A professor at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, took to Twitter on Feb. 11 to point out that a manager at Panda Express is willing to pay a manager more than he gets paid as a college educator.
Dr. Spencer Bagley, who teaches mathematics at the college, immediately got roasted on social media by users who called him an "elitist."
"My salary as an associate professor of mathematics at Westminster College, three blocks away from this sign, is $61,500," tweeted Bagley, posting a picture of a recruitment sign from the Asian food chain advertising a general manager position that has a total potential annual compensation of $69,000 a year excluding bonus.
The Panda Express advertisement also offered career opportunities for assistant manager with possible earnings of "$20/Hr + Bonus" and "Service & Kitchen Team" with potential salaries of $15 to $19 per hour for job-seekers.
In a follow-up tweet, Bagley added that he was trying to drive the point that professors make "way less" than what people think.
Twitter Reactions
Critics on social media were quick to put Bagley on blast with users pointing out that working as a restaurant manager was more demanding and carried less benefits than a job as an educator.
"Instead of complaining about the Panda Express manager' salary, why don't you ask where your students' $40k/year tuition is going. Also, I doubt Panda Express managers get four months paid vacation a year, or tenure," wrote one user.
"You underestimate the work that goes into running a 7 day a week/ > 12 hr a day restaurant which relies on entry level workers to show up every day. To have quality, staff, service, cleanliness, etc is tough. Why don't you try it for a year?" opined yet another.
"Herein lies the growing disdain for capitalism among the educated," someone else tweeted. "We've overproduced educated-elites w/ propped up ed lending & now they bemoan their low market values in a relatively crowded field/profession they chose. easier to blame a system than accept responsibility."
Bagley has since made his Twitter account private following the backlash. "The only statement visible to outsides now is his Twitter, which reads: "All labor is skilled labor | All workers are underpaid | Twitter was a mistake lol."
