From CNN Money and the compensation experts at Salary.com6. Market research analyst Why it's great If you want to know what the next big thing is, this is your field. Before launching a product or service, companies turn to market research analysts who collect and evaluate data about consumer wants, needs and buying habits. You get to work on a huge variety of projects: In a single day you might run a taste test on a new vodka flavor, evaluate a re-branding campaign for a hot dog and analyze political polling data. What's cool Testing products before they hit the market. You talk to lots of pe... view article details

The 7 most affordable US Cities Want to move to a city where the cost of living is relatively low to start your first job? Still struggling with where to move and how to afford living on your own in a city in the United States? Find it exhausting to take all the factors—the price of food, price of apartment renting, price of cars, and the price of clothes—into consideration when you try to find the cheapest place to live? This article takes into account the cost of housing, food, transportation, healthcare, utilities, taxes, and childcare and provides a list of cities with t... view article details

The purpose of insurance is to protect people against financial disaster when they are unable to earn a living because of sickness or injury, or to give their dependents some type of income after they die. Whether to purchase insurance is an important financial decision about protecting one's earnings and lifestyle.Many companies pay the entire insurance premium, or pay up to a certain amount of coverage. Some employers require waiting periods, where for example an employee may receive limited benefits for the first year of employment and additional benefits on each anniversary of the start da... view article details

By Jane Lee Monday March 7, 2011 'Both fortune and love befriend the bold.'Ovid's words ring as true as they did 2,000 years ago. So do Shakespeare's: 'Oft expectation fails, and most oft there where most it promises.'And there, as they say, lies the rub. It's easy to take a risk when you have nothing to lose, but when the dream depends on betting your bank account, your fame, or even your very life, even the proudest thrill seekers can succumb to caution's warm embrace. Ronald Heifetz, leadership expert and professor at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, likes to say ... view article details

High-Paying Jobs You Might Not Have Ever Heard Of You do WHAT for a living?? A couple of years ago we combed through our vast database of more than 4,000 jobs and picked out 11 of the oddest among them that paid a decent salary. To this date it's one of our most-read pieces. So we figured it was time for Round 2. Some of these were left off the list last time around and some of them are new jobs that have been added to our jobs salary library since the first article was published. But unless you're someone who already works in these occupations, most of you will be saying "Huh? I didn't kno... view article details

 Personal Budget Planning Builds Household Wealth  To some people, 'budget' is a dirty word. In reality a budget is just a schedule of income and expenses, a way of documenting how much money comes in and how it should sensibly be spent. There's everything to gain from sticking to a budget, but adhering to a budget is difficult for many people because it usually means denying cravings and luxuries beyond reach.Well, after all, that's the point of a budget.What percentage of your income goes to housing every month? What goes to entertainment? Knowing those spending ratios is a valuable tool to ... view article details

Everybody with a credit card knows it's smart to pay what you owe at the end of every month - right? According to CardWeb.com, an international credit card tracker, credit card debt is approximately $9000 per household for those carrying at least one credit card. Internet shopping increases the temptation to overspend, since cash or checks are rarely an option if you're online to shop.Holiday spending is a notoreous time when consumers rack up their credit card bills. According the Cardweb.com, Americans racked up just over $115 billion in retail spending on their credit and debit cards during... view article details

It might not be fair, but the way you look plays a part in how much you’re paid. Looks Do Matter Discriminating against people based on their physical appearance is wrong -- both morally, and in many cases, legally speaking. The way you look usually has no bearing on how you’ll perform in your job, and in a perfect world everyone would be judged solely on his/her merits. But the harsh reality is this isn't a perfect world, and discrimination -- whether intentional or inadvertent -- still plays a role in the workplace. And while it should never be condoned, job seekers and employees need to be ... view article details

Let’s get a few things straight from the start:My kids (ages 18, 16, 7) are the most important thing, along with my wife, in my life. I love them so much it hurtsI work damn hard to make a lot of moneyI really don't care what anyone else thinksIt has taken me decades to understand the importance of #3As 21st century fathers we are in a double bind. We are suppose to be providers, making tons of money, and yet at the same time be hands-on dads. If feminism was born out of the desire of women to leave home and be treated equally in the workplace, giving rise to the Super Woman phenomenon in whic... view article details

Distractions are Everywhere, So Know Your Enemy Is this a good time? We can come back later if you’re in the middle of something. We know dealing with potential distractions can really slice into your workday In a recent Salary.com survey, 64% admitted to wasting time at the office on a daily basis -- and we weren’t counting any staff meetings. It happens. The typical work setting is ripe with potential distractions. Can’t help that.But we do have a few ideas on how to manage them. Whether it’s a constantly ringing phone or incessantly chatty co-worker, there are work-arounds that act... view article details