"I'd rather shave men's beards!" Why do Russian teachers become hairdressers

It's no secret that very often what society lives today can be learned from conversations with taxi drivers, and in general with people who, by virtue of their profession, are forced to communicate with a variety of constantly changing interlocutors. Moscow teacher Mikhail Pavlovets, for example, is used to probing public opinion in a barber shop. Here's what he wrote after another trip to this institution:

"Other people like to have conversations with taxi drivers, but I like to have conversations with hairdressers. Already the second girl - with a similar story: from a deep province, but behind the RUDN (the first had a MITHT), very erudite and with a clear speech, mom is also a teacher of Russian language and literature with 30 years of experience, 53 years old, dreams of one thing - to retire in 2 years, to leave schools - and live at the expense of tutoring, fortunately, there is already a queue of those who want to go to her. But there are no forces for tutoring yet - he comes from school and lies flat.

- Mother, what are you all doing there?

- Don't ask: endless rewriting from an electronic journal to a paper one and vice versa, endless reports, programs - and check-check-check, constant replacements: colleagues often get sick, there is no one to teach (at school, most are the same age as mom). Yes, there is no time to teach...  You give work in class and at home, and at the replacement - then you check...

The mother's salary is 25 thousand. I was shocked when my daughter took her to Moscow for the first time in many years, I was especially shocked by the price of cabbage, I stood over her and rubbed my eyes. Before that, I was not too happy with my daughter's choice - and I was embarrassed that my daughter shaves beards for men, but after learning that my daughter's salary is three times more than hers - a teacher of the highest category, I resigned myself. According to her daughter, her mother's shock from Moscow was the same as her own when she was in Paris for the first time (and the prices, too, yes). 

And one more story - about a childhood friend: also higher education behind my back, also at first poured contempt for working in a barber shop.

- And who do you work for?

- I am the head of a musical group!

- And the salary?

- 11 thousand a month.

A week later she called Moscow herself: how do you say you can get your profession?"

Our teachers haven't seen the salaries of plumbers yet!

For obvious reasons, this post caused a lively discussion, in which the professions of a hairdresser and a teacher in our country were discussed, among other things.

Muscovite Sergey Smirnov drew attention to such a problem:

"There are almost no guys left in the barber shop: everyone has disappeared somewhere, mostly girls work. The hairdresser, to whom I have been going for 8 years, has 3 chairs in a small room. One chair is empty: the master, a 40-year-old man, left for Turkey in October. If he gets a residence permit, he will not return. And you say: where are the men? Over there!"

A resident of Novosibirsk Natalia Nepomnyashchikh believes that this state of affairs is natural, but soon everything will change again:

"The service sector is the only thing that has been developing steadily here, the only area where there was both competition and investment. Due to the willingness of people to pay. It is especially noticeable in Moscow and major cities. Now it's slowly deflating. There will be a deep rollback again, I don't know about you, we can already see..."

Muscovite Irina Smirnova is not surprised by this contrast:

"Why should I be surprised? For years, the idea has been hammered into society's head that different working professions and professions in the service sector = something inappropriate, not for normal people. And then all these same people are shocked by the salaries. These are the mothers of hairdressers who have not yet seen the prices and salaries of good plumbers. That's where they would have a real shock..."

Minsk resident Elena Glinka is sure that this is how the whole of Russia lives:

"Having lived in Bryansk for more than 20 years, I worked only in my teaching profession, took on all part-time jobs at other universities. I just didn't go to Moscow to work... And so I earned a Russian pension of less than 9 thousand rubles, which is not reviewed, is not indexed, because I am not a resident. And this is still Bryansk, and not some kind of Zlinka..."

And the Moscow mathematics teacher Valentin Yevvstafyev shared his experience:

"It seems that 75 thousand in Moscow is not very much to roam. However, if there is no family-children, then it can be tolerated. About 20 years ago I tried to earn some non-mathematical hack jobs. Then I realized that it was useless, I would earn more with mathematics. He didn't become a millionaire, but his income is above average. It is very annoying that it is divided into three identical parts: for 4 days of work at the lyceum, 2 days of work at a private school and one evening of work at the courses. This year, these three sources and three components suddenly cost the same. Friends earn up to 200-300 thousand on tutoring! At school or university, of course, few people dreamed of such money..."

Commentators complained about the difficult lot of not only Russian teachers, but also university teachers. So Victoria Shilyaeva writes:

"My childhood friend has been teaching English at the university for many years (not in Moscow). There, too, it's endless rewriting, editing, changing, etc., etc. for a very modest rate. There is no time or energy left to teach students".