Negotiate Salary

[dukebound85]

Is it considered "wrong" to negotiate salary if you are a just graduated BS Mechanical Engineer?

I ask as everywhere I look, the avg entry salary is ~58k and the company Ive been offered jobs with have been 47k and 54k a year in Tx and NY respectively

I graduated summa cum laude so i somewhat feel i should be offered at least average but i feel within myself that it is hard to negotiate when i have no performance on the job since ive just graduated


what is your take? I will say the benefits with this company (both offers are same) sound really good as well so I dont want to be rude either hence why i come to my favorite hangout and ask for my fellow member's advice


let it be or try to ask for more?

do most employers anticiopate the applicant requesting more? ive heard that from somewhere as well. also heard the NY is more expensive to live in as well

edit: depending on the source, seems avg tends to range from 53-60k out of school but still advice for the future would be appreciated

 

[rdowns]

FWIW, I always leave myself a little wiggle room when I make an offer to a potential employee that I really want to hire. I would be less inclined to negotiate with a recent grad with no real experience.

There is nothing wrong with trying to negotiate a better salary. A good way to bring it up is to ask what the potential for greater future earnings are.

 

[dukebound85]

FWIW, I always leave myself a little wiggle room when I make an offer to a potential employee that I really want to hire. I would be less inclined to negotiate with a recent grad with no real experience.

There is nothing wrong with trying to negotiate a better salary. A good way to bring it up is to ask what the potential for greater future earnings are.

thats exactly the type of input i was looking for. this is all new to me so its a bit intimidating

 

[cleanup]

I can't give you any advice on this as I only negotiate commission prices here and there, but good luck on your new job!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

This is always a difficult one. I see rdowns point about allowing wiggle room, but being less inclined to negotiate with a recent grad with little or no experience. That said, there is always the danger, whereby, if you don't mention it, you may be seen as worth whatever they assign to you, and will thus be seen as someone who will not fight their corner. Unfortunately, very often, initial asessments regarding salary for a given individual, continue to be made long after that individual candidate has been appointed.

However, salary negotiation does not usually take place until a serious job offer has been made. Rather, I'd make queries about career paths, - rdowns puts it well by suggesting that you ask about the potential for future earnings - let them know you are serious, ultimately want promotion, and may consider leaving if better opportunities for fulfillment (which can be professional, financial, etc) exist elsewhere; and I'd point out that a summa cum laude graduate would expect to start a bit above the bottom level. Good luck.

 

[r1ch4rd]

You may not have much luck pushing for a higher salary when you first start, but you can use your first year to really prove yourself. When your first proper salary review comes around you can probably make up for a bit of lost ground if you have proven yourself to be a good worker.

 

[dukebound85]

they did ask on an exit interview what i was expecting and i told them that its hard to say as the cost of living is different everywhere but ive read 58 is around average and since i graduated top of my class, id like it to be at least competitive to that

they then offered 54. do you think they are anticipating me to ask 56?

 

[Rodimus Prime]

well first off salary is also relative to state location, and field. Not just your degree but in the field you are going into. For example the oil companies offer about 60k to all the engineers no matter which one they are. Just a standard starting. Going up and down from there just not going to happen. Lastly it is a range number not a set number. Because are a honor graduated in the end means little to a company. My dad has offered someone who had a 2.6 no experiences over some who graduated cum laude which some intern experience because in the interview he like the other person better and though they would be a better employee.


It is a relative number to everything. Look at the industry you are looking at and then you need the average for that number.

Best example I have is from my chosen field. My degree is in construction. Average starting salary is 42ish for the degree nation wide. Now from there I went in to commercial construction. The average for that area is 45-55. residential during the housing boom was at most 40k. Same degree huge range.

Also back to my early point. I finished my degree last Christmas and I got my job over some people who resume look a hell of a lot better than mine. I had a 2.5 GPA and in my major classes only I had a 3.1 so I was not a very outstanding student. My internship was very weak at bet. Yet I got the offer over people had 3.5, internship with commercial construction who did not even get an interview. So do not think you are better just because you have a high GPA. It makes things a little easier but some times people who look worse on paper will get the job over you. I personally talk to the recruiter every time I saw him on campus and it stuck with him.

 

[Rhosfelt]

they did ask on an exit interview what i was expecting and i told them that its hard to say as the cost of living is different everywhere but ive read 58 is around average and since i graduated top of my class, id like it to be at least competitive to that

they then offered 54. do you think they are anticipating me to ask 56?

Sounds like an open negotiation to me if it happens just as you say. How are you communicating with them?

I'd say, "I was hoping for 58, however 56 sounds reasonable, what you do think?"

Also if you talk to a new place say something around 60-62 at first, then try for 58. Don't start with what you are hoping for if you are actually looking to negotiate.

(my post is assuming you are okay with trying to negotiate now)

 

[Sun Baked]

Getting the first job in the field is the hard part if they don't actually come to campus to recruit you.

A bit easier to work hard and negotiate a raise.

Usually by that 6 month and 1 year anniversary you should have a decent idea if you the place is a dead end or not (word of mouth), and should be able to look for a job while getting paid if it does turn into a painful experience.

If anything, if you work hard and network, you might be offered a job and would at least be able to go to the boss and say -- hey these people offered me another 10k to jump ship.

 

[dukebound85]

well first off salary is also relative to state location, and field. Not just your degree but in the field you are going into. For example the oil companies offer about 60k to all the engineers no matter which one they are. Just a standard starting. Going up and down from there just not going to happen. Lastly it is a range number not a set number. Because are a honor graduated in the end means little to a company. My dad has offered someone who had a 2.6 no experiences over some who graduated cum laude which some intern experience because in the interview he like the other person better and though they would be a better employee.


It is a relative number to everything. Look at the industry you are looking at and then you need the average for that number.

Best example I have is from my chosen field. My degree is in construction. Average starting salary is 42ish for the degree nation wide. Now from there I went in to commercial construction. The average for that area is 45-55. residential during the housing boom was at most 40k. Same degree huge range.

Also back to my early point. I finished my degree last Christmas and I got my job over some people who resume look a hell of a lot better than mine. I had a 2.5 GPA and in my major classes only I had a 3.1 so I was not a very outstanding student. My internship was very weak at bet. Yet I got the offer over people had 3.5, internship with commercial construction who did not even get an interview. So do not think you are better just because you have a high GPA. It makes things a little easier but some times people who look worse on paper will get the job over you. I personally talk to the recruiter every time I saw him on campus and it stuck with him.

true i did intern with an oil corporation last year and have an offer from them as well in that range youve mentioned. it was exciting but i didnt like the fact that you are stationed in remote locations. however it was a great experience and i had a lot of fun with it at the time.

yea personality is probably a big factor. i hope people like me lol

Sounds like an open negotiation to me if it happens just as you say. How are you communicating with them?

I'd say, "I was hoping for 58, however 56 sounds reasonable, what you do think?"

Also if you talk to a new place say something around 60-62 at first, then try for 58. Don't start with what you are hoping for if you are actually looking to negotiate.

(my post is assuming you are okay with trying to negotiate now)

well i was up in NY and at the exit interview i said i was thinking competitive to 58. then 3 weeks later they called me and said 54 and i said ill have to think about it as i have another offer out there (for 62 in the oil buisness) that wanted a decision quickly. then i got the offer package in the mail for 54 a couple days after they called me

i will say that the 54 offer sounds like it has the most upside for career development and they have more set hrs than the oil company (which i could get called out at 2am for a job for example)

Getting the first job in the field is the hard part if they don't actually come to campus to recruit you.

A bit easier to work hard and negotiate a raise.

Usually by that 6 month and 1 year anniversary you should have a decent idea if you the place is a dead end or not (word of mouth), and should be able to look for a job while getting paid if it does turn into a painful experience.

If anything, if you work hard and network, you might be offered a job and would at least be able to go to the boss and say -- hey these people offered me another 10k to jump ship.

true, real work achievements in my mind trump any grades for salary leverage which is why i am having a hard time deciding to negotiate

its hard to know what im worth if i have no "real" job achievements on my resume besides an internship and rely solely on grades.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

true i did intern with an oil corporation last year and have an offer from them as well in that range youve mentioned. it was exciting but i didnt like the fact that you are stationed in remote locations. however it was a great experience and i had a lot of fun with it at the time.

yea personality is probably a big factor. i hope people like me lol
.

really? the range I was quoting was what you would get put at a plant in the Houston area. I would not call Houston a remote location what so ever.

 

[dukebound85]

really? the range I was quoting was what you would get put at a plant in the Houston area. I would not call Houston a remote location what so ever.

i was a field engineer intern for schlumberger and would not be working at a plant but rather on the drilling rigs for new wells as well as servicing existing wells

the stations would be in more remote locations. i personally like larger metro areas at this point in my life lol