teachers earn very close to the national average salary level typically equivalent to what midcareer middleschool teachers earn annually in the nations about usd figure oecd b more important than salaries are such factors as high social prestige professional autonomy in schools and the ethos of teaching as a service to society and the public good thus young finns see teaching as a career on a par with other professions where people work independently and rely on scientific knowledge and skills that they gained through university studies