Here\u2019s great news. You can get a job starting at $20 an hour plus pretty good benefits, including a pension. There are plenty of job openings for prison guards in New Mexico. The Corrections Department is even advertising on TV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s just one catch. Guarding prisoners is a tough job. According to the list of essential job requirements on the Corrections Department web site, you have to be Superman and Mother Teresa combined. While you may be decently paid, you would be working in an unpleasant and occasionally dangerous environment that is perenially underfunded and full of unhappy people who probably won\u2019t like you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An extra complication: if you take this job now, while there\u2019s a statewide shortage of staff, you will have to accept extra shifts or moving around to cover different facilities around the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The shortage of teachers is getting worse, as confirmed last year by a study from New Mexico State University. The school year opened with more than 1000 job openings out of a statewide total of 21,000 to 22,000 positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The governor\u2019s proposed 7% pay increase for teachers is a good step, but it\u2019s barely keeping up with the increasing cost of daily living. The money cannot make up for the difficult conditions teachers face these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pandemic is not New Mexico\u2019s fault, and it\u2019s not the schools\u2019 fault. But it is surely demoralizing to be forced to bounce between in-person and remote learning when students need stability and you\u2019re concerned about your own health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The teacher shortage began before the pandemic. Perhaps teachers have gotten frustrated by being the butt of incessant criticism. As New Mexico\u2019s ranking in education remains consistently near the bottom, teachers get the blame for conditions beyond their control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No one is subject to more conflicting demands and expectations than teachers \u2013 except maybe police officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced she\u2019s asking for $100 million for 1,000 more police officers. Does New Mexico have 1,000 qualified people who are willing to take those jobs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police officer salaries in New Mexico are not bad. They are roughly in the middle compared to all states, with an average (not starting salary) around $53,000 a year, according to recent statistics from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. But that is not the biggest issue. Police officers are under constant pressure to make instantaneous life-and-death decisions, with consequences for one bad mistake that could ruin an officer\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This has always been true, but the New Mexico Civil Rights Act, passed last year, made it tougher. It took away the protection called qualified immunity, which shielded officers from personal liability for violating someone\u2019s civil rights, making it much easier for an aggrieved person to sue an officer. While we certainly want abusive officers to be accountable, that\u2019s a heck of a disincentive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
America is undergoing The Great Resignation. Workers are deciding that frustrating or unfulfilling jobs that that involve risking health or safety are not worth the money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A recent article in the Albuquerque Journal described a man who quit his job to start a mushroom farm. He is taking a career risk to fulfill a dream, not just to pay the bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To state the obvious, New Mexico needs prisons, and we can\u2019t run them without corrections officers. We need schools, and we can\u2019t run them without teachers. We need public safety, and we can\u2019t have it without police officers. If we want people to apply for these jobs who are well qualified, money cannot be the only incentive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s certainly going to cost us taxpayers money. Beyond that, treating public servants with a little more respect would help a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a9 2022 NEW MEXICO NEWS SERVICES <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here\u2019s great news. You can get a job starting at $20 an hour plus pretty good benefits, including a pension. There are plenty of job openings for prison guards in New Mexico. The Corrections Department is even advertising on TV. … Continue reading