Stuck in a rut? Looking for ways to maximize your earnings? These seven simple tips can boost your salary. Whether you have your eye set on management or you're looking for a new career, consider these tips before you make a move.
Maximize your skills and maximize your salary
You can take control of your own earning potential. From training to location, check out the ways you could be holding your own salary back, and learn how to boost your potential. These tips are easier than you might think.
1. Upgrade your degree
Adding a degree or certificate to your educational credentials is one of the most reliable ways to maximize your salary. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that workers with an associate degree earn about $145 more every week than their counterparts with just a high school diploma. Over time, the savings add up. Physical therapist aides -- an entry-level job with typically no formal education requirement -- earned mean annual wages of $24,770 in 2008, the BLS reports. Upgrade by adding an associate degree and you could become a physical therapist assistant, earning $46,300.
2. Add certification
One of the fastest ways towards a stronger salary is a simple certificate. Some careers, like paralegal or teaching jobs, require certification. But there are plenty of careers with optional certification tracks that can mean a salary boost. CPA certification for accountants is a classic example, or product-specific IT certification.
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Consider pharmacy aides: this entry-level job generally requires no education beyond a high school diploma, and pharmacy aides earned mean annual wages of $21,500 in 2008. With a brief certificate program, however, pharmacy aides could become pharmacy technicians, earning $28,500 yearly. The certification required would pay for itself quickly.
3. Move to another market
Your location is essential to a strong salary. This market isn't about where you buy your peas and carrots; your salary is limited to the job market in your area. Move to a location where more industry means more competition for good employees, and you could find yourself enjoying a healthier salary.
Of course, larger markets can mean more competition and a higher cost of living, so make sure you have the education and skills to back up your move. For example, dental hygienists using their associate degree in dental hygiene to work in Washington state earned mean annual wages of $88,570 in 2008, the BLS notes.
4. Reconsider your specialization
Worried your career path is winding up in a dead-end street? If you're feeling your salary stagnate in a dead-end specialization, you don't have to give up the entire career. Change your focus and benefit from a new perspective with another specialization. Computer programmers working for software publishers earned mean annual wages of $83,340 in 2008, the BLS reports. That same year, programmers working for computer systems design and related services earned $75,300. You might need special certification to work in a certain field, but the financial benefits of shifting your specialization could be worth it.
5. Get on a management track
Though it isn't always the fastest, one of the most reliable paths towards a healthy salary in business is in management. Easier said than done, right? With an education, however, making that move up the career ladder doesn't have to be difficult. Consider business degrees at all levels, from brief certificate programs to intensive M.B.A. degrees.
By combining your existing knowledge with formal business training, you're on the road towards a promotion to a position that better suits your skills. Take control of your potential promotional track by pursuing career training. Consider meeting with your company's HR department or your own manager to learn what type of education could suit you best.
6. Showcase your experience
Make the most of your training and skills by branching out at work. Volunteering for new projects helps break up the monotony of the ordinary day at work, plus you get a chance to prove your ability to the boss.
A brief diploma or certificate program in the name of self-improvement can be an added incentive here. Consider using Web design training to help design the Web page of a small business. Alternately, a basic computer course can get you caught up on office software like Excel and Word.
7. Teach yourself to teach others
Boost your own earnings and make yourself more useful as a trainer. If you have years of experience in your field, a move into training can help make you indispensible to your business as you enjoy a new set of responsibilities at work. Human resources training and development specialists earned mean annual wages of $54,830 in 2008, the BLS reports. A little extra education in your field or a degree in human resources could help your chances of making the jump into training.
Career training degrees and certificates
While no educational program can guarantee a salary boost, the training programs suggested above are generally preferred by hiring and promotion managers. Securing formal training can go a long way to prove your skills in any given field. Once you have the education, you have more power to make a move towards a different specialization, a promotion with more responsibility, or a new career entirely.
