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October 01, 2008
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Yahoo's Clare Kaufman wrote a surprising article in which she asked:  Are you making what you're worth? Clare pointed out that even in a tight economy, some workers are taking home more money than their job titles might reveal. Here's Clare's a look at five careers that come with surprising salaries--and what you need to do to land one.

Aircraft Mechanic
A vocational school training program can land you a solid living as an aircraft mechanic. The $40,000 to $80,000 earnings range reflects the specialized training required to perform avionics repair and maintenance. Aircraft mechanics inspect landing gear, instruments, cabin pressurizing systems, aviation electronics, and more.

The Lowdown: The FAA certifies 170 trade schools to train aircraft mechanics in the craft. Most programs take 19 to 24 months to complete, although some schools offer 2- and 4-year degrees in avionics or aviation technology.

Average Salary: $49,670 (BLS, 2007)

Other careers discussed in the report include:

1)Court Reporters
Average Salary: $48,380 (BLS); $62,000 (NCRA)
2)Fashion Designers
Average Salary: $71,170 (BLS, 2007)
3)School Principals
Average Salary: $82,120 (BLS, 2007)
5)Technical Writer
Average Salary: $62,780 (BLS, 2007)

Clare offers some advice worth considering.  Even in the midst of a struggling economy, strong salaries are cropping up in the most unexpected places. Choose the right and you could be earning an upwardly mobile income. Choose the right education or creative profession, and you could turn a "labor of love" into labor for good money. Choose the right industry, and you could be earning much more for the same work. Surprising salaries aren't hard to come by: simply find a high-demand niche, get the education to fulfill the job requirements, and start earning what you're worth.


December 2009
British Airways won an emergency high court injunction to stop a 12-day strike by its cabin crews.

Rationale: The High Court concluded that the ballot of 13,000 workers by the Unite labor union was illegal because it included members no longer employed by the airline.

September 2009
United Airlines (UAL):  When United filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2002 with debts totaling $4B it, lessors paid a heavy price.

United Bankruptcy cost: Ch11 reorganization is costing banks & lessors $850M annual based on restructured leases and mortgages on approximately 450 aircraft.

United Bankruptcy cost: Ch11 reorganization is costing bondholders $1.7B in restructured municipal bond obligations.

United Bankruptcy cost: Is costing labor multibillions of dollars in restructured labor and pension agreements.

US Airways: A pilot seniority integration list was created after the 2005 merger between US Airways and America West. 

US Airways: The pilots unions have failed to agree the merger seniority list and that has delayed contract talks increasing costs for the near future.

US Airways acquired PSA and Piedmont in 1987 and a similar labor relations problem developed.  

Boeing B787 workers reject union representation in South Carolina

The National Labor Relations Board held an election at the Boeing B787 plant in Charleston, South Carolina after some workers filed a petition to decertify the union. Sixty-eight employers voted in favor of union representation and 200 voted against. 

The employees decided to negotiate directly with the company on employment matters and rejected representation by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union.

Boeing bought the Charleston plant in July 2009 from Vought Aircraft Industries.

Boeing is evaluating where to locate a second production line for the B787 and confirmed that it was seeking a permit in South Carolina.

Standing still economically! (January 2010)

Job creation: A net 464,000 jobs were created in the USA between 1999 and 2009 vs. 21.7M new jobs created between 1989 and 1999.

Job losses: 7M-plus jobs have been lost to date in the USA in the deepest and most persistent recession since the Depression.

Unemployment: 15.4M people are unemployed in the USA equivalent to 10% of the work force vs. the historically normal unemployment rate of 5.5%.

Unemployment peak: The last time the U.S. unemployment rate reached double digits was in 1982, when it hit a post-World War II high of 10.8%.

Jobs recovery: It took until 1988, six years, to bring the U.S. unemployment rate back to the 5% level.

Jobs recovery: Federal Reserve's estimates the U.S. jobless rate could remain as high as 7.6% in 2012 and it would take until 2015 for it to return to pre-recession level of 5.5%

Jobs competition: More people will compete for fewer jobs if the economy remains weak, baby boomers delay retirement and interest rates edge higher.

Wage trends:  If the jobs market says weak then wage stagnation will persist through the coming decade.

Wage trends: Weak jobs market has consequences including flat wages, cuts into Americans' incomes.

Wage growth: Adjusted for inflation, wages grew about 13% in the past 10 years — the slowest pace in 50 years, according to Moody's Economy.com.

Credit access: Limited availability of credit is exerting a drag on the economy.

Credit access: It will take years for credit markets to recover from the banking system's worst crisis since the Great Depression.

Investing trends: People and companies, scarred by the global financial crisis, are likely to restrain borrowing, spending and investing.

Income (Household) in the USA, adjusted for inflation, fell in the past decade.

Income (household): Median household income, adjusted for inflation, fell to $50,303 in 2008, down 4% from a peak of $52,587 in 1999 according to the U.S. Census.

Income (household): That gauge combines wages and salaries, investment income, and government benefit payments like Social Security.

Incomes spiked in 1999 were bolstered by stock gains from the dot-com bubble that burst in 2000.

Productivity growth, allowed companies to produce more with smaller work forces, the off shoring of service-sector jobs, and the shrinking of factory jobs.