Mathematical realities govern the manner in which salary datasets are developed by Job Search Intelligence. At JSI, we are not attempting to bend reality, or get cute with statistics. The path we are on is the only one we know- academic integrity. Our team of statisticians were trained and formerly employed by MIT, Carnegie-Mellon, UCLA, the RAND Corp, and other academic institutions.

JSI did not begin as a business. We were conducting labor market research, and through the process of gathering and analyzing salary data, we realized there was an absence of statistically defensible salary data in the market.

With tens of millions of salary data points, datasets which are updated monthly, and a private/public sector relationship that positions JSI uniquely ahead of traditionally structured firms, we offer you a service that is accessible and free of onerous terms or contracts.

If you choose to use our services, and you are unfamiliar with salary data and related information, there are a few points we would like to bring to your attention. These are the main factors which influence compensation values. The more comfortable you are with these underlying concepts, the better able you will be to apply our salary data to your requirements.

The US labor market is comprised of approximately 120,000,000 fulltime workers. From a statistical perspective, this is terrific number because it represents a huge pool with which to begin working. Complexities arise in analyzing this pool when people perform different jobs, in different industries, in different regions, with different qualifications, for different employers, and so on. This becomes critical in the creation of occupational classifications in that one does not want to define a job description so precisely that there is only a single person who actually performs the described job! You want the grouping of persons within an occupation to be large enough for a statistically reliable sample.

The problems encountered in occupational classification are particularly prevalent in the information technology and engineering industries. Our minimum sample size for an occupation within a geographic region is 25 respondents.

The rationale behind conducting a survey is to have an accurate representation of an overall market. Survey construction essentially defines the characteristics of the sample. No amount of smoothing and massaging will correct a biased sample. JSI does not rely upon its clients for salary data. Our proprietary methodology minimizes the possibility of sample bias entering any aspect of our salary dataset development.

Because the labor markets are considerably more fluid than in years past, market pricing has reduced the distorting effects of a single employer, or few employers within an industry. This problem is still persistent though in the case of workers with unique skills, and the employers need for those skills. While it may seem unjustifiable that a heart surgeon receives a compensation package that is 5 times greater than that of a general physician; this demonstrates the fact that significant needs exist for a skill set which few doctors possess.

Job Search Intelligence, LLC utilizes the O*NET System for occupational classifications, and to describe the underlying characteristics of each occupation. The O*NET System was developed by the U. S. Dept of Labor, and it represents a unifying common language for the industry. O*NET is a non-profit organization, providing free occupational classification resources to job seekers and employers. Information for O*NET can be found at O*NET Online

Our sources of data include: U. S. Department of Labor, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Census Bureau, U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, U. S. Federal Reserve, Job Seekers, and proprietary resources.

We continue to offer data to educational institutions, researchers, and certain not for profit entities. If you have a request for data, at the sole discretion of Job Search Intelligence, LLC, we may make non-identifying data available to you. Send a request, along with purpose to: research@jobsearchintelligence.com Please send all other inquiries to: info@jobsearchintelligence.com

Respectfully, the JSI Team