Need a little extra motivation to encourage young women (or anyone for that matter) into your CS courses? Take a look at the 25 Best-paying Jobs for Women reported by CareerBuilder:
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2965-Salaries-Promotions-25-best-paying-jobs-for-women
Explanations of why women earn 81.6 cents for every dollar men earn, while making up nearly half of the workforce and graduating college at a higher rate than men, include the career choices women make. Women often pursue careers they find interesting and fulfilling over work that is lucrative. This crazy thinking needs to stop! It’s time to point out to the young women in our schools that CS can provide careers that are interesting and fulfilling as well as lucrative.
Here are the top 20. It should be no surprise that five of them are pure CS and several others involve CS at a basic level. Share the list with your students and with their parents. Provide your counselors and principals with a copy of the article and have a chat with them about how students in your classes have a step-up toward these careers.
1. Pharmacists
Median weekly earnings: $1,898*
2. Lawyers
Median weekly earnings: $1,631
3. Computer and information systems managers
Median weekly earnings: $1,543
4. Physicians and surgeons
Median weekly earnings: $1,527
5. Chief executives
Median weekly earnings: $1,464
6. Nurse practitioners
Median weekly earnings: $1,432
7. Software developers
Median weekly earnings: $1,388
8. Operations research analysts
Median weekly earnings: $1,326
9. Human resources managers
Median weekly earnings: $1,273
10. Psychologists
Median weekly earnings: $1,244
11. Computer programmers
Median weekly earnings: $1,238
12. Physical therapists
Median weekly earnings: $1,216
13. Occupational therapists
Median weekly earnings: $1,193
14. Management analysts
Median weekly earnings: $1,174
15. Physical scientists
Median weekly earnings: $1,167
16. Medical and health services managers
Median weekly earnings: $1,166
17. Computer systems analysts
Median weekly earnings: $1,144
18. Architecture and engineering
Median weekly earnings: $1,140
19. Marketing and sales managers
Median weekly earnings: $1,127
20. Medical scientists
Median weekly earnings: $1,127
Pat Phillips
Editor, CSTA Voice