Name: Marcie T. Hull
Job Title: Technology Coordinator
Where: Philadelphia, PA
Employer: Science Leadership Academy (School District of Philadelphia)
Years of Experience: 7
Education: Temple University's Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA, Rosemont College, Rosemont, PA
Salary: See the PayScale Research Center for the median technology coordinator salary.

Technology Coordinator Salary

For readers who are interested in a technology coordinator salary and want to learn about a technology coordinator job description, this Salary Story is the place to log on! We spoke to school technology coordinator Marcie T. Hull who told us about information technology coordinator positions and more.

She covered information technology coordinator duties, the outlook for technology coordinator jobs and different technology coordinator job descriptions (Marcie is also a teacher). Whether you want to make a change in your career or add some skills (and salary) to your present job, this interview is a must-click!

I have a colleague whose friend was one offered the head-writing job on the Fox-TV series America's Most Wanted. He accepted the job, but was then told he would have to fly to a different location every week with the crime-fighting host John Walsh. The problem? His friend hated flying. Accepting the wrong job is more common than you would think, according to a recent article at csmonitor.com about new-job regrets and what to consider when considering a job offer.

According to the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, about 25 percent of workers actually regret taking a new position within the first year.  It's not just Joe Six Pack who's getting cold feet; Katie Couric has suggested that her move from NBC's "Today" show to the "CBS Evening News" might have been a mistake. Clearly, there are other factors just as important as negotiating job offer salaries.

Are you in the right career?  Find out with our salary survey.
Could you current salary take you farther in another city? Find out with the PayScale Cost of Living Calculator.

Job security is pretty rare these days. News stories of downsizing, outsourcing and even in-sourcing (jobs going to prisons) abound. However, there are some professions that are more secure then others. Forbes.com recently ran an article on the most secure jobs in the USA.

Topping the list was a federal judge. It's not an easy position to get, and you must be approved by Congress, but once you're in, that's a lifetime appointment. The salaries for U.S. Federal Judges are in the $150,000 and up range. See my post on judges' pay for whether this is a lot or a little...

Before we look at the other "secure" jobs, how secure is your salary?  Find out with our salary calculator.

Name: Misty Cargill
Job Title: Financial Controller
Where: Woodland, CA
Employer: Resonant Sonic International, Inc.
Years of Experience: 10
Education: BS Accounting - University of Phoenix
Salary: See the PayScale Research Center for median financial controller and other accounting salaries.

Financial Controller: Accounting Salaries

You've probably heard of financial controllers, but may not be able to recite a financial controller job description off the top of your head. In this Salary Story, we crunched the numbers with Misty Cargill who is a financial controller in California.

She opened the books on how to become a financial controller, factors that can affect accounting salaries and the daily tasks of today's financial controller. For more info on a career that really adds up, keep reading!

America's concept of retirement is on the brink of a sea change, some say.

Traditionally workers retire at or around 65, quitting their jobs and heading to warmer climes with golf courses aplenty. The next big wave of retirees are the 78 million baby boomers--the first ones turn 65 in 2011--but nothing about them has ever been traditional.

A 2005 survey by the MetLife Foundation and Civic Ventures says that, “In recent years, the vast majority of baby boomers have told pollsters that unlike their parents, they plan to work in retirement, they need continued income, and they want greater flexibility in retirement jobs.”

Right now, according to Mark Penn's book "Microtrends," 5 million people over 65 are still working. If that number explodes, as Penn predicts, it will have a serious impact on the U.S. workforce.

Have you ever tried to get work done at an airport that's less than friendly to business travelers?

Take heart, for gradual change is in the works, says a New York Times article: Airports and especially hotels are becoming more user-friendly for globe-trotting workers.

According to the article:

... hotels and airports are gradually catching on to the fact that mobile workers need more help getting their jobs done on the road. Hotels that cater to laptop-toting travelers are scrambling to add electrical outlets in easy-to-reach places, install better task lighting and design chairs with flat armrests that can double as desks.

In an earlier column, I mentioned how the U.S. government was awarding a sign on bonus in order to increase enlistments.  Well, that sign on bonus to join the military was the subject of a firestorm recently when KDKA.com reported that wounded U.S. soldiers were being told to give back part of their military signing bonus.

This story of military salary scale gone awry hit the media when serviceman Jordan Fox received a letter from the government demanding the return of almost $3K of his military signing bonus. Fox had to return stateside three months early after he lost vision in his right eye, due to a roadside bomb in Iraq. Should injured servicemen have to return part of their sign on bonus to join the military?

How would your salary be affected if you had to return your bonuses?  Find out with PayScale's full salary survey.

Working from home is on the up and up.

According to the new book by pollster Mark Penn, "Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes," 4.2 million Americans work from home, up 23 percent since 1990, and almost 100 percent since 1980.

Penn argues that microtrends--"small, under-the-radar forces that can involve as little as 1 percent of the population"--have a strong impact on our society. Telecommuting is one such microtrend, according to the book, and is advancing because it eliminates commutes, saves gas money, helps employees in their quest for work-life balance, and mostly because technology is galloping apace.

The Wall Street Journal's Sue Shellenbarger explores the increasing number of employers hiring professionals to telecommute full-time from the start of their tenure. Though she reports that landing one of these jobs isn't easy, in a separate blog-post she writes, "the widening trickle of home-based new hires at big, mainstream employers seems to mark an exciting new era, not only for work-life quality but for productivity."

While telecommuting isn't for everyone, some workers flourish under the setup. So what does it take to succeed?

Name: Craig Hysell
Job Title: Bartender
Where: Hilton Head Island, SC
Employer: Riders Lounge
Years of Experience: 12
Education: BA in Communications from Bowling Green State University
Salary: See the PayScale Research Center for the median bartender salary.

Bartender Salary: A Bartender Career Profile

Recently Britney Spears made the news, again, by inquiring about bartender jobs at a California hotel. Britney, or anyone who is interested in becoming a bartender, should read this Salary Story. We spoke to bartender Craig Hysell about bartender jobs, a bartender salary, bartending school and more. Many people wonder if they need to attend school to become a bartender. This interview provides the answer, plus insider info on what it takes to succeed as a career bartender. So pour yourself a cold one and keep reading!

You don't have to be Rudy, Hillary or Obama to seek a job in the U.S. government. CNN.Money.com reported that government employment opportunities are greatly increasing. A new study by Partnership for Public Service (a nonprofit group) says that the feds are about to start looking for employees to fill 193,000 United States government jobs. The openings - including federal government part time jobs - will occur between now and 2009.

The main causes of these government employment opportunities are the expected retirement of 33% of the federal workforce and the ever-growing war on terror. Additions will include 47,897 jobs at the Department of Homeland Security, 35,505 positions at the Department of Defense as well as 27,243 border patrol agents, customs agents, food inspectors, criminal investigators and TSA airport screeners.  However, government employment opportunities are not limited to US Government security jobs.

How does your salary compare to United States government jobs?  Find out with our salary survey.

If all went according to plan, military reservists who go to war would have their stateside jobs waiting for them when they returned.  However, in the real world, 23 percent of veteran jobs are gone when reservists return, per a report by CNN.com. And many servicemen say the U.S. government is not helping those who are denied their old jobs when they return from Iraq. In short, Iraq veteran job opportunities have become the new casualties of war.

This info is part of a Defense Department survey of military reservists in 2005-2006. In the report, 44 percent were dissatisfied with how the Labor Department handled complaints of discrimination in veteran jobs, 29 percent had problems getting info from government agencies and 77 percent didn't try to get government help because they didn't think it would make a difference. Is this "supporting the troops?" What can be done differently?

How does your salary compare to veteran jobs?  Find out with the PayScale Salary Calculator.

Most workers around the world are not engaged by their work.

That's according to a recent Towers Perrin study, which finds only 21 percent of employees engaged by their work, meaning they're willing to put in extra effort to help their companies succeed. Meanwhile, 38 percent of workers are partly to fully disengaged.

The study shows that companies with many engaged workers are more likely to retain their top talent and succeed financially than companies with many disengaged workers. The study isn't the only one to uncover a link between employee engagement and companies' financial success. A Wall Street Journal article reports that Hewitt Associates and the Conference Board have released studies reaching the same conclusion: Engaged employees boost the bottom line.

Companies should strive to spur employees toward higher levels of engagement. But how?

Name: Dustin Evans
Job Title: Comic Book Artist (Freelance Illustrator)
Where: Tulsa, OK
Employer: Disney, IDW Publishing, Viper Comics, Ape Entertainment, SLG Graphics
Years of Experience: 4
Education: BFA in Graphic Design and Illustration from Oklahoma State University

Comic Book Artist Salary: How to Be a Comic Book Artist

Are you interested in becoming a comic book artist?  Look no further, comic book artist Dustin Evans has come to the rescue! In this Salary Story, you'll learn how to be a comic book artist and about the factors that affect a comic book artist salary. The wacky adventures of a comic book artist are just moments away; keep reading!

Name: Michael Flagg
Job Title: Nuclear Engineer (Reactor Service)
Where: Columbia, Missouri
Employer: University of Missouri - Columbia
Years of Experience: 1.5
Education:B.S. Nuclear Engineering from the University of Missouri - Rolla
Salary: See the PayScale Research Center for the median nuclear engineer salary, and compare it to petroleum engineering salaries with masters degree. 

Nuclear Engineer Salary

How much money does a nuclear engineer make? You may be hearing that question more and more as the U.S. considers going back to nuclear power. Even now, nuclear engineers are in demand as we found out in this Salary Story with Michael Flagg.

In our chat, he covered nuclear engineer college, a nuclear engineer's necessary skills, the future of nuclear engineers in the market place, factors than can affect a nuclear engineer salary, as well as earnings and advancements of a nuclear engineer. This interview is charged with info!

An article in today's Wall Street Journal says female executives identify with the scrutiny Hillary Clinton is experiencing as she campaigns to be president. The story touches on Catalyst's recent report on women in the workplace, which I blogged about last week.

While the story delves into familiar struggles women encounter at work, it also raises a more compelling point: Some of the most successful women in business-leadership positions have learned to stop focusing on gender.

Wal-Mart is famous (or infamous depending on your POV) for its employees' salaries, and now it appears the big box giant is concerned about today's starting lawyer salary. As recently reported by the Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart sent a memo to its legal counsel bemoaning an increase in legal fees and pointing a finger at the starting lawyer salary of $160,000.

In the memo, Miguel Rivera Sr., associate general counsel for Wal-Mart, wrote, “The salaries that law firms choose to pay their junior associates are none of our concern."  But then he added, “Based on the size and frequency of the rate increase requests that we have seen over the past three years, it appears that many of the requested increases are largely attributable to the steady, nationwide increases in junior associate salaries.”

How does your salary compare to a starting lawyer salary?  Find out by taking PayScale's full salary survey.

Name: Melissa McKaig
Job Title: Dental Assistant
Where: Glendale, AZ
Employer: Westside Endodontic Professionals
Years of Experience: 4
Education: Associate Degree, The Bryman School in Phoenix
Salary: See the PayScale Research Center for median dental assistant salaries.

Dental Assistant Salaries and Career Options

For those interested in dental assistant salaries and career options, this Salary Story provides a perfect introduction. In this interview, Melissa McKaig explains the difference between dental assistant and dental hygienist positions, and gives helpful info on the outlook for dental assistant jobs.

Melissa also discusses dental assistant salaries, certifications for dental assistants, requirements for dental assistant jobs, and how to become a dental assistant. If you're wondering how to earn the best dental assistant salaries and develop a successful career, open wide and keep reading!

Worker absenteeism costs companies an estimated $74 billion a year, according to a story in the Nov. 12 issue of BusinessWeek. So it's no wonder some businesses are clamping down on employees taking time off, especially for less-than-legitimate reasons.

According to the article:

Some companies are instituting tough policies to combat hooky. Others are limiting the amount of time you can take off before unpaid leave kicks in. And then there are those using brawny human resources software that mines worker data and analyzes no-shows--from the hourly scut worker straight up to the middle ranks of the salaried class.

These strategies are sure to irk some employees, as the story mentions, who find that "the new crackdown smacks of Big Brother."

But some policies could prove useful.

When we talk about a leader in the workplace, the image that comes to most people's minds is a man--not a woman.

That's according to a recent New York Times article by Lisa Belkin, which highlights a variety of research on women and leadership, including a recent report by Catalyst, a group that studies women in the workplace. Dubbed “Damned if You Do, Doomed if You Don’t,” the report polled 1,231 senior executives from the United States and Europe:

It found that women who act in ways that are consistent with gender stereotypes — defined as focusing “on work relationships” and expressing “concern for other people’s perspectives” — are considered less competent. But if they act in ways that are seen as more “male” — like “act assertively, focus on work task, display ambition” — they are seen as “too tough” and “unfeminine.” Women can’t win.

Women face major obstacles, it's true, but I disagree on the last point. Women can win more positions of leadership in the workplace, and for many reasons, they need to. They just need a little help.

Name: "Captain Crystal" Stout
Job Title: Hot Air Balloon Pilot
Where: Ridgefield, WA
Employer: Morning Star Balloon Co. (President/Owner/Operator)
Years of Experience: 22
Education: Jr. College 

Cabin Crew Salaries: Hot Air Balloon Pilot

When most people think of cabin crew salaries, they may picture an airline, but this Salary Story takes off with hot air balloon pilot "Captain Crystal" Stout. She took time out of her busy schedule to tell us about her career as a hot air balloon pilot, including info on hot air balloon pilot requirements and training.

"Captain Crystal" also gave us the inside track on hot air balloon pilot school and taking a hot air ballooning exam. Keep reading to learn more about a career that is always going up!