Simple interactive from CNN shows the percentage of jobs at a given wage range and as you rollover a given wage band you see a list of representative jobs with their hourly wage and annual salary (note that data is from May 2013 from Bureau of Labor Statistics):

Questions for students:

• Which hourly wage band has highest percentage of American jobs? What percentage of jobs earn this amount?
• Which hourly wage band has the lowest percentage of American jobs? What percentage of jobs earn this amount?
• Compare low-paying jobs with high-paying jobs? What advice would you give someone who asked “How can I earn a higher wage?”
• Take ten of the lower paying jobs and compare the data in the chart (from 2013) with current wage data (go to Bureau of Labor Statistics site). What has been the wage growth for each of these jobs between 2013 – current?
• Look into your crystal ball and predict what this chart might look like in 20 years? Do you anticipate more growth in the lower or higher paying jobs? Which jobs do you expect to see growth? Which jobs do you think will decline?

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.