CNN shares with us that
CNN shares with us that Salary.com has computed the worth of a stay at home mom: $134,121.
They also provide the same survey for working moms ($85,876).
Now, I'm the first one to admire my wife (a talented mechanical engineer and program manager who is, more than full time, raising our daughter) for being a stay at home mom. But this number is complete bunk. It's both too low, and too high.
It's too low?
Let's imagine that you were going to hire people to cover for you; functionally, you're asking what it takes to outsource all domestic functions. Minimum, you need at least 5 people to staff your house around the clock; this assumes that all of theme are equally versatile (although you could probably have your nighttime wetnurse double as your housekeeper, and your daytime daycare teacher do your finances). You need 5 people, because at a 40 hour a week position (more on that below!), to fill the 21 shifts per week, plus vacation, holiday, and sick time, you need 5 people. That's $26824 per employee (about $13 per hour). You might be able to narrow down to 3 or 4 people, but that doesn't raise it by much - especially when you consider that, as an employer, you also have to pay employment taxes, as well as provide benefits.
It's too high?
You have to look at Salary.com's computation, but of that $134K, $46K is for 4.6 hours per week acting as a "CEO". Let's be clear, that's a little outrageous (especially when you realize that $10K of that is for overtime pay!). First off, I think the relevant job is more likely "franchise manager". You're planning a budget, and managing the time of your kids, but I don't really see any mergers or acquisitions (well, Big Love might be the exception), or managing new businesses to increase revenue, or dealing with issues like Sarbanes-Oxley. This is clearly designed to be a "feel good about what your worth" survey, so take it with a grain of salt.
Salary.com determined that a stay-at-home mother might be paid as much as $134,121 for her contributions as a housekeeper, cook, day care center teacher, janitor and CEO, among other functions. (See full list at right.) The stay-at-home mothers surveyed said they logged a total of 92 hours a week performing those jobs.
They also provide the same survey for working moms ($85,876).
Now, I'm the first one to admire my wife (a talented mechanical engineer and program manager who is, more than full time, raising our daughter) for being a stay at home mom. But this number is complete bunk. It's both too low, and too high.
It's too low?
Let's imagine that you were going to hire people to cover for you; functionally, you're asking what it takes to outsource all domestic functions. Minimum, you need at least 5 people to staff your house around the clock; this assumes that all of theme are equally versatile (although you could probably have your nighttime wetnurse double as your housekeeper, and your daytime daycare teacher do your finances). You need 5 people, because at a 40 hour a week position (more on that below!), to fill the 21 shifts per week, plus vacation, holiday, and sick time, you need 5 people. That's $26824 per employee (about $13 per hour). You might be able to narrow down to 3 or 4 people, but that doesn't raise it by much - especially when you consider that, as an employer, you also have to pay employment taxes, as well as provide benefits.
It's too high?
You have to look at Salary.com's computation, but of that $134K, $46K is for 4.6 hours per week acting as a "CEO". Let's be clear, that's a little outrageous (especially when you realize that $10K of that is for overtime pay!). First off, I think the relevant job is more likely "franchise manager". You're planning a budget, and managing the time of your kids, but I don't really see any mergers or acquisitions (well, Big Love might be the exception), or managing new businesses to increase revenue, or dealing with issues like Sarbanes-Oxley. This is clearly designed to be a "feel good about what your worth" survey, so take it with a grain of salt.
