HOW DO TEACHING SALARIES COMPARE WITH SALARIES OF OTHER PROFESSIONS?
Salary is one consideration in the choice of college major and occupation. In most occupations, salaries differ depending on the supply and demand conditions in the particular field. In teaching, however, salaries are the same regardless of the field of specialization. Thus, the choice of a new college graduate to teach or to work in another occupation may have a cost in terms of the difference in salary. A consideration that may compensate for differences in salary is length of the contract year, typically shorter for teaching than for other occupations. The 1990-91 Survey of Recent College Graduates provides entry level salary data for new bachelor degree recipients in non-teaching occupations one year after graduation. New bachelor degree recipients in the fields of computer sciences, math and physical sciences, and business and management, who choose to teach, do so at considerable financial cost ($6,000 to $10,000) (Table 2). The same is true for those in letters and fine arts (wr
