Online tools can help you find out how much you are worth
by Colin Lovett – PIC Current Producer
In today’s tough job market and weak economy, you can use every advantage you can get to earn more money or get more pay. Today, I thought I’d review three sites that help you compare salaries for different jobs based on your location.
The first up is also my favorite: Salary.com.
Courtesy of J. Wynia
It’s a very easy-to-use resource that takes you through 4-steps to find out how you stack up against others who do similar jobs. The search is sorted by zip code or metro area. When you start out, you will be asked to provide a keyword job description and your zip code.
For instance, I entered the word “cook” and my zip code here in Oregon and it gave me a list of different types of cooks, such as Fast Food Cook, Line Cook or Cooking Assistant. You can choose which one best describes your position and then click on “Base Salary Range.” You have to click past and an, but then you get a range of salaries for your position in your area, with highs, lows and averages.
Take a look. See how much you are making and make sure you are being treated fairly in your pay. You can also see what the average cook makes, plus expected benefits such as health care and more.
Overall, this site was very easy to use and provided very helpful information.
Next up is PayScale.com.
Here, you put in your job title, the number of years you have been working and your location. In this one, I also used “cook” and was then given a list of different types of cooking jobs to choose from. This is where it gets a bit confusing. You have to enter the type of employer, the size of the business, your commute and how you are paid.
After more info on your employer, your education and years working, you are given the chance to skip a few ads before you are given a range telling you where you fall compared to others in your line of work. It also brings up links for job openings you could apply for in your field.
Overall, this site makes you work for it, but gives a good amount of information at the end with good links and resources.
Our third and final contestant is called Indeed.
This site is more of a job listing site with the ability to refine your search based on salary, title, company and location. This one is great if you are looking for a job, but is not as good as the previous two in terms of getting good information about pay rates.
Learning more about pay rates can help you in this job market because it gives you the confidence to ask for what is the going rate. Also, if you are thinking about making a career switch, all three of these sites can help you find information on other careers and the kind of experience and education you will need to make the switch.
Let me know how these services work for you. There are many salary sites, but these three are a pretty good place to start looking. If you have other suggestions for salary sites, please let us know in the comment section.
Another great place to look for career help is on our sister site, The Beehive, which has a great section called “Career Coach“.
Also, the folks at Lifehacker had a good post recently on knowing how much to ask for from an employer.
