Portrait of a female elementary school teacher standing in a classroom
A Goldman Sachs analysis of federal data shows that college graduates in the class of 2024 are having a particularly hard time finding attractive jobs. That seems counterintuitive, given the nation’s extremely tough labor market, with unemployment at about 4%. But that average hides a lot of variation, and the post-COVID job market is much better for lower-skilled, lower-wage workers than it is for recent college graduates.
This is because some key employees, especially in the technology industry, who increased headcount significantly during the pandemic, have probably overdone it. Now that high interest rates and the days of free money are over, they have no choice but to save and cut staff. Meanwhile, some employers are banking on an AI-driven employee productivity revolution and wondering if they can get by without hiring so many younger staff. Moreover, the age-old concern that the “kids these days” aren’t worth hiring has been exacerbated by the skills gap caused by the pandemic.
If history is any guide, whatever flaws may be in the system today, recent graduates will fare well, given that their skills continue to command significant wage growth. But at least in the short term, the fact that tens of thousands of talented young people are struggling to find their first high-paying job is good news for employers who need talent, have flexible job requirements, and are willing to pay graduate professionals a decent wage.
Guess who fits that description? American public schools!
This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for our education system to recruit people who might not otherwise be serious about the profession. The upside is big: Research by Harvard University’s Martin West has found that teachers hired during recessions, when schools have more access to top talent, tend to outperform their peers in improving student learning. But to seize the opportunity, schools must be willing to abandon dysfunctional personnel policies.
Teaching is more lucrative than you think
It may surprise some readers that public schools might be an attractive option for underemployed or unemployed college graduates. So much work for so little pay? But in most states, teacher salaries are higher than most of us realize. In 2021, the Journal EducationNext When a representative sample of Americans was asked to guess how much their local school districts pay their teachers, they underestimated the actual figure by 50%, or more than $20,000. As of the 2022-23 school year, the average teacher salary has reached nearly $70,000. In California, New York and Massachusetts, it exceeds $90,000.
Teaching as a career certainly doesn’t offer the same lavish lifestyle as other professions, considering that top salaries rarely reach six figures, but those who want to become teachers for a few years in their 20s can enjoy a comfortable lifestyle, including summer vacations and good health insurance.
The problem, unfortunately, is that many public school systems aren’t hiring. Widespread teacher shortages quickly turned into widespread layoffs. That’s because schools, like these tech companies, were well-funded with federal pandemic relief aid during the pandemic and massively expanded their staffing. That funding is now all but gone, forcing schools to cut staffing, with most doing so through attrition or, if necessary, “last-in, first-out” (LIFO) layoffs. Both are terrible management techniques that treat teachers like indistinguishable parts. Any smart organization in any field would use this opportunity to fire their least effective employees.
Schools will say that’s not possible, thanks to the lifetime job security won by all-powerful teachers unions. But teachers hired in the hiring surge of the past few years don’t yet have that security, and teachers who prove ineffective can be fired to make room for new talent, including recent graduates. It will take courageous leadership to make that happen.
Given local education policies, many systems will likely take the path of least resistance instead, which leaves charter schools, which are well-positioned to recruit from this larger talent pool because they are mostly non-union and don’t have to worry about lifetime employment or LIFO.
Most charter schools also have the option of hiring non-certified or alternatively certified teachers, meaning they can hire people with majors in academic subjects like math or English, give them short-term training to help them learn how to teach, support them once they’re in the classroom, and help them work toward teaching certification over the next few years.
Everyone would benefit from an aggressive effort to bring talented college graduates into America’s classrooms: schools, alumni, and especially students. It is now up to education leaders to make it happen.
