this cuts to the heart of something that has long bothered me (and still), and i first came across this in 2008, reading Sasha Dichter's non-profit manifesto. in this, the part that got me thinking was the following:
"How much is your time worth? Start at the low end: if, instead, you had worked at a big company or started your own company or worked at an investment bank or a consulting firm, how much money would the world pay you for your skills? A few hundred thousand dollars? A few million dollars?
That’s your baseline. Now ask yourself: how important is the problem you’re trying to solve? Are you trying to make sure that women have a safe, affordable place to give birth? Creating a way for people to have clean drinking water so they and their children don’t fall ill? Protecting refugees from genocide? Providing after school tutoring for at risk kids? Giving people with chronic disease a place to come together and support one another?"
does society have it right in terms of who pays what for what? depends who you ask and the definition of "right", but the best and most impactful school teacher who changes the lives of thousands of kids simply won't be paid as much as an investment banker, that much is a fact of life.
it is up to the individual, i.e. myself, to come to terms with the issue of relative value.
