Link to free salary surveys organized by ever-evolving categories, based on what's available on the Web. It's important to note that, while they might be better than nothing, many free salary surveys are inaccurate.

That's because the data are usually collected randomly and unscientifically, such as from job seekers while they're visiting job banks.

Accurate, timely salary surveys usually cost, because the compensation data firms that conduct them incur expenses from collecting data scientifically.

If you want a current, accurate, detailed report to assist you in salary negotiations, you'll likely need to buy one. But, before you buy, read about the methodology used.

The most reliable data is collected scientifically from employers, at least once per year. If the methodology is not offered or seems unscientific (e.g., collected randomly from volunteer job seekers), don't pay for the salary survey. If it's a freebie, don't take the data seriously.

WorldatWork, a nonprofit professional association, sets the standards for collecting salary data. So, any salary survey that adheres to its standards is likely to be reliable. To give you a choice, we've provided both free surveys and fee-based reports under each category below. Fees are moderate.

For tips about using salary surveys, read the article "Mining the Web to See What You're Worth" by WorldatWork, from BusinesWeek. See Salary Calculators for online gizmos that "calculate" national or regional averages.

For a reliable starting point in salary negotiation, consider joining the Vault Job Board to see their exclusive "insider" benefits and salary surveys. For tips related to salary negotiation, see Interviews.

Salary Survey Categories
Computer | Engineering | Health Care
Science | Training | Government | Multiple | Other

Computer and Information Technology Salary Surveys

Benefits and Salary Surveys
Vault Job Board continuously collects and updates exclusive "insider" compensation and benefits data, by surveying employees at major U.S. companies and government agencies. Vault is a comprehensive top job bank, called the "best place on the Web to prepare for a job search" by Fortune Magazine and often included among the "Best of the Web" by Forbes Magazine. You must be a Vault member to get past a certain point in the surveys.

Certification Magazine
An article with certification salary figures and charts.

CIO Magazine
Check the Research Centers for salary info, typically under a Career Resources link. A bit cluttered and difficult to navigate.

Computer Jobs Hourly Salary
Salary survey data collected randomly nationwide and updated hourly. Refresh the window for the latest average, and then click a job title for more info.

Computerworld
Their annual IT salary survey plus related articles.

Dice
Key trends in IT income, plus employee salary and contractor rate look-up by skill.

Entry Level
For engineering and computer grads with two years of experience or less, collected from the Internet. Courtesy of Graduating Engineer & Computer Careers Magazine.

Information Week Salary Advisor
Charges hundreds of dollars for the detailed salary survey, but offers this freebie calculator that compares your annual paychecks with the most recent data.

Internet World
Articles, facts, figures and charts for Internet professionals.

Java Pro
An article entitled "Salary Survey: Java Still Hot" from the June 2002 issue of this magazine.

Just Tech Jobs
A network of IT job banks by specialty. Select your specialty to see basic survey results collected onsite.

Microsoft Certification
The annual salary survey from Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine.

Network World
Annual salary survey, articles and tools for network professionals.

Real Rates
Rate and salary data randomly collected from independent contractors, temps and direct employees working in IT.

TCP Mag
Data from internetwork and network professionals with Cisco certifications, organized by certification.

Engineering Salary Surveys

EE Times Tech Careers
Register for the free "Tech Careers Report" to receive salary surveys by email, along with job leads, interviewing tips and such.

Engineering Salary Survey by Email
GNR, a technical recruiting firm, will send you "personalized" salary info by email. Read the privacy statement for more info. Their main site is here.

Engineering Salary Survey by Email
The Think Energy Group sends salary surveys by email, for a vast array of engineering disciplines and job titles. You must enter your salary information and email address to receive the salary survey you selected.

Entry Level
For engineering and computer grads with two years of experience or less, collected from the Internet. Courtesy of Graduating Engineer & Computer Careers Magazine.

Pro/Engineer Salaries
Annual salary survey charts from Pro/E Central, an online community of Pro/ENGINEER users.

Salary Information for Engineering
A small collection of articles plus survey results, from the National Society of Professional Engineers. The full survey is quite pricey and the freebies require membership in the Society.

Salary Survey For Experienced Engineers
Participate in the salary survey or read what others have submitted, at Job Search For Engineers.

Structural Engineers Association
Query the survey database or select one of the standard reports.

Health Care Salary Surveys

Certified Dental Assistants
Scroll down the homepage of the Dental Assisting National Board, for a link to the latest survey results.

Health Information Technology Growth and Income
Results of the American Health Information Management Association's latest salary survey of IT professionals working in health care.

In Practice Physician Compensation Surveys
National averages for physicians in their first year of practice (linked above) and another for three years or more.

Medical Device & In Vitro Diagnostics
An overview with a breakdown of selected job functions, plus an approximation worksheet (online gizmo) to compare your salary to the survey data. The full report costs, from Medical DeviceLink & Diagnostic Industry Magazine.

Medical Lab Wage Survey
The latest at this writing from the American Society for Clinical Pathology is dated year 2000. So, we've linked you to the main Careers page, in case they update the survey link to point to a newer one. In PDF format, so you'll need the free Adobe Reader.

MedZilla Salary Database
Search the database by job title, function or degree. Tabulation is not well organized.

Nurse Practitioners
Low, high and average salaries plus benefits, from Nurse Practitioner Central. More detailed reports cost.

Nurse Practitioners
Article with charts listing salary figures by practice, education, experience and U.S. region. Conducted every two years by Merion Publications.

Nurses, Perioperative
AORN, a professional organization of perioperative registered nurses, offers an annual salary survey.

Pharmacy Week
Click Salary on the menu for the latest Pharmacy Compensation Survey.

Physician Compensation
Salary survey results by Merritt, Hawkins & Associates, a physician recruitment firm. Because it's in PDF format, you'll need the free Adobe Reader.

Physician and Executive Compensation
A collection of articles, charts and such, organized by year and title.

Radiologic Technology
U.S. wage and salary survey conducted by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists.

Science Salary Surveys

Chemists
Median salaries for American Chemical Society members with full-time jobs in the U.S. At this writing, it's dated 8/5/2002. Because it's in in PDF format, you'll need the free Adobe Reader.

Geologists
Charts by degree and experience, along with a history chart. Courtesy of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

Geographic Information System
Results of the latest international GIS salary survey by region, experience, degree and job title. From GIS Jobs.

Life Sciences
Filter and then search the results of the most-recent life-sciences salary survey by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Mathematical Sciences Faculty Salaries
Annual results by the American Mathematical Society.

Physicists
Collection of employment reports, including salaries. From the American Institute of Physics.

Psychology
The American Psychological Association conducts these surveys every two years. Back up a page for other surveys and reports.

Training Salary Surveys

Training and Development
Median salaries from a 2002 Annual Pay and Compensation Report, courtesy of the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD). Charges a fee for the full 2002 report and for updated reports.

U.S. Federal Government Salary Surveys

Civilian Military Personnel Pay
All about wages and benefits from the Department of Defense Civilian Personnel Management Service, Wage and Salary Division.

Federal Job Pay and Leave
Salary and wage tables, locality pay adjustments, pay by work schedule (holidays, weekends, travel, etc.), leave policies, and other info for government jobs. Provided by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Military Pay and Benefits
What everybody really wants to know before joining, courtesy of Military Compensation, an official government Web site. Includes current active-duty and reserve pay tables, housing and subsistence allowances, retirement pay calculators, the variety of benefits available, and savings plans.

Multiple Industries & Occupations Salary Surveys

American Preferred Jobs
A job bank offering links to dozens of salary surveys by occupation.

Best Jobs
A job bank that conducts annual salary surveys for various industries.

Occupational Outlook Handbook
This annual publication from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, explains the nature of the work, job outlook and earnings for dozens of occupations.

Profession-Specific Salary Surveys
A large collection of salary-related links by JobStar, a service of the California Public Library System.

Salary and Benefits Survey Summaries
Free summary data for various industries and professions, as promo for the fee-based reports from Abbott, Langer & Associates.

Salary Data and Hiring Trends
Salary tools and industry articles. From Career Journal, by The Wall Street Journal.

Salary Guide
Tells you what you should be making according to industry, title and experience, for a few industries. Since they also ask for your current salary, we suspect they're collecting data too, though they don't say. But they don't ask for personal info until the end, if you want to allow them to "better serve you" and sign up for their newsletters. (No privacy policy that we could find.) From Pencom, Technical and Scientific Recruiters.

Starting Salary and Job Market Information
A collection of articles, facts, figures and charts from JobWeb for college students and recent grads, run by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Surveys and Reports
As promo for reports that cost up to $3500 and more, you may view samples for various industries by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

Wages, Earnings, and Benefits
Surveys by geographic area, occupation and industry, and in some cases age, sex or union membership. Courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Wages and Trends
Search and print wage info by occupation and state. Courtesy of America's Career InfoNet, associated with the U.S. Department of Labor and your state's unemployment insurance office.

Wage Web National Averages
Salary charts for the U.S. including information management, engineering, heath care, sales and marketing, finance, human resources, administration and manufacturing. Requires subscription payment to access more detailed info.

Other Industries & Occupations Salary Surveys

Accounting and Finance Salary Guide
Robert Half International will send you a free copy of the latest guide, if you complete a nosey registration form. Read Terms of Use for privacy info.

Advertising and Marketing
Survey data in charts, including average salaries served up several ways, job outlook and employment trends. From AdAge.

Maintenance
Salaries served up all kinds of ways, courtesy of Plant Maintenance Resource Center.

Printing
The Graphic Arts salary survey for the domestic (U.S.) printing industry.

Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists
An article explaining average annual incomes several ways, from a 2001 survey of clinicians.

Technical Communicators
Average salaries for technical writers, from the Society for Technical Communication. Requires membership to view.

Salary Surveys

Salary Survey Categories Computer | Engineering | Health Care Science | Training | Government | Multiple | Other