To begin, identify your target job title: _________________________________________________________ STEP 1: Go to bls.gov. In the search bar, type in your desired job title or industry and start looki

To begin, identify your target job title: _________________________________________________________

STEP 1: Go to bls.gov. In the search bar, type in your desired job title or industry and start looking through the search results. By clicking on the links, write down your answers to the following questions:

Ø  What is the median pay for the job you listed above? (make sure you know what “median” means)

Ø  What year was the Bureau of Labor and Statistics salary data based on? 

Ø  What is the job outlook or job prospects for this field?

Ø  Under “State and Area Data” link, find the annual mean wage for the state of Michigan. (Note the difference between median and mean). Resting your cursor on the state will give you the answer.

Ø  How many people in Michigan are employed in that field?

Ø  Identify 3-5 states with the highest employment level in this occupation as well as the annual mean wage in that state.

Ø  Identify 3-5 states of the top paying states for this occupation as well as the annual mean wage in those states. (some of these may overlap the previous question)

STEP 2: Go to onetonline.org and search for the same desired job or industry. Find answers to the following:

Ø  What level of education is required for this job?

Ø  According to O*NET, what is the median annual wage in the US?

Ø  What year was O*NET’s salary data based on?

Ø  What are the projected growth and/or job openings for this field?

Ø  Click on State Wages, then Michigan and then “View Table”. Identify the median yearly income in Michigan for the year given.

o   Look through the various cities/locations given. Identify one or two areas of Michigan you would like to live and identify that median income.

o   Go to the top of the chart and click on “National Data” and identify one or two other states you might like to live in and identify that yearly median income.

STEP 3: Go to NACE Salary Survey document in Moodle.

Ø  Identify the yearly mean and median starting salary for your job by “Major and Industry” or “Industry and Major” (whichever way you find your job title).

Ø  What year was NACE’s salary data based on?

Ø  Find the Region you would prefer to live in. What is the yearly mean and median salary range for your field?

STEP 4: Your Response. Look through your responses, and then in a 250 word response, answer the question: “What salary range are you looking for?” Make sure you identify the job position, where you believe you will find a job or where you think you would like to live (maybe your dream location), and the job prospects and/or job openings in these locations.