All of our guests on Salary Talk are winners. But this group of Carnegie Mellon University graduate students truly fits the bill, as they were named one of the grand prize winners of Challenge.gov's Equal Pay App Challenge.David Guarino and Rachel Koch are part of a team of developers who created www.closethewagegap.com, in response to the U.S. Department of Labor's call to action in January. The challenge was developed in conjunction with President Obama's Equal Pay Task Force, with the purpose of highlighting the discrepancy in pay between men and women. Although the Department of Labor has ... view article details

Q. I just earned a bachelor's degree in human resources management and I have three years of experience. Based on Salary.com's results, if I am a qualified applicant I should be getting a median income in the mid-40s per year. During interviews, when asked, 'What is your salary requirement?' I don't know what to say. Based on my experience as a recruiter, I hated when I asked the same question and didn't get a concrete response. I was taught to start low and work my way up with the salary until the other person 'gives in.' What's the best way to answer this question?A. I'm not a believer in wa... view article details

Q. I have been trying to contact my human resource department to get a fair market value (pay range) for the position I have held for 6 years. My HR department has told me they do not have the fair market value of my position. The bank I work for does have pay ranges and I have asked for those, but the HR department said the pay ranges do not mean anything because they overlap.How can I find out what I am worth? How can I get this information from my employer to compare other positions in my area?A. Pay ranges and pay grades are tools companies use to help them administer their pay programs. C... view article details

Q. I have been trying to contact my human resource department to get a fair market value (pay range) for the position I have held for 6 years. My HR department has told me they do not have the fair market value of my position. The bank I work for does have pay ranges and I have asked for those, but the HR department said the pay ranges do not mean anything because they overlap.How can I find out what I am worth? How can I get this information from my employer to compare other positions in my area?A. Pay ranges and pay grades are tools companies use to help them administer their pay programs. C... view article details

The U.S. Supreme Court decided in a 5-4 ruling that mandatory public-sector union dues are unconstitutional. Employees must now opt-in to having union fees deducted from their wages. In Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, Illinois State employee Mark Janus claimed that union fees are unconstitutional under the First Amendment’s rights to free speech and association. The decision effectively overturns a previous ruling in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977) in which the Court unanimously affirmed that union fees for the costs of “collective bargaining, contract administration, and grievance adj... view article details

Recycled. Upcycled. Eco-friendly. Sustainable. Organic. Everywhere you look signs, labels, and headlines make it clear that the country is going green. But how – if at all – does that translate into jobs?An estimated 3.4 million of U.S. jobs qualified as 'green' in 2011, according to a recent report from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, up nearly 5 percent over 2010. In the private sector, environmentally friendly jobs grew at an even faster rater: more than 7 percent, from 2.3 million to 2.5 million. Employment across all industries and categories, meanwhile, grew by just slightly more... view article details

Q: Hello Jack,I just completed an exploratory (group) interview and mini-individual interview with an HR Manager at a prestigious non-profit organization that services Developmentally Disabled individuals nationwide. I have 12 years in the field of Disabilities, starting out as a case manager and working myself up to two supervisory positions within the last five years with a year gap in between as I was pursuing my Masters in Social Work. I'll be  getting my MSW by 2013. I cant help thinking that I made a huge mistake in writing a salary range of $48k-$50k on my application. When I sat with h... view article details

The Research Status of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Vaccine The novel coronavirus pneumonia has spread to more than 160 countries and regions worldwide, and the virus has no specific medicine so far. Under these circumstances, the research and development of a vaccine is very important. Presently, many companies have participated in the research and development of vaccines, but four vaccine giants' attitudes toward coronavirus pneumonia vaccine are ambiguous. So now, the question becomes: which companies and institutions are involved in vaccine research and developme... view article details

New London topped our list with salary ranges above the national average, a low cost of living, and a low unemployment rate. Are you living beyond your means? Is your paycheck not stretching far enough? Perhaps you're even having trouble finding a job. Maybe it's time to jump a plane to one of the cities at the top of Salary.com's 'Salary Value' index. We found the top (and bottom) US metros for building personal net worth (taking into account local salaries, cost of living, and unemployment relative to the national average). Median base pay was correlated across more than 2,500 different benc... view article details

Do Your Homework For our entire childhood, homework seemed like a chore or even punishment. 'OK class, take out your homework!''Go upstairs and do your homework!''You’re not watching any TV until you’ve finished your homework!'Aw, mom. But there’s a reason your parents and teachers insisted on this extra activity. When taken seriously, the extra work and practice prepares you to excel in a given task, be it algebra or literature.'Do your homework' is also the first thing any expert will tell you when preparing for a job interview or salary negotiation. Unfortunately, like an antsy tee... view article details