salary

Older Workers Flock Back to School ... and Student Loans

The best route to a secure job still runs through the classroom, and droves of middle-aged Americans are following it. The proof is in the lending: The fastest growth in the student loan business is among people in their 40s. But are they making a good investment, or a bad bet?

Tweak Your Major, Transform Your Job Prospects

Unemployment among recent college grads is at 9.3% -- but not for every major. The good news is, you can follow your skills and passions and still find a job. The highest-unemployment majors are often related to options that use the same skills, but offer much better odds of a job.

New College Grad? Hope You Learned to Tend Bar

When history tallies up the biggest losers of the Great Recession, it's not hard to guess who will top the list. Facing a brutal job market, plummeting wages, and a mountain of debt, many recent college grads have fallen behind before they've officially started their careers.

Older Workers Hit Hardest by Long Term Joblessness

How many Americans have been out of work for more than a year? Around 4.4 million -- about the same as the population of Louisiana. And a disproportionate percentage of those long-term unemployed workers are 55 and older.

For Workers Laid Off in Recessions, Big Pay Gaps Persist

No matter when a person gets laid off, it can have long-lasting financial consequences -- among them, a wage gap that persists for years. But a new study reveals that men who are part of a mass layoff during a recession lose 72% more over their lifetimes than men who lose jobs in during periods of economic growth.

Advice on Juggling Higher Bills, New Business

Cassandra and her husband have seen major life changes in the past few months: A new house in the NYC suburbs, bills that suddenly exceed his salary, and a new business for her. But though her consulting firm is thriving, now she's got a different problem: how to properly take money out of it. DailyFinance drafted an expert to help.

College Degree Worth It? What the Data Say

The combination of the high price of college and the less-than-promising job prospects for new grads are fueling a hot debate about the value of a bachelor's degree: Is it worth the money? The Census Bureau parsed the data, and found that of all the variables that effect lifetime earnings, nothing packs the punch that education does.

College Dropouts Cost U.S. Billions in Lost Earnings

When students drop out of college, it's not just disappointing for them and their parents -- it's also bad news for Uncle Sam, and even for their next-door neighbors. According to a new report, a single year's worth of dropouts cost the nation $4.5 billion in lost income, and lost federal and state income taxes.

My Three Cents: How Much Are You Looking to Earn?

It seems like a trick question when the job interviewer asks: "How much are you looking to make?" In today's tough job market, your instinct might be to answer, "I'll take anything." But the smarter move is to do some research so you can walk into salary talks with a sense for your market value.

Are Maiden Names Really Worth $500,000?

Forget about cash-stuffed wedding envelopes. A Dutch study suggests brides could pick up an extra half million dollars by doing nothing -- specifically, by not changing their names. Women who kept their maiden names were judged to be more professional, were more likely to win a job, and attracted higher pay, the study showed.