This is a psuedo-Devil’s Advocate because it’s not generally assumed that one should always roll over their 401k’s when they leave their job but a lot of folks have recently been asking me, since I had just gone through the process, who they should roll their 401k over to (I wish with Vanguard). The troubling aspect of that question is that they’ve already decided to rollover their 401k before they’ve answered the crucial questions leading up to that decision. See, you should rollover your 401k if it makes sense - that is if you can get better options, better pricing, and better management elsewhere. By asking “where” to go after “if” you should go, you can’t analyze the differences. There are many reasons why you should stick with your 401k administrator even after you leave your job, here they are:

Employer institutional funds may be superior
Depending on how big your company is, you may be dealing with your company’s own special institutional funds that aren’t available on the open market and they could be awesome (or awesome in certain aspects). This was the case at my former employer who had about a dozen actively managed funds (they weren’t index funds) with fees under the average expense ratios of typical actively managed funds and performance on par with its benchmarks - so you get actively managed while paying near index fund prices. Now, if you don’t have many good options with your current administrator, the fact that they’re cheap doesn’t help (but cheap is better than expensive).

Custodial fees and balance requirements
Your 401K funds probably don’t have any balance requirements and reasonable custodial fees, that’s usually not the case with major brokerages. Vanguard doesn’t have low balance fees for retirement accounts but it does have initial minimum investments (usually $3,000 to $5,000) and Fidelity does have low balance fees though it’s phrased as they “may” charge a $12 fee for a balance under $2,000, so be sure to check whether the brokerage you choose has this low balance fee. The same applies for custodial fees, be sure to double check those before you roll over.

You can roll it over whenever you want
You are thinking about rolling over your 401k because you just left your job (otherwise you wouldn’t have this opportunity in the first place) and that usually comes with a whole host of other issues you have to deal with. You may have been fired or you left of your own free will but either way, don’t feel like you need to worry about whether you should roll your 401k within a certain short time frame. Some plans give you three or five years (check with your administrator) to roll it over, don’t think you have to do it in the next month. I waited six months before I rolled mine over and I could’ve waited even longer if I wanted to.

Rolling over your 401k, especially if its because you just lost your job, can be a very complicated and somewhat confusing time, don’t feel that you should, 100% of the time, always roll it over to an IRA. Most of the time, you will probably want to roll it over to open up your options, but don’t feel it’s a forgone conclusion. Also, remember that you have plenty of time to weight your options, perhaps after things have settled down, so don’t make any rash and hasty decisions.

I’m not big on kicking CEO’s and playing “bash the latest CEO compensation report” but this is pretty freaking ridiculous - Ford CEO: $28M for 4 months work. Seriously, some kids want to grow up and play in some sports league and make millions for playing a game. When I grow up… I want to be CEO of a terrible company so that even though they continue to suck, I will still get paid off. Let’s ignore how staggering the losses were over at Ford (though it’d be hard to miss $12.7 billion dollars) and just think about how all the goodwill and morale boosting they try to do over there at Ford can be negated by just one footnote in a financial report.

Last year at my former company I received a 3.9% raise and was told that “raises were bad” in my department. I don’t put in 60-70 hour weeks like some people I know, I’m not the top 5% of the employee pool, and I can accept a weak 3.9% average raise (that lags inflation) but if you show me the CEO getting a 24% raise on an already eight figure salary - I’m going to think you’re full of crap. In fact, I’m liable to say “So long and thanks for all the fish” and peace out (which may have been the plan all along).

I understand the CEO game, they hired him in hopes that he’d be able to turn things around and they had to reward him even though he hasn’t gotten it done yet. If you don’t, no one else is going to come on board after him. The only problem with that strategy is that your front line workers are going to get angry and it’s the front line workers that do the real work anyway.

So, when I grow up, I want to be CEO of a bad company. Oh wait, then I’d have this on my conscience when I cashed my checks.

If you work for someone else or for a company, you have invariably decided to trade away the risk of trying to scratch together a buck and the freedom to do whatever you want in return for a little less money than you’re worth (so someone else can profit) and stability. While you’ve probably never framed it in those terms before, that’s exactly what you’ve done.

When you take on a job, you agree that you’re going to work for someone, do what they tell you, and they compensate for you. If you strike it out on your own, you take on the full risk of performing poorly any particular day. If you don’t earn the rent check that month, there’s no one watching your back. When you work for someone, they accept that risk. Whether you generate revenue or not in a particular month, you still get paid for your salary. So while you do take on some risk, too many bad months and you’ll be out of a job, the risk is mitigated by the fact that you still get paid after a bad month, even if it’s your last. On the flip side, if you have an exceptional month, you still get the same salary. While that doesn’t “sound” risky, it truly is (and that’s why salespeople are on commission). If you secure a contract worth $10M, you will probably still see the same salary (maybe a nice bonus, but not a cut of the $10M )… that’s risky.

Another part of what you give up when you take a job is the freedom to do what you want. Some jobs give you more freedom than others through the use of comp time and such (where you just have to work your 40 hours a week) but in general, 40 of the possible 168 hours each week is earmarked for the man. That’s almost 25% of your week spent on working on someone else’s project.

Now, start framing this in your mind, you are a business. Consider your skills and see whether you’re better off working for the man and pulling in that stable steady paycheck or if you have some entrepreneurial blood in you, read to take on a little bit of risk for some freedom and potentially a whole piece of the pie. However, like everything else in this world, it’s not black and white, perhaps you have that thirst for some risk but you don’t have the skills… a relevant job may just teach you those skills and give you those contacts that will help you strike it out on your own.

There wasn’t much of a point to this article other than to put down some thoughts I’ve had lately onto “paper” and to see what you all thought of it. (No I’m not going to quit my job, I actually enjoy it) As always, I think that if you try to look at things from a different perspective it will give you insight into your daily life…

I don’t think so. My former employer recently instituted a policy where they would provide a sheet that detailed your total compensation for the year included with the raise (if you got one) for the upcoming year. The sheet broke down everything the company paid to employ you and it included your salary, education reimbursement, medical/dental/etc insurance, Medicare, social security, and perhaps some other stuff I forgot. Some feel that this was done so that the employee would fully understand how they were really compensated but I think it’s an insult to come right out and put it on a sheet, essentially saying “hey, be grateful we pay for all of this.”

Why? Well, the only legitimate “total compensation” value that anyone cares about is salary + education reimbursement, if you plan on going to school. The company has made no bones about the fact that they’re doing this to show employees how much they’re being compensated but a fair number have left the company for more pay. The only problem with doing this is that it doesn’t accomplish anything and can only bother people.

Anyone deciding to leave a company for greener pastures won’t forget to include education reimbursement because they are well aware of how much school costs and how much the company is paying for them. By putting that value and the cost of doing business, insurance and payroll taxes, you’re just telling your employees that they should be grateful because insurance and payroll taxes are relatively static and universal. Your payroll taxes will be the same regardless of your employer and your insurance will likely be very similar as well, certainly not a significant difference at least at our age.

So when an employee sees this sheet that says their total compensation amount is X and that’s a significant increase over their salary, wouldn’t the employee feel insulted? “Don’t leave for another company and a potential raise, stay here because you really make 30% more than what it says on your paycheck?”

What do you all think?

Finding a new job can be very stressful, especially if you’re been working for a while, because you have to prove yourself to be a good employee all over again with someone who knows nothing about you. Certainly your credentials and your experience will do some of the talking but its mostly you and the hardest part will be getting to the conversation. Finding a new job is a numbers game, you want to get your resume to as many companies as possible and in front of as many faces as possible because a certain percentage will want to talk to you one-on-one in a little room and find out more about you. The tips below will either increase the number of times someone will see your resume or increase the probability that they will want to talk to you.

1. Tap your network of personal contacts
When I moved jobs, the first thing I did was contact everyone I knew in the area who was working for someone else. I just bought a home, so relocating was not an option, but if it is for you, expand your network to everyone in the country, on the continent, or on the planet. Your personal contacts will be your best “in” with a company because they already work there, they know you on a personal and potentially a professional level, and they may receive some sort of referral bonus that would act as an additional motivator to get you placed. They will also know the lay of the land, who’s desk your resume should be placed on, and as a current employee, they lend credibility to your resume.

1A. Signup to those professional networking sites
If you aren’t already signed up to a site like LinkedIn, do it and start adding your friends. Many of those sites have job boards or other similar functions and company recruiters have accounts there because they know they have a rich group of people they can contact as references. When I was looking, a recruiter for Google, not knowing how not brilliant I am, contacted me about a job out in California. Even recently, I was invited, along with a bunch of other people I’m sure, to go to a presentation in DC by a Chief Java Architect at Google (too bad it’s on a Tuesday at 6pm, traffic would be horrendous down there otherwise I’d probably go); so even if you don’t find a job, building your network (and tracking it), is still valuable.

2. Create an account at all the job sites
Hotjobs, Monster, CareerBuilder, Dice, etc. First, create a professional looking email account somewhere that you can dispose of later… GMail is my favorite now that it’s open to the public as it has the best spam filters out there. YourFirstName.YourLastName@GMail.com is probably still available unless you’re John Smith, David Johnson, or Michael Brown. You should now use that email address on your resume and for those new job searching accounts.

3. Follow up with everyone
You will receive a lot of email to YourFirstName.YourLastName@GMail.com and I would venture to say that 60% will be headhunters, 20% will be job fair announcements, and the remaining 20% will be from actual company recruiters. Even if the job isn’t for you, reply to the recruiter and start a dialogue. You may not be a good fit for the job they contacted you about but you might be a match for something else. Talking with recruiters will also acclimate you to the types of questions they will ask and it will give you an opportunity to find out what sort of salary you can expect. Not comfortable talking salary? You better start getting comfortable with the recruiters because eventually you’ll talk $$$ and you don’t want to cut your teeth with the company you will eventually work for, practice on the companies you won’t work for.

3A. Follow up with those headhunters, your job hunting ninjas
You should definitely respond to the recruiters but more importantly, respond to the headhunters. Those folks get paid by a company if you get placed there (money is a motivator and these people aren’t your friends) and so they will work to look for a job for you. They will probably send some crap job descriptions to you from time to time (they want to place you after all) but don’t worry about it, just say ‘no’ and they will keep looking. If they secure an interview for a job you don’t want, go anyway and practice your interviewing skills. Better to practice with a job you won’t accept than not get practice before the one you do want to get.

3B. Go to those job fairs
Besides a direct employee referral, your two only other options are resume boxes (whether it’s on Monster or at CompanyWebsite.com) and job fairs. I would rate job fairs over an electronic resume box only because you have a better chance of getting a human being to look at your resume at a job fair. Plus, you get to talk to someone which, for most people, will give your resume an edge. If you’re not in that group, maybe just drop off the resume and run.

Ultimately, remember it’s a numbers game, the numbers are low, and that you can’t lose heart if things don’t go your way. The key to success is that you have to keep doing it and doing it and doing it. Good luck and please share any tips you may have!

A friend of mine recently sent out an email forward that, amongst other things, stated the following to be true in 1907:

The average wage in the U.S. was 22 Cents per hour.

The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
a dentist made $2,500 per year,
a veterinarian between $1,500 per year,
and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

Another friend then made the quip that they (mechanical engineers) still only make $5,000 a year, not taking into account the impact of inflation on purchasing power in the last hundred years.

If readjusted to 2007 dollars instead of 1907 dollars, I turned to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics’ CPI calculator (which only went back as far as 1913 because that’s when CPI was first started, so these numbers are not 100% accurate and should be higher than what I’ve written) and this is what it would read instead:

The average wage in the U.S. was $4.50 per hour.

The average U.S. worker made between $4,089.21 and $8,178.42 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $40,892.12 per year,
a dentist made $51,115.15 per year,
a veterinarian between $30,669.09 per year,
and a mechanical engineer about $102,230.30 per year.

So in essence, my friend was unknowingly correct.

During a three or four month period last year, approximately 20% of my friends at my old employer, including myself, left the company in search of greener pastures. Some left entirely because of compensation, others left for job growth opportunities (that is to say, more compensation in the future), and others left simply because their job was boring and they had no opportunities for change. Either way, the question of compensation was always in the mix because, let’s face it, we all want to make more money than we do now, no matter how much we make now. If you made a million dollars a year, you’d want a million and a half. If you made ten million, you’d want fifteen million or even twenty. If you made twenty? Well, you’d want a hundred.

So, what’s a greater incentive to work hard, money or the potential for more money?

And, as a corollary, if you are paid more, does that make you work harder?

A lot of the jobs in the latest list of high paying jobs, provided by MRINetwork and Spherion (headhunting shops), are a case of demand being so much larger than the supply of good talent. In a lot of these industries, they’re looking for folks with experience, not kids coming out of college, so if you’re looking to this list for inspiration then you’re at the wrong place. If you’re already in one of these fields, consider that a change might bring something bigger at the end of the month.

Medical science liaisons - Basically they’re pharmaceutical company employed medical professionals on the education and experience level of doctors that provide “peer-level” interaction with those practicing medicine. The idea is that these folks supplement the sales reps and provide a level of expertise a business person is simply unable to. Expect to start off making $115k-$120k plus 10-20% bonus, after five years expect to see $125k-$135k plus bonus.

Internet sales and marketing Account directors - The internet is back and better than ever, demand for experience Internet sales and marketing folks with 7 - 9 years of online marketing and sales experience can expect to fetch $150k in big markets like New York and $120k-$130k in smaller markets like Atlanta or Cleveland.

General managers of premier resorts and hotels - If you can’t tell we’re in a period of prosperity, look no further than the fact that resorts and hotels really need some solid GMs. For resorts, if the place specializes in something (golf anyone?), then it helps if that GM has some experience with that activity. This is an industry where you have to pay your dues and it takes 12 - 18 years before you’ll make it at a top tier location - when there, expect to pocket between $150k and $250k depending on location.

Designer of athletic and active wear - Again, another product of prosperity is that people want more stuff and they want to do more stuff: look to clothing design. “They might get paid $30,000 to $40,000 right out of school, $50,000 to $60,000 after a year, and $80,000 to $90,000 after three to five years. Beyond that, if they’ve survived and had some successes, they can pull down anywhere between $90,000 and $200,000.” (90k - $200k, that’s a huge range…)

Construction: Estimators and Program Managers - Two of the ten jobs were in construction, no surprise there considering our economy, and both start off making the $55k - $65k range. After five years though, estimators can expect to see $75k whereas program managers can expect a six figure salary.

SQL DB Administrators and .NET/Java developers - And what top paying job list would be complete without at least one programming job, this time it’s SQL DB Admins and .NET/Java developers - the cornerstones of the internet. DBs run the world and we use .NET/Java to talk to them. In a large market, DBAs can see $100k+ and even $75k - $85k in smaller markets. .NET/Java developers can expect the same.

Staff accountants, Financial Analysts - Two words: Sarbanes-Oxley. A staff accountant with two to four years can earn between $50k - $70k in a large market, $40k - $50k in small market. A financial analyst can expect $75k - $100k in a large city, $55k - $75k in a smaller market.

Enjoy the slideshow…