Seventh+Grade+Day+1+Activities

**Who will you pay more: your brain surgeon or your cab driver? **
Hopefully you said, "Brain surgeon." And you probably want a brain surgeon who graduated at the top of the class!

**What determines income? **
People earn income from their resources.

What resources? Perhaps? · Natural resources such as timber to sell. · Capital resources such apartments to rent. · Entrepreneurial skills to start a business · Labor to employ.

The income people earn depends on the quantity and quality of the resources they have to offer, and on the supply and demand for those resources.

Most people earn income from their labor. They get a job and they get paid for the work they do.

What income do you expect to be earning at age 22?

**Activity **
What are some alternatives to a professional basketball career? What can you expect to earn if you are not a professional basketball player?

Can you match an occupation with its monthly income?: Use this link to explore recent salary information for each of these jobs: []

Analyst Engineer Registered nurse Dietitian Dental Hygienist Licensed Practical Nurse Dispatcher Roofer Receptionist Cook Sewing Machine Operator Housekeeper

(Remember, too, that these incomes are __before__ taxes; actual take home pay will be considerably less.)

Activity
Here's the list again, this time in order from highest to lowest income: How many people do you know who could qualify for each of these occupations? Indicate "many", "some" or "few"

Analyst Engineer Registered nurse Dietitian Dental Hygienist Licensed Practical Nurse Dispatcher Roofer Receptionist Cook Sewing Machine Operator Housekeeper

Did you find that you knew fewer people who were trained to do the high-skill jobs and more who could do the low-skill jobs? If many people are willing and able to do a job at the market price, the supply is high. If few people are willing and able to do a job at that price, the supply is low. Supply and demand are important factors in determining income.

**Activity **
When workers learn and practice new skills, they are improving their human capital.

Education is a way of learning and practicing new skills. Rank the occupations in order of the number of years it would take to learn to do the job. [|Click here for the 'Ranking Occupations' exercise.]

What correlation do you see between education and income? (Reflection questions)
Education is a way of investing in one's own human capital. What do you think? How much education is enough? Is a high school diploma that important? Is a college degree worth that much more?
 * It appears that having more skills makes one more valuable in the marketplace.
 * Generally, more education leads to higher income.

Adapted from EconEdLink.org