Accounting Careers: Speaking the Language of Business

Name: Toni Miller
Job Title: Accounting Manager
Where: Kent, WA - USA
Years of Experience: 15
Education: High school and some college
Annual Salary: Interested in accounting careers or an auditing career? See PayScale's Research Center to learn more about careers in accounting and accounting salaries.
 

Accounting involves more than just crunching numbers. Businesses use accounting methods to translate their day-to-day activities into financial variables, and then analyze issues such as efficiency and productivity. The idea of analyzing financial information may cause some people to yawn, but accounting careers can be both challenging and rewarding. In this Salary Story, you'll meet Toni Miller, an accounting manager who plays an important role in her company. Actually, her job involves several roles and numerous responsibilities, as Toni describes in the following interview.

Toni offers advice on how to prepare for an accounting career and what to expect from an accounting manager position. She gives an insider's look at what accounting careers are really like and discusses the top challenges she faces on the job. If you're a problem-solving whiz looking for a career in finance or business, don't miss this interview!

Web Designer Salary - Consultant

Name: Wayne
Job Title: Web Designer/Consultant
Where: Vancouver, BC - Canada
Current Employers: Goldrea  Resources Inc. Molycor Gold Corp., Rocher Deboule Minerals Corp., Adanac  Molybdenum Corp.
Years of Experience: 5
Education: Computer programming degree,  multimedia design certificate, and master's degree.
Other Relevant Experience: 15 years data processing.
Annual Salary: What is the yearly salary for a web designer? See PayScale's Research Center for the starting salary for a web designer and to research more web designer career opportunities.

At one moment or another, everyone has dreamed of becoming their own boss. While it is certainly possible, some professions are more suitable than others when it comes to working from home.  If you're a police officer, chances are you won't be setting up shop from a home office any time soon. However, if you're involved in creative design or consulting, becoming your own boss may be more feasible.

This salary story tells the career biography of a web site designer who provides web consultancy services to multiple businesses. As his own boss, Wayne only has one complaint - he has to boss himself around. But it's not all that bad considering that he not only sets his own hours, but also earns a decent web designer salary.

Environmental Lawyer Salaries

Name: Stu Flashman
Job Title: Environmental Lawyer
Where: Oakland, CA - USA
Current Employer: Self-Employed
Years of Experience: 18
Education: Brown University - B.A. and Sc.M. in Biology; Harvard University - Ph.D. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; New College of California - J.D.
Other Relevant Experience: Ten years as a Research Biologist (it helps with the science in Environmental Law).
Annual Salary: See PayScale's Research Center to find lawyer starting salaries, and compare lawyer salaries by city.

Things don’t always work out according to plans. Stu Flashman studied biology at Brown University, earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Harvard and then went to work as a biotech researcher. Then, when he was laid off after ten years in the field, Stu came to the realization that he’d embarked on the wrong career path. In a case like this, what can you do, other than alter your course and make the best of it? That’s exactly what Stu did. He went to law school, passed the bar, and used his biotech research background to launch a career in environmental law.

Although it took Stu several years to get himself established as a solo environmental lawyer, he now experiences numerous rewards from his work. He gets to select his own clients, take cases he cares about, and see his work positively affect the community. Now, with 18 years of experience as an environmental lawyer, Stu's salary reaches far beyond the original $15,000 he made in his first year of legal practice.