Salary & Pay

Salary & Pay guides on Jobstepup.

Featured image for "How to Negotiate Your Salary as a Registered Nurse"
Salary & Pay

How to Negotiate Your Salary as a Registered Nurse

Registered nurse pay is negotiable more often than nurses expect, but what you can move depends on where you work. In a non-union hospital or clinic, base rate, step placement, sign-on money and shift assignment are usually all on the table; under a collective bargaining agreement, the base rate per step is fixed and the negotiation is about which step you land on and what differentials you qualify for.

Marisol Benning · 9 min read

Featured image for "Paralegal Salary Negotiation Scripts and Tips"
Salary & Pay

Paralegal Salary Negotiation Scripts and Tips

Paralegal pay is negotiable more often than most paralegals assume, but the leverage you have depends on when you ask. At a job offer you are bargaining against a budgeted range; at an annual review you are bargaining against a pool that was set months earlier; after a certification or a new responsibility you are bargaining against a job description that has changed.

Theo Niswander · 10 min read

Featured image for "Paralegal vs Legal Assistant Salary: Which Pays More?"
Salary & Pay

Paralegal vs Legal Assistant Salary: Which Pays More?

There is no clean national answer, because the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts paralegals and legal assistants as one occupation (SOC 23-2011) and does not publish separate wage medians for the two titles (lawjobs.com, May 2025). That combined occupation had a median annual wage of $62,890 in May 2025 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Desmond Okafor · 9 min read

Featured image for "HVAC Technician Salary: What to Expect"
Salary & Pay

HVAC Technician Salary: What to Expect

Heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers earned a median annual wage of $57,300, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS data for May 2023. The middle half of the trade earned between $46,550 and $71,120, while the lowest 10 percent earned under $37,270 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $84,250.

Desmond Okafor · 10 min read

Featured image for "Paralegal Pay Guide: Salary Ranges and Factors"
Salary & Pay

Paralegal Pay Guide: Salary Ranges and Factors

Paralegal pay is published in detail by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reports a median annual wage for paralegals and legal assistants along with 10th, 25th, 75th and 90th percentile figures (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025-05). That spread matters more than any single number: the bottom 10 percent and top 10 percent of the occupation sit far apart, and where you land depends on your employer type, your state and how many years of substantive legal work you have behind you.

Lena Vostrikova · 11 min read

Featured image for "UX Designer Salary: What to Expect"
Salary & Pay

UX Designer Salary: What to Expect

"UX designer" is a job title, not a federal occupation, so there is no single official salary for it. The closest match in U.S. government data is Web and Digital Interface Designers (SOC 15-1255.00), for which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a median annual wage and a full percentile spread, updated in 2025; a broader Quick Facts median covers the combined group of Web Developers and Digital Designers.

Theo Niswander · 10 min read

Featured image for "Electrician vs Plumber Salary: Which Pays More?"
Salary & Pay

Electrician vs Plumber Salary: Which Pays More?

Electricians and plumbers are paid on the same broad model: a paid apprenticeship, then journey-level wages, then a premium once you hold a master licence or supervise work. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a median annual wage for electricians and a separate median for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters (2025), and the two sit close enough that the gap between them is usually smaller than the gap between the lowest-paid and highest-paid 10 percent within either trade (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).

Priya Ashworth · 10 min read

Featured image for "How Much Does a Phlebotomist Make?"
Salary & Pay

How Much Does a Phlebotomist Make?

The median annual wage for phlebotomists was $45,230 in May 2025 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025-05). Median means the midpoint: half of phlebotomists earned more than that and half earned less. It is not the same as the average, and it is not what a first-week trainee at a plasma center earns.

Marisol Benning · 9 min read

Featured image for "Medical Coder Salary: What to Expect"
Salary & Pay

Medical Coder Salary: What to Expect

Medical coders fall under the US Bureau of Labor Statistics category "medical records specialists," which had a median annual wage of $51,140 in May 2025 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). The lowest-paid 10 percent earned under $37,000 and the highest-paid 10 percent earned more than $81,150 in the same period (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).

Priya Ashworth · 8 min read

Featured image for "Bookkeeper vs Accountant: Comparing Pay and Career Paths"
Salary & Pay

Bookkeeper vs Accountant: Comparing Pay and Career Paths

Accountants are paid more than bookkeepers in essentially every US labor market, because the role carries a degree requirement, more legal responsibility, and in some cases a license. Bookkeeping pays less but starts sooner: you can be working and earning while an accounting student is still in year two of a bachelor's degree.

Lena Vostrikova · 10 min read

Featured image for "Asking for a Raise as a Medical Coder: A Step-by-Step Guide"
Salary & Pay

Asking for a Raise as a Medical Coder: A Step-by-Step Guide

Asking for a raise as a medical coder works best when you tie the request to something measurable: a credential, a code set you now handle alone, an audit pass rate, or a market figure you can point to. The national median annual wage for medical records specialists, the occupation group that includes coders, was $51,140 in May 2025 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025) — but that is a median for the whole occupation, not an entry-level or a senior number, and your state and employer type will move it.

Priya Ashworth · 10 min read