Know What You Are Worth

Compare your pay to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) percentiles for your occupation and metro area. Entry and mid-level workers should target the 50th percentile as a floor. Senior and staff-level workers should look at the 75th or 90th percentile. Use the Salary Comparison tool to run the benchmark.

Only if the new role also improves your career trajectory or job quality. A 10% raise that comes with worse growth prospects, higher stress, or poor work-life balance is often a net loss over 2-3 years. Use the Salary Time Machine to project both paths over a 5-year horizon.

Significantly. A software engineer in San Francisco earns a median of $165,000; the same role in Columbus, Ohio earns around $115,000. But cost of living matters — $100,000 in Dallas buys more than $100,000 in New York City. Use the Cost-of-Living Calculator to compare real purchasing power.

Almost always. The median first-counter offer improves by 10-20%. Workers who negotiate their starting salary compound that advantage over their entire career. The only times not to negotiate are when the offer is already at or above your target range.