Q: At work, two departments have two separate requirements. One requires a four-year bachelor's degree with a lower starting salary than the other, which requires only a two-year associate's degree. Is this appropriate?A: I know of no legal precedent requiring employers to pay someone with a bachelor's degree more than someone with an associate's degree. If your company has a compensation strategy that pays its employees based on competence and skill sets, it is possible that someone with an associate's degree would get paid more than an employee with a bachelor's degree.I can't say whether it... view article details

A federal program designed to help jobless veterans find work is proving very popular with its target audience, according to numbers released this week by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.The VOW to Hire Heroes Act, signed into law in November 2011, calls for the creation of a program that pays for unemployed veterans to receive training in fields where skilled workers are in high demand, as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor. The resulting Veteran Retraining Assistance Program, or VRAP, began accepting applications on May 15.In the six weeks since VRAP launched, the program has... view article details

Job descriptionParalegals are responsible for handling a variety of tasks and providing support for the lawyers they work for. Under the direction of an attorney, they work to resolve routine legal issues. They help lawyers to research laws, judicial decisions, articles, treaties, and other legal documents that can be applied to cases. They may also be responsible for preparing written reports to assist lawyers in handling cases. Paralegals hold an organizational role in coordinating the activities of the law office and its employees, and also in the filing of financial records and case docume... view article details

Part-time work offers employees the flexibility to stay at home with their children, care for relatives, go to school or have more time to themselves. These kinds of jobs are also a way to earn supplemental income throughout the year or on a temporary basis during the holidays. Whether you already have a job and you want to work part-time to supplement your income, or you just need extra money for the holidays, we have some suggestions for jobs that may suit your needs.Part-time Seasonal and Supplemental Jobs Before you start your search, consider the following: Use a... view article details

No One Knows Blue Collar Jobs Better than Mike Rowe At one point or another, you've probably seen someone performing a "dirty" job and said to yourself "You couldn't pay me enough to do that." But Mike Rowe, host of TV's Dirty Jobs, gets paid to do exactly that. And, in an interview with Salary.com last week, said he thinks more people should follow suit. Rowe says America is in the midst of a skilled labor shortage, as hundreds of thousands of available blue collar jobs go unfilled because workers lack the necessary training. But even more upsetting, Rowe said, is the attitude of many Amer... view article details

Skilled Labor Jobs Provide a Financially Feasible Alternative to College Is College Worth the Money? "What are your plans after you graduate from high school?" For most recent graduates over the last few decades, the answer has been automatic and unequivocal -- college. With more and more jobs making a bachelor's degree a minimum requirement, there has never been a greater emphasis on higher education. And for the most part that's a good thing as more education is almost always better than less. But times are changing. First of all, the sheer increase in cost just to attend college has be... view article details

Making the Move From the Parental Trenches to the Salt Mines? Check These Jobs Out! Maybe your kids are back in school and you're itching to take on a part-time job. Or perhaps the dismal economy has forced your hand and you need something full- or part-time to make ends meet. Whatever the case, figuring out which job to take is often the first and most daunting hurdle. Education, skills and background obviously play a part in what job you can get. Although everyone wants to be paid well, parents also place an added importance on things like flexible work hours, the ability to work from home ... view article details

Compensation SurveysPaying people fairly is good for business. Underpay, and employees will eventually look for a better offer. Overpay, and the payroll budget and profitability will suffer. That's why companies use market data to research the value of their jobs. But what is 'market data' anyway?To determine the prevailing rate for a job, companies can 'benchmark' jobs against compensation surveys that are detailed and specific to the companies' industries and regions. A good compensation survey uses standard, proven methods of data gathering and statistical analysis to determine how much com... view article details

Q: My facility just was closed. Approximately 80 hourly employees were eliminated, as well as 90 percent of the salaried workforce. I am one of the lucky 10 percent who are being offered postions at a different location. I currently live in a state that has a low cost of living and will most likely be asked to move to a state that has a much higher cost of living. Would it be out of place to ask for that increase in my salary?A: The first thing I would do is speak to my Human Resources Representative and find out what the company's compensation philosophy is. A company's compensation philosoph... view article details

You Might Want to Avoid These Jobs Years ago, Bobby McFerrin told us all to “don’t worry, be happy.” Clearly he wasn’t working in one of the careers on this list.The work website Careerbliss has come out with a survey detailing which careers feature workers who are the unhappiest. After analyzing more than 25,000 independent company reviews, these 10 jobs are the ones which feature the largest amounts of employee discontent. In order to compile these rankings, CareerBliss data evaluates the key factors that affect work happiness including: bosses, support and incentives, growth opport... view article details