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MONEY MAGAZINE RELEASES SECOND ANNUAL REPORT ON THE BEST JOBS IN AMERICA

Exclusive List Developed with Salary.com to Find the Best “Second Act” Careers

Nearly 60% of People Surveyed Have or Are Considering Switching Careers

New York, NY (March 22, 2007) -MONEY, the country’s largest personal finance magazine, and Salary.com, Inc., a leading provider of on-demand compensation management solutions, unveiled today an exclusive list of the best jobs in America for people looking to upgrade their careers. Geared towards “second act” careers, the list focuses on the best jobs for four groups specifically: Early-Mid Career Changers, Parents Returning to Work, Retiring Military and Workers Over 50. The full report along with tips and guidelines for making the switch will appear in the April issue of MONEY, on newsstands March 26 and available online now at www.CNNMoney.com/bestjobs2007.  

The top five jobs for each group are:

EARLY CAREER CHANGERS

  1. Product or Brand Manager
  2. Registered Nurse
  3. Property Manager
  4. Certified Public Accountant
  5. IT Generalist

 

PARENTS RETURNING TO WORK

  1. Executive Recruiter
  2. Nonprofit Manager
  3. Sales Representative
  4. Marketing Analyst
  5. Accountant

RETIRING MILITARY

  1. Operations or Intelligence Analyst
  2. Network Systems Manager
  3. Field Service Engineer
  4. Logistics/OPS Manager
  5. Senior Trainer/Training Manager

 

OVER 50 BUT NOT OVER THE HILL

  1. Nonprofit Executive
  2. Patient Representative
  3. Celebrant/Religious Leader
  4. Financial Adviser
  5. Public School Teacher

“Economists have been forecasting that the multiple-career work life is about to become the rule,” said MONEY's executive editor Craig Matters. “But that doesn't mean people will simply be looking for more money. They often have a non-financial goal that's just as important, if not more so. What makes this list of careers unique is that it factors in those quality of life motivators.”

 

“Workers still consider cash to be king, but not by as wide of a margin as in the past. Today, workers look at a broader financial picture -- placing greater emphasis on health benefits and vacation time than ever before and often prioritizing non-financial goals reflecting a true ‘total rewards' perspective,” said Bill Coleman , senior vice president of compensation at Salary.com. The top three non-financial rewards were passion for the work, flexible scheduling and career advancement opportunities; however, the importance of the rewards differed by each “second act” group.

 

The most sought after workplace rewards for each group are:

EARLY CAREER CHANGERS

  1. Mental Stimulation and Challenge
  2. Promotion and Advancement
  3. Passion for the Work
  4. Flexible Schedule (manage own time)
  5. Business Networking and/or Peer Interaction

 

PARENTS RETURNING TO WORK

  1. Flexible Schedule (manage own time)
  2. Passion for the Work
  3. Mental Stimulation and Challenge
  4. Skill Enhancement (on job experience)
  5. Promotion and Advancement

RETIRING MILITARY

  1. Passion for the Work
  2. Promotion and Advancement
  3. Skill Enhancement (on job experience)
  4. Flexible Schedule (manage own time)
  5. Mental Stimulation and Challenge

 

OVER 50 BUT NOT OVER THE HILL

  1. Flexible Schedule (manage own time)
  2. Passion for the Work
  3. Mental Stimulation and Challenge
  4. Skill Enhancement (on job experience)
  5. Keeping Active

People in their second acts share a common priority - a passion for the work. “Passion is the new king,” said Meredith Hanrahan , chief marketing officer at Salary.com. “This isn't their first time at bat; the majority of ‘second-acters' aren't willing to the make the critical trade-offs for just any job. Time is precious, child care is costly and they are more honest about what they need. It isn't about advancing to the next level or networking. For most in their second acts, people want their contribution to matter; they want a passion payoff. It's not optional; it's the new requirement.”

 

To compile the list of best jobs, MONEY and Salary.com surveyed more than 12,000 people, of whom more than 7,000 indicated they were planning a career change or had recently done so. Those 7,000 were surveyed further to identify the fields they were most interested in and the things that were most important to them.

 

For more on MONEY's second annual report of the best jobs in America , readers can visit www.CNNMoney.com where they'll find a complete list of the top 20 jobs for each category with job statistics for each. Also available is an online survey and stories of people who have made the switch. For strategies to re-enter the workforce and see what jobs pay, visit www.Salary.com

 

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METHODOLOGY

MONEY and Salary.com reviewed survey responses received from more than 7,000 people who recently changed careers or were thinking about making the switch to determine what interested them most important in a new career. MONEY reporters then spoke to experts and survey participants to assemble a list of positions that fit the bill for each of the “changer” groups. The result was a list of approximately 20 jobs in each category, for which Salary.com then provided compensation and growth projections. Jobs were then ranked by total compensation, job growth and the top non-financial motivator for each group.

 

ABOUT MONEY

MONEY magazine is the nation's largest magazine of personal finance, with nearly 2 million subscribers and newsstand buyers and more than 7.5 million total readers. MONEY's accessible, friendly and jargon-free articles are aimed at anyone who is responsible for making money decisions in his or her household—from seasoned investors to those who are just starting their financial lives. The magazine's mission is to help readers make better decisions, not just in their investment portfolio, but in all areas in which life and money intersect—their family, their home, their health, their spending and their future. MONEY, along with FORTUNE, Business 2.0, FSB: FORTUNE Small Business, and the website CNNMoney.com is part of The Time Inc. Business and Finance Network, which is a division of Time Warner, the world's largest media company.

 

ABOUT SALARY.COM, Inc.

Salary.com (NASDAQ: SLRY) is a leading provider of on-demand compensation management solutions helping businesses and individuals manage pay and performance. Salary.com provides companies of all sizes comprehensive on-demand software applications that are tightly integrated with its own proprietary compensation data sets, thereby automating the essential elements of the compensation management process and significantly improving the effectiveness of its client's compensation spend. For more information, visit www.salary.com.


 
 
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For further information please contact:

Phil DiIanni
MONEY
212-522-6282
phil_diianni@timeinc.com

Erin Clinton
MONEY
212-522-4071
erin_clinton@timeinc.com

Bill Keeler/Erica Salamida
Schwartz Communications
781-684-0770
salary@schwartz-pr.com

Jared Jost
Salary.com
781- 464-7341
press@salary.com

 

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