Name: Sharleen Jones
Job Title: Exercise Physiologist/Wellness Consultant
Where: Moose Jaw, Canada
Employer: Self-Employed
Years of Experience: 10
Education: University of Regina, Bachelor of Physical Activity Studies; Certified Personal Trainer; Professional Fitness and Lifestyle Consultant; Certified Exercise Physiologist.
Annual Salary: See PayScale's Research Center to find the average salary of a personal trainer and exercise physiologist salaries.

As more and more people look to "tone-up," fitness gurus are "tuning-in" to learn how to become a personal trainer, get certified as an exercise physiologist, or pursue other careers related to health and fitness. The fitness industry is a booming, multi-billion dollar industry. This means a positive outlook for the job growth rate of an exercise physiologist. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, fitness workers can expect a 27 percent growth in employment opportunities over the next 10 years. And while one career choice is to work at a club like 24 Hour Fitness, a wide range of career options exist outside of the corporate fitness world. Sharleen Jones is a certified personal trainer who is actually her own boss. Read on for her inside scoop on how to become a personal trainer, and check out PayScale's exercise physiologist and personal trainer salary data for more information on the average salary of a personal trainer and salary for exercise physiologist. 

A few years ago, the NFL instituted a salary cap that gives each team the same budget for NFL player salaries. But yesterday, National Football League team owners voted unanimously to terminate their labor contract with the players union early, in a move to cut salary costs. [Reuters] Apparently, team owners feel players are overpaid--though the players disagree.

Name: Connie Wirtanen
Job Title: IT Business Analyst
Where: St. Paul, MN
Employer: US Bank
Years of Experience: 16
Education: Cardinal Stritch University, Minnesota State - Mankato
Relevant Work Experience: Business Analyst, Functional Analyst, Software Support, Accounting Manager, Accountant
Annual Salary: Use PayScale's Resource Center to find the median salary of business analyst, to review IT salary survey data, and to find salaries for accounting/auditing careers. 

Have you ever been referred to as a god at work? IT Business Analyst Connie Wirtananen has. While this is probably an exaggeration, it does convey the impact an IT Business Analyst can have in creating overall business efficiency. Similar to an auditing career or accounting job, an IT Business Analyst closely examines company details. But rather than looking for financial faux pas, an IT Business Analyst investigates problems that occur within business systems. Once these problem areas have been identified, a Business Analyst recommends IT solutions to help the company achieve its goals.

The following business analyst career summary is only one example of many job options available to those interested in information technology. Check out IT salaries by industry to explore IT salaries within business or health care fields. Also, if you're wondering how international IT positions compare, check out PayScale's India IT salary report.

IT Business Analyst Job Description:
Connie: I serve as am expert for assigned functional applications, support development of business impact analysis categories and perform ongoing IT maintenance. I provide project and release support, including research, business analysis, test plan construction, test case construction, test execution, issue resolution and status reporting related to application changes. I also interface with internal and external resources to ensure successful completion of testing in accordance with the needs of project sponsors and stakeholders.

PayScale: How did you get started as an IT Business Analyst?
Connie: A friend thought I should leave the accounting world and join the IT world. It was the best career move I ever made. Being an IT Business Analyst, I get to apply my interest in technology to create visible results within my company.

Are you satisfied with your job?  Do you ever wonder who is?  According to employee job satisfaction statistics reported on LiveScience.com, those in the clergy, firefighters and other folks in helping professions are the most satisfied. These were the results of national job satisfaction studies conducted by the General Social Survey (GSS) at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

This report of employee job satisfaction statistics was based on interviews with 27,000 Americans. In the study, researchers asked about job satisfaction and general happiness. According to Tom Smith, director of the GSS, “Work occupies a large part of each worker’s day, is one’s main source of social standing, helps to define who a person is and affects one’s health both physically and mentally.”

Does your salary reflect your happiness?  Find out with our full salary survey.

Has your boss ever asked to be "friends" with you on Facebook? As social media become more prevalent, more workers are facing this question. A Boston Globe story reports the fastest-growing segment of Facebook is people 25 years or older, and more than half of all users are beyond college.

Accepting a boss's Facebook request can be awkward, but rejecting it can be a slight--and potentially detrimental to your career. Should employers make such inquiries? If they do--and no doubt some will--what's an employee to do?

Some important people think IT careers need a makeover.

Microsoft is touting them to young women, as is the European Union, which earlier this year announced plans to make IT careers more appealing to women. According to eWeek.com:

The second annual DigiGirlz event, held on March 26 in Islandia, N.Y., was attended by more than 150 11th grade girls from seven schools on Long Island. Presenters from all walks of IT gave presentations on career planning and job roles in areas from law to health care, the public sector and security companies. Women at the top of the field doled out unconventional career advice to girls in the hopes of dispelling the notion that one must be a geek to work with technology.

By squashing IT's 'geeky' image and giving it a sexier sheen, the logic goes, more women will be drawn to it, helping stave off a shortage of workers.

According to the National Center for Women & Information Technology, 1 million computer and information-related jobs are expected to be added to the U.S. workforce by 2014, but U.S. universities will only graduate enough candidates with computer science bachelor’s degrees to fill 50 percent of those jobs.

Where are the rest of the qualified candidates going to come from? Since women only account for 26 percent of tech workers, according to NCWIT, could the untapped female population help meet the projected shortfall of workers?

The cost of obesity is going up.

According to a Conference Board report, obese workers cost private employers as much as $45 billion every year in medical expenses and lost work. That’s a heavy financial burden to bear. Does it justify employers hiring thinner job candidates, rather than those who are obese?

Workplace discrimination such as this—or in any other form—is uncalled for. But the growing costs of obesity increase the odds of it happening, along with other problems for employees and employers.