(1/18/99)

The President of the United States. Salary? $200,000 a year, plus executive style benefits.

Today Show anchor Katie Couric's new salary? $7-million.

Even though our paychecks may seem paultry by comparison, most of us would like to be making more than we are.

And ask anyone if they're getting paid as much as they 'should.' Nine times out of ten the answer is a resounding "No!"

Wishful thinking? Or is there some truth to our perceptions we are underpaid? The great wage debate has become such a hot topic that Money Magazine recently devoted a whole spread to it.

Jean Chatsky of Money Magazine says, "We all like to think that we're worth more than the actual paycheck we're pulling in. But, in reality you have to do some pretty diligent research to figure out how you're being compensated."

Ginny Bruce is a success story when it comes to increasing her income. A computer programmer, she was actually content with her salary and had no plans of quitting the position she had held for 16 years.

She says, "I was going to retire in about 3 or 4 years. But, I never thought of leaving the job right now."

That was until headhunters started innundating Ginny with offers. "With my particular company, I had unique skills but I found out that elsewhere it was more in demand and they were willing to pay more."

How much more? Try $20,000 more .. a year! Plus, in her new job, Ginny will only have to work four days a week and get to travel.

For the rest of us, finding out how much we're worth in the workplace - finding out if we're underpaid, is getting easier. How do you do it?

Chatsky says, "Professional associations are a good place to start. They tend to keep a list of salaries in accordance with experience in your area. Headhunters, because they are constantly placing people in the marketplace are another good source. You can also go to the web.

The internet is now packed with sites that can give you more information on almost every profession - from accounting to transportation. You can even find salary breakdowns based on years of experience and level of education.

Click on any of the hundreds of wage web sites, from The Wall Street Journal's career page to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. If you're a public librarian, you'll see that the median salary for your job is close to $36,000.

Or, if you work in public relations corporate communications, you'll be able to check out your salary scale depending on the size of your firm. Type of degree and years of experience is one way accounting salaries are broken down.

And healthcare professionals, like dental hygenists - whose median salary is close to $44,000 also have several sources of information.

If you don't have access to the internet, check out Gale's Research's "American Salaries and Wages Survey" at your local library or bookstore.