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Why Work Now?

Key Economic Concepts:

• Human Capital
• Human Resources
• Investment

Description:

Why do people work so hard? Why aren't you just assigned a job that you are interested in and get paid as much as the next guy? This lesson will show you why employers want the best workers that their money can buy!

Lesson Objectives:

Students will:

• Examine the correlation between education and salaries.
• Conclude that training increases a person's value to an employer.

Introduction:

Tell the students that teachers tell them to do homework, but ask them why they have to do it now? Ask the students if they are going to spend the rest of their life working? Tell the students that in this lesson they will learn something about education or training that may encourage them to take your school work seriously. Tell the students that they will find out how education and training are related to the amount of money people earn on their jobs.

Resources:

• Stanley Czyzyk, Hurricane Hunter: This website features an interview with Stanley Czyzyk, a hurricane hunter. Data on meteorologists can be found here.
  www.usatoday.com/educate/careers/dream058.htm ^[1]

• Yvonne Borree, ballet dancer, New York City Ballet: This website features an interview with Yvonne Borree, a ballet dancer. Data on ballet dancers can be found here.
  www.usatoday.com/educate/careers/dream059.htm ^[2]

• Mike Costache, Investment Banker: This website presents an interview with Mike Costache, an investment banker. Data on investment bankers can be found here.
  www.usatoday.com/educate/careers/dream050.htm ^[3]

• Career Snapshopts: This website features a chart from 1996 showing the correlation between education and salaries.
  www.usatoday.com/educate/careers/snap24.htm ^[4]

• Highest Paid Careers: This chart shows some of the highest paid careers.
  www.usatoday.com/educate/careers/snap2001-01.htm ^[5]

• Education Pays Big Dividends: This PDF features a chart that shows average yearly gross earnings by educational levels in 2001.
  www.usatoday.com/educate/careers/quest/cq17.pdf ^[6]
   
• Interactive Activity: Students will complete this interactive activity that describes situations in which they assume that they are an employer. In each case they must decide which person they would be willing to pay a higher wage.
  Interactive Activity

Process:

Tell the students that they probably know that Productive Resources are natural resources, human resources, and capital resources. Explain to the students that all of these combine to help produce the goods and services that we want. Consumers are the buyers of the goods and services and producers are the sellers of those goods and services.

Tell the student that what they may not know is that workers "sell" their labor and employers "buy" that labor. Explain to them that employers are willing to pay higher wages and salaries to employees that are the best workers.

Have the students complete the interactive activity that describes situations in which they assume that they are an employer. In each case they must decide which person they would be willing to pay a higher wage:

1. Someone who can sew 50 shirts per hour or someone who can sew 65 shirts in one hour? [B]
   A. worker who sews 50 shirts
   B. worker who sews 65 shirts
2. Someone who can clean a carpet in 20 minutes or someone who can clean the same sized carpet in 15 minutes? [B]
   A. worker who can clean a carpet in 20 minutes
   B. worker who can clean a carpet in 15 minutes
3. Someone who makes customers happy when serving them or someone who gets a lot of complaints from customers? [A]
   A. server who keeps them happy
   B. server who gets a lot of complaints
4. Someone who graduated from college or someone who quit high school? [A]
   A. graduate
   B. someone who quit high school
5. Someone who gets good grades or someone who forgets his or her homework all the time and gets bad grades? [A]
   A. good grades
   B. bad grades

Tell the students that teachers, like employers, are paying students different amounts based on how much students produce and the quality of that work. Ask the students the question of how the teachers can pay the students? Explain to them that teachers pay the students by giving them grades. The better the work, the higher the grade. Tell the students that they can invest in their future right now by getting the highest grades that they can.

Explain to the students that now that they know that people earn income by exchanging their human resources for wages, they can find out how they can earn a better income.

Tell the students to look at a job like a meteorologist (reports on weather) and see what one guy has to say about his job.

Have the students go to the USA Today website and look at the article called "Stanley Czyzyk, Hurricane Hunter ^[1] " and read the last two answers in the interview. The last two questions are: (1) What advice would you give someone who wanted to enter this field? (2) What advice would you give someone who was trying to attain his or her dream job? Then have the students read the information in the blue box and answer these questions:

1. What is the salary in that job? [19,000 - $60,000]
2. Why is there such a big difference? [The salary depends on the worker's degree and experience.]
3. What was his advice for people wanting to be a meteorologist? [Study math and science.]

Now read the last two answers on the next site. Be sure and read the bright pink box, too.

Have the students go to the USA Today website and look at the article called: Yvonne Borree, ballet dancer, New York City Ballet ^[2] and answer the following questions.

1. Is there a big salary difference for dancers? [Yes.]
2. What sort of training is involved? [Dance classes beginning in childhood.]
3. Is there a market for a ballet dancer who has not had training? [No.]

Have the students read one more site. This time have them read just the purple box. Have the students go to the USA Today website and look at the article "Mike Costache, Investment Banker ^[3] " and answer the following questions. Tell them that they might need to know that $70K means $70,000 and $100K means $100,000.

1. About how much would an investment banker make right out of college? [$70K or $70,000]
2. About how much would an investment banker make after getting a Masters degree? [$100K or $100,000]
3. Based on these three sites, what can you conclude about training and education and their affect on salaries? [The higher the degree, or the more training you have, the higher the salary.]
4. What job would you like to have?
5. What can you do right now to make yourself valuable to your future employer?

Conclusion:

Tell the students that in this lesson, they have learned that people earn income by exchanging their human resources for wages. They have been shown that people's wages are higher as their education or training increases because, with more education or training, they are likely to be of greater value to the employer.

Assessment Activity:

Read the article "Career Snapshopts ^[4] " and answer the following questions.

1. Analyze the data in the chart. What statement can you make about education and the average yearly salary? [The higher the education, the higher the salary.]
2. Based on the sites about careers, what statement can you make about training and salary? [The more training a person has, the higher the salary.]
3. Based on the data you have studied in this lesson, predict what you need to do right now for your future.
4. What do you need to do in the next few years?
5. What do you need to do when you are an adult?

Extension Activity:

Use the Highest Paid Careers ^[5] site to provide students with some more information on the highest paid occupations.

Use this "Education pays big dividends" ^[6] PDF which features a chart that shows average yearly gross earnings by educational levels in 2001 to show students the benefits of education.

Links Used:

1. ^{^ ^} "Stanley Czyzyk, Hurricane Hunter" - (www.usatoday.com) This website features an interview with Stanley Czyzyk, a hurricane hunter. Data on meteorologists can be found here.
2. ^{^ ^} "Yvonne Borree, ballet dancer, New York City Ballet" - (www.usatoday.com) This website features an interview with Yvonne Borree, a ballet dancer. Data on ballet dancers can be found here.
3. ^{^ ^} "Mike Costache, Investment Banker" - (www.usatoday.com) This website presents an interview with Mike Costache, an investment banker. Data on investment bankers can be found here.
4. ^{^ ^} "Career Snapshopts" - (www.usatoday.com) This website features a chart from 1996 showing the correlation between education and salaries.
5. ^{^ ^} "Highest Paid Careers" - (www.usatoday.com) This chart shows some of the highest paid careers
6. ^{^ ^} "Education Pays Big Dividends" - (www.usatoday.com) This PDF features a chart that shows average yearly gross earnings by educational levels in 2001.

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