Author: emmettd

Sr. Director, Software Engineer at PayScale. Been here since 2005.

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Severance Packages for Employees: Maximize Yours

You’re Fired! Now You Can Negotiate a Better Severance Getting the feeling that you’re no longer in the loop at work? Perhaps noticing the blinds are closed in the conference room and you are no longer invited to meetings. It may be a sign that you’ll soon be out of a job....
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7 Top Paying Professions Over $70,000 Per Year

Even if you graduate with the average level of education debt earning a four-year degree — about $21,000, according to The Project on Student Debt — there are a range of cool jobs that pay well to help put a dent in that debt before the term of the loan is up,...
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Physically Active Jobs: 6 Jobs That Will Make You Healthier

From an increased risk of heart disease to more fat around your middle, studies show that our time at the workplace (8.8 hours per day on average) can be hazardous to our health. “Often psychological environments have more to do with health than physical environments,” says Bill Burnett, author of Advantage: Business...
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Tips for Negotiating Career Advancement in 2011

There’s something about turning that page in the calendar to a new year that inspires us to improve our lives. That’s why it’s no surprise that New Year’s career resolutions often focus on big goals such as a promotion or a new job. It’s also why Tracy Brisson, founder and CEO of...
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Who’s Hiring? Jobs for 2011

With the economy slowly creaking back to life, next year should see increased hiring. Jobs are growing but the recovery isn’t exactly lifting all boats yet. Some industries are humming again, while some are still struggling.So which fields will be the hottest for hiring? Here are six industries where high demand for...
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Jobs That Pay $60,000 per Year

Though the National Bureau of Economic Research has declared the recession officially over, plenty of people are still struggling to make ends meet. Median family income is hovering around $50,000 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and the Consumer Price Index keeps rising. What’s a working stiff to do? A...
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Negotiate Working from Home

A huge corner office was once the universal sign for making it to the top of the corporate heap. But according to Alan Blume, author of Your Virtual Success, today more people measure their success by being office-less. Yet, while the number of U.S. telecommuters ranges from between 2.8 million (those listing...
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Easiest Healthcare Jobs to Start

Sure the unemployment numbers are dismal but there’s one industry sector that’s looking rosier every day – healthcare. A report from the Department of Labor Statistics in the fall of 2010 showed that in the preceding 12 months (when unemployment has high), healthcare added 231,000 jobs, 27,000 in July of 2010 alone....
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Salary Health: Find Out If You Are Underpaid

The good news about pay raises hitting an all-time low last year is that an estimated three percent in salary increases are expected in 2010, according to a survey by Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting company. That should help shift the mindset of employees who have felt frustrated by missing...
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Non 9-to-5 Jobs that Earn $25 or More per Hour

Ever found yourself stashed in a cubicle, fantasizing about a job that didn’t tether you during the prime hours of the day? Or maybe you’re just dreaming about snagging a part-time job because those seem to be the only ones available these days. In either case, you are not alone. When the...
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Unusual, Well-Paid Nursing Jobs

10 Great-Paying Nursing Job Niches By Carol Tice Not all nurses stick to 12-hour shifts in hospitals. Once they’re in the field, many nurses take additional training to become what’s known as an advance practice nurse, taking on new challenges in settings from cruise ships to jails. After about five years, most...
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Careers for Active People

If you’re tired of desk jobs that leave you no time to work out, consider switching to a career where you buff up on the job instead of getting flabby. While labor-saving devices have made many jobs easier – think logging and the invention of the chainsaw – there are still plenty...
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Jobs with High Average Starting Salaries

In many careers, you start at the bottom rung and work for peanuts, in hopes of slowly moving up to a real paycheck. But some occupations skip the suffering and you earn a solid average starting salary on day one. Jobs that pay well immediately can be found in a wide range...
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Salary Negotiations With Prospective Employers – PayScale

Congratulations! You’ve received a job offer during one of the worst recessions of our lifetime. Now there is just the sticky matter of pay. Although the economy is technically in recovery, employers are still very pessimistic about the overall outlook. A study conducted by the accounting and consulting firm Deloitte found that...
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Contract Jobs Can Pay More Than Full Time

Money, money, money – though these days it seems hard to come by, you might just need to think like a contractor to find it. In a tighter economy, more employers offer contract jobs to save on benefits and other expenses involved in a full-time hire. But because they spend less in other...
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Make $30 an Hour Without a Four-Year Degree

For job seekers without a four-year degree, breaking the $25-an-hour barrier can be a challenge. But with more technical certification and associate’s degree programs than ever, many well-paying career options are accessible in a broad range of industries. The following is a list of lucrative careers for those without a four-year degree...
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7 Unusual and Valid At-Home Jobs

Time was, you had to be a graphic designer, a consultant or a freelance copywriter if you wanted to ditch your cubicle and make money in your pajamas. But jobs using your computer from home have brought virtual jobs at home to nearly every business sector. If you’re ready to trade your...
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What Kind of Jobs Can a Creative Person Have?

7 Surprisingly Creative, Well-Paid Jobs What kinds of jobs can a creative person have and still make a living? Here’s a look at some of the best-paying jobs that require a creative mind: (Note: for updated salary data, click each job title for its listing in PayScale’s Career Research Center.) 1. Computer security...
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Assess Your Second Career Options

10 Smart Options for a Second Career A layoff can make you reassess your career options and wonder, “Should I go back to school and do something else?” According to Clark Beecher, principle at Magellan International, Houston, before you make that decision you should first be aware that corporations on the whole...
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Earn While You Learn Jobs

Earn While You Learn: Jobs That Start as Apprenticeships If you’re looking to make a career switch but need to stay employed, you can learn on the job through an apprenticeship program. Many apprentices are paid from the start, though at a lower rate than they’ll earn once their apprenticeship training period...
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5 Lucrative Engineering Careers and Career Paths

What Career Path Should I Take? 5 Lucrative Engineering Career Paths Everyone knows engineers never have to worry about bringing home the bacon. But, most folks assume that engineering careers are boring and tedious. This isn’t necessarily true. There are a ton of interesting, exciting possibilities in engineering-a highly lucrative career path...
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Need a Job? 10 Places That Are Hiring Right Now

With so many headlines about slow hiring and economic troubles, your job hunt may start to feel like searching for a four-leaf clover. In Death Valley. In August. But many companies are stable and looking for talent. Some are even expanding. In fact, when asked which of the big companies are hiring,...
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Legitimate Jobs That Allow You to Work at Home: 7 Companies Hiring Now

Can you imagine how simple your life would be if you never had to drive to work? If you have the self-discipline to work from home, the right opportunity could help you get back those commute hours and gain some extra time each day to do whatever you want. If you’re wondering...
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Will the Recession Deflate Your Income Forever?

As you watch America’s fiscal health deteriorate, grimacing through news of layoffs and current unemployment rates, you’re probably concerned about your own financial survival, and on the lookout for some smart money secrets. You’re not wrong to worry. Economists say incomes won’t likely rebound until 2010 or 2011. But you’re not defenseless....
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The U.S. Recession and College Student

If you’re graduating from college this spring, you may be on edge. Not at the thought of the awaiting pomp, circumstance, degree-collecting or cap-tossing-but at the abysmal job market lurking beyond your ivy-covered walls. Indeed, daily reports of layoffs, financial ruin and political squabbling over the economy could be dashing your hopes...
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Stress Management in the Workplace

Most every day there’s a torrent of bad news reminding us our economy is sick. But what about us-are workers getting sick from economic-stress-induced angst? Some of us might be. According to a January 2009 Workplace Options survey, there was a relationship between the economic downturn and employee stress, with 50 percent...
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Best Jobs With 2-Year Degrees

10 Highly Profitable 2-Year Degree Jobs Think a bachelor’s or master’s degree is the only way to advance your career? Think again. There are many associate’s degree careers that pay high salaries. In fact, going after the highest paying jobs with a 2-year degree is a great way to handle debt after...
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Can the Obama Economic Plan Boost Your Salary?

President-elect Barack Obama has made history. He triumphed in a rough-and-tumble campaign to become the first African-American elected to the highest office in the land. Now big questions loom over the Obama economic plan, and what the future of his presidency will look like. More specifically, what are Obama’s plans for job...
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Joe the Plumber and the Middle-Class Income Range

Joe Wurzelbacher is getting his 15 minutes of fame–raising questions about the middle class income range. Better known as Joe the Plumber, he stepped into the limelight earlier this month asking about Sen. Barack Obama’s tax plan. According to a New York Times story, Wurzelbacher asked Obama if he believed in the...
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3 Successful Work at Home Career Tales

Avoid work at home hoaxes and scams, and learn how to launch a successful work at home career. Three success stories and fool-proof work at home jobs. Successful Work at Home Career 1 – Independent Web Business In the early 1990s, Eddy Salomon fell prey to a work-at-home scam. After forking over...
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The Wealthiest Celebrities vs. Regular People: Top 5 Overpaid Celebrities & CEOs

Some say hugely inflated salaries tell a lot about our cultural values – since it’s the teachers and waitresses of the world that go to the movies and buy new kitchen appliances, funding paychecks for the wealthiest celebrities and CEOs of the world. “What jobs pay makes a statement about what we...
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Ski Resort Jobs: Tips for Working in a Winter Wonderland

Research ski resort jobs and find work in a winter wonderland. Who ever said work and play had to be pursued separately? Considering the recent economic turbulence, you might have given up on a winter getaway this year. Who can afford the time off work, much less the high price of flights,...
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4 Ways to Work from Home Now: Ditch Your 9-to-5 Gig

Are you tired of the 9-to-5 shuffle? It doesn’t take much to build a case for working from home. Maybe your daily commute time is hours long, you can’t find enough time to spend with your family, or you’re fed up with your boss’s 24-7 work schedule. The good news is that...
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Convince Your Boss With 6 Reasons for Telecommuting

Moving from office to remote work doesn’t mean sacrificing your salary. Millions of U.S. companies and workers with solid salaries are finding realistic reasons for telecommuting as a way of improving the balance of employee lives and worker productivity. The positive reasons for telecommuting have already been recognized by many software and...
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Understanding Payroll Deductions

6 things you should know about your paycheck Now that so many people receive their paychecks via direct deposit, most of us never even look at our paystubs to make sure we’re receiving the amount of money we’re due each pay period. What are you missing by not looking carefully over your...
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Average Salary Increases: What’s On the Horizon for 2009?

Over the last several weeks, it seems the United States has come entirely unglued–at least financially. It’s enough to make any worker uneasy about job security and compensation. With all the fiscal unrest, we wonder: what can we expect for an average salary increase in 2009, in light of the sorry state...
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How to Get U.S. Government Jobs

Have you ever wondered how to get U.S. government jobs, only to retreat in fear of a dreaded civil service exam? If so, you’re not alone, experts say. Dennis V. Damp, author of “The Book of U.S. Government Jobs: Where They Are, What’s Available & How To Get One,” says one of...
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Where Happy People Work: Job Satisfaction and the Most Enjoyable Jobs

Career and salary aren’t the only things you need to be happy at work or life. Even the world’s most rewarding jobs won’t guarantee happiness. But as part of a balanced life, your career can certainly play a major role in your overall happiness. So, what are the most enjoyable jobs in...
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Working Girl: A History of Women in the Workplace

Sandra Day O’Connor – the first woman named to the U.S. Supreme Court – graduated third in her class from Stanford Law School in 1952. According to the Supreme Court Historical Society, when Sandra Day O’Connor pursued a job as a lawyer, she faced intense discrimination against women in the workplace and...
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5 Legitimate Work at Home Jobs

With outrageously high gas prices, working at home is sounding more enticing to Americans each and every day. But while many online work at home scams offer promises of quick dollars and few hours, legitimate work at home jobs aren’t a walk in the park. It’s definitely possible to get money to...
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5 Ways to Recession-Proof Your Income

Have you ever been knee-deep in financial duress, perhaps losing all of your savings and retirement funds as your employer went belly up? No one wants to get stuck in such dire straits, but it’s a valid concern, especially when news mounts about indicators of a recession. The good news is that...
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Can Job Hopping Hurt Your Career?

Edward Muzio’s grandfather worked in the same company his whole life. His mother labored in the same industry until she retired, though for different employers. But between the two of them, Edward and his brother have worked in six different career fields during 30 combined years. Muzio, president and CEO of Group...
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Continuing Education: A Lifelong Pursuit That Pays

If you want job security, try investing in ’employment insurance.’ That’s the term Greg Schulz uses to describe continuing education. “Continuing education is almost like employment insurance…If something unexpected happens, you are insured and protected. It teaches you something new, but also serves as insurance in a fast-paced and changing world-the more...
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6 Top-Paying Green Jobs

As nations across the globe look for ways to prevent global warming, they’re spurring a ‘green’ revolution-and focusing on everything from environmentally friendly house additions to how to make business environmentally friendly. The movement’s swelling popularity is also fueling growth of new industries and some top-paying green jobs. Green Job 1: Venture...
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Top Paying Jobs, Careers

As Americans wind down another year of work, some are gearing up for a job hunt. With many expressing concern over finances, searching for top paying jobs in industries that are leading the charge doesn’t sound half bad. According to an analysis of Labor Department figures by Dr. Laurence Shatkin, a career...
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Recession Proof Jobs

In the wake of the housing crisis, news abounds of a looming recession, with regular reports of financial gloom. It’s no wonder workers are fretting over finances and the employment outlook for the coming months, as a recent Hudson Employment Index shows. Workers shouldn’t worry, experts say. Jobs in some industries do...
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Reporting for Duty: Weighing in on Military Pay

Imagine a job where, on graduating high school, you’re eligible for a signing bonus as hefty as $40,000, your healthcare plan is sterling, your gym membership is free, and if you have a family, your compensation climbs. The employer offering that job is the U.S. military. At first blush, signing up with...
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Management Tips: Gen X vs. Gen Y

One of Chuck Underwood’s clients has hired Millenials as wait staff at a restaurant. They’re sometimes unnerved and driven to tears by the stress and chaos of the food industry-in contrast to their Gen X counterparts, who once held those jobs and met similar trials with marked composure. Managers must discern the...
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Generation Y Rules: The Flexible Workforce Revolution

Playing Scrabulous on Facebook, text messaging friends during meetings and updating their MySpace profiles at work are only a few of the things that separate the Millenials (Generation Y) from Generation X and baby boomers. Despite challenges in relating to each other in the workplace, X and Y definitely share a desire...
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Bachelor’s Degrees: Just What Are They Worth?

Growing up, Saretta Holler always knew she wanted to write. She explored her options as college drew near, thinking she’d go into journalism. But after realizing she could pursue writing in public relations and make more money, she opted to study PR at San Diego State University and graduated in 1999. Holler’s...
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PayScale – Online MBA Programs, Online Degrees Accepted

Distance learning is on the up and up. Not only are a record number of students engaging in higher education online-more and more college officials think distance learning is as good as or better than traditional classroom learning, according to a recent study. But are online degrees, and particularly those earned through...
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Working Women and Online Distance Learning = A Virtual Match Made in Heaven

For some women studying at Northeastern University in Boston, distance learning has made all the difference. “I’ve had conversations with female students who said if it weren’t for online [education], they wouldn’t be able to finish their degrees,” said Denise Weir, director of distance learning for Northeastern’s School of Professional and Continuing...
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Does the American Dream Exist?

The American Dream isn’t dead. It’s just not as robust as it used to be. So says a recent MetLife study, which indicates that shifting financial burdens-from employers and government to individuals-have prompted Americans to be more concerned with financial security. So concerned, in fact, that they rate it as the most...
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Living the American Dream

Albert E. Smith wasn’t born into privilege. The son of a printer and an IRS worker, he was born in Camden, N.J., the poorest city in the United States, and was the first member of his family to attend college. He earned a degree from Rutgers University College, and pursued a successful...
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Hillary Clinton: A Woman of Many Firsts

Hillary Rodham Clinton once had a job sliming fish. Indeed, the woman considered the Democratic front-runner for the White House spent a summer in Alaska, washing dishes and sliming fish.   “During a visit to Alaska when I was First Lady, I joked to an audience that of all the jobs I’ve...
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Will Rudy Giuliani, ‘America’s Mayor’, be America’s Next President?

Rudy Giuliani hasn’t always been a Republican. He started as a Democrat in the 1960s, later becoming an Independent and then a Republican.   Oddly enough, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Giuliani’s top Democratic rival for the White House, has the opposite history: she shifted from Republican to Democrat. His father served time...
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Hot IT Salaries: How Education & Location Influence IT Salaries

Jim Lanzalotto thinks these are the good old days for technology workers and hot IT jobs. Lanzalotto, vice president of strategy and marketing at Yoh, a talent and outsourcing firm, said, “The market as a whole is incredibly strong and the lack of IT workers is making a difference. There are just...
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Supreme Court Pay-Discrimination Ruling Stirs Debate

The Supreme Court recently issued a number of decisions that have raised more than a few eyebrows. One of those Supreme Court cases, on discrimination in pay, drew the ire of some experts and lawmakers-but others have voiced their support. The 5-4 ruling in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. says...
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Healthcare Jobs: Education & Nurses’ Salaries

If you want to be a nurse, you’re in luck; the sweeping demand is expected to intensify. But what about starting salaries for nurses? How much do RNs make compared to nurse practitioners? And what kind of education do nurses need? You’ve heard it before. These days there aren’t enough nurses to...
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Minimum Wage Increase Draws Mixed Reviews

For the first time in 10 years, the United States has a new minimum wage, one that’s drawing mixed reviews from economists and experts. What is the minimum wage increase going to positively affect? Will the increase in minimum wage have negative effects? The minimum wage increase is part of an Iraq...
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Nonprofit Job Trends: Flexible Work Schedules and Flexible Work Arrangements

The way America works is changing, experts say, and a big part of that change involves flexible work arrangements with part-time hours, flex-time and work-from-home setups. Generations X and Y have challenged the concept of face-time, experts say, and the need to clock 60 hours a week in the office. And while...
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Nonprofit Jobs: Flexibility and Opportunity – at a Cost

Nonprofit jobs opportunities are growing by leaps and bounds, but nonprofit organizations are about to step into a sticky patch. According to The Bridgespan Group, nonprofit organizations with revenues beyond $250,000 (excluding hospitals and higher education) will need to draw 640,000 new senior managers over the next decade, 2.4 times as many...
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Toward a More Flexible Workplace

Is the American way of working about to become more flexible? Yes, say a number of sources I interviewed for PayScale’s May feature story on women re-entering the workforce after time off. When baby boomers retire or shift careers, they’ll leave behind a knowledge and skills gap that could partially be filled...
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Moms Re-enter the Workforce After Time Off

Full-time moms have noble jobs: they’re skilled protectors, counselors and comforters. Many moms also acquire skills that could prove valuable in the workplace, career experts say, but often go overlooked. Experts say moms re-entering the workforce should underscore such skills, which may include managing household budgets, serving in leadership positions in community...
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Taking Time Off: Can It Hurt Your Market Value?

America is on the brink of one of the most momentous demographic shifts in history: the retirement of the baby boomers. There are about 78 million boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, and as they begin hitting retirement age-the first wave turns 65 in 2011-experts anticipate workforce shortages. While some boomers are...
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How To Put References in a Resume

How do you put references in a resume? Listing references in a resume is akin to combining oil and water-the two don’t mix well, experts say. They offer various reasons for not doing so, and say sharing references isn’t something you do when first applying; it’s what you do when you’re a...
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How To Write A Cover Letter: Clinching Killer Resume Cover Letter

Do you enjoy writing resume cover letters about as much as you relish root canals? Dread isn’t uncommon when it comes to resume cover letters. “It’s an area where job-seekers could do the most to improve, because it does require a certain amount of heavy lifting,” said Anna Ivey, a career counselor...
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‘Green’ Careers Galore: Renewable Energy Jobs, Energy Efficiency Careers

Energy efficiency sounds like a fine idea-easy on the environment, and a good way to fight global warming. But what does it have to do with jobs? Plenty, according to Dr. David B. Goldstein, author of the new book, “Saving Energy, Growing Jobs” and co-director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s energy...
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Are Green Careers the Next Google?

Global warming is everywhere. Former Vice President Al Gore’s global warming documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” won an Academy Award. Congress, growing increasingly interested in the issue, has held numerous hearings since January. And corporate America is joining the chorus: The U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of businesses and environmental groups, is...
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A Sustainable Career: A Look at Sustainability Jobs at Colleges, Universities and Beyond

Many of the job hats Craig Ten Broeck wears are green. As the director of sustainability at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine, he juggles a variety of projects, from food, recycling and energy efficiency to reducing the school’s greenhouse gas emissions to increasing the use of renewable fuels....
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How to Negotiate Salary: 5 Expert Tips

Need help fashioning a to-do list on how to negotiate salary with a current or future employer? Give the following salary negotiating tips a try, from Laura DeCarlo, executive director of Career Directors International in Melbourne, Fla. 1. Do your homework. This includes researching the current market value for the position and...
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Resume Tips – Whip Your Resume Into Shape

So you’ve discovered the perfect gig with a higher salary, and you’re bent on shuffling your credentials to the hiring manager immediately, if not sooner. You’ve got the experience, education and skills that make you a star candidate. One hurdle remains: how to do a resume appropriately. Don’t fret. You can soon...
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Thinking Big: From Middle-Class American to Millionaire

A funny thing happened to Janine Bolon when she quit her middle-class job as a pharmaceutical chemist to take care of her first child. She devised a system she hoped would lead to financial independence for her and her husband – a system that ended up turning them from middle-class into millionaires....
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Salary Negotiation Tips: How to Get the Pay You Deserve

A client approached salary negotiation expert Laura DeCarlo with reservations: a $100,000 signing bonus was attached to the contract he’d signed with his then-employer, and he’d have to pay it back if he left before three years was up. “He was looking for a vp [vice president’s] post, if someone was willing...
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Turn Your Paycheck into a Million Bucks: 5 Expert Tips

Dennis Barba wasn’t always a millionaire. Raised in a middle-class family in Cleveland, Barba credits his rise to millionaire status to getting a job in investment banking at Bear, Stearns & Co. while in college, and later, to his real estate investments. Today Barba, 40, maintains a diverse portfolio when it comes...
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A Butcher, a Junk Hauler & a Professor – All Women, All Millionaires

Once upon a time there was a journeyman butcher who became a millionaire. That journeyman is a woman named Theresa Krueg. Krueg, 48, now a vice president and financial adviser at WealthTrust-Arizona in Chandler, Ariz., explains that her path to financial freedom wasn’t always a smooth one. With three kids and a...
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Make That Career Change!

Have you ever considered delving into a new career – not just switching jobs – only to be hampered by looming doubt or fear? If so, you’re not alone; career transition is common among the American workforce, experts say. The reasons for such shifts vary, they say: an employer downsizes, a spouse’s...
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Real Career Changes: 3 Stories

Three career-changers talk about how they made layoffs into lemonade, explored new careers and turned desire into reality. Irina Patterson From Physician to Balloon Artist Irina Patterson, a 47-year-old special event entertainer in Miami, offers a different take on career transitions. Patterson changed careers several times: she was a medical doctor in...
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Increase Your Salary: 10 Expert Tips

Determined to increase your salary? Follow these tips from Reesa Staten, vice president of communications and director of research at recruiting firm Robert Half International and Anna Ivey, a Boston-based career and admissions counselor, to increase your salary this year. 1. Get comfortable negotiating salary raises. “Women fall behind here, because they generally...
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Does Higher Education Mean More Money in 2007?

While job prospects may be bright for 2007, career experts say it’s crucial for both students and those already in the work force to stay sharply focused on higher education. Between 2004 and 2014, the fastest percentage growth in new jobs, 19.0 percent, will go to those with a bachelor’s degree or...