves a whopping $500 to pay for an entire month's health insurance, food, clothes, transportation, utilities, and all the other necessities of life. Not gonna cut it.
  • The only people who are going to apply to a job that pays so little are (1) students or recent grads with no experience, (2) people who are totally unqualified but apply anyway because it pays (slightly) more than retail; or (3) people whose unemployment ran out so they're desperate for work. 
  • STUDENTS DESERVE BETTER. People should not be paid poverty wages to create educational materials for young children. It's appalling.
  • EDITORS DESERVE BETTER. Editing is a learned, professional skill; it should not be compensated the same as what you could earn as a cashier at Costco. Additional specialized knowledge required to edit K-12 reading lessons makes an editor worth even more. 
For the record, I did pretty much this same job (with a few additional responsibilities) from 2006 through 2009, for a respectable company, and earned nearly double what "wowzers" is offering in this ad. Shame on them. 

If our kids turn out to be dummies, we'll know who to blame. 

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