From CNN Money and the compensation experts at Salary.com MONEY Magazine and Salary.com have unveiled an exclusive list of the 50 Best Jobs in America. MONEY and Salary.com started by analyzing government and private data on industry growth and compensation levels. But in an improving employment market in which workers are looking for more than just a paycheck, MONEY and Salary.com dug deeper, surveying 26,000 workers about their job satisfaction and grading careers based on factors such as stress level, flexibility, creativity and ease of entry into and advancement within the field. These ca... view article details

To Apply or Not to Apply... Have you ever been combing the online job boards and stopped dead in your tracks when you run across the perfect job? It’s in your field for a company you’d love to join doing the work you’ve been hoping to get into.But then you scroll down and your enthusiasm dampens.The 4-page job description starts listing some skills you don’t have. Or it asks for 10 years of experience and you’ve only got five. Soon you find yourself on that all-too-familiar fence of “should I apply or not,” and you’re not sure if you should even bother getting your hopes up. So, what’... view article details

Are You Prepared to Take the Leap? Starting a company is not for the risk averse or financially challenged. It can be an incredible drain on personal, financial and emotional resources -- not just yours, but anyone you take along with you for the ride. Ask whether you (and they) have the stamina for the years of sleepless nights, occasionally contentious board meetings, demanding clients, and fickle employees.What’s your motivation to start a business? Want to make the world a better place, or are you suffering from an ego-driven need to compete with a college rival? Is launching a co... view article details

What do you want to be when you grow up?'Children are asked this question even before the start of kindergarten. They speak longingly and sincerely of becoming doctors, teachers, astronauts, ballerinas, rock stars, professional athletes and jet pilots. But when wide-eyed children face the harsh reality of ballooning education costs combined with adult life in the workforce, do any of them stick with their dreams? Or is the whole idea of a 'dream job' simply a fluid, ever-changing concept?Kenexa, the parent company of Salary.com, is hosting its annual Kenexa World Conference from October 11-12.... 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

Who is looking out for your career - your boss? Probably not. Your accountant? Doubtful. Headhunters, search people, and employment agencies may seem to have your interests in mind, but they're retained - and paid - by the company. So although they can be very nice to you, at the end of the day, their goal is to place candidates and collect a fee.It's time to think like an entrepreneur, with marketable business skills and abilities. It's time to conceive of your career as a high-potential venture, with you as CEO. In this environment, you've got to be your own agent.Learn to look out for your ... view article details

Competition is Fierce As you progress throughout your career, may you have the good fortune of consistently being the unanimous, nobody-else-comes-close, top candidate for every job that you apply for. Perhaps it’s because your talent and expertise is undeniable. Maybe friends or old co-workers continually reach out to you to join them in their latest venture. Some of you might wisely take the path of least resistance by seeking out jobs through referrals so that you don’t have to compete with the masses.For everyone else, you're probably facing a very competitive job market. Let’s fa... view article details

Which Jobs Are on the Rise? As the last chapter of 2013 is written, we once again turn our sights on what’s to come in the new year. And as it turns out, 2014 has a lot to offer in the way of new job growth.We looked into our own Salary.com crystal ball and then referenced sources like the US Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine which fields are slated to enjoy the most growth over the next few years. So if you’re currently unemployed and searching for a job, or if you’re unsatisfied and hoping to change careers, the first thing you need to do is see if your job is on this list.8. ... 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

Welcome to the World of Sleep Disorders Not everybody is cut out for the 9-to-5 workaday world.Mounting evidence demonstrates half a million Americans have biological reasons for needing to work alternative shifts. In this fourth story (read Part I, Part II, and Part III here) about delayed sleep phase syndrome (also DSPS, or delayed sleep), you’ll meet Julie Peggar, an ethnographer who suffers from this type of circadian rhythm disorder. Peggar, the president and chief storyteller at Gaze Ethnographic Consulting, Inc., shares insights from her world as a highly functional night owl w... view article details