Joe Giordano, chairman of Seattle-based PayScale, says he is underpaid, and he should know: PayScale.com, his Web site, has gathered data on the salaries of more than 7 million Americans.
In exchange for finding out how their earnings compare with those of others in similar jobs, site visitors anonymously provide detailed data (if you're a nurse, the questionnaire wants to know at what kind of hospital; if you're a translator, of which languages).
One question routinely asked by PayScale, which was launched in 2002: "What were you doing five years ago, and how much were you making?" It is about to use the answers it stores in a feature called GigZig, which tells users what people who had their job title five years ago are doing and earning today. For example, plugging in "barista" (median income: about $18,000) shows some people who had that title in 2002 are now graphic artists ($34,500) or store managers ($41,000).
The idea is to help users plot their next move, Giordano says. Penelope Trunk, author of Brazen Careerist, agrees that "seeing the results of other people's action could be a help." She cautions, though, that because the work environment is changing so fast, events in the past five years may not be good career-path predictors.
PayScale makes its money by selling ads on the site--and salary data to businesses. Some mortgage companies pay for a service that combines the salary data with special algorithms to flag loan applicants who may be exaggerating their incomes.
Business Week
