How to Compare Salaries for Different Careers
Comparing salaries for different careers is important for focusing your professional goals. Completing additional education or certifications can add up to pay increases. But many individuals forget an important strategy to getting paid more: never accept the first salary offer. While it's scary to think about the employer changing his mind, providing salary research will back up your request for a larger compensation package.
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Instructions
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Narrow your salary search by position. Searching for salaries is easier if you limit your search to three or four different careers. For example, if you want to enter the medical industry you have several options, such as becoming a medical assistant, registered nurse, nurse practitioner or doctor. To get ideas for position titles, visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics (see Resources) and type the industry into the search box. This will generate all of the possible jobs within a specific career.
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Check the Salary Wizard tool. This tool is free (see Resources) and provides a salary range for each career. For example, if you want to become a registered nurse (RN), Salary Wizard will tell you the salary range is $50,000 to $72,000 annually. You can also narrow your search by zip codes to geographically adjust the salary range. Complete a search for each career that you're interested in.
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Compare salaries at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It provides a wealth of information about different career choices, such as work environment and education requirements. Plus, the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides accurate salary information, based on national averages.
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Check out Salary Search, a company that provides salary comparisons for different careers. It provides salary ranges and indicates how much you can expect to make based on your level of experience. You can also narrow your search based on small, mid-sized or large companies and based on which degree you hold.
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Do an informal salary survey if you are interested in what specific companies in your area pay. Call the Human Resources manager, and explain that you're doing an informal salary survey. Ask for the salary range for the position you're interested in, and request any criteria pay is based on--education, experience or certifications.
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Tips & Warnings
Compile your salary comparison in a spreadsheet. This will make it easier to identify the best-paying careers.
Never accept the first salary offer. Many individuals are excited about getting an offer and don't negotiate. But if you counter the offer, based on your research, you may get a sizable increase in compensation.
