Good salary
 

I'm curious what college students consider a "good" salary.

I know your major, what industry etc you land in has much to do with this.

But I'm working on a project that is geared toward recent college grads and would like to know what you guys think.

Thank you.

Where you live, and the cost of living in that place, also has a great deal to do with it.

This seems to be such a general question that I can't imagine you'll get much more useful than "enough to live on and save some."

Are you asking for a good salary for recent college grads, or a good salary in general?

A decent slary of a recent college grad in the DC area/mid atlantic region.

thank you so much.

Again, though, there are variables. Some cities in that area are less costly than others. How recent are you talking, someone who just graduated, or someone who has been out for 3-5 years?

I'm not trying to be a pain, but the question has a bunch of different answers, depending on variables. Also, I'm guessing that an answer in some wide range won't be especially helpful to your project.

ETA: I'll give you an example in my area of the country. If you were to ask about a good salary in New England, you would get a far different answer for people living in Boston than for people in Nashua, NH. You'd even get far different answers within a city - the cost of living in Jamaica Plain (right next to Boston, practically a part of Boston) is less than the cost of living in downtown Boston. It's the same for parts of Hartford if you're talking about CT salaries.

A recent graduate, someone who is out of school no less than 2 years I'd say.

The DC area. A job working in the city and they can live in the suburbs I guess.

Thanks.

I don't think that anyone here can give you anything but a purely arbitrary number.

There are sites out there that can help you figure out salaries across industries/job functions/geography/education levels. You might also want to try networking (meeting people) who work at the job/level/geographical location where you are looking. Try professional networking groups, doing informational interviews, or going through your college career office.

I'm not interested in a job. I'm interesed in what "kids today" think is a good salary.

I'm working on a project and I feel our salary that we are offering is not what recent college grads would deem as high.

But I could be wrong.

So I *thought* this would be a good audience of people to confidentially tell me what they think is a good salary for them to be offered right after graduation.

In the DC area.

I realize costs of living are different in different cities.

I'm simply just looking for a number.

Thank you very much.

Agreed! I grew up in Nashua, and while the cost of living might be a little higher than other areas of the country, it doesn't even compare to Boston.

Relate that to where I'm living now. I'm working as a paralegal, and while offers right out of college might start at 30 - 40,000 at a Boston firm, in Erie, PA, I started mid-20,000. But this makes sense for where I am, for reasons such as...

...A decent 1 bedroom apartment in Nashua, in a nice neighborhood probably wouldn't be much less than $800 to start, and probably higher. But here in Erie, I'm paying $420 a month + electric bringing me to between 480 and 500 a month. And downtown Boston is in a league of its own.

It truly is a difficult question to answer. Especially because most people on this board aren't from that area. If you want to get good results, ask people who live in and around the DC area. Because if you ask a bunch of people from all over the country, you're going to receive answers that vary a great deal.

This may not be as good an audience as you think. Most of us don't live in the DC area and would be guessing. (And lots of us are "yesterday's kids," or even "last week's kids." ;))

And now that you've indicated that your question is geared specifically to what your office pays recent college grads, the first question I have is what kind of work is it? Journalism? Government? Teaching? Non-profit? Political? Law? Medical? Public Relations?

Expectations for what is a good salary are going to vary, perhaps a great deal, from occupation to occupation.

For the DC Metro area: $32 to 50K. I've been out of school for a few years (ok, 8), but to get to and from work, pay rent, eat, maintain a car, buy some clothes once in a while, that is about what is needed to stay afloat. The variation takes in to account how close one is to the city and what the field is. The question is kind of broad. Can you narrow it a bit? Education? Technical? Computer? Non Profit? Government?

http://www.payscale.com/

This site allows you to plug in your education level, field, area you want to live in and such, and gives you an appoximation of your salary.

As far as I know, it's a good tool to get a ballpark number. The numbers I've gotten for my future field in my area sound about right (not unrealistically high, etc).

I'm in Florida. I don't know much about the DC area.... but, when I graduated from undergrad (2 years ago), I wouldn't take anything less than $40k.

It isn't always about money.

^^^ I agree with the above figure. I worked for Georgetown as a Development Assistant making just $28,000 or so in 2001-02. Georgetown has notoriously low salaries (I later learned) and had I gone directly into the *real* nonprofit sector that same year, I would have likely started at $32.

If I was in control of the budget, I wouldn't feel comfortable offering a recent college grad working for my nonprofit any less than $35,000. (The truth of the matter is that in HIV/AIDS work in non-national nonprofits in DC, recent college grads are passed over for this very reason. It's more likely you'll be able to hire someone older for less.)

((This is why y'all need to be donating to the link in my signature LOL I'm only serious))

I have used that website loads!

32 all the way up to 50? Are there kids in the area that really are getting that now? I was offered 32 at my first job after graduation 6 years ago and that was one of the higher offers. I was ECSTATIC! Just goes to show how things change as far as inflation and whatnot. I think my rent in my first place was $700/month (in Frederick County-most of us here work closer to DC-but to DC itself, probably a 40 mile commute, or more) and I was doing really well on that salary. By the time I was 3 years out of school, I couldn't even IMAGINE how I would survive on 32 a year anymore. I think NOW I'd be fine with that, but hubby is also making WAY more than what he was when he first started. I dont know where Im going with this-guess its just wild to see how things change so quickly

I would say the $32-$50K range is pretty accurate. I went to the DC area a year out of college and started out at a little less than that. I was OK, but I was also sharing a crappy apartment with two (and for awhile, three) other people. But we do this stuff when we're young. :-)

Towards the end of my DC "adventure," I had moved up quite a bit in salary, but I also lived in a 1BR apartment by myself, so rent was a good bit higher. I was still able to pay all the bills, but I wasn't really able to save any money (which I realize is not as important to everyone).

Benefits are also an important consideration. Metrochek was a wonderful one for me. How much are they going to have to pay? What do they get out of it? And how consistent are your company's? (mine switched two or three times in the four years I was there, it was kind of a pain, although I understood they were trying to get the best deal for us)

I was making maybe 23K at my first job out of school. But I did get benefits (medical) and Metrochek (whoo hoo!). I am making more than that now, with benefits (dental, visual and medical), a longer commute (not really public trans friendly), rent, utilities, gas, etc, etc. I would be able to save if I was making about $10k more, but que sera, sera. My job is stable (I work for county government) and reliable. I just wish it paid more, lol.

Good Salary
 

I agree with my brother Mystic Cat. It is going to heavily depend on what industry, degree and geographical location you are in. Also, would you be out of college with a Bachelor's, Master's, doctorate, JD etc? There are too many variables to consider. Another piece of the equation is do you have networking contacts in the real world that could help you land you a good job? Cost of living is huge.

I grew up in the DC metro area and moved back after I graduated from undergrad in 2007. I'd say the majority of people my age (24) in the DC area are living a bit outside their means only because of the cost of living here. My rent is $1,615 for a teeny little place with my boyfriend. A girl in our complex graduated from the same school as I did just a year before me and she said that her rent was 60% of her salary (I think it's supposed to be 30% according to traditional budgeting.) I barely make any money because I haven't gotten my masters yet, so I can only be an assistant right now, so rent is pretty much the only thing I spend money on. The recession is scaring the crap out of me because I'm basically realizing that I will never actually be able to afford to live the way I grew up in this area. I'd say that something decent for a recent college grad in the DC Metro area would be between 32 and 40. A good salary would be 40+ for someone as young as me. I'm going to go cry about not having money for food now. (how's that for a flounce?)

Yikes is exactly what I thought. She was living in a one bedroom place until she felt ready to move in with her boyfriend. Now that they live together they split rent, which is much more reasonable. I couldn't fathom not living with a roommate in this area. It's really absurd. She definitely didn't want to live above her means. Our places here really are nice, but not that nice. It's the kind of area where you have to pay a lot just to not share your apartment with mice and cockroaches. Hahaha.

I live in DC, too -- I'd be surprised if the majority of people around our age aren't spending close to 50% of their salary on rent. It's hella expensive to live here. I was ECSTATIC to find our current place for $1500 a month.

I felt very posh to be making 30k at my first job out of school since I was surrounded by Hill staffers making 25k (I had one friend who got paid 18k to work on the Hill :(). I do make considerably more than that now.

This is a neat website!

I think that's fairly accurate for most college graduates who live in major cities (NYC, Boston, DC, San Francisco, etc.). You definitely start out spending a ridiculous percentage of your salary on rent. It was certainly true for myself and my friends, except for those people who went into banking or finance. I had a fairly decent-paying job out of college, and people on here would still probably be surprised about what percentage of my income went to rent.

I think people who don't start out in major metropolitan areas have a really hard time understanding it. You just find ways to make it work.

wow, i was going to say that i expect to make at the very least 40k. I mean hell I can make that without a degree at the current moment, but the correlation of experience, having the degree will pay a lot more as the years progress.

Again, depends on where you are and what you're doing. If you're going to be working in a major city (NYC, Boston, DC, San Francisco, etc.) in certain professions (banking, business, law, etc.), 40k is on the low end.

yeah, if i didn't convey that, i meant that to say, yeah, if i just graduated, i expect to be on the low end. by the time i retire, i hope that figure to be about 70-80k at least. i dont plan on being rich, but i do plan on being comfortable.

She probably wasn't deliberately "living above her means." $1600 in DC isn't a luxury condo! Housing in cities is expensive, and like someone said, you might have to pay a lot more just to be within a reasonable commute to your office (especially if you don't have a car), to live in a safe neighborhood, and to have a clean apartment. Even if you have several roommates, your rent in a city like DC, Boston, NYC, or SF is going to be high.

I suspect, and Mel and KSigkid might be able to back me up here, that the entry-level salaries in big cities are a little depressed. Not saying that they're low--they're just not that high, especially if you have a degree of any sort. I know what I was making with a master's degree when I first started working, and it was embarassing. I actually managed to live comfortably--I paid for everything in cash, put money in savings, and was able to throw money into my 401(k). Now I make much more than that, after only 3.5 years of working. I think the low salaries are a way to weed people out who aren't that committed. One small comfort in the low salary/high rent conundrum is that, for the first few years out on your own, most of your friends are in the same position. It's funny to look back and see how we all "grew up."

Exactly - plus there's always the parking issue if you have a vehicle, where you're either paying for parking in/around your own building, or you're paying for nearby public parking. At least in Boston, neither of those are cheap!

That was my experience and the experience of my friends, outside of those who went into finance or investment banking. I always thought my salary was low because I was working for a non-profit (doing public relations), but my friends at PR agencies were making a similar amount. The funny thing is my salary didn't go up until I moved to CT and got my current job!

Having friends in the same circumstances definitely helps - not a lot of pressure to go nuts on Friday and Saturday nights when you know that everyone's money, for the most part, is going to rent.

My son, who is graduating in May, has been getting offers in the low 30's (with full benefits) for entry level banking. Granted this is in Florida where the cost of living is low. He thought he'd be offered more, but at this point, he's just glad he has offers!!

His fiancee makes in the mid 30's as a high school math teacher!! Maybe he should have gotten that education degree!

In a few years, he'll probably make more than his fiancee. Most teachers--and public employees as a whole--only get small raises each year that are more like COLAs than actual bumps in salary. I started out making about the same amount as my friends who became teachers, but now I make about considerably more because of the private sector. That, to me at least, is better than getting summers off. :)

Yes, I agree. The people he's interviewing with all say how quickly you can move up within the company (provided you're a good employee :)). One even said how sorry they were that they couldn't offer more, but that advancement occurs pretty quickly.

He's just so happy to have a legitimate job offer because, right now, many of his friends do not....

I think you're absolutely right about entry-level salaries being a little depressed. I can only speak for DC and for the jobs I'm familiar with (media, PR and the Hill), but there is a real sense of using low salaries to weed out people who aren't dedicated. Employers are able to get away with paying low salaries because so many young people move out here and want to work on the Hill -- for every person who won't accept 20k to answer phones, there is another who will. And once you're in the door, it's like a test to see who cares enough about the work to stick out the lower salary. Turnover tends to be high and those who are willing to pay their dues can see huge salary increases once they've proved they can stick it out. Most people I knew who worked on the Hill were annoyed by the low pay and menial job duties and quit -- but the ones I know who stayed were promoted to legislative assistant or press secretary after a year or so (since turnover is so high) and most of them are making about twice as much as they used to.

In regard to the percentage of salary spent on rent -- I did some calculations and we do spend about half of our income on rent. My husband is graduating law school in May and theoretically he should have a job sometime soon (shakes fist at the economy). We've always lived comfortably on just my salary, so I'm always baffled when we visit friends in the Midwest who complain about having no money. I'm like, "Really? Because you make only a little less than I do and your rent is only $400 a month." But then I realize that my husband and I don't spend huge amounts of money on going out to eat, going to bars, shopping sprees, dropping a hundred bucks on random shit at Target, etc. Even with relatively expensive hobbies (me triathlon, him photography), I've never felt like we're lacking in the basics. I think paying that much in rent makes you more aware of where the rest of your money goes.

I think you put this perfectly. They can get away with paying low in the media professions (PR, journalism, editing, etc.) because, as you said, it's almost like a way to prove your worth. You make almost nothing for a while, do a good job, and end up (if you're lucky) with a good salary after a couple of years. The people I know who stuck with it are 5-7 years into their careers and are on their way to better salaries and more challenging positions (whether as a primary press secretary or higher within a political office, handling their own accounts in PR firms, or getting front-page stories for their newspapers).

Good luck to your husband in finding a job. The lawyer market was hit pretty hard, it's kind of discouraging out there right now. I'm looking at the DC area as a possible destination, and heard that the lawyer market down in DC/VA/MD hasn't been hit quite as hard as the Northeast.

There's a lot to be said about paying one's dues. It's hard to understand when you're just out of school that the money gets better quickly, and to just hold out and work hard. If anything, making so little just out of graduate school prepared me for the importance of saving money, investing for retirement, and not blowing my money on frivolous stuff like clothes. I have chosen to blow my money on frivolous stuff like travel. ;)

I agree completely. I tried really hard to find a place where I wouldn't be paying a ton of money on rent; even now I pay about 1/3 of my net pay each month on rent. But, I'm super careful about where the rest of my money goes. I'd probably pay less if I chose to have roommates, but I'm pretty happy living on my own and think it's worth it now. :)

On the other hand, if you are considering a field like Education depending on the region, 40k could be the high end!

I think a "good salary" depends more on how much it cost you to get the job than anything else. My future career requires that I go to a 4 year professional school and will cost me at least 100k in loans. Because of this, a good salary to me is at least 90,000/year. Any less and I wouldn't be able to afford to have that career! However, if I was just sticking with my undergrad, I'd be happy with around 40k.

I don't think the poster cares any more...and, even at the time, the poster didn't especially care what people had to say on the subject.