Earning Resources from Smart About Money

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Calculators

• Use the U.S. Department of Labor’s CPI Inflation Calculator to calculate your buying power on two different days.

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Dr. Amy Glasmeier operates the Living Wage Calculator which is used to calculate the minimum wages you need to make to cover basic living expenses.

Interests

• The Strong Interest Inventory (SII), usually administered by certified career counselors or practitioners, is helpful for students and young adults just entering the workplace. Note: This requires a purchase.

• The Career Interest Profiler at O*Net can be self-administered and interpreted. It measures six patterns of interest as follows:

  • Realistic — people who enjoy practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

  • Investigative — people who like to work with complex problem solving.

  • Artistic — work that is expressive, artistic and not defined by rules.

  • Social — workers who like to help or teach others.

  • Enterprising — workers who persuade, make decisions and like to start ventures.

  • Conventional — work that follows directions, standard procedures and routines.

• The Career Interest Assessment at CareerOneStop offers a shortened version of the self-administered assessment at O*Net.

Personality

• The well-known Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® identifies your personality type and gives insights into the preferences forming your interests, needs, values and motivation. It can be taken online for a fee or you can look for a certified professional who can administer the assessment and guide you through the results.

• Career Key offers a personal assessment and gives you advice for what to do with the information. It can be purchased for a fee.

Salary

• The Bureau of Labor Statistic in the U.S. Department of Labor offers several types of information:

  • Career Outlook provides information about industries, pay, employment data and much more.

  • The list of Fastest Growing Occupations provides information on employment and median wages for various occupations.

• MyNextMove.org provides salary data and other information about occupations by keyword, industry or interest.

• O*Net OnLine offers a number of different searches including information on wages and employment trends.

• Salary.com lets you enter your job title and location to get an idea of what you should be paid in your current or desired position.

• Learn how to fill out a W-4 with the IRS’s W-4 simulator.

• The IRS offers sample forms and instructions for arranging your tax withholdings.

• Use the IRS withholding calculator to estimate changes to your tax liability with different income levels.

Skills

• The Skills Matcher at CareerOneStop helps you create a list of skills for your current or desired job.

• O*Net Skills Search helps you identify occupations that match your current skills.

Strengths

• Gallup’s StrengthsFinder 2.0 offers a scratch-off access code for an online assessment to help you find your talents. Note: This requires a purchase.

• The University of Kent offers a free, online test of your strengths using straightforward language to help you apply your results to different occupations.

• The O*Net Ability Profiler measures your abilities related verbal use, arithmetic reasoning, computation, spatial, form perception, clerical perception, motor coordination, manual and finger dexterity. It must be administered by someone who has specialized training. Use the interactive map from the U.S. Department of Labor to help you find work centers who can administer this assessment in your state.

Training, Paying for Professional Development

• Beyond having your employer pay for your training and education, you can pay out of pocket.

  • Check Benefits.gov for any assistance available to you at the state or federal level.

  • GovLoans.gov gives you a portal for finding loan information and isolating loans for which you may be eligible.

  • Federal Student Aid loans are available through StudentAid.ed.gov.

  • Search through links at USA.gov for government benefits, grants or loans for which you may be eligible. Some of the links will direct you to your state level as well.

  • Certain training and education may be deducted from your taxes. See IRS Publication 970 for details.

Work-related Issues

• 2-1-1 offers free, confidential services to help you find local resources for a variety of issues.

• CareerOneStop lets you explore careers, find training, search for a job and find local help through American Job Centers or for unemployment.

• The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS.gov) Programs and Services lists services available for many topics like health insurance, social services, and education and training. Find your regional office on this interactive map.

• Funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, American Job Centers help you look for employment, get training, find experienced career counselors and offer support services. The centers are located throughout the United States, and many services are free.

• USA.gov offers a portal to many government areas:

  • Labor Laws and Issues helps with issues of discrimination or harassment, wage issues, overtime, workers’ compensation, unions and more.

  • Looking for a New Job directs your search to federal government and other employment opportunities.

  • Public Service and Volunteer Opportunities lists many federal organizations in need of volunteers, which is especially helpful for those wanting to experiment with occupations or fill employment gaps.

  • Common Issues for U.S. Government Employees offers help for federal employees and training for finding a federal government job.

  • Unemployment Benefits and Other Help for the Unemployed provides programs and resources if you become unemployed.