If you were born in the 80s...where should you be?

If there's one thing we're good at here at Pink Slipped (besides finding free stuff for you) it's separating the worthwhile career-related info from all the dreck that's floating around on the Internet. BusinessWeek is the source of today's item, which recounts which states have the best job climate for twenty-something workers.

PayScale.com asked some of its users (all college graduates under 30 with full-time employment) about their work experiences in 30 different industry categories. (Sectors included engineering/heavy construction; legal services, accounting and scientific research; ambulatory health care; and print publishing.) Within each industry segment, each state's results were ranked by both median salary and the percentage of younger staffers. The results -- annoyingly presented one frame/category at a time -- skew heavily toward the East Coast, with New York the champion in eight disciplines (broadcasting, beverage/tobacco manufacturing, online publishing, cultural institutions, et.al.). But D.C. was surprisingly strong in a number of non-obvious areas like hospitality (hotels), construction and social work. Utah, Nevada and Minnesota also came out on top in a few areas. (View the findings here.)

In 2009, with so much of one's work life subject to uncertainty, job prospects demand to be evaluated from every angle. If your career goals are linked to one of the categories detailed here, and you're in one of the winning states, it's great to know that your perks include a sizeable peer group and a salary that exceeds the national average. For anyone who's out of work and open to a move -- you now know what to tell your GPS.

--Posted by Todd Obolsky, Vault Staff Writer