Getting a summer job is a rite of passage for many young people. In addition to earning wages to help pay for tuition or make car payments, it's where many first-time employees learn the fundamentals of work -- showing up on time, teamwork, communicating effectively, managing workloads and more. But summer jobs can also be fun, giving teenagers an opportunity to bond and hang out with a group of people beyond their schools and neighborhoods.

In recent years, because of the recession and subsequent slow recovery in the labor market, summer jobs have been hard to come by for many teenagers. This year, many economic indicators point to an improved job market, suggesting that high school and college students looking for work this summer may have an easier time of it.

As Americans' lives are increasingly filled with technology, careers in information technology are expected to grow significantly through the end of the decade.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that many IT jobs are expected to grow faster or much faster than average through 2020. What's more, employers' inability to find the workers with the technical skills needed to fill such jobs has resulted in stellar pay for some jobs. Some companies are also offering signing bonuses to ensure that they attract -- and keep -- top talent.

In today's competitive job market, it can be hard to imagine that there are jobs that pay well but don't require years of experience. But many sectors offer high-paying entry-level jobs that are appealing to mid-career changers or recent college graduates (who are likely eager to get out from under a mound of student loan debt).

With the help of PayScale.com, a salary data and software company, AOL Jobs has compiled a list of 10 careers that offer high salaries to entry-level workers -- those who have been on the job for two years or less. Many of them require a college degree, but there are exceptions. (Note: The jobs listed below are a sampling of highly paid entry-level jobs and not a comprehensive, ranked list.)

One way to get a foot in the door of a desirable employer is to get hired as a temp. This year, 40 percent of employers plan to hire temporary and contract workers, compared to 36 percent last year, according to an annual forecast by CareerBuilder (an AOL Jobs sponsor). Of these companies, 42 percent plan to offer some of their temporary workers permanent, full-time work.

Employers turn to temporary workers when they need to quickly ramp up operations in response to rising demand for their services or goods, says Eric Gilpin, president of the career site's staffing and recruiting group. "For job seekers, it's a great way to build relationships with employers and expand your resume, and is often an in-road into permanent placement within firms," he says.

The tech sector has been a job-creation engine for years now, and recent gains in hiring show that trend continuing. Of the 157,000 jobs created in January in the U.S., 22,000 -- or 1 out of every 7 jobs -- were in information technology, according to Foote Partners, an information-technology research firm.

In fact, tech hiring reached levels in January not seen in nearly five years, despite lackluster gains in other sectors. What's more, tech firms have been hiring at sustained levels since February 2012, creating more than 132,000 jobs since that time, Foote Partners CEO David Foote told ComputerWorld.

There's no shortage of well-paid head coaches at the nation's top colleges and universities. As USA Today reported last fall, 42 head coaches at major schools make at least $2 million a year -- and 13 have a base annual salary of more than $3 million.

But it isn't just those with the top coaching job, responsible for leading their teams to victory, who are raking in the dough. Many athletic directors -- those in charge of college athletic programs (including the hiring of coaches) -- are also well compensated, as a separate survey by USA Today shows.

When it comes to finding that first new job out of college or a new career, many applicants are told that they don't have the right skills. The result: Millions of positions go unfilled even though there are many more millions eager to find work.

It's known as the skills gap, and though there's been no shortage of discussion about the source of the problem and possible solutions, it's not clear which skills Americans are lacking. Employers say today's workforce lacks a combination of skills. For example, many manufacturers are looking for workers with technical savvy, including the ability to work with robotics, read blueprints, and use computer software to create documents and spreadsheets.

The tough economy has forced many people to reconsider their careers. For some, that's meant gaining additional skills to hang on to a job, but others -- sometimes through no fault of their own -- have found that they have to consider a whole new career path.

But explaining to a potential employer that you have the skills to do a job that you've never done before can be tricky, especially on your resume. So what's the best way to create a resume when you're eager to change careers?

Despite reports that some nurses are having trouble finding jobs, government statistics suggest many positions are being left unfilled and the need for nurses (and other health-care professionals) will continue to grow through the end of the decade.

Driving the demand for the tens of thousands of nursing jobs expected to be created by 2020 are aging baby boomers, who are living longer but not necessarily healthier. So how is it that some job seekers can't find nursing jobs? As CNNMoney recently reported, despite thousands of job postings, registered nurses fresh from school are meeting resistance from hospitals that don't want to hire new grads.

As fans of "Dirty Jobs" know, the host of the cable TV show, Mike Rowe, has been out of a job since last fall, when the series aired its 169th and final episode. The program's end, after eight seasons, was bittersweet for Rowe, who called it "the most honest show in the history of reality TV."

Rowe, 50, says that he feels good about his current state of unemployment. "I got way busier than I thought I'd ever be with 'Dirty Jobs,' " he tells AOL Jobs. One of his current projects is a website, mikeroweWORKS.com, which is designed to be a resource center for people looking for more information about careers in trades. In a sense, it carries on the mission of the show, by providing information about the jobs that many Americans would rather not or simply won't do -- and where and how to get them.

You've heard it before: If you want to find happiness at work, follow your passion. For many people, however, identifying something that they both enjoy and make money at can be an exercise in exasperation.

People are eager to know: "What's my purpose in life? What's my passion in life?" says career coach Deborah Brown-Volkman. She tells them to start by making a list of things they are good at and enjoy doing, and that incorporate hobbies. "It's not the things you struggle with," she says. "It's the things that come naturally to you."

Gary Thompson had supposedly fallen on hard times, which explains why he took to the streets of downtown Lexington, Ky., begging strangers for money. As he rolled around in his wheelchair, he slurred his words and wrung his hands as he asked passersby for contributions. Plenty of people felt sorry for Thompson, enough to net the man reportedly as much as $100,000 a year. But according to WLEX-TV, much of his act was a ruse.

Thompson apparently does rely on wheelchair, as he has difficulty walking, but his speech isn't slurred and his arms function fully, the NBC affiliate reports. After the Lexington station confronted the beggar, Thompson said he appreciated being caught. Laughing, he told the TV crew: "Yeah, I'm really good at it, really good. I clear about $100,000 a year doing this." Further, Thompson said, "I am normal, it just helps to be mentally handicapped."

The death of paper resumes has been predicted ever since the advent of email. And now some tech-savvy employers are even refusing to look at traditional resumes or conduct in-person interviews, instead relying on applicants' postings on Twitter in the pursuit of top talent.

Known in some circles as Twitterviews, the ability to sell yourself in 140 characters or less is the latest trend in hiring -- at least among high-tech firms. They include Salem, N.H.-based Enterasys, USA Today reports. The networking company's chief marketing officer, Vala Afsha, says that he's only considering tweets in assessing who's the best candidate for the six-figure, senior social media strategist position he's looking to fill by April 1.

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, plenty of Americans have seen their credit scores tank. But can that really affect your ability to get a job? Possibly, since many employers increasingly are relying on workers' credit histories when making hiring decisions.

Just ask Oneika O'Keefe. Speaking on AOL Jobs Lunch Time Live, O'Keefe says that she was told during a recent job interview with a retailer that she would have to undergo a credit check because the position required that she "deal with a lot of money."

Ever wonder what your boss's signature might say about him or her? A new study suggests that chief executives with outsized John Hancocks are more likely to be narcissists. Big signatures may also mean the CEOs are less capable and poor performing, though that doesn't mean they take home smaller paychecks.

In fact, the study of 605 U.S. CEOs, released by the University of North Carolina business school, found that those with large signatures make the most money -- regardless of how well or poorly they do their jobs. (Shown above is President Barack Obama's signature, which wasn't included in the study.)

With all the press given to the astronomical wages that computer science or engineering grads can earn, you might think that a liberal arts degree is, well, fairly worthless in the job market. Not so. A new report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers finds that three liberal arts majors had average starting salaries that topped $40,000 in 2012. They are:

• Liberal arts and sciences/general studies, $43,100
• History, $41,900
• Literature/letters, $40,200

Many people would love to find a six-figure career. But in this tepid labor market, many high-wage earners, including even attorneys, are finding that jobs remain elusive. Still, Glassdoor.com reports there are careers with plenty of job openings that offer handsome salaries.

The employment website recently compiled a list of 10 careers with six-figure potential that are in high demand, basing its findings on job titles with hundreds of job listings and at least 50 salary reports shared by employees on Glassdoor's site.

The Great Recession left millions of middle-class Americans without jobs, and many have had no luck in finding another one. Some, seemingly, are so desperate that they've signed up with the new CBS reality show, "The Job," in the hope of landing a position with a high-profile employer, such as Epic Records, Live Nation or Cosmopolitan magazine.

But the show has its critics, including the New York Post, which called the program "offensive," in part because contestants are trying to land average, middle-class jobs, not those that offer the superstar status of other reality shows, such as "American Idol" or "The Voice."

In most offices, poor performing workers could find that raise or bonus they were seeking is suddenly off the table -- or they may be suddenly sent packing. In the world of sports -- especially college sports, however, a big financial reward of hundreds of thousands of dollars could be coming.

Take the case of Dana Holgorsen (pictured above), head coach of the West Virginia University football team, the Mountaineers, who can expect to earn $2 million-plus this year despite finishing the season with a less-than-stellar 7-6 record.

With mortgage rates hitting all-time lows, will jobs in construction finally start to boom? After three dismal years, Al Dio Dati thinks so. The owner of a Yonkers, N.Y.-based residential-construction firm for more than 50 years, he says that expectations are so good this year that he expects to double the number of people working for him.

"We're setting a goal for selling six homes this year," says Dio Dati, 83. "It'll keep the crews going all year long." Dio Dati typically maintains two crews of four people each. But with expectations of a being much busier, he plans to employ "at least" 16 workers.