In honor of Mother’s Day I just checked out Salary.com’s salary calculator for moms. Salary.com valuated the “mom job” of both the working and stay-at-home moms and based on a survey of more than 12,000 mothers, Salary.com determined that the time mothers spend performing 10 typical job functions would equate to an annual salary of $122,732 for a stay-at-home mom. Working moms ‘at-home’ salary is $76,184 in 2009; this is in addition to the salary they earn in the workplace.
The job titles that best matched a mom’s definition of her work are (in order of hours spent per week): housekeeper, day care center teacher, cook, computer operator, facilities manager, van driver, psychologist, laundry machine operator, janitor, and chief executive officer.
That’s a good start for the list of responsibilities but I have a few more…referee (for all that sibling rivalry), child advocate (to deal with the abundance of injustices in most school systems), booking agent (think about all of those playdates), coach (yes, moms coach softball and basketball too), triage specialist (what mom doesn’t carry around a first-aid kit and know the latest splinter removal techniques?), nurse (how many times have you administered meds to your kids?), party planner (I’ve planned dozens of birthday and holiday parties so I think that qualifies me as an expert), costume designer (think of all those school plays), editor (how many of your kid’s research papers have you had to read?), fundraiser (schools always need money), tour guide (what mom among us hasn’t chaperoned a class trip?), and of course, entertainer (moms know that one needs no explanation). Now that’s a long list…I think I am ready for a raise! Happy Mother’s Day!