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Career Economics

The real economics of career paths — trades, healthcare, technology, military, entrepreneurship, and college — analyzed with actual earnings data, credential costs, and breakeven calculations. Not ranked options, but different equations.

14 Units

30-45 minutes per unit

What You Will Learn

Real Earnings Data

BLS projections, median salaries, earnings distributions by field — the actual numbers behind career decisions.

Every Pathway Mapped

Skilled trades, healthcare, tech without CS, military, entrepreneurship, and credential stacking — not just the college track.

The Math of Your Life

College ROI by major, geographic arbitrage, benefits vs. salary, and the compounding value of early career moves.

All Units

The Education Premium — and Its Exceptions

What earnings data actually shows about degrees vs. credentials vs. experience — medians, distributions, and when college debt exceeds the lifetime return.

•Interpret BLS earnings data by education level, including median vs. distribution
•Calculate the breakeven year for a specific degree-career combination using real tuition and salary figures
•Identify at least three fields where credential or apprenticeship pathways outperform degree pathways on lifetime earnings
+1 more objectives

The Skilled Trades

Electricians, plumbers, welders, and HVAC technicians — apprenticeship pipelines, journeyman pathways, earnings trajectories, and the demographic opportunity ahead.

•Trace the apprenticeship-to-journeyman-to-master pathway for at least two major trades
•Calculate net worth differential between a trade path and a degree path at ages 25, 35, and 45
•Explain the demographic cliff facing the trades and what it means for worker bargaining power
+1 more objectives

Healthcare Pathways

CNA to RN to NP, EMT to paramedic, dental hygienist, radiology tech — credential stacking in the largest employment sector, with and without a four-year degree.

•Map at least two full credential ladders in healthcare from entry-level to advanced practice
•Calculate the cumulative earnings advantage of a stackable credential path vs. a direct degree path
•Identify which healthcare roles require a four-year degree and which do not
+1 more objectives

Technology Without a CS Degree

Coding bootcamps, IT certifications (CompTIA, AWS, Cisco), cybersecurity, and data analytics — which credentials employers actually value and which are resume filler.

•Evaluate the return on investment of at least three technology credential pathways
•Identify which IT certifications are widely recognized by employers and what salaries they support
•Explain why portfolio projects matter in technology hiring and how to build one without a CS degree
+1 more objectives

Military Service as an Economic Decision

Enlistment bonuses, GI Bill economics, MOS selection strategy, officer vs. enlisted pathways, VA benefits, and the transition gap — a clear-eyed analysis, not recruitment.

•Calculate the total compensation package for an enlisted service member including base pay, allowances, and benefits
•Evaluate the GI Bill's financial value for specific degree programs and compare it to debt-financed alternatives
•Distinguish between Military Occupational Specialty selection strategy and the risks of poorly chosen assignments
+1 more objectives

Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment

Sole proprietorship vs. LLC, freelancing economics, the gig economy's real numbers, small business survival rates, and the skills that determine whether self-employment builds or destroys wealth.

•Calculate the true cost of self-employment including self-employment tax, benefits, and income volatility buffer
•Distinguish between a freelancer, a sole proprietor, an LLC owner, and an employee in legal and financial terms
•Interpret small business survival statistics and apply them to a specific business concept
+1 more objectives

The Hidden Curriculum of Professional Work

Networking, informational interviews, mentorship, professional communication, and workplace norms — the unwritten rules that determine advancement in every field.

•Conduct a structured informational interview and extract actionable career intelligence
•Identify and apply the implicit norms of professional communication in written and verbal contexts
•Distinguish between networking as transaction and networking as genuine relationship building
+1 more objectives

Credential Stacking and Nonlinear Careers

How combining certifications, associates degrees, and experience creates pathways that don't exist in any college brochure — portfolio careers and the death of the linear path.

•Map a credential stacking sequence for a specific career target that includes at least three distinct credentials
•Identify at least two emerging career categories created by the combination of skills from previously separate fields
•Evaluate the tradeoffs between a linear career path and a portfolio career in terms of income, risk, and life design
+1 more objectives

The Real Cost of College

Tuition, room, board, opportunity cost, and loan amortization — calculating the breakeven year for specific degree-career combinations, not averages.

•Calculate the total cost of attendance for a specific college including tuition, fees, room, board, and opportunity cost
•Use a loan amortization schedule to determine the total interest paid on a given loan amount at a given rate
•Identify the breakeven year for a specific degree-career combination against an alternative credential path
+1 more objectives

Geographic Arbitrage

How cost of living, remote work, state taxes, and housing markets change the math — $60K in Boise vs. $90K in San Francisco, and why location is a financial strategy.

•Calculate purchasing power parity between two cities for a given salary
•Identify which career fields offer location independence and evaluate the financial case for geographic arbitrage
•Compare income tax burden across states for a specific income level
+1 more objectives

Benefits, Not Just Salary

Health insurance, retirement matching, PTO, disability coverage, and equity — how to evaluate a total compensation package, not just a paycheck.

•Calculate the dollar value of common employee benefits including health insurance, retirement matching, and PTO
•Distinguish between benefits that compound wealth over time and those with immediate consumption value only
•Evaluate a hypothetical compensation package and identify the total compensation vs. the salary figure
+1 more objectives

The Labor Market as a System

Supply and demand for skills, automation risk by occupation, Bureau of Labor Statistics projections, and how to read the signals the market sends.

•Apply supply and demand analysis to explain wage differences between specific occupations
•Use BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook data to evaluate the long-term demand for specific careers
•Identify which job characteristics correlate with lower automation risk based on current research
+1 more objectives

Building Your Career Strategy

Aptitude assessment, values alignment, risk tolerance, and timeline — frameworks for making education and career decisions under genuine uncertainty.

•Distinguish between aptitude, interest, and values as inputs to career planning
•Apply a structured decision framework to a specific career choice under uncertainty
•Identify the difference between recoverable and permanent early career consequences
+1 more objectives

The First Five Years

What actually matters between 18 and 23 — compounding advantages of early career moves, the cost of drift, and the recoverable vs. permanent consequences of early choices.

•Calculate the compound financial advantage of beginning retirement savings at 18 vs. 28
•Distinguish between recoverable and permanent consequences of early career decisions
•Identify the specific career capital investments most valuable to make before age 25
+1 more objectives

Career Economics. Grades 10-12 elective. 0.5 credit.