Ready to wonk out with the Federal Reserve ?
As you know, the Federal Reserve has many roles including economic research.
On February 10, 2023, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York updated their report on "The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates." One section includes a sort-able chart detailing the major of the new college graduate, unemployment and underemployment rates, median wage in early and mid-career, etc.
We are going to talk about major, median wage early career and median wage mid-career.
Let's look at the majors of new college graduates with the top ten early career median wage.
Major | Median Wage Early Career | Median Wage Mid-Career |
Chemical Engineering | $75,000 | $120,000 |
Computer Engineering | $74,000 | $114,000 |
Computer Science | $73,000 | $105,000 |
Aerospace Engineering | $72,000 | $112,000 |
Electrical Engineering | $70,000 | $109,000 |
Industrial Engineering | $70,000 | $100,000 |
Mechanical Engineering | $70,000 | $105,000 |
Miscellaneous Engineering | $68,000 | $100,000 |
Business Analytics | $66,000 | $99,000 |
Civil Engineering | $65,000 | $100,000 |
Please notice that this list is dominated by engineering, computer science and business analytics.
Now let's look at 12 out of the bottom 18 majors that earn the least as a new graduate.
Major | Median Wage Early Career | Median Wage Mid-Career |
Early Childhood Education | $40,000 | $43,000 |
Elementary Education | $40,000 | $48,000 |
Special Education | $40,000 | $52,000 |
Miscellaneous Education | $40,000 | $56,000 |
English Language | $40,000 | $65,000 |
Liberal Arts | $40,000 | $63,000 |
Biology | $40,000 | $75,000 |
Earth Sciences | $40,000 | $70,000 |
Anthropology | $40,000 | $65,000 |
Sociology | $40,000 | $61,000 |
Fine Arts | $40,000 | $65,000 |
Health Services | $40,000 | $60,000 |
Others in the bottom 18 that I did not include in this chart include: Performing Arts (6th form the bottom), Leisure and Hospitality (5th from the bottom), Family and Consumer Sciences (3rd from the bottom), Theology and Religion (Bottom), Psychology (4th from the bottom) - all of these start at median wage of $40,000 or less. The bottom list is heavily weighted by education.
What does this report tell us about our societal values ?
I know what the Republicans think.
In the 2023 General Assembly session, Sam Rasoul (D) introduced HB 1566 - Public school teachers and other Standards of Quality-funded positions; compensation. This bill requires the Commonwealth to compensate its public school teachers at a rate that is competitive, defined in current law as at or above the national average teacher salary, in order to attract and keep highly qualified teachers.
What happened to this bill ? It was left to die in the House Appropriations Committee and did not even get a vote before the full House much less the Senate.
Jeffrey Bourne (D) introduced HB 2316 - Sales and use tax, local; additional tax authorized in all counties & cities to support schools. What happened to this bill ? It was left to die in the House Finance Committee with all 5 Republicans voting to kill it and all 3 Democrats voting to pass the bill.
Let's answer these questions (hint - the answer is the same for all of the questions):
Who is the majority in the Virginia House of Delegates ?
Who had proposed that all students who want to participate in school sports undergo a physical exam of their genitals to make sure they are a biological boy or girl ? (HB 1387).
Who had proposed removing all criteria for home schooling children ? (HB 1454)
Removes the current criteria:
Holding a high school diploma,
Being a teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board of Education,
Providing the child with a program of study or curriculum that may be delivered through a correspondence course or distance learning program or in any other manner, or
Providing evidence of the ability to provide an adequate education for the child by which a parent is permitted to provide home instruction for his school-aged child.
Who wants to defund public schools by diverting public school money to private school use ? (HB 1508)
Who defunded the schools through a $200 million "miscalculation" and not even attempt to replace it ? Perhaps this money could be replaced by reducing the Virginia Corporate tax cut in the proposed budget this year.
Who has been in favor of banning books ?
Madison County, Virginia has recently banned 21 books from school libraries:
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi (including Defy Me, Ignite Me, Restore Me, Shatter Me, Imagine Me, and Unravel Me)
Tar Baby by Toni Morrison
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Sula by Toni Morrison
Love by Toni Morrison
The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
Bag of Bones by Stephen King
11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King
It by Stephen King
Furyborn by Claire Legrand
Let's re-assess out educational priorities and support our teachers.
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