What your job title says about your pay

In today's job market, companies are having a tough time coming up with flashy job title to try to attract talent.

But a great title apparently does much more than attracting talent, according to a report by Earnest, a US- based online lender.

Analysing the annual salaries and job titles for more than 130,000 roles held by loan applicants between the ages of 18 and 35, the report found that when it comes to salary, one's title does have an effect on the pay package of professionals.

Here are the golden words you want to have in your title that translates into handsome pay.

Lead

Across all functions, those who have the word “Lead” in their job title earn a median of $23,000 over others in the same function.  While this is a title that can require several years of experience and an impressive portfolio, it's a goal to work toward that could pay off very well in the long run.

Director

Data from Earnest showed that those being called directors enjoy a median salary difference of $21,000 from others with a similar function but a less senior title.

For those planning to negotiate a promotion or raise, it will be icing on the cake to secure a director title which can be a great advantage for future promotion opportunities.

Senior

It's worth bringing up a title change if you find yourself consistently in the mentorship role within the team to those with less experience or skill.  It can mean a getting paid $20,000 more by being a senior.

What about those keywords that might not bring in as much money? If your title includes the terms "assistant", "associate" or "staff" it could be holding you back from earning more.

"Assistant" positions can have a median negative difference of $10,000 in annual salary, while "staff" indicates that a person could be earning up to $15,000 less than someone with essentially the same role.

The word founder is a really sexy title, in today's booming start-up culture, titles such as founder and co-founder is becoming more common.  But the reality is founders don't get paid.

While it sounds cool to be the founder but nearly one out of three ( 31%) of them reported zero earnings compared to 29% of the interns.   The median salary for founders is $10,000 less than the $12,000 for interns.

The pay for consultant is the most unpredictable, the salary for this title has the greatest variation with the middle half earning between $37,000 and $96,000.

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