Good salary

aabby757 · #1 10-01-2008, 02:41 PM

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.

MysticCat · #2 10-01-2008, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aabby757

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."

pinksirfidel · #3 10-04-2008, 09:55 AM

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

aabby757 · #4 10-22-2008, 10:16 AM

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

thank you so much.

KSigkid · #5 10-22-2008, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aabby757

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.

aabby757 · #6 10-22-2008, 01:01 PM

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.

ree-Xi · #7 10-22-2008, 01:18 PM

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.

aabby757 · #8 10-22-2008, 03:31 PM

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.

ASTalumna06 · #9 10-22-2008, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSigkid

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.

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.

MysticCat · #10 10-22-2008, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aabby757

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.

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.

nikki1920 · #11 10-22-2008, 04:08 PM

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?

KSUViolet06 · #12 10-23-2008, 04:54 PM

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).

pinksirfidel · #13 11-01-2008, 03:59 PM

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.

Benzgirl · #14 11-01-2008, 05:32 PM

It isn't always about money.

Senusret I · #15 11-01-2008, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikki1920

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?

^^^ 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))

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

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 have used that website loads!