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

5 Things You Should Know About Salary Requirements "What are your salary requirements" is a difficult question for job applicants to answer on a resume or in an interview. Many candidates think it's a trick question – it can be embarrassing to talk about salary and they're afraid of giving an unreasonable answer, so they give up their chance to negotiate salaries and accept their first offer. It requires information and research about salary requirements to give a reasonable answer to this question. This article will tell you what kind of preparation is required to answer th... 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

Everyone Thinks About Changing Careers Most people have thought about changing jobs. But what if you’re someone who has been doing a job for what seems like forever? Someone with a truly unique set of skills? Someone like -- Santa Claus.Even those of us with great jobs occasionally wonder if the grass is greener. So it stands to reason the big guy in red -- who has been doing the same gig for quite a while now -- might be a little bored with dashing, dancing and prancing across the globe every Christmas Eve. But even if he could find someone else to make the toys, drive the sleigh and... view article details

When Early Isn't an Option How does a night owl who arrives at work after noon each day succeed in his career?The first story in this series covers the basics about a type of circadian rhythm disorder called delayed sleep phase syndrome (also DSPS, or delayed sleep), which half a million Americans suffer. In the second story, a writer with delayed sleep says she felt like death holding down a 9-to-5 job, and ultimately felt better when she began freelancing. In this third story, you’ll meet Tom Lemmon, a software engineer at a top Internet company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Lemmon, ... view article details

Of Love and Money When we checked out our site statistics on Tuesday morning, we couldn't figure out why a bunch of random job searches spiked the night before. The reason? Monday night was ABC's 9th season premiere of The Bachelorette.For those unfamiliar with the show, 25 men compete for the heart of one woman -- this year it's 27-year-old Desiree Hartsock. Each week at the end of the telecast, she gives roses to the men she likes and sends the rest packing. That continues until she chooses one of the original 25 and they (theoretically) live happily ever after.So what does a realit... view article details

Forty years ago, economists predicted that the U.S. workforce was heading into a crisis of leisure - that people would soon have so much free time they wouldn't know what to do with it. As the impact of technology made more and more human labor redundant, it was widely assumed that a four-hour workday, or a three-day week, or even a six-month year would eventually be the norm. Those forecasts couldn't have been more wrong. The amount of time Americans spend at work has increased relentlessly over the last two or three decades. Harvard economist Juliet B. Schor, in her book The Overworked Ameri... view article details

The High Pay Isn't The Only Interesting Thing About These Odd Jobs.. "You Do What and Make How Much?!?" Think back to the last time you were at a party or a social event, and you had to make small talk with new acquaintances. Inevitably the question of 'So what do you do?” is asked, and everyone recites their professions. While the regulars seem to always come up – doctor, lawyer, teacher, etc. – every once in a while, someone comes out with a doozy that could leave you scratching your head or picking your jaw up off the floor. Did you know Horse Exerciser is a job? Or that you can make a livi... 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