Does it make sense to pony up for $100K-plus job sites?

 "Get the attention you deserve," promises the ad's tag line, "and the success you've earned." The service is called TheLadders, and it promises exclusive access only to jobs that pay $100,000 a year or more. A similar service, ExecuNet, guarantees "members access to confidential six-figure job listings."

But it goes without saying that not every American has the skills and experience to make that much money. The numbers simply won't add up; TheLadders claims 2.2 million paying members but usually has about 76,000 jobs posted. Even assuming all those jobs get filled, most people are going to walk away disappointed.

So as more and more Americans are out of work, does it make sense to spend hard-won cash to get a glimpse at high-paying jobs?

Of the two sites, TheLadders' average of 76,000 jobs makes it much larger than ExecuNet, which posts 4,000 jobs at any time. While Monster and HotJobs also offer 100K jobs, these larger and less-targeted sites don't screen applicants, aren't membership-only, and, as the national TV campaign for TheLadders suggests, draw the masses. Kevin Krim, vice president of product and strategy at Yahoo HotJobs, noted that about 10 percent to 12 percent of its listings are in the 100K range.

TheLadders costs $30 for one month or $180 a year to gain access to its listings and charges $695 for a résumé rewrite. Recruiters pay from $500 a posting to $10,000 a year to cover multiple recruiters.

What do you get for your money? The high-end sites offer newsletters, support, and networking, both on- and off-site in the case of ExecuNet. Professionals use these sites to investigate the latest job leads and identify specialized recruiters.