CAREER CHOICES & INCOME CALCULATION
NetWorth
Personal Finance for the 21st Learning
GRADE 11 LESSON 1
Time Required: 30 – 45 minutes
Content Standards: (7.2.1. Standard 4): Students will acquire
the skills to investigate the world of work in relation to knowledge
of self and to make informed career decisions
Indicators:
a.) Students will develop skills to locate, evaluate, and interpret
career information
f.) Students will learn how to set goals.
g.) Students will understand the importance of planning.
GOAL:
Students will update their career plan to include personal income potential.
Activity Statements:
Students will be put in small groups according to their career clusters. Together, they will
access, from the internet, specific information from the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics about
their career of interest. After gathering their information, students will share with each other
their findings using grid on the board.
Materials:
Handout #1 Projecting My Future Income
Computer access for each group of 4 students (computer lab)
Chalkboard or Dry Erase Board
Procedures:
Write on the board the 6 career clusters.
Ask students: What kind of job would they like to have?
Write their responses under the associated career cluster. For example, nurse will go under the
Health category.
CAREER CHOICES & INCOME CALCULATION
GRADE 11 LESSON 1
Ask students: Do you know what types of qualifications are necessary for those jobs, and how
well they pay?
Ask students: Which jobs they think need a high school education?
Which jobs need both a high school and a college education?
Next, divide students in groups of four according to the cluster of their future job of interest.
Instruct the groups to appoint a recorder for the group and a spokesperson for the group. They
are to research on the computer each of their future job interests in their selected career
cluster including the educational level required and the potential salary.
Write these directions on the board (or use attached Handout #1 Instructions for the Groups)
and have the students use them for gathering their information:
Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics: http://stats.bls.gov/oes/2000/oes_nat.htm
Click on the link that contains the occupational area you have chosen or are
considering.
Scroll down through the occupational titles to find the career that most closely
matches the career you are considering.
When students are finished with their research, they should come back together as a class.
Draw a grid on the board with columns of “Job Type”, “Educational Level” and “Potential
Salary”.
Have each spokesperson go to the board and fill in the information that they gathered from
their research.
Then ask students to respond to the following questions:
Do you see any relationship between the level of education, salary and types of jobs
that you can have? Have them explain.
How many jobs require some education?
How does having a high school and college education increase a person's career
options?
CAREER CHOICES & INCOME CALCULATION
GRADE 11 LESSON 1
Were there any surprises about the information you found?
Say: Several factors will influence your wages. Some of those factors are the supply of and
demand for what you do, the value of what your work produces and your overall productivity.
If you are productive and you produce a highly-valued product, you will tend to earn higher
wages. However, one of the most important factors in determining wages is your level of
education. Many employers will actually invest in education and training of their employees
because they know that higher educated employees are often more productive.
A number of other factors can also affect your wages. People with natural ability and talents,
such as musicians and professional athletes, often get a higher wage because of the low supply
of workers with this level of ability. Employers will often pay you higher wages to entice you to
accept positions with undesirable aspects or conditions, such as midnight shifts, dangerous
work, or jobs which require you to move frequently around the country or world.
Your wages will often differ based on the cost of living in different regions; for example, the
cost of living in California is higher than the cost of living in Indiana, so wages in general in
California will be higher than those in Indiana.
Ask students: Would you like to own a house one day?
If so, ask the students if they know how much a house currently costs.
Write some of the guesses on the board.
Say: The price of a house depends on many things including its size, what shape it's in, and
where it's located. The average price of a house in the U.S. was around $200,000 at the end of
2007, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Ask students: How about a car? What kind of car do you want to have and what is the cost of
that car?
Write some of their answers on the board
Ask students: Will your potential income cover the cost of the house and cars you want?
Pass out Handout #1 Future Income
CAREER CHOICES & INCOME CALCULATION
GRADE 11 LESSON 1
Summary:
Say: By learning the many factors that affect wages and how these factors affect the wages in
your potential career, you can make wise choices regarding your education, skill development,
and location, to maximize your potential income.
Additional Resources:
1.) http://stats.bls.gov/oes/2000/oes_nat.htm
2.) http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lesson=305&page=teacher
Extension Activities:
Students will take home Handout #1 Future Income and discuss any career changes with their
parents that they might be considering due to income potential.
Author Shelly DeBerry, sdeberry@acess.k12.wv.us