Need help on java school project :-/

Question

Hi guys. I am currently taking a java class and am having particular trouble with a project that is due today. It is pretty simple but I am very new to java and keep getting errors when compliling that I do not know how to correct. Also, I am unsure as how I can incorporate the charAt() into the code (I am not even sure exactly what it is supposed to do; not very clear in the book)The background of my project is here:
http://www.cuyamaca.net/celder/CIS%20182/project/project_ii.htm
I hope someone can point out my mistakes and how to correct them if at all possible. Thanks a bunch. My code thus far is as follows:
//Project II
//Brian Schaefer
//CIS 182
//9-25-01
import javax.swing.*;
public class Project2 {
public static void main ( String args[] )
String firstName, lastName; // first and last name of user
char emptype; // type of Employee (i.e. Student, Hourly, or Salaried)
double hours, // hours person worked
earned, // how much was made before taxes
aftertax, // how much was made after taxes
overtime, // extra work, counted as 1.5x normal pay per hour
hourRate, // how much money per hour persons make
yearlySalary; // salaried worker's yearly pay
// Users enter their type of work
emptype = JOptionPane.showInputDialog ( " Enter Employee Type: H for hourly, T for Temporary Student, or S for Salaried ");
// User's first and last name are inputed
firstName = JOptionPane.showInputDialog( "Enter your first name" );
lastName = JOptionPane.showInputDialog( "Enter your last name" );
// if employment type is salaried, then the following commands are carried out
if ( emptype == S)
yearlySalary = JOptionPane.showInputDialog ( "Enter your yearly salary" ); // user enters their yearly pay
yearlySalary = (yearlySalary/52); // salary per week is calculated
aftertax = earned * .82; // money per week after tax (18%)
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog( "The gross weekly pay for " + firstName+ " " + lastName + " is" + earned +
"\n" + "The weekly pay after taxes is " + aftertax); // outputs gross pay, persons name, and their pay after taxes
// if employment type is hourly, then the following commands are carried out
if (emptype == H)
hours = JOptionPane.showInputDialog( " Enter hours worked this week " ); // user enters hours worked this week
hourRate = JOptionPane.showInputDialog( " Enter hourly rate " ); // user enters their wage per hour
// takes into account overtime
if ( hours > 35)
overtime = hours - 35; // hours over is subtracted from the standard week of 35 hours and stored
earned = (overtime * hourRate * 1.5) + earned; // number is recalled, then multiplied by rate, then by 1.5
//due to overtime paying out 50% more per hour and is then added to the non-overtime pay
aftertax = earned * .82; // takes into account tax of 18%
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog( "The gross weekly pay for " + firstName+ " " + lastName + " is" + earned +
"\n" + "The weekly pay after taxes is " + aftertax); // outputs user name, gross pay, and pay after taxes
else // if user does not work overtime then we go on the standard pay scheme
earned = hours * hourRate; // hours worked multiplies by hourly wage to get the gross earning
aftertax = earned * .18; // tax is taken into effect
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog( "The gross weekly pay for " + firstName+ " " + lastName + " is" + earned +
"\n" + "The weekly pay after taxes is " + aftertax); // outputs user name, gross pay, and pay after taxes
else
if (emptype == T)
hours = JOptionPane.showInputDialog( " Enter hours worked this week " ); // user enters hours worked this week
hourRate = JOptionPane.showInputDialog( " Enter hourly rate " ); // user enters their wage per hour
// takes into account overtime
if ( hours > 35)
overtime = hours - 35; // hours over is subtracted from the standard week of 35 hours and stored
earned = (overtime * hourRate * 1.5) + earned; // number is recalled, then multiplied by rate, then by 1.5
//due to overtime paying out 50% more per hour and is then added to the non-overtime pay
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog( "The gross weekly pay for " + firstName+ " " + lastName + " is" + earned +
"\n" + "NO TAXES DEDUCTED" ); // outputs user name and their gross pay; no money taken for taxes
else // if user does not work overtime then we go on the standard pay scheme
earned = hours * hourRate; // hours worked multiplies by hourly wage to get the gross earning
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog( "The gross weekly pay for " + firstName+ " " + lastName + " is" + earned +
"\n" + "NO TAXES DEDUCTED" ); // outputs user name, gross pay, and pay after taxes
// if user does not enter a valid employee type, they are looped and asked again
while ( emptype != H | S | T)
emptype = JOptionPane.showInputDialog( "Enter Employee Type again: H for hourly, T for Temporary Student, or S for Salaried only" );

Answer 1

First, try indenting your code an extra tab or a coupla spaces at each opening curly brace and indenting it less at each closing curly brace. This will help you see where the braces aren't aligning.
Second, you have an else buried in your code in an inappropriate place, essentially
if (sometest) {do some stuff}
else {do some other stuff}
else {here is the invalid else}
Third, usually you want to make sure you've validated your input before you procede onto your calculations and output, so the while loop you have at the end probably belongs at the beginning, possibly with a variable for the 'again' string.
String againString;
while ( emptype != H | S | T) {
emptype = JOptionPane.showInputDialog( "Enter Employee Type"+again+": H for hourly, T for Temporary Student, or S for Salaried only" );
againString = " again";