Mapping out the Salaries Approximate Time Needed: 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours Lesson Summary: Students will calculate and compare the state and national financial information of a career, create a data table, and present the results in a graph format. Lesson Objective: Students will gain an understanding of calculating the relationship between hourly, monthly, and annual wages and learn how to apply this information to the creation of attractive and clearly labeled graphs. Materials and Resources: ECOS Career List ECOS Career Directory and Career Strategy Helpful Hints: Students should have a basic understanding of graphing before doing this assignment. The Career Outlook Horoscope Chart is recommended for students with beginning graphing skills. Divide students into groups in order to accommodate the number of computers available and the time available for class. Activities: Introduce students to the concept of wage calculation. For example, the workweek is typically composed of 40 hours. Expand the relationship to the monthly and annual levels. The calculations can be extrapolated from these figures. Use the ECOS Career List to have students select a career on which they will calculate the salary information. You may wish to pre-select occupations for the students to save time. Assign each student (or group) 1-2 U.S. states they will research as well. Students go to the Career Directory and locate the assigned career. After students save the career to the Locker, they should go to the Strategy button to investigate the Wage/Training/Outlook Comparison. From here a table of the career's national (US) average and median hourly wage will be displayed. For simplicity, choose average salary for this assignment. Students record the data found in the cell. Ask students to use the select list to locate the individual states assigned to them. After clicking on the "Submit" button, the specific state's wage information will be shown. Have students record the data. Students calculate the daily, weekly, monthly, and annual wage for the nation and each state. Students should place the data into a clearly marked table. Students graph the data, or an individual aspect of the data, comparing the national and state wages. Articulate the importance of properly labeled headings and axes. Be sure to mention how color and clarifying elements improve the presentation of the graph. Evaluation: The data table and final graph(s) produced. Possible Adaptations: Introduce the difference between mean and average. Compare the financial information for two to three careers using state or national figures. If used in a computer class, practice Excel graphing or PowerPoint presentation skills.