The Internet Is For Raises
Open source information on the web has transformed the way we find out about things. How about some open source information on wages? The New York Times has a round-up of internet services where if you'll show them yours, they'll show you everybody's. Wages, that is.
More extensive salary surveys are done for corporations, but a regular employee could not hope to buy the information from any of the other major compensation companies like the Hay Group or Mercer. "We wouldn't give it to you," said Iain Fitzpatrick, general manager of the reward information service division of Hay. The compensation companies do not want their information being used against bosses negotiating salaries. "The last thing we want is for a client to say, 'We just had a conversation with an employee who was quoting Hay data,' " Mr. Fitzpatrick said.
Unlike Salary.com, which obtains its information from a variety of surveys of corporate human resource departments, PayScale collects the information directly from people seeking the data. If you want PayScale's salary information, first you will have to tell them what you make. A basic report is free, but the company charges $20 for a more detailed analysis.
