Which is more accurate?

[MTD52]

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I was looking at salaries for Physical Therapists and Optometrists in my area, and the results from two different websites are quite varied. Which of the sites seems more accurate and why are they so different?

Physical Therapist:
1) Salary.com ($70,900)- http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/...Section2=&hdAjaxKeyword=&hdAjaxKeywordWithOR=
2) Indeed.com ($89,000+) - http://www.indeed.com/salary?q1=physical+therapist&l1=07604

Optometrist:
1) Salary.com ($107,000) - http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/...optometrist&hdAjaxKeywordWithOR=#optometrist#
2) Indeed.com ($40,000+) - http://www.indeed.com/salary?q1=optometrist&l1=Hasbrouck+Heights,+NJ+07604

 

[jesspt]

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nj.htm#b29-0000

 

[MTD52]

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nj.htm#b29-0000

Thanks? Although that didn't answer anything....

 

[PTapp]

I was looking at salaries for Physical Therapists and Optometrists in my area, and the results from two different websites are quite varied. Which of the sites seems more accurate and why are they so different?

Physical Therapist:
1) Salary.com ($70,900)- http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/...Section2=&hdAjaxKeyword=&hdAjaxKeywordWithOR=
2) Indeed.com ($89,000+) - http://www.indeed.com/salary?q1=physical+therapist&l1=07604

Optometrist:
1) Salary.com ($107,000) - http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/...optometrist&hdAjaxKeywordWithOR=#optometrist#
2) Indeed.com ($40,000+) - http://www.indeed.com/salary?q1=optometrist&l1=Hasbrouck+Heights,+NJ+07604

They are all user reported, so there are bound to be some errors in salaries. I mean if the median or mean salaries are higher than normal, then it may very well be due to people with 10+ years of experience reporting the majority of the salaries, therefore the salaries look a lot higher than normal.

 

[MTD52]

They are all user reported, so there are bound to be some errors in salaries. I mean if the median or mean salaries are higher than normal, then it may very well be due to people with 10+ years of experience reporting the majority of the salaries, therefore the salaries look a lot higher than normal.

Good point. Which in your opinion is more accurate?

 

[_FNG_]

Thanks? Although that didn't answer anything....

Honestly bud these people are trying to help you do YOUR OWN homework, maybe you shouldn't come off as such a prick.

 

[PTapp]

Good point. Which in your opinion is more accurate?

salary.com seems to be more accurate, but I am not sure.

 

[MTD52]

Honestly bud these people are trying to help you do YOUR OWN homework, maybe you shouldn't come off as such a prick.

Looking up different stats and asking people about them IS the homework. The fact that I wanted more validity from actual people rather than a website is indicating that I want to hear from them. No one is coming off as a prick. How is a post that is just a website, doesn't answer my question, and provides no support for the reason the link was posted helpful to me in any way?

ps: thanks PTapp

 

[callmecrazy]

Looking up different stats and asking people about them IS the homework. The fact that I wanted more validity from actual people rather than a website is indicating that I want to hear from them. No one is coming off as a prick. How is a post that is just a website, doesn't answer my question, and provides no support for the reason the link was posted helpful to me in any way?

ps: thanks PTapp

The link provided you with an additional statistic that was closer to one of your statistics than the other. It was supportive advice to give you a better idea of what you were looking for. Ironically, (and no offense meant to ptapp) you found someone's personal opinion which states no basis of reasoning more valuable than an additional source of reported salaries. There's one of your first keys to research right there- there is likely no single source that will you give you 100% accurate mean salaries, but taking a mean of the results from the sources you do find will likely lead you to the closest thing to accurate. Therefore, you're probably much better off with a handful of well researched numbers that you are with a few personal opinions. The post provided an answer and support, so I'm not quite sure what you're missing.

 

[MTD52]

The link provided you with an additional statistic that was closer to one of your statistics than the other. It was supportive advice to give you a better idea of what you were looking for. Ironically, (and no offense meant to ptapp) you found someone's personal opinion which states no basis of reasoning more valuable than an additional source of reported salaries. There's one of your first keys to research right there- there is likely no single source that will you give you 100% accurate mean salaries, but taking a mean of the results from the sources you do find will likely lead you to the closest thing to accurate. Therefore, you're probably much better off with a handful of well researched numbers that you are with a few personal opinions. The post provided an answer and support, so I'm not quite sure what you're missing.

There was no support. It was just a link. I value stats and opinon, but the reason I value opinion is because the stats can not only be varied, but what they're drawn from sometimes doesn't show much at all. I really want opinions from people in the field who can really tell me what it's like, especially in my area.

 

[jesspt]

Oh my God. Your approach to this is so backwards, it's bordering on silly. I provided the link, without any supporting note, because it's value is obvious (apparently to everyone but you). It's a link from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an organization that exists solely to collect large pools of data from employers all across the US, and compile them in a meaningful way. If you think that the number provided at that site is less reliable than an opinion from one person who isn't even an actual clinician yet, you'd better skip PT school; I don't think you'll make it. You don't get the value of statistics, especially those taken from a large data pool - they are more representative of a salary you're likely to recieve than those numbers generated from a smaller pool of data, or from several person' opinions.

The numbers provided have answered your question. If you don't like the answer, that's your problem, not the numbers'.

 

[MTD52]

Oh my God. Your approach to this is so backwards, it's bordering on silly. I provided the link, without any supporting note, because it's value is obvious (apparently to everyone but you). It's a link from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an organization that exists solely to collect large pools of data from employers all across the US, and compile them in a meaningful way. If you think that the number provided at that site is less reliable than an opinion from one person who isn't even an actual clinician yet, you'd better skip PT school; I don't think you'll make it. You don't get the value of statistics, especially those taken from a large data pool - they are more representative of a salary you're likely to recieve than those numbers generated from a smaller pool of data, or from several person' opinions.

The numbers provided have answered your question. If you don't like the answer, that's your problem, not the numbers'.

It's not that I don't like the answer, and I never said I valued HIS opinion, I said I valued opinion - as in from professions in the field. This conversation is getting asinine though, so let's just cut it off here 🙂