Money Earning Skills That Should Be Taught In School

Schools aim to prepare students for careers and life after graduation. However, most school curricula fail to provide sufficient education on earning money. Teaching income-generating skills can better equip students to obtain well-paying jobs, grow profitable businesses, and manage finances responsibly. Here are some essential money-making abilities schools should teach:

Job Hunting and Workplace Earning Skills

Schools need to guide students through practical steps for finding and landing jobs, including:

• Writing effective resumes and cover letters
• Finding job openings online and through networking
• Developing collaborative learning skills to grasp knowledge of various industries
• Interview preparation - mock interviews, professional etiquette
• Salary and benefits negotiation tactics
• Excel, Word, and other skills to boost workplace productivity

These lessons set students up for success in the job search process and workplace.

Sales and Marketing Fundamentals

Sales and marketing training provides a foundation for persuading employers to hire you or convincing customers to buy from you. Students need to learn:

• Customer research and messaging that resonates
• Building rapport and delivering elevator pitches
• Persuasive writing and public speaking
• Professional networking approaches
• Utilizing social media and technology for sales

Strong sales abilities help students earn commission-based income or build a business.

Monetizing Skills and Hobbies

Schools can train students to identify income potential in activities they enjoy including:

• Tutoring, music lessons, coaching in academic subjects or talents
• Selling handmade crafts and artwork on online stores
• Creating a YouTube channel, blog or social media account with sponsorships
• Buying and reselling items for profit as a retailer
• Freelancing services like photography, graphic design, writing, web development

This empowers students to turn passions into profits.

Entrepreneurship

Teaching entrepreneurship provides a blueprint for starting businesses while in school or thereafter. Crucial lessons include:

• Assessing market problems and customer needs
• Testing and validating business ideas
• Writing business plans and funding models
• Registering a legal business entity
• Launching an e-commerce site or retail storefront

Nurturing entrepreneurial talent creates more job creators.

Financial Services Sector

The financial services industry offers many lucrative career paths. Students can get a head start by learning:

• The landscape of finance careers - accounting, banking, insurance, investing
• Educational and certification requirements
• Building business acumen and financial modeling skills
• Networking with finance professionals and firms

This enables students to land internships and jobs at financial institutions.

Salesforce and Tech Sector Skills

Technology companies hire extensively for well-compensated roles. Schools should provide:

• Instruction on Salesforce, Facebook, and Google advertising, analytics
• Search engine optimization and digital marketing skills
• Basics of coding and data analysis
• Networking with tech companies and recruiters

These abilities help students earn as marketers, sales reps and tech professionals.

Trade Skills

Trades like electrical, plumbing, HVAC, auto repair involve working with the hands. Schools can offer:

• Introductory courses on various high-demand trades
• Field trips and guest speakers from local trade businesses
• Information on trade school options and apprenticeship programs

This introduces lucrative earning options besides a 4-year degree. Students may discover rewarding trade careers.

Why Don't More Schools Teach These Skills?

While these income-generating abilities can benefit all students, most schools fail to teach them. Reasons for this gap include:

• General lack of practical career prep - Schools aim to impart academic knowledge but do not adequately ready students for workplace success.
• Focus on college prep - Educators assume students are headed to college so do not provide other post-high school guidance.
• Limited funding and class time - Many schools cannot afford resources for robust career/technical education given constrained budgets and packed academic schedules.
• Lack of qualified instructors - Teachers proficient in sales, marketing, finance, technology, trades are hard to recruit. Most educators come from an academic background.
• Perception that parents should teach these skills - Schools rely on parents to provide income-earning education outside of academics. But parents often cannot due to lack of expertise.

While understandable, these reasons do not justify schools' failure to teach career skills vital for students' livelihoods and success.

How Can Schools Bridge the Skills Gap?

Here are some solutions schools can implement to equip students with money-making abilities:

Partner with Local Employers

Collaborate with businesses to provide guest speakers, facility tours, internships, career fairs, and mentors. This exposes students to real-world job opportunities.

Offer Career/Technical Education Programs

Develop courses, workshops, and clubs focused specifically on career preparedness, entrepreneurship, marketing, sales, finance, and tech skills.

Hire Adjunct Instructors from Industry

Bring in part-time faculty like tradespeople, small business owners, and marketers to teach specialized courses and supplement regular teachers.

Create Apprenticeship/Externship Programs

Establish programs that enable seniors to spend a semester interning at local companies to gain hands-on work experience and skills.

Utilize Online Learning Tools

Integrate engaging online lessons, mentors, and simulations to expose students to a variety of careers and build skills affordably.

Collaborate with Community Colleges

Partner with community colleges to allow high school students to take career-focused classes that award college credits.

Preparing youth with income-generation know-how opens up their options and potential after graduation. Schools must make teaching money-making abilities a higher priority.

What money-earning skills are easiest for high schools to teach?

The most accessible skills for high schools to teach are resume writing, interviewing, workplace etiquette, sales fundamentals, monetizing hobbies/talents, using job sites, and networking. These require less instructor expertise and resources than technical skills.

Should financial education focus more on budgeting or earning money?

Students need both budgeting skills to manage money and income generation skills to maximize what they earn. But schools often ignore earnings potential. Teaching profitable skills for careers, business, and investing is vital alongside smart budgeting.

How can schools incorporate money-earning lessons into academic classes?

English/writing classes can teach business writing and resumes. Math can cover loans, interest, and probability related to finance. Economics lends itself to entrepreneurship and investments. Schools should blend career readiness across curricula.

What are the most profitable skills or careers for high schools to emphasize?

Some lucrative skills schools can focus on are technology (coding, data, digital marketing), financial analysis, sales techniques (for any field), trades, and small business marketing/management. This offers graduates high-income potential.