Resources to Calculate Compensation (Essential for Salary Negotiations)
If you would like to make more money at your current job or for a future job, you must first know what is market compensation. While prospective employers can’t ask what you currently make (in California and many other jurisdictions), they can and will ask you what you want to make, and you need to cite a reasonable number with backup data. Similarly, if you would like a raise, you must convince your manager that your proposed compensation is justified.
How do you collect data on compensation? Ideally you can exchange salary information with colleagues and former classmates. Another way is to take recruiter calls and ask what is the target salary range for the job in question. Also, check out legal publications when they list compensation surveys.
But if all else fails, you can always research online. With the sites below, you can put in title and location to get actual compensation numbers:
These other sites, listed in this New York Times article on salaries, require that you input your own information before they share their survey results and market analysis:
Now you are properly armed to negotiate!