Salaries

By Lisa Johnson Mandell

Does it actually feel like you're making more than you did this time last year? Because according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, you are. The median weekly earnings of the nation's 98.7 million full-time wage and salary workers were $748 in the fourth quarter of 2009, which was 2.7 percent higher than a year earlier. Do the math, and that means you could be taking home close to an extra $20.00 per week.

Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder.com writer

The past can teach us many things. We can see how unjust our society was to some people before major Supreme Court cases were decided. We can imagine how simple some aspects of life were before cell phones tethered us to work.

It's also fun to look back and see just how much further a dollar seemed to go back then. Undoubtedly you've heard some relative reminiscing about the days when a nickel would buy you four movie tickets and you'd still have some change left.

By Barbara Safani

According to a recently re-released World at Work Survey, the average annual salary increase is down to 2.5 percent, .a 0.3 percent decrease from the original forecast of 2.8 percent a few months ago. So how will employers continue to reward performance in light of these paltry merit increase budgets? Here's what you can expect to see.

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By Ed Orum

In a pleasant sign that things are improving ever so slightly in the job market, more than a third of employees actually expect to get a pay raise in the next year, and a majority of those working feel confident they won't be laid off in the next six months.

The sentiments could be an indicator that things are picking up for companies, and in turn, employees are starting to feel more comfortable in their cubicles. The constant worry of "here today, gone tomorrow" might be starting to subside as companies have trimmed work forces to the bone and begin to turn profits again.

Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder.com writer

Higher education isn't for everyone, and people have a variety of paths to choose from once they graduate from high school. They might know from the start that they want to go straight to the professional world. Other new graduates often decide to try college for a semester to see how it goes and then realize it's not for them.

While the decision to pursue a degree or to enter the work force is fraught with pros and cons, earning a lot of money isn't. Not that money means everything, but wouldn't we all like to see some bigger numbers on our next paycheck? You can find jobs in many industries that don't require formal degrees, but you still need relevant experience, skills and possibly other training, depending on the position.