A search for a job usually beats a straight path to one that is financially more rewarding. The salary is the one firm number you can count on when it comes to underwriting job satisfaction.  But the one question we always ask is - what's the average salary for my work experience and profile?

A white collar guy with a few years under his belt can put a finger on a figure, but it still doesn't stop him from asking around and attempting a firmer fix on the right salary number. Having at least a ballpark salary figure is vital for negotiating during an interview.

The web gives us a few salary comparison tools to get to that ballpark figure. Salary comparison tools are also a great help when you are researching a career or planning a career change. Use these tools but also counter-check the salary with any other resources you can drum up.

Glassdoor

Glassdoor is as close as you can get to some insider information without paying a dime for it. All details on salary, interview questions, and the company are posted anonymously. All bits of information are posted by current and former employees. Glassdoor is a career community which has a job search engine of its own. It has some nice sidelights like the section where you can take an office tour around a company by way of photos. The blog is also a good read for job tips.

[NO LONGER WORKS] MySalaryWiki

The user generated salary comparison website greets you with a Google Map showing the concentration of shared salary data all over the world. All shared data is anonymous and in the end it's all about openness and fairness when it comes to a job search. You can submit your own data (first time users have to do that) or look it up for any company. The salary comparison is nicely displayed on a colorful graph.

SalaryScout

The salary calculator also follows the same credo as the above websites. It's about finding your true worth after all. The site requires a log in to browse and compare all the global salary information. Lots of data is collected anonymously in four steps during the free sign-up process. One of the fields collects your satisfaction score with the company. The information you enter gives you the picture of the data you can collect while browsing other profiles.

PayScale

As the site headlines - get a free salary report based on your job title, location, education, skills and experience. Apart from the customized salary survey, the website includes a full complement of tools for the professional. Using the links on the sidebar and the top menu, you can drill down and research a lot of specifics. For instance, Anonymous Profiles gives you a peek into your peers. The GigZig section could help to chart your future course while the tools on the top menu are useful career planning aids to explore.

Salary.com

The website is an all round talent management and human resource portal. What's of interest to the job seeker is the free salary wizard that gives free salary information for thousands of jobs and locations across the US. The results of the search also lead to links to job postings. The site is enhanced further by special sections that help your search for more educational opportunities and seek career advice.

Comparison tools help us to benchmark and see where we stand. When it comes to the job, you can take these salary figures and run it on the numerous cost of living calculators found on the web to get the whole picture. Careerists of the last generation had to rely on hearsay and the grapevine for salary estimates. Though these websites aren't the holy gospel, they still help to paint a picture when it comes to the salary.

Have you used salary comparison tools? Do they get their numbers right?

Image Credit: Shutterstock