Big Demand, Big Pay

Which job-hunting workers are in a solid position to negotiate better pay in 2006? According to CNNMoney.com, in coordination with Spherion, a national staffing and recruiting firm, the most in-demand workers are concentrated in five arenas as follows:

• Accounting
• Sales and marketing
• Legal
• Technology
• Manufacturing and engineering

So, what is the one skill that is most in-demand in the technology arena? "Developers who are expert users of Microsoft's software programming language .NET can make between $75,000 and $85,000 a year in major cities when they're starting out," according to the author of this staffing analysis.

Here is a six-step, zero-cost plan to introduce yourself to Microsoft .NET:

1. Review What is .NET? [FREE]
2. Complete the Microsoft .NET Tutorial [FREE]
3. Review Why ASP.NET? [FREE]
4. Download ASP.NET Web Matrix [FREE]
5. Take the Web Matrix Guided Tour [FREE]
6. Complete the ASP.NET Tutorial [FREE]

The average IT worker spends $2,200 on training and education annually and invests approximately 11 hours a week to learn new skills and technologies, according to a recent survey by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). The 12 hours a week you invest (you are better than average) developing your .NET skills will be handsomely rewarded.