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Making sense of salary data

Three short lessons and a three-question quiz. Answer as you go; each answer gets an immediate explanation. Nothing is saved or submitted; your progress lives in this browser tab.

  1. Lesson 1 of 3

    What a median tells you

    A median is the midpoint of a distribution: half of the people in the occupation earn above it, half below. It is not the typical starting salary and it is not what a specific employer pays.

    Worked example: the May 2025 national median for registered nurses is $97,550. That single number sits above a wide spread running from new-graduate pay in low-cost regions to experienced specialists in expensive metropolitan areas.

    Practical use: treat the median as a reference point for whether an offer is roughly in range, then look for a local or experience-adjusted figure before you negotiate.

  2. Lesson 2 of 3

    Comparing occupations honestly

    Comparing two medians is only meaningful when both are measured the same way, over the same period, in the same geography.

    Worked example: electricians have a $63,190 median and accountants and auditors $83,680, both May 2025 national medians, so the comparison is fair on that axis. It is still incomplete: the electrician pathway is typically a paid apprenticeship, the accounting pathway typically a bachelor's degree with its cost and its years of forgone earnings.

    Practical use: put the pathway cost and duration next to the pay figure. A lower median reached three years sooner, without tuition debt, is a different proposition than the pay alone suggests.

  3. Lesson 3 of 3

    Growth projections are not vacancies

    A projected employment growth rate estimates how much larger or smaller an occupation is expected to be at the end of a projection period. It is a projection about the size of the workforce, not a count of jobs open today.

    Worked example: electricians show 9% projected growth for 2025–2035 and accountants and auditors 5%. A larger percentage on a smaller occupation can still mean fewer absolute openings than a small percentage on a very large one, and replacement of people who leave usually generates more openings than growth does.

    Practical use: use growth as a directional signal about an occupation's trajectory, and use actual job postings in your area for anything about availability right now.

Check your understanding

Three questions. You complete the course by answering all three correctly.

  1. 1. An occupation's median annual pay is best described as:
  2. 2. You are comparing a May 2025 national median with a figure from a salary site that does not state its date or geography. What should you do?
  3. 3. A 9% projected employment growth rate for 2025–2035 means:

0 of 3 questions answered. Complete the course by answering all three correctly.

Figures used in the lessons are U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook data, May 2025 medians, retrieved September 27, 2026. See Sources & methods.