Question

Each of you is studying a specific major to further your education with the intent of a specific career path. Therefore, for this week's discussion you will examine the labor market for your intended career. Visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook  (Links to an external site.)and search for your intended career.

Almost all individuals at the Community College are workers and are hoping that a college education will improve their skill set and labor market outcomes. We have learned that the that the payoff to an education is increasing as the number of high-skilled and low-skilled jobs grows. This is known as labor market polarization. The number of middle-skilled jobs is decreasing (due to globalization, technological advancements and changes to institutions), which historically were middle class jobs. We also know that labor power is diminishing as labor unionization rates decrease.

answer the following questions about your career:

1. What career have you chosen to pursue and explain why you have chosen this career?
2. What is the average salary and average hourly wage of the career?
3. Draw the market labor demand and labor supply curves for this industry. Label the Price of labor or the wage rate (see amounts above in #2) and the quantity of labor in equilibrium (this is the number of jobs estimated in the future). This can be hand-written and scanned.
4. What is the growth rate of the career and is the growth slower/faster/or same as the average growth rate for all other careers?

Answer 1

1) I have chosen the career of a mathematics college and university professor. This is because inspite of rapid mechanization and artificial intelligence, educated professors cannot be replaced with robots. Thus the demand for them will remain high. Also it is very satisfying to teach people.

2)The American Association of University Professors tracks academic salaries in the United States. Based on their 2016/2017 report, the average salary for a full professor is $102,402 USD. Associate professors earn an average of $79,654 and assistant professors average $69,206. Hourly pay is $34 approx.

3)4)Avereage growth of jobs is expected to be 5% while the job growth of a professor is expected to be 10-15%