Human Capital For Money

INTRODUCTION

People's incomes, in part, reflect choices they have made about education, training, skill development, and careers. People with few skills are more likely to be poor. Though adult life seems very far away to most students, it is important to help them make the connection between their choices now and their success later in life. Investing in human capital makes sense for individuals just as investing in physical capital makes sense for businesses. In each case, investment now pays off later--in improved productivity for businesses and, typically, in higher wages or salaries for individuals.

RESOURCES

• Occupational Outlook Handbook: students can find the missing information for the Career Information Sheets here.
  www.bls.gov/oco/
   
• Career Information Sheet: Teachers can use this worksheet to evaluate students understanding of the terms discussed in class
  Career Information Sheet
  Career Information Answer Sheet
  
  
• Multiple Choice Assessment: Use the multiple choice assessment to evaluate the students knowledge and understanding of the lesson.
  Multiple Choice Assessment

PROCESS

Part One of this lesson introduces students to the terms human capital, occupation, salary, and wages. Part two provides the students with an opportunity to compare selected careers by reference to median salary and education statistics. The final part of this lesson provides a vehicle for your students to research and report a career or occupation of interest. The process will be an online reporting form that will produce a Career of Choice report that your students will be able to print out and turn into you.

Part 1:

1. Introduce the terms human capital, occupation, wage, and salary to the class.

[Human Capital: Knowledge and skills, acquired on the job or through training and experience, that increase the employee's value in the marketplace.]

[Occupation: An activity that serves as one's regular source of livelihood; a vocation.]

[Salary or Wage: Fixed compensation for services, paid to a person on a regular basis; Payment for labor or services to a worker, especially remuneration on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis or by the piece.]

2. Students will use the following activity to test their understanding of the terms discussed in class.

3. Now review the answers to the economic terms activity that your students just took. 

Part 2:

1. Read Benchmark 8.5 from Standard 13 and ask for statements of agreement or disagreement. Statements of either kind must include supporting details or ideas. Record these on the board.

2. Print and distribute Career Information Sheets to all the students and direct them to visit the Occupational Outlook Handbook web site to fill in the missing information.

Once at the site, students should type in one of the following occupations in the "Search by Occupation" space: physician, teacher, data entry, and firefighter. Once the search results come up, students should select the one with the written title of the job. Other selections will come up, but these are pdf files and will bring up the text from the actual book. The summary given when the job title is selected is much more appropriate for the students. Allow adequate time for obtaining information. Career Information Sheet answers for the activity

3. Have the students share their results with another classmate. Then have the students take a moment to answer the following questions. Once the students have completed the activity they may print out their answers and turn them in.

A link to the Occupational Outlook Handbook

Which career choice had the highest level of salary? [Doctor.]

Which career choice had the highest level of education required? [Doctor.]

Which career choice had the lowest salary? [Data entry.]

Which career choice had the fewest educational requirements? [Data entry.]

Can you give a statement that shows how education and salary are related? [The more education, the higher salary can be expected.]

Part 3:

1. Have students investigate a career of their choice using the Occupational Outlook Handbook . They should locate the same information on the Career Information Sheet that they will print out using the website.

CONCLUSION

1. Standard 13 Benchmark 8.5 and ask for statements of agreement or disagreement. Statements must be supported by experiences from the lesson.
2. Round Robin: have each student share something learned from the lesson using one or more of the following terms in his/her answer: human capital, occupation, wage, or salary.

ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY

In this Multiple Choice Activity read the sentences and the terms and think about their meaning. Choose the term that best illustrates, explains or gives an example of the sentence that is stated.

1. My mother took computer courses. This is an example of:
A. [Human Capital]
B. Occupation
C. Salary or Wage

2. Sarah wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. This is an example of:
A. Human Capital
B. [Occupation]
C. Salary or Wage

3. Going to college will help me get a better job. This is an example of:
A. [Human Capital]
B. Occupation
C. Salary or Wage

4. I get a paycheck every two weeks. This is an example of:
A. Human Capital
B. Occupation
C. [Salary or Wage]

5. I worked on the weekends at my dad's garage. This is an example of:
A. Human Capital
B. Occupation
C. [Salary or Wage]

6. The amount of money you receive for doing your job. This is an example of:
A. Human Capital
B. Occupation
C. [Salary or Wage]

7. I am an author. This is an example of:
A. Human Capital
B. [Occupation]
C. Salary or Wage