August 2007
Back to School
Back to school time is here. Across the country millions of students are preparing to return to school, so they can pursue education to improve themselves ... and improve their career prospects.
We Don't Need No Education? Think Again!
Education pays in higher earnings and lower unemployment rates.
![Earnings By Degree](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130218012754im_/http://www.stats.bls.gov/spotlight/2007/back_to_school/images/figure01-earnings_by_degree.gif)
Source: Current Population Survey | Chart Data
Careers with Good Wages and Plenty of Jobs
"Do what you love" isn't bad career advice, but it's even better if what you love is an occupation with above average wages and high projected job growth.
![High Wage / High Growth Occupations](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130218012754im_/http://www.stats.bls.gov/spotlight/2007/back_to_school/images/figure02-high_wage_occupations.gif)
Source: Employment Projections, Occupational Employment Statistics | Chart Data
School Enrollment by Sex
School enrollment rates vary by sex. In recent years, men were more likely than women to have dropped out of high school and were less likely to be attending college. At age 19,
50 percent of women were attending college, compared with 39 percent of men.
![School Enrollment by Sex](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130218012754im_/http://www.stats.bls.gov/spotlight/2007/back_to_school/images/figure03-school_enrollment.gif)
Source: National Longitudinal Surveys | Chart Data
Teachers
Back to school time is back to work time for teachers. There were about one million high school teachers
employed in the U.S. as of May 2006.
Nationwide, the average annual wage of high-school teachers was $51,150. By State, average annual wages of high-school teachers ranged from $35,340 in South Dakota to $70,760 in New York.
![Teachers Wages](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130218012754im_/http://www.stats.bls.gov/spotlight/2007/back_to_school/images/figure05-teachers_wages.png)
Source: Occupational Employment Statistics | Chart Data
Want to see more? See the employment and wage estimates for occupations in States and metropolitan areas.
Career Exploration
In-depth descriptions of hundreds of popular careers (including preschool through secondary school teachers and postsecondary teachers) can be found in the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Its companion publication, the Career Guide to Industries, covers careers from an industry perspective.
To learn about some less-common jobs, ranging from avalanche forecaster to sommelier, check out the Occupational Outlook Quarterly.
More education-related data from BLS
See the education and training articles from The Editor's Desk and Monthly Labor Review.
Note: Data in text, charts and tables are the latest available at the time of publication. Internet links may lead to more recent data.
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Media Contact: (202) 691-5902
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