Economistsandexpertsonwageshavelongtriedtodiscoverwhatfactorswereinfluencingpeople'ssalaries.
Mostofthefactorstheylistedoneortwocenturiesagoarestillimportanttoday.
Oneofthoseiseducation:collegegraduateshaveearnedandarestillearningmorethanworkerswhohaveonlyfinishedhighschool,andhigh-schoolgraduatesearnmorethanworkerswhodidn'tcompletetheirstudiesthere.
Thedifficultyandlengthofpreparationforaprofessionalsoplaysapartinthesizeofthesalary.
Dangerandresponsibilitymakeadifferencetoo-themanorwomaninchargeofaproject,thepersonperformingadifficultordangeroustask,theairplanepilotresponsibleformanyhumanlives,usuallygetapropercompensationfortheirpains.
Andyetthereareexceptionstothoserules.
Duetotheneedsofmodernindustry,technicianswithnocollegeeducationarenowcommandinghighsalaries,muchclosertothecollegegraduates'salariesthantheyusedtobeinthepast.
Andtherearemanyjobsinwhichdangerdoesn'tbringmuchcompensation.
Whydoesn'tafiremanearnmorethanapostalclerk,forexample?
Andwhataboutthepolicemanandthecoalminer,whorisktheirlivesforamodestsalary?
Actually,salariesaregovernedbyacombinationoffactors,themostimportantbeingoneknownasthelawofsupplyanddemand,whichsaysthatthevalueofgoodsandservicesisdeterminedbythequantityavailablecomparedwiththenumberofpossiblebuyers.
Iftherearemorechickensonthemarketthanpeoplewishingtobuythem,thepriceofpoultrygoesdown.
Ifthenumberofspecializedengineersismuchlargerthanthenumberofpositionsopentothem,thesalariesdropevenforthemostimpressiveapplicants.