New York, May 3 (Reuters): A full-time stay-at-home mother would earn $134,121 a year if paid for all her work, an amount similar to a top US ad executive, a marketing director or a judge, according to a study released today.

A mother who works outside the home would earn an extra $85,876 annually on top of her actual wages for the work she does at home, according to the study by Waltham, Massachusetts-based compensation experts Salary.com.

To reach the projected pay figures, the survey calculated the earning power of the 10 jobs respondents said most closely comprise a mother’s role ? housekeeper, day-care teacher, cook, computer operator, laundry machine operator, janitor, facilities manager, van driver, chief executive and psychologist.

“You can’t put a dollar value on it. It’s worth a lot more,” said Kristen Krauss, 35, as she hurriedly packed her four children, all aged under 8, into a minivan in New York while searching frantically for her keys. “Just look at me.”

Employed mothers reported spending on average 44 hours a week at their outside job and 49.8 hours at their home job, while the stay-at-home mother worked 91.6 hours a week, it showed.

An estimated 5.6 million women in the US are stay-at-home mothers with children under age 15, according to the most recent US Census Bureau data. “It’s good to acknowledge the job that’s being done, and that it’s not that these women are settling for ‘just a mom,’” said Bill Coleman, senior vice -president of compensation at Salary.com.

Both employed and stay-at-home mothers said the lowest-paying job of housekeeper was their most common role, with employed mothers working 7.2 hours a week as housekeeper. “Every husband I’ve ever spoken to said, ‘I’m keeping my job. You keep yours’,” said Gillian Forrest, 39, a stay-at-home mother.