There is a degree of this chip among many of my fellow teachers. They believe they aren't compensated enough based upon what they contribute and are envious of those in other fields who earn more. It's much more pronounced in academia, where folks who spent more than a decade working on various degrees feel they are owed more based upon all those credentials. Probably the wisest assessor of the situation was a socialist professor I once had. In addition to refusing to write letters of recommendation for any white guys wanting to go into the field because, as he told us, "Your chances of getting a tenure-track job are slim and none," he was also honest about how little he and his colleagues had to do. He was honest about how many actual hours of work they really had to do. He once stated, quite accurately, that you could fire a gun on the fourth floor of the building on a Friday, the level that housed all the social sciences offices, and you wouldn't hit a soul. If you have a university nearby, take a stroll through one at 1:00 on a Friday and you'll see what he meant. I've always asked: in what other profession do you have a person of equivalent rank and prestige who has three hours per week (if that) in which employees or customers alike can have real access to them?