By Bridget Quigg

It's always nice to get a compliment. And, PayScale received a great big one the other day when an employee nominated us for "Best Employer" in the annual "The Best of Western Washington" contest hosted by King 5 television's "Evening Magazine" show. We're blushing. We're honored. And, we're still receiving more votes. Would you help us stay in the top twenty?

By Bridget Quigg

Ah, childhood dreams. Ride a unicorn. Fly on a magic carpet. Perform an aortic valve replacement through a median sternotomy incision.

Okay, the last one probably wasn't on your list when you were little, but growing up to be a doctor may have been. From pilots to zookeepers, chefs to police officers, kids tend to have high hopes for their futures and funny ways of describing them.

By Lydia Dishman

Do you dress for success? It’s no secret that most people will formulate an opinion of you based on your appearance within minutes of an introduction. But can that short space of time mean the difference between a lucrative career and a low-paying job? According to data from PayScale, dressing up isn't going to help or hurt your pay. It's your skill set that matters.

Larry Fitzgerald agrees to continue his job as a wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals for the next eight years for $120 million.

Chris Johnson accepts an offer from the Tennessee Titans to continue as their running back for the next six years in exchange $53 million.

Quarterback Michael Vick signs a contract extension with the Philadelphia Eagles worth $100 million over six years.

These NFL salaries have made headlines this summer, in part because they are so far beyond anything most people could even fathom earning. How far? Let’s use PayScale.com’s database to take a look.

As part of the research for the 2010-2011 PayScale College Salary Report, we looked at the pay trends of recent college graduates and found startling results.

With the unemployment rate for college graduates at 4.3% in August, less than half the national average, you would think the strong demand would translate into higher wages.

While the graduates of some schools continue to bring in the big bucks, and overall earnings of bachelor's graduates are substantially higher than high school grads, the data show that all is not well in the market of recent college graduates.

College degree or not, are you being paid what you are worth? Find out with a free PayScale salary report.

By Bridget Quigg

What does having a dream job feel like? I envision a young man in a tie and slacks skipping down a sidewalk, unaware of the sprinklers spraying him because he is so happy to be going to work. Can a job be that dreamy? It's hard to say. But, some folks at the University of Washington School of Continuing Education decided to try to get you a little closer to career bliss with their "The Path to Your Dream Job" infographic.