Earnings

• At the time of publication, salaried workers must earn $23,600 per year, or $455 per week, no matter how much they work. Nonsalaried or hourly workers are only guaranteed a wage by the hour. However, salaried workers cannot earn overtime in most circumstances. This could result in the salaried worker earning much less than the hourly worker if there is significant overtime. The advantage a salaried work has is that on days the office closes early or when the employee needs to take time off, he retains the same weekly salary.
  
  

Job Duties

• For a worker to receive salary and be exempt from overtime law, he must have certain job duties as described in the Fair Labor Standards Act. The most common jobs exempt from overtime are those with primarily executive and administrative duties. Exempt administrators perform office work and are essential to the functioning of the business. For example, a secretary to the company owner would count as exempt, but not say, a secretary to a low-level manager, according to Donna Ballman of AOL Jobs.
  
  

Considerations

• Because salaried positions usually involve critical business functions, they tend to come with more prestige than hourly jobs. For example, doctors, lawyers and others in positions that require a professional degree are exempt. Entertainment workers, such as movie and television stars, are exempt from overtime. Some companies offer better benefits for salaried workers, such as extra time off and health care.
  
  

Tip

• Before you negotiate your job offer, determine the average number of hours you will work each week. If you will consistently work more than 40 hours a week, it might be more profitable to take an hourly wage so you can receive overtime unless the position is salaried and nonexempt. Receiving a certain amount of pay no matter what sounds tempting, but you probably won't have as many short days as you think, suggests April Dykman of MSN Money.