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I talk and write about money all day. So it’s rare that someone comes to me with a money question that makes me uncomfortable or that I find hard to answer.
But a couple of weeks ago, I was at a party with someone who had just gotten into journalism. He asked me about my career trajectory and my current gig. Do I get assignments or pitch my own stuff? How do I balance frequent deadlines with in-depth reporting? Then, suddenly: How much money do I make? READ MORE
How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in a major American city? Increasingly, the answer is a six-figure salary.
This map shows the income required for a comfortable lifestyle across 56 U.S. cities, factoring in housing, food, transportation, savings, and discretionary spending. READ MORE
According to Glassdoor data, the median annual pay range for a CISO is $321,000, while Salary.com puts the figure at $385,000. Lower tier estimates, provided by Zippia, bottom out at $144,000.
CSO reports that CISO pay at the largest US enterprises is closer to $500,000, with some CISOs receiving seven-figure annual compensation packages, and a few even hauling in $5 million a year. Fortune 100 CISOs often far exceed reported averages. READ MORE
Meta’s 2025 work visa filings show just how much AI and senior technical talent are costing employers.
The social media giant has disclosed base salaries as high as $450,000 for software engineers and $650,000 for a VP of Engineering, AI, according to a Business Insider analysis of Meta’s 2025 filings. READ MORE
For banks and investment management firms, incentive-based compensation plays a valuable role in motivating employees, attracting talent, and managing risk. Explore five themes in incentive compensation management practices that can help banks evaluate and improve their own programs. READ MORE
Based on a survey of 200 incentive compensation leaders, the research shows that while organizations are modernizing their approach to incentive compensation, many still lack the ability to execute plans effectively. A large majority (82%) of companies now manage incentive compensation through formal software—up 12% year-over-year—but only 33% have automated their commission process end-to-end.
At the same time, organizations are moving faster. Nearly half (46%) now review and adjust plans quarterly, yet 39% report it still takes one to two months to implement those changes. READ MORE
A federal judge Tuesday tentatively ruled restricted stock units awarded to hourly Apple employees do not fall under federal exclusions that would allow the company to exclude the awards from employees’ regular rate of pay for the purposes of calculating overtime pay.
Restricted stock units (RSUs) are awards that give employees a contingent right to own company stock on a future date, subject to certain conditions. Vesting is the process an employee takes to earn ownership of the stock, such as waiting a certain amount of time or reaching a specific career level. READ MORE
Starbucks is overhauling how its frontline workers get paid with a package of changes that includes performance-based quarterly bonuses, a shift to weekly paychecks and expanded tipping access through its mobile app. The program is designed to create more opportunities for hourly workers to share in the success of the “Back to Starbucks” transformation. READ MORE
More American families are climbing into higher income brackets, The Wall Street Journal reports. About 31% of Americans qualified as upper middle class in 2024, a jump from just 10% in 1979, according to the American Enterprise Institute. Pew Research found similar trends; "Everybody is doing better, but the upper income households are especially," says one Pew researcher. Wage growth has driven the ascent, per the Journal. However, families in this bracket say costs for housing and higher education still leave them feeling financially squeezed. READ MORE
I'm a negotiation advisor, and my husband and I cofounded Yournegotiations.com. We help executives and mid-career professionals negotiate job offers and business deals.
I credit my negotiation expertise to a few things. First, I'm from Albania, which is a developing country. I had to navigate constrained resources my whole life. Second, I have a passion for behavioral science and psychology. READ MORE
Multiple states are revisiting or advancing surcharges on million-dollar incomes. For HR leaders, the after-tax value of executive and high-earner compensation is becoming more volatile and more jurisdiction-sensitive.
“Democratic legislators in Washington state approved a bill that will place a 9.9% tax on those who earn more than $1 million. That bill now heads to the state governor’s desk,” according to Marketplace, a public media outlet. READ MORE
Meta recently rolled out a new pay package that would grant certain senior executives nearly $1 billion each in stock should the company reach a $9 trillion valuation by 2031.
This moonshot award promises top executives generous compensation for meeting aggressive targets, not unlike the pay packages Tesla shareholders have approved for CEO Elon Musk in recent years. READ MORE
The 2026 CISO Report from Cybersecurity Ventures in partnership with Sophos is out, with the latest chief information security officer compensation figures from a variety of sources.
According to Glassdoor data, the median annual pay range for a CISO is $321,000, while Salary.com puts the figure at $385,000. Lower tier estimates, provided by Zippia, bottom out at $144,000. READ MORE
NEOs at US public companies are the top executives whose compensation must be disclosed in detail under Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules, generally including the CEO, CFO, and up to three other highest-paid executive officers. This information is disclosed in the annual proxy statement (DEF 14A), primarily in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis (CD&A) and related tables; and supports shareholder oversight, proxy voting, and assessments of executive pay and accountability. READ MORE
Multiple states are revisiting or advancing surcharges on million-dollar incomes. For HR leaders, the after-tax value of executive and high-earner compensation is becoming more volatile and more jurisdiction-sensitive.
“Democratic legislators in Washington state approved a bill that will place a 9.9% tax on those who earn more than $1 million. That bill now heads to the state governor’s desk,” according to Marketplace, a public media outlet. READ MORE
Shark Tank's Kevin O’Leary says the most valuable job in today’s economy doesn’t require a four‑year degree, an engineering background or even a traditional résumé. Instead, it requires a phone, an understanding of social media platforms—and the ability to turn content into customers.
With student loan debt ballooning and salaries not keeping pace, buying a house, having kids and other life milestones are feeling more out of reach for younger generations, prompting them to seek out less traditional ways of making money. Once dismissed as a side hustle or vanity career, social media influencing has rapidly evolved into one of the most lucrative—and measurable—jobs in the modern economy. As companies shift marketing dollars toward platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, creators who effectively know how to turn content into customers are commanding six‑figure paydays. READ MORE
As the Class of 2026 prepares to enter the workforce, new survey data from Monster® shows graduates adopting a pragmatic approach to their careers, prioritizing stability over status in an uncertain job market.
According to Monster's 2026 State of the Graduate Report, two-thirds of graduates (67%) say they would accept a lower-paying job if it offered greater long-term career security. While salary remains a top consideration when evaluating job offers (68%), job security (52%) now ranks above career growth opportunities (49%) among graduates' top priorities. READ MORE
High-net-worth individuals increasingly expect a greater proportion of their total annual income to come from non-salary sources, such as carry distributions, bonuses, dividends and business sale proceeds, according to research released by Investec.
In the Investec survey, 85% of respondents say they expect a higher proportion of their total annual income to come from non-salary sources in future, including 64% who expect that proportion to rise slightly and 21% who expect it to rise significantly. Only 15% do not expect the proportion of income from non-salary sources to increase. READ MORE
If you're looking to get a high-paying job with security, you may need to look to the sky when considering what to major in.
Aerospace engineering graduates earn a median of $125,000 mid-career and face only a 1.4% unemployment rate. A degree in aerospace engineering has a starting salary of around $76,000, which is in line with the median pay for all workers with a bachelor's degree in 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering is the degree that's most likely to land you a high-paying, stable job, according to Federal Reserve data. READ MORE
If you could earn thousands of dollars more a year just by having a two-minute conversation, would you do it? That might sound like an easy “Yes,” but for a lot of people, the answer, surprisingly, is no.
A startling number of people don’t negotiate their salary when they’re offered a job or haven’t had a raise in a long time. Over more than a decade of writing an advice column about work, I’ve been stunned by how frequently people tell me they’ve never fought for bigger numbers, not even once during their careers. Instead, they accept the first number an employer offers, because they’re worried that they’ll look greedy or mercenary. This strikes me as odd—the whole reason we work is for pay! And that conservative approach leaves people making far less than they could earn if they pushed past the discomfort and spoke up. READ MORE