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Results tagged “salary”

Career Center | Ready or not, retirement usually happens

By Tim Grant / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Many people have surrendered to the idea that they will “work until they drop,” especially if they haven’t saved enough money to retire. The problem with that strategy is that a high percentage of

Career Center Blog | With starting salaries, don't expect to be average

When I accepted my first full-time job offer, back in the heady autumn days of 1989, I was a recent college graduate with a journalism degree (I know -- tragic, right?), and everything seemed possible. The Berlin Wall was suddenly

Career Center | Site: Actuaries have best job; reporters the worst

The recently released 2013 CareerCast.com Jobs Rated Report concluded that actuaries have the nation’s best job. The survey weighed physical demands, stress, working environment, pay and hiring outlook. The 10 best jobs and their median annual salaries*: 1. Actuary: $87,650

Career Center | For 20-somethings, ambition comes at a price

By Teddy Wayne / New York Times News Service Every generation has its own anthem of making the journey from youthful naivete to adult reality, whether it's Neil Young's "Old Man," Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" or most recently, perhaps,

Career Center | Push for minimum-wage hike intensifies as worker ranks swell

By Alana Semuels and Ricardo Lopez / Los Angeles Times Before the recession, Amie Crawford was an interior designer, earning $50,000 a year patterning baths and cabinets for architectural firms. Now, she's a "team member" at the Protein Bar in

Career Center | For most workers, pay will increase slightly next year

By Len Boselovic / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The average U.S. worker in the private sector can expect about a 3 percent salary increase in 2013, a little bit more than this year's increase, according to compensation consultants. How much of that

Career Center Blog | How to choose between two job offers

A former client -- I'll call her "Catherine" -- approached me with an unusual career problem in this ongoing economic recession. She was stressed out and didn't know what to do because she had two job opportunities, but couldn't decide

Career Center | How the gap between rich, poor affects us all

By Sarah Shemkus / Salary.com The typical American household had less income last year than the year before, and the gap between the richest and the poorest is growing, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Adjusted for inflation, median household

Career Center | Don't overlook inside candidates, research suggests

By Diane Stafford / The Kansas City Star As president of the Society for Human Resource Management of Johnson County, Kan., Sue Christopher writes regular newsletter messages to the membership. The biggest reaction she has ever received came this past

Career Center | Application agony: what to put in the salary spot

By Diane Stafford / The Kansas City Star You're filling out an application -- online or on paper -- and it asks what you earned in your last (or current) job. Or it asks what you expect to be paid

Career Center Blog | No free soda, sauna or shuttle, but what perks are you missing?

So maybe you're sweating it out at a not-so-great-paying job, just trying to stay positive and make some solid career moves to take you ahead. But it seems like while you're counting pennies all you hear about from friends, or

Career Center Blog | Negotiation nuances: talking money after the offer

In last week's post, I shared some recommendations on how job candidates should respond to salary questions during interviews. This week, I'll discuss some strategies to use when a viable job offer is on the table. First, a few disclaimers:

Career Center Blog | Negotiation nuances: talking money before the interview

Cold sweats. Anxiety attacks. Incoherence. What do these three things have in common? They're all behaviors you might witness the moment you corner a job candidate and ask: "How much money are you looking for in your next assignment?" In

Career Center Blog | Hard-sell job-search behavior: not wise in Seattle

As the PEMCO commercials endlessly remind us, here in Seattle we're not like everybody else; we're a little different. This statement applies not only to the way we go about networking, as discussed in my posting a few weeks back,

Career Center Blog | Workers want flexibility so badly, we're willing to sacrifice salary

A new survey just released by Mom Corps, a national flexible staffing firm, shows what many of us know anecdotally: Flexible work options are so important to many workers that they are willing to sacrifice a chunk of salary to

Career Center | What are the best jobs in Seattle? Check out the Top 10

View CareerCast.com's full Best Jobs in Seattle report.

Career Center | Fewer firms ranking workers like Microsoft does

By Michael E. Kanell / The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Many American companies that use a ranking employee-evaluation system have lately been turning away from it. Known as “stacked ranking” or “forced ranking,” the process made famous by GE is really just

Career Center | What are the laws on overtime pay?

By Rex Huppke / Chicago Tribune Q: Would you please describe the legal definition of salaried versus hourly employees? I am retired, but a friend is working for a small non-profit that will not pay overtime or give comp time,

Career Center Blog | Sorry, Gramps: The plummeting of our personal wealth

I've been thinking a lot lately about personal wealth. Recently I attended a memorial for my grandfather, who before he died lived 89 years of full, prosperous life. He was prosperous in many ways, my grandfather. An optometrist who treated

Career Center Blog | Equal pay for equal work? Not yet

Elected leaders failed working women and families yesterday. A proposed bill to help equalize women's pay to that of their male counterparts was struck down by Republicans in the U.S. Senate Tuesday, failing to proceed to debate after a 52-47

Career Center Blog | Job-offer negotiating leverage: signs to watch for

While employment conditions in other parts of the country still seem to be a mixed bag, I've been pleased to witness a surge of hiring in the Seattle market. In fact, I've run into numerous local professionals who have landed

Career Center | How to address pay gap with the boss

By Marie G. McIntyre / McClatchy-Tribune News Service Q: A couple of years ago, after our small construction company was hit hard by the recession, all employees received a 5 percent pay cut. Last year, the owners told us that

Career Center | Google, Microsoft rated best places to intern

By Tiffany Hsu / Los Angeles Times Google Inc., with its free meals, high monthly pay and relaxed work environment, was rated by interns as the best place to work in a report released just ahead of the peak summer

Job Calendar | Workshop: salary negotiation

Learn effective, non-confrontational strategies to negotiate a higher rate of pay. For details and registration, visit Bellevue College.

Career Center | Tips for improving your negotiating skills

By Claudia Buck / Sacramento Bee Good negotiating isn't a skill reserved just for CEOs and United Nations diplomats. It's useful for all of us, whether we're asking for a raise, interviewing for a job, buying a car, deciding on

Career Center | Then and now: Employment changes over the past 50 years

Compiled by Linda Hughes / Special to NWjobs In 1962, the year of the Seattle World’s Fair, Bill Gates was 6 and years away from transforming computing and our area’s employment options. Microsoft has changed the jobs landscape, but one

Career Center Blog | Sweetening the deal with 'creative compensation'

One of my favorite scenes in the excellent AMC television drama "Mad Men," about the pressure-cooker life of ad executives in the early 1960s, comes from an episode called "The Suitcase." While working late, young copywriter Peggy Olson, the first

Career Center | Working overtime without getting paid for it

By Rex Huppke / The Chicago Tribune Q: My daughter-in-law works for a very big company and is paid for 40 hours a week, but she winds up working about 90 hours a week with no other compensation. Jobs are

Career Center | Want a raise? Here's how to ask for one

By Joyce E.A. Russell Special to The Washington Post There have been some recent indications that 2012 might be a year in which raises and salary increases are actually possible. If so, it’s important that employees are prepared to

Career Center Blog | The fine line between being hard-nosed and a jerk at work

Maybe you heard about the recent study claiming that agreeable workers make less money than their more obstinate counterparts. Called "Do Nice Guys -- and Gals -- Really Finish Last?" the study makes a case for checking all pleasantries at

Career Center Blog | The real reason women don't get ahead

Perhaps this week, when handing your supervisor a token gift for National Boss Day, you made a mental note to up your professional game so that one day you, too, could be one of the bigwigs. [Flickr photo by

Career Center Blog | Interview bling: Yea or nay?

According to the internets, job applicants who wear too big of an engagement rock to an interview may be doing so at their own peril. [Flickr photo by chris.corwin] As the latest "what will they discriminate against next?" story

Career Center | Financial analysts, accountants can count on increased demand, experts say

By Suzanne MonsonSpecial to NWjobs At the edge of the brink of the threshold: Insiders say that’s how close the Puget Sound region is to a hiring uptick for some of the most promising finance-related jobs. It’s a sector that

Career Center Blog | Answering the unanswerable salary question

There comes a point in every job interview where you get a question that feels like a no-win proposition -- an open-ended query that puts you on the spot and can possibly be the deciding factor in whether or not

Career Center Blog | Living paycheck to paycheck? You're not alone

According to a new CareerBuilder survey, four in 10 U.S. workers say they live paycheck to paycheck most or all of the time. [Flickr photo by Mark Strozier] To arrive at this disheartening figure, CareerBuilder polled nearly 5,300 U.S.

Career Center | Worth the haggle: Why -- and how -- you should always negotiate salary

By Phyllis Korkki New York Times News Service Negotiate your salary? In this economy? Many job seekers would be thrilled to be offered a job at all. How ungrateful and even risky, they may feel, to haggle over salary when

Career Center | Sharing salary history is standard practice

Q: Conventional wisdom seems to be that sharing your salary history with the recruiter -- as opposed to the prospective employer -- will not result in a lower offer. However, it then follows that once the recruiter has determined your

Career Center | Five hot jobs: Digital age, aging population reshape employment projections

By Dave Carpenter The Associated Press If you’ve been fantasizing about becoming a farmer, it’s time to pick another daydream. No other occupation category has seen a bigger decline, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Twitter strategist or

Career Center Blog | Understand contractor compensation before accepting the role

Congratulations! You've received an offer from a Microsoft vendor. Before you accept, consider two important decisions. First, be careful before signing a non-compete agreement, and second, don't take the first compensation offer. In my last column, I described the basic

Career Center Blog | Are women who take their spouse's name judged unfairly at work?

I recently got married with the least amount of fanfare possible. No engagement announcement. No ring. No dress. No floral arrangements, seating charts, Jordan almonds, bridesmaids, or high-priced photographer (the picture at the left is not of me). Just

Career Center Blog | Post-recession dads: Less willing to give up breadwinner role?

When it comes to work/life balance, the recession has left more than a few working dads gun-shy. According to CareerBuilder's Annual Father's Day Survey, working dads are more reluctant to let go of the breadwinner role than they were

Career Center Blog | The biggest money mistakes that young workers make

If you're fresh out of school and headed into the job market, managing money is probably the last thing on your mind. Not when finding a job and ensuring you stay employed is tough enough. But as someone who entered

Career Center Blog | For some job seekers, every day is Earth Day

Happy Earth Day -- do you know where your employer stands on environmental sustainability? In a survey released earlier this month by carpet maker Interface Inc., a majority of respondents said they sure hoped they knew where their company

Career Center Blog | How to spend the money the new payroll tax cut saves you

If you're currently a W-2 employee, you may have noticed your paycheck looking a tad bigger this month. That's because the Obama administration's extension of the Bush-era tax cuts just went into effect. [Image by alancleaver_2000] The Associated Press

Career Center Blog | Single women outearning their male counterparts? Not so fast

Since last week was Unmarried and Single Americans Week, I thought it fitting to look at some contradictory statistics about single women's salaries I've seen floating around lately. But first, let's revisit just how prevalent not being married has become.

Career Center Blog | How to negotiate an extra $31,200 in less than 10 minutes

A client of mine e-mailed me last night to tell me that his negotiation strategy that we worked on last week resulted in an extra $15 per hour, equaling over $31,000 a year. How did he do it, you ask?

Career Center Blog | What have you done for the nation's charities lately?

You've probably heard that charitable giving has been on the decline since the recession began. The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University reports that donor contributions have fallen by about 5.5 percent since the end of 2007. With the number

Career Center Blog | A resource for finding a company you want to work for

Job seekers who have a clear idea of which employers they want to work for tend to find jobs quicker than job seekers that are keeping their options open and still figuring things out. There is power in focus. One

Career Center | Health educators impart wellness information in a variety of settings

Pay: The 1,010 health educators in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area earned a median wage of $52,450 in 2007, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle 50 percent earned between $41,700 and $64,590. The job: Health educators work to

Career Center | Health care administrators earn a good wage in a growing field

Pay: The 1,640 health care administrators in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area in 2007 earned a median wage of $49.81 an hour or $103,600 a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The job: These administrators plan, direct, coordinate and

Career Center | A wealth of opportunities awaits nurse's aides, who provide hands-on patient care

Pay: The average wage in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area is $13.20 an hour, or $27,450 a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle 50 percent earns between $23,420 and $31,010. The Job: Nursing aides help care for

Career Center | Demand for technology-savvy librarians will be on the rise over the next decade

Pay: The 1,950 librarians employed in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area in 2007 earned a median wage of $30.09 an hour or $62,590 a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The job: Librarians use the latest information technology to

Career Center | Garbage and recycling collectors bring home the green for a hard day's work

Pay: The 930 garbage and recycling collectors working in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area in 2007 earned a median wage of $19.31 an hour or $40,160 a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The job: Refuse and recyclable-material collectors

Career Center | Technical writers distill and explain specialized information for the rest of us

Pay: The 1,440 salaried technical writers in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area earned a median wage of $75,880 in 2007. But thousands of others work primarily as freelance writers and their earnings are not included. The job: Technical writers put technical information

Career Center | Diesel mechanics keep our country's trucks, trains and buses moving

Pay: The 2,000 diesel mechanics in the Seattle-Bellevue- Tacoma area in 2007 earned a median wage of $22.63 an hour or $47,070 a year. The job: Diesel mechanics repair and maintain the engines that power our nation's trucks, locomotives

Career Center | Ophthalmic laboratory technicians learn on the job to bring life into focus

Pay: The 510 such workers in Washington state earned a median wage of $32,120 a year in 2007, with the middle 50 percent earning between $25,820 and $44,720. The job: These technicians make prescription eyeglass or contact lenses. (Some make

Career Center | Energy-efficient building trend will spur demand for insulation workers

Pay: Floor, ceiling and wall insulation workers in the state earned a median wage of $14.41 an hour, or $29,970 a year, in 2007, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Mechanical insulation workers, who fit vats, tanks, vessels,

Career Center | Actuaries crunch numbers to calculate risk -- a career path that's a safe bet

Pay: The 150 actuaries in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area earned a median wage of $75,090 in 2007. The job: Actuaries use their math and business skills to assess the risk of events occurring and help create policies to benefit their companies

Career Center | Home-appliance repairers tackle jobs from big to small

Pay: The 710 home-appliance repairers in the Seattle-Bellevue Tacoma area in 2007 earned a median wage of $18.09 an hour or $37,630 a year, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The job: Home-appliance repairers do both installation and

Career Center | Drafters

Pay: The 2,400 architectural and civil drafters in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area — the largest subgroup — earned a median wage of $44,860 a year in 2007, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Electrical and electronics drafters earned $56,160;

Career Center | Diagnostic medical sonographer

Pay: The 660 medical sonographers in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area earned a median wage of $35.17 an hour or $73,150 a year in 2007, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half earned between $66,210 and $81,050. The job: Diagnostic

Career Center | Landscaping and groundskeeping workers

Pay: The 10,410 groundskeepers in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area earned a median wage of $13.08 an hour or $27,210 a year in 2007, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle 50 percent earned between $22,410 and $34,240. The

Career Center | Printing-machine operators

Pay: The 1,550 press operators in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area earned a median wage of $18.36 an hour or $38,180 a year in May 2007, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle 50 percent earned between $28,180 and

Career Center | Gaming-cage workers

Pay: Workers in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area earned a median wage of $11.66 an hour or $24,250 a year in 2007, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $21,400 and $29,160. The job: Gaming-cage workers,

Career Center | Power-plant operator

Pay: Operators in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area earned a median wage of $71,220 a year in 2007, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The statewide median was $65,770. The job: Power-plant operators control the machinery that generates electricity —

Career Center | Welders

Pay: The 3,780 welders, solderers and brazers in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area earned a median $20.48 an hour or $42,610 a year in 2007, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The job: Welding — the joining of metal using

Career Center | Telecommunications line installers and repairers

Pay: The 1,920 installers and repairers working in the Seattle-Bellevue Tacoma area in May 2007 earned a median $22.01 an hour or $45,790 a year. The middle 50 percent earned between $37,220 and $54,900. The job: Line installers and repairers

Career Center | Mental-health counselor

Pay: The 1,600 salaried mental-health counselors in the Seattle-Tacoma- Bellevue area earned a median $40,500 a year in 2007, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $33,930 and $50,560. These estimates do not include

Career Center | Hairdressers

Pay: The 6,300 hairdressers in the Seattle-Tacoma- Bellevue area in 2007 earned a median $13.02 an hour, or $27,090 a year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. However, these numbers do not include the 46 percent who are self-employed,

Career Center | Transit bus drivers

Pay: Transit and intercity bus drivers in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area earned a median $20.17 an hour or $41,950 a year in May 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The job: Bus drivers operate a range of vehicles from

Career Center | Court reporter

Pay: The 130 court reporters working full time in the state earned a median wage of $32.69 an hour, or $68,000, in May 2007, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $56,370 and $75,330.

Career Center | Forklift operators

Pay: The 8,780 industrial truck and tractor operators in the Seattle- Tacoma-Bellevue area earned a median wage of $16.74 an hour, or $34,820 a year, in May 2007, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned

Career Center | Forensic-science technician

Pay: In the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton area, the closest for which U.S. Labor Department statistics are available, the 2007 median wage was $29.07 an hour or $60,480 a year, with half earning between $50,680 and $68,740. The job: Forensic-science technicians investigate crimes

Career Center | Dental hygienist

Pay: The 3,090 dental hygienists working in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area earned a median wage of $44.08 an hour or $91,680 a year in 2007, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $40.61 and $47.47

Career Center | HVACR technician

Pay: The 540 surveyors working in the Seattle-Tacoma- Bellevue area in 2007 made a median wage of $32.81 an hour or $68,250 a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half of them made between $57,220 and $78,830.

Career Center | Land surveyor

Career Center | Police, fire and ambulance dispatchers

Pay: The 1,590 police, fire and ambulance dispatchers in the state of Washington earned an average $21.07 an hour in 2007, or $43,830 a year, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the Seattle Police Department, entry-level dispatchers

Career Center | Waitress/Waiter

Pay: The 29,080 restaurant waiters and waitresses in the Seattle-Tacoma- Bellevue area earned a median $13.42 an hour, or $27,910 a year (including tips), in 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half earned between $11.26 and $15.16 an

Career Center | Plumber

Pay: Seattle-area plumbers who work for others make a median annual wage of $53,000 for less-experienced workers and $57,000 for the most experienced, according to salary.com. The job: Plumbers install and repair the water, waste-disposal, drainage and gas systems in

Career Center | Baker

Pay: The estimated 1,910 bakers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area who work for others earned a median wage of $14.74 an hour or $30,650 a year in 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle 50 percent earned between

Career Center | Optometrist

Pay: Optometrists in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area who work for others earned a median wage of $117,630 in 2007, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, according to the American Optometric Association, median net annual income for all optometrists,

Career Center | High-school teacher

The Job: These teachers help students delve more deeply into subjects introduced in elementary school and expose them to more information about the world. Teachers specialize in a specific subject. Pay: The median annual wage of the 7,040 high-school teachers

Career Center | Laundry and dry-cleaning workers

Pay: The 1,890 laundry and dry-cleaning workers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area earned a median $10.82 an hour, or $22,500 a year in 2007, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle 50 percent earned between $18,780 and $25,600.

Career Center | Bricklayer

Pay: Bricklayers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area earned an average $29.80 an hour or $61,980 a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle 50 percent earned between $55,890 and $68,020. Demand: Job opportunities are expected to be

Career Center | Insurance sales agent

Pay: The annual median income for insurance sales agents in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area is $52,700, with most earning between $40,950 and $75,110, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many independent agents are paid by commission only. Employees of

Career Center | Legal secretary

Pay: Beginning legal secretaries earn a median income of $38,595 in the Seattle area, and the most experienced, with at least seven years in the field, earned a median of $53,674, according to salary.com. Demand: Employment of secretaries and administrative

Career Center | Postal-service worker

Pay: Postal Service mail carriers earned an average of $43,860 a year or $21.09 an hour in the Seattle-Everett-Bellevue area in 2007, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Post-office clerks earned an average $44,020; and mail sorters, processors

Career Center | Automotive service technician

Pay: The average annual pay for this job in the Seattle-Tacoma area is $44,140, or $21.22 an hour, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The least-skilled automotive service technicians in the Seattle area make a median of $35,726

Career Center | Upholsterer

Pay: The average annual pay for this job in the Seattle-Tacoma area is $35,460, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Demand: The demand for custom home furnishings is diminishing in general, but remains steady in upscale stores and with

Career Center | Light-truck driver

Pay: The median pay for this job in the Seattle area is $34,651, with most ranging from $29,725 to $39,578, according to salary.com. Demand: Employment of truck drivers is expected to increase about as fast as the average for all

Career Center | What This Job Pays: Massage therapist

Pay: The median pay for this job in the Seattle area is $46,079, with most ranging from $28,809 to $64,821, according to salary.com. Demand: Employment for massage therapists is expected to increase 20 percent from 2006-16, faster than average for

Career Center | What This Job Pays: Software engineer

Pay: The median pay of a software engineer in the Seattle area is $77,020, with most making from $68,565 to $87,072, according to salary.com. Demand: Demand for computer software engineers will increase as computer networking continues to grow. For example,

Career Center | What This Job Pays: Probation/parole officer

Pay: The median pay for this job in the Seattle area is $48,393, with most ranging from $42,921 to $53,875, according to salary.com. Demand: Employment of probation officers and correctional-treatment specialists is projected to grow 11 percent between 2006 and