Use these websites to find out salary information for your area or to do a comparison of salaries in different areas:
Salary Expert
Salary Comparison
Salary.com
Things to compare when looking at the bigger picture:
Years of experience you have at the job.
If you look and see what the median salary is for your job and you are in your first year out of college you should expect to make less than the median compared to someone who has been in the field for 5 or more years. The amount of experience you have will always play a big role in your salary… but your military experience does count. Make sure to use our Military Skills Translator to help identify “civilian equivalent” skills and experience you have gained while in the military.
Benefits
Look at the package they are offering you as a whole. If your salary is a little less than you wanted and you are going to get health insurance and a 401k then it will all balance out. Some companies offer bonuses, stock options, relocation allowance, vacation, leave, tuition reimbursement, professional membership and association activities.
Each one of these things should be taken in to account while you are looking at your base salary pay. Each one of them can benefit you in their own way.Responsibilities and Working ConditionsConsider these things when you are given a job offer:
- What are your responsibilities and working conditions going to be inside and outside of the office?
- What is the geographical location of your new company and what is the cost of living there?
- Will you have to travel and if so how far and how often?
- What are the numbers of hours per week you are expected to work?
- How frequently do you have performance reviews?
If you take into consideration all of these things along with what your salary is going to be then you should have a pretty good understanding of your complete offer package and how it will impact your life.
Get multiple offers from different companies---then be sure to weigh your options and see what each package has to offer you. It never hurts to list each company and put down the pros and cons of each.
At the end of the day, the best offer is the one that includes the most complete and fair compensation in line with the job lifestyle that you desire and the future career path that you aspire towards.
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