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If this is in the wrong, place sorry, could you redirect to somewhere this would be appropriate to post.

I have been offered a position out of college starting at 38k. I am new out of college, but I think this is too low, what should I do? Suggestions, comments, or is this about right.

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This is a pretty localized question - where are you, what do you want, is it a place you want to work, do you have alternatives for places to work, can you negotiate, etc. – birryree Dec 19 '11 at 20:27
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38k Jordanian dinars or Australian dollars? It depends on whether you have to feed multiple wives, or whether your family's safety would suffer if you rejected the "offer". – Kerrek SB Dec 19 '11 at 20:27
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This is far too localized. However, there are sites that have information about salaries for various positions, and a quick search turned up one such site. – Thomas Owens♦ Dec 19 '11 at 20:30
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@StephenCanon With all due respect to the OP, most entry level graduates hardly have the skills that they believe they possess. – maple_shaft♦ Dec 19 '11 at 20:53
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Don't forget to take the cost of living in the area where the job offer is into consideration. Sometimes, an offer that is lower in absolute numbers might work out better financially because of a lower cost of living. – Timo Geusch Dec 19 '11 at 20:56
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migrated from stackoverflow.com Dec 19 '11 at 20:26

closed as too localized by Thomas Owens♦, Oded♦, maple_shaft♦, Karl Bielefeldt, littleadv Dec 19 '11 at 20:51

This question is unlikely to help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet. For help making this question more broadly applicable, see the FAQ.

1 Answer

up vote 6 down vote

Tell the prospective employer that you think it's too low. They may:

  1. Increase their offer
  2. Tell you that it's not negotiable
  3. Tell you to take a hike

Of the three possibilities, only one results in you being worse off then you would be if you don't ask, and it's also the least likely to occur. (After all, they want to hire you. Put yourself in their shoes: would you lose all interest in hiring someone simply because they asked for more money?)

Do be aware that your bargaining position is very weak (straight out of school, no competing offers?), but it is very much in your interest to ask anyway.

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Thanks, I did not look at it that way – Vikings Dec 19 '11 at 20:32
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Good advice here. Another point, most employers expect to have some sort of negotiation on the salary issue: They give a lowball figure and wait for the reaction. Also, make sure you don't only negotiate your salary, there are other factors: equipment, work hours, work location if you want to work from home, all these points (and probably others) must absolutely be totally clear by both parties when you start, and most preferably in writing. – stefgosselin Dec 19 '11 at 20:42
@stefgosselin: Excellent points. – Stephen Canon Dec 19 '11 at 20:43

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