Cabin Crew Salaries: Hot Air Balloon Pilot

Name: "Captain Crystal" Stout
Job Title: Hot Air Balloon Pilot
Where: Ridgefield, WA
Employer: Morning Star Balloon Co. (President/Owner/Operator)
Years of Experience: 22
Education: Jr. College 

Cabin Crew Salaries: Hot Air Balloon Pilot

When most people think of cabin crew salaries, they may picture an airline, but this Salary Story takes off with hot air balloon pilot "Captain Crystal" Stout. She told us about her career as a hot air balloon pilot, hot air balloon pilot requirements and hot air balloon weddings.

"Captain Crystal" also gave us the inside track on hot air balloon pilot training, hot air balloon pilot school and taking a hot air ballooning exam. Keep reading to learn more about a career that is always going up!

Professional Wrestler's Salary

Name: Darin Childs
Job Title: Professional Wrestler
Where: I have wrestled throughout the world and run my own company throughout the State of Texas
Employer: Owner of Anarchy Championship Wrestling
Years of Experience: 10
Education: B.A., Ohio State University

Professional Wrestler's Salary

If you enjoy body-slams, pile-drivers and head-locks, then don't miss this Salary Story on how to become a professional wrestler. We spoke to to pro wrestler Darin Childs who gave us the inside moves on factors that can affect a professional wrestler's salary and how to become a professional wrestler.

He also told us about pro wrestling franchises and Mexican professional wrestling. If you're tough enough, keep reading our jaw-breaking info on this unusual career.

Professional Organizer and Redesign Specialist

Name: Noelle Jackson
Job Title: Professional Organizer and Redesign Specialist
Where: Seattle, Washington State
Employer: (Self) Small Business Owner - Redesign Consulting, Home and Work Redesign
Years of Experience: 1 year of professional home and work redesign, 10 years doing home and work redesign for friends and family
Education: College and Graduate School ( Northwestern University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill )

Professional Organizer Salary

Thanks to our fast-paced society, professional home and work organizers are in big demand these days. A professional organizer can set their own schedule, so this is an appealing career choice for those who need more flexible hours. We recently interviewed Noelle Jackson who explained exactly how to become a professional organizer and do efficient home and work redesign.

She also spoke about the the factors that affect a professional organizer's salary, the steps she took to become a professional organizer, training to be a professional organizer, the National Association of Professional Organizers, home organizer tips, what exactly home and work redesign means, and why this is a good job for women making a career change.

If you're wondering "How do I become a professional organizer?" or "What is a typical professional organizer salary?" and/or want to start your own business in home and work redesign, this Salary Story should be a priority on your to-do list!

Becoming A Flight Attendant

Name: Sherri Blaise
Job Title: Flight Attendant
Where: Detroit, MI
Employer: Mesaba Airlines
Years of Experience: 5+
Education: B.S. in Journalism, Florida A&M University
Salary: See the PayScale Research Center for the median flight attendant salary.

Becoming A Flight Attendant

For readers interested in becoming a flight attendant, or who want to know more about a flight attendant career, this Salary Story will be a smooth ride. We recently spoke to flight attendant Sherri Blaise about her her steps toward becoming a flight attendant, what to expect from a flight attendant career and the average flight attendant salary.

With many airlines currently hiring flight attendants, this is a great time to learn about factors that affect a flight attendant salary and the future outlook for flight attendant careers. Working as a flight attendant means traveling to numerous destinations. That may sound fun, but Sherri gave us the inside scoop on what it takes to be a flight attendant. As Sherri explains, if you are flexible and have a winning attitude, you might be the perfect candidate for a flight attendant career.

So fasten your seat belts as we prepare for takeoff, and learn more about flight attendant salaries and becoming a flight attendant.

Actuarial Jobs

Name: Promod Sharma
Job Title: Actuary
Where: Toronto, Ontario
Employer: Major Canadian Life Insurance Company
Years of Experience: 23
Education: BSc (University of Western Ontario)
Salary: According to PayScale's Research Center, the median actuary salary with 5-9 years of experience is $87,617.

Actuarial Jobs

Most people may not know what an actuary does, or the reasons to become an actuary. As this interview reveals, actuarial jobs offer great variety and growth potential. We spoke to actuary Promod Sharma who gave us inside info on what to expect from actuarial careers, factors that affect an actuary salary and the outlook for actuarial jobs. Promod emphasized that actuary positions are not necessarily boring, as many people assume. According to Promod, actuarial jobs can provide challenging work as well as the opportunity to help consumers.

This informative interview also covers the actuary exam(s) given by the Society of Actuaries to become an Associate of The Society Of Actuaries, as well as helpful actuary websites and an actuary salary survey (see above). If you're seeking actuary positions or want more actuary salary info, keep reading!

What is the Salary for a Hotel Manager?

Name: Daniel Edward Craig
Job Title: General Manager, Opus Hotel Vancouver (& Acting General Manager, Opus Montreal)
Where: Vancouver and Montreal
Employer: Opus Hotels
Years of Experience: 15
Education: Bachelor of Arts, International Relations, University of British Columbia
Salary: See PayScale's Research Center for the average Hotel General Manager Salary.

What is the Salary for a Hotel Manager?

What is the salary for a hotel manager? What are the primary duties of hotel managers? These questions and many more are answered in our interview with Hotel General Manager Daniel Craig. In this Salary Story, he told us all about being a hotel manager and the duties of hotel manager professionals.

He also spoke about how to become a good hotel manager, factors that affect a hotel general manager salary, hotel general manager jobs and how to build a hotel manager career. Check in today for this interesting profile!

Average Salary of a Paralegal

Name: Michael Forster
Job Title: Paralegal
Where: Washington D.C.
Employer: Olsson, Frank & Weeda, P.C.
Years of Experience: 1
Education: Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan with a concentration in Political Science
Salary: According to the PayScale Research Center, the average salary of a paralegal in Washington D.C. is $45,752.

Average Salary of a Paralegal

For readers interested in getting their feet wet in the legal profession, or gaining valuable pre-law experience, it's well worth your time to read our interview with paralegal Michael Forster. In this Salary Story, Michael discussed the job duties of a paralegal, how to become a paralegal, the paralegal job outlook and the steps in his career as a paralegal (which he chronicles at aaumforster.blogspot.com). If you want to learn about the qualifications to become a paralegal, the average salary of a paralegal, factors that affect a paralegal salary and paralegal jobs, keep reading!

How to Become a Wedding Planner

Name: Leslie Weekes
Job Title: Wedding Consultant (and events)
Where: Washington D.C.
Employer: Self-employed, Leslie-Manning Events, LLC  
Years of Experience: 6
Education: BA in English
Salary: See PayScale's Research Center for the median wedding planner salary.

How to Become a Wedding Planner

In the film The Wedding Planner, actress Jennifer Lopez made working as a wedding planner appear to be a barrel of laughs, but in real life, being a wedding planner is a lot of work. We recently spoke to professional wedding consultant Leslie Weekes about how she decided to become a wedding planner and what it's like to run her own business. Leslie gave us great info on how to become a wedding planner (also mentioned on her blog: lesliemanningevents.blogspot.com), wedding planner schools, and the salary of a wedding consultant.

According to Leslie, if you want to become a wedding planner, it helps to be someone who is naturally organized with great attention to detail. Becoming a wedding planner may be challenging, especially as the profession becomes more competitive, but a wedding planner salary - and the ability to create a memorable event - can be highly rewarding. If you're looking to get hitched to an interesting profession, don't miss this Salary Story!

Pyrotechnician Salary: Fireworks for Pay

Name: Mike Tockstein
Job Title: Pyrotechnician (a.k.a. Pyrotechnic Operator)
Where: California
Employer: Independent Contractor for Pyro Spectaculars  
Years of Experience: Licensed Since 2001
Education: M.S. and B.S. in Electrical Engineering
Salary: A pyrotechnician salary is based on a percentage of individual show cost

Pyrotechnician Salary

For readers interested in becoming a pyrotechnician, there’s not a whole lot of info out there on the typical pyrotechnician salary or where to go for pyrotechnician training. Fortunately, we tracked down Mike Tockstein, a pyrotechnician who lit up this Salary Stories interview with info about pyrotechnician jobs, pyrotechnician employers, the general responsibilities of a pyrotechnician, and pyrotechnician training (as mentioned at his website, pyroinnovations.com). Mike also described the requirements for becoming a pyrotechnician and the average pyrotechnician salary. If you've ever wanted to shoot up the sky for pay, keep reading!

Salary for Civil Engineer

Name: Kirin G. Smith, EIT
Job Title: Civil Engineer
Where: Silver Spring, Maryland 
Employer: Delon Hampton & Associates, Chartered
Years of Experience: 3
Education: Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Certifications: EIT (Engineer in Training)
Civil Engineer Salary: See PayScale's Research Center for average civil engineer salaries.

Salary for Civil Engineer

If you're searching for info on the typical salary for civil engineers or a civil engineer job outlook, we have good news for you - the NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) recently reported a 4.8 percent increase in the average salary for civil engineer professionals. For those interested in problem-solving and community service careers, civil engineering offers a rewarding profession (and average civil engineer salaries aren't too shabby, either).

In this interview with civil engineer Kirin G. Smith, we learn about what led to her choice of a civil engineering career, requirements to become a civil engineer, job outlook for civil engineers, job description of a civil engineer, and the average civil engineer salary. If you're interested in a civil engineer career, info on the typical salary for civil engineer pros, or just want to learn more about a challenging profession, keep reading!