Syllabus: Cambridge - IGCSE Economics
Module: 3.3 Workers
Lesson: 3.3.1 Factors Affecting an Individual's Choice of Occupation

Introduction

This article aligns with the Cambridge IGCSE Economics syllabus, Topic 3.3.1: Factors Affecting an Individual’s Choice of Occupation. It forms part of the broader theme “Workers” within the labour market module. This topic is pivotal in helping students understand the personal, economic, and non-monetary factors influencing employment decisions. It links well to real-world employment behaviours and decision-making scenarios, making it ideal for applying economic theory to students’ lived experiences.

This unit is particularly effective for delivering Gatsby Benchmark 4 (linking curriculum to careers) through exploration of individual career motivations, while enabling students to critically reflect on what drives occupational choices.

Key Concepts

The Cambridge IGCSE Economics syllabus outlines the following learning outcomes for this topic:

• Understand the wage and non-wage factors affecting an individual’s occupational choice.

• Differentiate between monetary rewards (e.g. salary, bonuses) and non-monetary considerations (e.g. job satisfaction, working conditions, location).

• Recognise how individual circumstances (qualifications, experience, family obligations) influence decisions.

• Consider labour market conditions, such as demand for certain roles or unemployment rates.

• Understand the role of education, training and skills in opening or limiting occupational pathways.

Teachers should emphasise the interplay of factors, helping students evaluate choices holistically rather than assuming wage is the sole motivator.

Real-World Relevance

The 2024 UK labour market provides an ideal backdrop for teaching this topic:

• NHS Recruitment Drives: Despite high pay scales for doctors and nurses, retention challenges highlight the importance of working conditions and work-life balance. Many NHS workers cite long hours and emotional strain as factors prompting career changes.

• Tech Sector Talent Gaps: High-paying tech roles remain unfilled due to skill shortages, reinforcing the importance of education and transferable skills.

• Remote Working Preferences: Since the pandemic, many individuals prioritise flexibility over pay. A 2025 YouGov poll showed 61% of UK workers would trade higher salaries for better work-life balance.

• Apprenticeship Growth: Students are increasingly choosing vocational pathways based on skill alignment, job security, and lifestyle, not just earnings potential.

These examples provide scope for class discussions, debates, or mini case studies to illustrate differing career motivations.

How It’s Assessed

Assessment for this topic typically appears in structured questions, and students are expected to:

• Explain or identify factors influencing occupational choice

• Compare different occupations using both wage and non-wage criteria

• Evaluate the relative importance of various factors in given scenarios

Common command words in IGCSE Economics include:

• Identify – Name specific factors

• Explain – Provide reasons why a factor matters

• Discuss or Evaluate – Weigh the significance of different factors with reasoning

Example question:

“Discuss the non-wage factors that might influence someone to become a teacher instead of a lawyer.”

Encourage students to structure their answers using point-evidence-explanation and to balance their arguments with both economic logic and human motivation.

Enterprise Skills Integration

This topic naturally embeds multiple enterprise and workplace readiness competencies, including:

• Decision-making: Students must weigh competing priorities like income versus wellbeing, mirroring real job choices.

• Problem-solving: Case studies asking students to recommend suitable careers based on profiles (skills, interests, constraints).

• Stakeholder awareness: Understanding that individual choices affect families, employers and society (e.g. skill shortages).

• Strategic thinking: Analysing long-term career planning, including retraining and lifelong learning pathways.

Use Enterprise Skills’ tools such as Skills Hub Futures to simulate workplace decisions with real consequences, enabling students to see how values, skills, and economic context shape occupational choices.

Careers Links

This lesson directly supports:

• Gatsby Benchmark 4 – Linking curriculum to careers: Explore how economics content explains real job decisions.

• Gatsby Benchmark 5 – Encounters with employers: Invite professionals to discuss why they chose their careers.

• Gatsby Benchmark 6 – Experiences of workplaces: Use virtual job role tours or simulation tools to explore different occupations.

Career paths connected to this topic include:

• Labour Market Analysts

• Human Resources Officers

• Vocational Guidance Counsellors

• Recruitment Consultants

• Policy Makers in Employment or Skills Sectors

Activities like mock interviews or job evaluation tasks also align well, enabling students to evaluate suitability of careers based on personal values and economic rationale.

Teaching Notes

Common Pitfalls:

• Students often over-prioritise wage and overlook crucial non-monetary motivators such as job satisfaction or flexibility.

• There can be confusion between wage factors and working conditions – clarify with clear definitions and examples.

• Students may struggle to evaluate trade-offs, so provide scaffolded comparison frameworks.

Teaching Tips:

• Use role-play: Assign students job profiles and let them “choose” occupations using different criteria.

• Create case study grids comparing occupations on salary, hours, stress level, location, etc.

• Leverage Enterprise Skills’ employer challenge resources to contextualise occupational decisions within business needs.

Extension Activities:

• Debate: “Is salary the most important factor when choosing a career?”

• Project: Students interview a working adult and present findings on what influenced their career choice.

• Simulations: Let students experience job decision scenarios through Skills Hub Futures, capturing decisions made and reflecting on trade-offs.