
Ask HN: How can I know what my market rate salary is? - cmdgoo
Short of going out and getting a bunch of offers, how can I figure out if I&#x27;m being compensated appropriately? Since it&#x27;s so taboo to talk about salary, I have essentially zero data points from friends&#x2F;colleagues. I&#x27;ve tried Glassdoor and Paysa, but the former seems low and the latter seems high. How do you all figure out what you&#x27;re worth?
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onion2k
_Since it 's so taboo to talk about salary.._

That's only really true within a company, and even then it's only bad to ask
for a specific number. People are often willing to share a ball park number
(eg between 32k and 38k).

That said though, I'd question the wisdom of using the market rate as a basis
of an opinion of your self-worth. Figure out what you want to earn and
negotiate with potential employers to get that. It's very likely to be more
than the market rate, but if you're good you _can_ get it.

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helen842000
In contrast to using sites like Glassdoor which shows what people have been
paid historically, I usually look at job sites & adverts to see what people
are paying right now.

I draw a line on a page and put a marker in the middle which I label with my
current salary. Then I find job adverts and plot them either side based on the
salary with a note of company/location. You then end up with an nice range and
it's clear if you are being paid market rate. If all similar jobs are plotted
higher on the scale than you, you're being under paid.

You can then use this as evidence when discussing a raise with your current
company.

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itamarst
1\. Glassdoor.

2\. A good recruiter will be able to tell you, if you can find one. Can
recommend one in Boston, but you need local knowledge.

3\. Some general advice:
[http://valerieaurora.org/howto_salary/](http://valerieaurora.org/howto_salary/)
and [http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-
negotiation/](http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-negotiation/)

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herbst
Personally i just take what they offer, try to counter offer +20% and then
settle for anything they feel comfortable with. Later i can still argue beeing
worth more if i want.

That assuming you choose a job because you want to work there and not because
of the money.

To clearify: Making out a standard is hard because the jobs are so different.
You can expect to get paid more when you do project management as well for
example. And less if your job gives you all the time in the world to research
and learn.

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itamarst
I once got an offer, accepted it, then had some issues with IP contract. They
offered me 20% more.

That means I probably could have gotten 30% more than initial salary. So just
adding 20% on top is not always enough.

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herbst
I seriously suspect this is different in other countries. But if you come
fresh from school or a newbie generally i dont see why they should pay you
more money than average before they even know you are good.

But anyway, i also never worked for the money. The more i earned the more i
spent. Therefore its not something i really care about.

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JoshDoody
I devoted a chapter of my book to this topic, so I'll summarize my method here
and then share a link to read that chapter for free.

I recommend a three-step process:

1\. Estimate your market value in your industry 2\. Adjust that estimate for
your local region 3\. Adjust it again for the specific company you're focused
on

Each subsequent step will have less data available, but the data you do find
will be more specific to your situation.

 _1\. Your industry-wide market value_

Starting at the industry level, there are four places I tend to point people:
paysa.com, salary.com, payscale.com, glassdoor.com. Those tend to cover most
industries pretty well. You can take an average of averages to get a decent
baseline for your industry.

 _2\. Your market value in your region_

Once you have that industry-wide number, you should adjust it for your local
region if you can. This helps to account for cost of living and local demand
differences. You can reach out to peers at other companies or talk to people
at local conferences to get this sort of info. (NOTE: Asking people what they
make is taboo in the US, but you can ask in a roundabout way that works pretty
well: "If someone with this skillset and experience were hired for this job at
your company tomorrow, what do you think they would make?" People are more
comfortable answering vague versions of the question.)

 _3\. Your market value for a specific company_

Finally, if you know someone doing the job you're interested in at the company
you're interested in, you might be able to get more detailed information about
that specific company's pay ranges. You might also know a hiring manager or
recruiter at the company, and you could buy them coffee to learn whatever you
can.

Once you've gone through those three phases, you should have a pretty good
idea what your market value is.

 _Read more_

You can read the chapter from my book Fearless Salary Negotiation here:
[https://fearlesssalarynegotiation.com/book/value](https://fearlesssalarynegotiation.com/book/value)

You can get a free guide, worksheet and short video course to walk you through
the process here: [https://fearlesssalarynegotiation.com/how-to-estimate-
your-m...](https://fearlesssalarynegotiation.com/how-to-estimate-your-market-
value/)

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JoachimSchipper
FWIW, this comment was [dead] when I happened upon it; I apparently
resurrected it when I vouched for it.

I do like your work, but you may want to dial down the self-promotion a
little?

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JoshDoody
Thanks for letting me know - I appreciate it. And thanks for vouching for my
comment - it would be a shame if OP didn't see it. Cheers!

