After taking the lead on a project or working too many 10-hour days, ever wonder how much money you make compared to your fellow cubicle dwellers?
Unfortunately, I have no magic way for you to find out. You could always ask them, but that could be uncomfortable, although also satisfying! Finally the wondering can stop (and possibly the end to a civil relationship).

I have some tools for you.

For company big shots, read the proxy statement for a fun time. Search for the word “prequisites” and you’ll be in the neighborhood where juicy details about shocking and unjust executive perks abound.

Did you know it’s common for companies to cover financial planning fees for their executives?
Really, aren’t employees the ones in need of free advice?

The Securities and Exchange Commission has a web site named Edgar where proxy statements can be viewed. You can also find them at individual public company web sites.

If the co-worker you’re curious about happens to be a top employee at a non-profit, check out the Form 990. Guidestar is a gateway. Generally, government employee pay ranges are also public.

For those of you in the private sector wondering about the paycheck of the jerk who clips his fingernails at the cubicle across the way, the easiest way to get a general idea of how much others in your job category earn is with salary comparison web sites such as Payscale.com. You can also check out iSeek, a Minnesota-specific wealth of job descriptions and salary info. Then there’s the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but good luck making it through the agency’s web site.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 17th, 2007 at 5:57 pm and is filed under work. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.