Why wages differ Consider three engineers who have the same amount of schooling and work experience but earn different wages. One of them is a computer engineer who designs and tests new computers for a salary of $48,000 per year. Another is a chemical engineer who works in a nuclear lab and performs experiments on radioactive materials for a salary of $72,000 per year. The last one is a civil engineer who performs daily inspections of cables on a suspension bridge for a salary of $105,000 per year. According to economists, this difference in earnings is mostly due to. Consider two college graduates who are trying to choose what field to go into based on how much money they think they will make. Alyssa thinks she will make the most money as a ventriloquist because it is a relatively rare skill. Yvette thinks she will earn the most money as a clothing store owner because there is a high demand for clothing. Who do you expect will earn the most money? Yvette will earn more than Alyssa because there is greater demand for clothing than for ventriloquism. It depends on the relative demand for the service each provides compared to the relative supply of people providing that service. Alyssa will earn more than Yvette because there are fewer ventriloquists than clothing store owners.