Few people choose a profession based solely on money.
But there are choices you can make which will boost your paycheck.
Nadine Wimmer takes a look at
where you fit in on Utah's Salary Scale, and how to move up.
Here's a business with a help wanted sign. There's one across the street, and want ads are filled with positions.
How do you choose a career or job?
Money's not the only consideration, but it's certainly a factor as you look at Utah's salary scale.
The highest paid average salaries in Utah, go to doctors,
dentists,
and lawyers. That's probably no surprise.
But here's something that may be.
The Lewis brothers, ages 20, 25, and 27, average
$50,000 as diesel mechanics.
They got their training from state applied technology centers.
Hundreds of jobs, like theirs, pay far above
Utah's average salary of $27, 900.
And these jobs require skills that take months of training instead of years.
Whether it's technical training
or a college degree, economists say education is the most assured way of boosting your salary.
JOHN MATHEWS/LABOR MARKET ECONOMIST: "IT SEEMS THERE'S A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LEVEL OF EDUCATION AND LEVEL OF EARNINGS AND THE GAP BETWEEN THE U.S. AND UTAH."
We compared average salaries and found some professions where Utah paychecks fall far below national averages.
- computer programmers
-
CEOs
-
teachers
-
stockbrokers
-
fire fighters
Other professions pay above national averages
-
college business teachers
-
truck drivers
-
bakers
-
fast food workers
Of course, money isn't everything.
We asked dozens of workers what they hated most about their jobs, and not one ranked low pay as their top concern.
Mortician $45-$55,000: "MEETINGS, I HATE MEETINGS."
Sales Rep $35,000+: "PROBABLY THE TRAVEL."
Landscape business owner, 75,000+: "THE WEATHER CAN REALLY RAISE HAVOC WITH US."
Parking Enforcement, $26,000: "I'M ALWAYS THE BAD GUY, GET YELLED AT ALL DAY LONG."
Some employees like the perks, along with the pay.
This trax driver makes $30,000 and gets five weeks of paid vacation.
This teacher makes $36,000 and has summer off.
This sales rep makes upwards of $35,000 and travels extensively with his dog and his favorite tunes.
It takes a lot of different things to keep employees happy, regardless of where they sit on the salary scale.
"THEY MAY NOT BE MAKING AS MUCH AS SOMEONE IN THE NEXT BUILDING, BUT THEY STILL FEEL GOOD ABOUT THAT AND THEIR NEEDS SEEM TO BE MET."
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