(MONEY Magazine) – The days of signing bonuses and stock options may be a distant memory, but that doesn't mean you're powerless to boost your earnings. Yes, it requires something of a mental leap to get past the depressing job reports we keep hearing. Despite growing signs that the economy is strengthening, the unemployment rate still hovers near a nine-year high. Some 3 million jobs have been eliminated from the private-employment work force over the past three years. And the number of people out of work six months or more is at the highest level in two decades.

Jobs usually follow closely upon an economic recovery, but the U.S. economy has shed more than a million jobs since the recession officially ended in November 2001. "This is the longest period of job losses we've experienced since the Great Depression," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com.

Adding to the misery: paltry pay raises this year, the smallest in nearly three decades, averaging 3.4%, according to human-resources consultants Hewitt Associates. Hewitt projects increases of only 3.6% in 2004.

All that said, there's reason for optimism. Jobs were added to business payrolls in September for the first time in eight months. Demand for temporary workers is surging. And while businesses have reported job cuts, the Labor Department's other employment gauge--the so-called household survey--shows a 1.4 million gain in jobs since November 2001. Many of those are no doubt in new businesses or the freelance arrangements many laid-off people have turned to, but typically an uptick in the household survey has been an early signal of a labor market upturn.

In the longer term, demographic experts forecast a labor shortage as the massive baby boomer generation begins hitting retirement age. Though the job shortage is expected to be concentrated in skilled positions in technology and health care, there are other hiring bright spots. The federal government, which says that half of its workers will be eligible for retirement in the next five years, is actively recruiting.

Whatever the state of the economy, there are steps you can take to boost your earning power. Start by asking yourself the following questions to see what makes sense for you.

--Are you paid what you're worth? Your employer is unlikely to help you answer this, and most people are uncomfortable asking their co-workers. Traditionally, the best sources have been headhunters, co-workers who've left your company and colleagues in professional associations. But it's now easy to gather salary data at one of the dozens of pay-comparison sites on the Web. (See "What Are You Worth?," below.)

--Should you ask for more money? There's rarely a bad time to ask for a raise--if you do it in a professional, nonconfrontational way, says Gregory Northcraft, management professor at the University of Illinois and co-author of Get Paid What You're Worth: The Expert Negotiator's Guide to Salary and Compensation. If you're underpaid, in fact, you may have significant leverage. "If your employer thinks it's going to cost a lot to replace you, he'll be more open to listening," Northcraft says.

But it's not enough to prove to your boss that you're underpaid. "You have to justify why you should get a raise," says economist Richard Bayer, head of a national career counseling organization, the Five O'Clock Club. Frame your proposal so that your employer would also benefit from giving you the raise. You could ask for a merit-based increase that would, for example, boost your salary if you expand your sales territory or cut costs. That strategy worked for Scott Muelrath, 33, an asset manager for a Las Vegas real estate developer. He got a 10% raise in August 2002 and then, after establishing new systems and protocols that made his company more efficient, negotiated another 15% in September 2003.

Remember that compensation can be about more than salary. When money is tight, consider asking for additional training or, if business is slow, more vacation. You can also volunteer to take on more responsibility, even if you won't get paid more right away, Northcraft suggests. That way, you'll put yourself in a position to get paid more when things improve.

--Should you go back to school? Education does pay off: Average income rises with each level of education. Those with master's degrees, for instance, earn an average of $54,500 a year vs. $45,400 for college graduates and $25,900 for high school grads. And education has become an increasingly important distinction with the steady dwindling of high-paying manufacturing jobs.

But education requires money and time. The good news is that many employers will pay for some or all of your schooling. About 80% of Fortune 500 companies and countless smaller ones reimburse 50% to 100% of the tab for relevant education and training, according to Eduventures, an education research firm in Boston.

Darin and Jennifer Lee, a Wilmington, N.C. couple, are planning ahead for Darin's further education. After Darin, 30, finishes his service as a dentist in the U.S. Navy next June, he will pursue a master's degree in endodontics, a specialty that's likely to pay him twice as much as he'd make in general dentistry. Even with the G.I. Bill, the course will run at least $30,000. To prepare, the Lees are paring their spending and selling their boat and one of their cars. Says Jennifer, 27, a pharmaceutical sales rep: "It's well worth it in the long run to not have his income for a couple of years."

What type of schooling is worthwhile--and how quickly it pays off--can be a matter of timing. Nearly 30% of graduates from the top 30 M.B.A. programs in the United States had no solid job offers when they graduated last year. Your field matters too. Teachers often need a master's degree to move up. A bookkeeper who becomes a C.P.A. will earn more. But a technical certificate or short-term training may be enough for you to land a raise or a better-paying job.

Start by asking your employer if additional study would put you in line for more money. That's what Todd Speir did. After nine years as a paralegal at a Columbia, S.C. law firm, Speir, 33, hit a ceiling at $50,000 a year. He wasn't interested in law school and, with two children at home, couldn't afford to be a full-time student. But he enjoyed the work that he did with the firm's automotive liability practice, so he asked to be trained as an investigator. Speir has completed internal training, and his company is sending him for a month-long course at Northwestern University. When he completes the course, he'll get a $10,000 raise.

--Are you in the right place? If you're underpaid in your current job, your skills may be worth more in another industry or region--especially if you do easily portable work like sales or marketing. Dallas recruiter R. Gains Baty advises trying to match your skills and interests with industries on the upswing. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the industries with the fastest job growth in the next10 years will be concentrated in computer services and health care (for more, see the table on page 104).

As for expanding your job search geographically, the Five O'Clock Club's Bayer says it's worth checking out areas with low unemployment (see the map on page 104). The mere willingness to relocate will often make you a more desirable employee, since the number of people who agree to move has decreased dramatically in recent years, according to Challenger Gray & Christmas, an international outplacement firm. (One reason: More households have two earners, making it harder to relocate.)

--Should you take on extra work? Tread carefully when you moonlight--you don't want to stretch yourself too thin, especially if you're trying to persuade your boss to pay you more. However, a part-time gig that allows you to pick up new skills or show off your work to a potential employer can pay off, particularly if you're trying to change fields.

If you finally decide that the only way to earn more is to seek a new full-time job, start with your own network. That's how Kim Klever landed a new position--and a 25% pay increase--earlier this year. Ready to move on from her position as a management consultant in New York City but discouraged after conversations with headhunters, Klever discreetly began speaking to former clients. "I talked to people who knew me and my work," says Klever, 33. "At a time when so many people are looking for work, I was a known quantity. If you're good, the economy doesn't matter."