The Coronavirus pandemic has greatly affected the education sector, the effects are alarming and will be reflected in the long term in wages
The World Bank estimates that the pandemic caused a delay in Mexico equivalent to two years of schooling. Before the health emergency, Mexicans reached an average level of learning corresponding to the third year of secondary school, while today their knowledge is equivalent to the first year of secondary school.
This, together with the school dropout of children between 6 and 17 years old due to the economic crisis that has been one of the most devastating effects of the Coronavirus, causes the Inter-American Development Bank to calculate a 13-year setback in school attendance.
This scenario reveals a less than encouraging scenario even after the pandemic is over: a population of future workers with less knowledge and skills with fewer possibilities of aspiring to well-paid jobs.
In fact, the World Bank considers that the current scenario will cause the average student to lose 8% of their future annual income, which is equivalent to one month of salary per year for the rest of their productive life.
Today, how much does a worker earn according to their educational level?
According to data from the study Compare Carreras 2021, from the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO), this is the average monthly salary by educational level:
| Education level | National average salary level |
| Neither | $ 4,888 |
| Primary | $ 5,869 |
| Secondary | $ 6,464 |
| Preparatory | $ 7,253 |
| Degree | $ 12,123 |
Source: Prepared by the IMCO with microdata from INEGI. National Survey of Occupation and Employment, Q4 of 2019 and Q1, Q3, and Q4 of 2020.
What are the best and worst-paid careers in Mexico?
As the aforementioned study indicates, choosing a career is an investment of time, money, and effort, and to take it, risks such as unemployment, leaving the labor market and informality must also be considered.
Currently, these are the best and worst-paid careers in our country:
| Best paid | |
| Career | Average salary |
| Medicine | $ 17,889 |
| Finance, banking, and insurance | $ 17,050 |
| Construction and civil engineering | $ 14,848 |
| Mechanical engineering and metallurgy | $ 14,493 |
| Information and communication technology | $ 14,409 |
| Worst paid | |
| Career | Average salary |
| Educational counseling and guidance | $ 7,874 |
| Foreign languages | $ 9,101 |
| Work and social care | $ 9,290 |
| Didactics, pedagogy, and curriculum | $ 9,596 |
| Teacher training, multidisciplinary or general programs | $ 9,642 |
Source: IMCO calculations with information from INEGI. ENOE 2019-4, 2020-1, 2020-3 and 2020- 4. * Includes undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Source: forbes.com.mx
