For entry level, which I take as non-skilled, I figure the pay should be minimum wage.  If there are limited workers in an area and too many unskilled jobs, then competitiveness will drive up wages to a fair amount- and lucky for those workers!  For skilled jobs, I think that the level of skill and the demand for that skill should determine the level of pay.  My sister is a lawyer and I was a truck driver- and we made the same amount of money.  My job just had a higher demand and my wages reflected that.

Commuting can be worth it if the pay (and/or job) is good.  And you have to take more into consideration, such as fuel costs, wear and tear on your car (hopefully a little commuter-mobile), and the cost of lost time.  My husband commutes, but he earns decent money and he only has to commute twice a week.  It's a pretty good trade-off.  At my last job, I commuted too, but it was once every 2-7 weeks, and it was well worth it.  But a daily commute of that far would not be okay for me- I'd go nuts driving that much!