My wife is a teacher in Massachusetts, and I've looked over their employment contract. Entry level teachers start around $43,000 a year, and only after 14 years of service and a paying/earning a PhD can they make it to $90,000. In the private sector, someone with 14 years of experience and a post graduate degree would earn far more.

I'm also in MA where the standard teacher contract also includes language that says teachers are only required to work 6 1/2 hour days for somewhere between 184-187 days where the private sector tends to require 8 hour days for around 250 days. In both cases, I think people do work longer hours, but when faced with work-to-rule situations, teachers work a much shorter day. So yes, they make less in terms of dollars in their pocket, but they work fewer days.

Teachers and teacher unions have marketing all figured out.