I recently had a couple of experiences that made me think about hourly wage or hourly rates. One of the discussions in our society today is what is a fair hourly wage and can businesses afford that.
I ran into a former student and friend who is an attorney. A mutual acquaintance who is an attorney was mentioned and I asked what that mutual friend was doing. In that discussion I learned that our mutual friend bills his clients $500 an hour for his services. He is highly thought of and sought after in his field of legal expertise. A few weeks ago I went to the Dermatologist and recently I got my insurance information and his bill was $126 for a 20 - 29 minute visit. And, that would go to $252 for an hour, I guess.
I googled, "What is the annual pay for ministers?' The answer was $51,325. I have no idea how that figure was determined and if it only refers to full time. . I know College Ministers who make more than that and some that make less than that. So, I began to think about what the hourly rate for a College Minister might be. Now, let me quickly add that I realize that many professionals like attorneys and doctors must pay other staff, buy expensive equipment, rent or buy office space, etc. I do not think they get to personally pocket everything they collect. And, College Ministers do not pay other staff or rent space out of their own pay....at least normally. So, it cannot be an an apples to apples comparison. And, I have no idea how much these professionals get to keep out of their hourly rate.
So, how many hours a week could a College Minister charge to his or her "billing rate"? Many College Ministers work an obscene number of hours and I think sometimes too many for their own health and family welfare. Yet, I know that sometimes that is seasonal according to the time of year or around special events, etc. But, for discussion purposes, let's say a College Minister works 50 hours a week, which would not be unusual. That would be $4,277.08 per month using the 51,325 annual figure. At 50 hours a week, that figures out to $21.38 per hour. Hmmmmm!
A couple of years ago, I did an interim college ministry position and the person offering me the position said, "We will pay you this much a month." He thought about it a minute and said, "As I think about it, that does not sound like enough and he increased it." I had decided I would do it prior to knowing what it would pay, etc. But, I really appreciated his realization and making a change.
I don't have an answer to what a College Minister's hourly rate should be.....other than it ought to be more in most cases. I know a very few College Ministers who make a large salary, but they are very few and I think they are worth every dime of it. Years ago, I was arguing with my boss for a higher salary for our Associate Director. I said, "He is worth way more than that." My boss who did care said, "We don't pay people what they are worth. We have salaries and some people make less than what they are worth and some people make more than what they are worth." I thought his answer was probably a good one.
I guess here is my bottom line. When we work on salaries in developing budgets, etc, it might be a good idea to divide out what that comes to in an hourly rate or wage. It might change our thinking some about salaries. Maybe more College Ministers would get paid closer to what they are worth!
Arliss Dickerson's brand new book, A COLLEGE MINISTRY SUCCESS FORMULA, is now available at amazon.com
No comments:
Post a Comment