SALARY SEARCH
Where can I find out about salaries?
Google “salary search” – several very good websites to research.www.google.com
EXAMINE STARTING SALARIES:
What are the salary projections for my occupational area? What are the regional salaries?
On this site:
select Pay and Benefits from the tool bar at the top
select Wages by area & occupation from the drop down
select –State Wage Data
USE THE COST OF LIVING INDEX
- Calculating salary to determine if it will meet or exceed your ability to live in a different location.
SALARY NEEDS vs. COST OF LIVING
How does the cost of living for the geographic area affect my salary needs?
As an example, let’s use the $35,000 annual cost of living and now apply it to the geographic location: moving from Manchester, NH to Burlington, MA.
In order for you to be able to talk to the employer about your salary needs, you need to:
- Develop a realistic budget
- Examine starting salaries
- Use the cost of living index
DEVELOP A REALISTIC BUDGET:
What are the expenses?
– Tax Deductions
– Fixed Expenses
– Variable Expenses
– SAVINGS: pay yourself first/ Ideally 5% – 10% of your gross pay
NET INCOME:
Deductions from your gross income:
- Income Taxes (Know your tax bracket)
- State and local taxes
- Social Security tax
- Contributions to savings/retirement
INCOME TAX BRACKETS
2010 Tax Brackets
- Tax Rate Single Married Filing Jointly
- 10% Not over $8,350 Not over $16,700
- 15% $8,350 – $33,950 $16,700 – $67,900
- 25% $ 33,950 – $82,250 $67,900 – $137,050
- 28% $ 82,250 – $171,550 $137,050 – $208,850
- 33% $171,550 – $372,950 $208,850 – $372,950
- 35% Over $ 372,950 Over $372,950
2010 DECUCTION, EXEMPTION & LIMIT CHANGES
Federal Income tax exemptions and limits:
Oct., 2009–WASHINGTON — For 2010, personal exemptions and standard deductions will rise and tax brackets will widen because of inflation adjustments announced today by the Internal Revenue Service.
By law, the dollar amounts for a variety of tax provisions must be revised each year to keep pace with inflation. As a result, more than three dozen tax benefits, affecting virtually every taxpayer, are being adjusted for 2010. Key changes affecting 2010 returns, filed by most taxpayers in early 2011, include the following: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=187825,00.html
STATE AND LOCAL TAX
To locate your state and local tax schedules research this link: http://www.retirementliving.com/RLtaxes.html
SOCIAL SECURITY TAX
- http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/colafacts.htm
- Employee 7.65%
- Self-Employed15.30%
- The 7.65% tax rate is the combined rate for Social Security and Medicare.
FIXED EXPENSES
- Rent/Mortgage
- Property taxes
- Telephone, Electric, Heat, Cable
- Loans: car payment, credit cards
- student loan payment
VARIABLE EXPENSES
- Food
- Transportation
- Clothing
- Education
- Entertainment
- Medication
TRANSITION EXPENSES: College to Career
- Renting an apartment may require a month’s rent as a deposit
- Furnishing your new place
- Buying a new wardrobe for work
HIDDEN COSTS OF EMPLOYMENT
-
- Using your own car for business
- Clothing
- Meals not reimbursed
SAVINGS
- pay yourself first
- Ideally 5% – 10% of your gross pay
REDUCING THE EXPENSES
- Employer Benefits beyond the paycheck
- Educational benefits
- Discounts (health clubs etc)
- Employer vehicle
- Professional development
- Student loan forgiveness
STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING EXPENSES
- Look at cost of living – think about moving– NYC versus the beltway around Boston
- Share an apartment
- Telecommuting
- Share a ride
- Personal car vs. public transportation?
PSU AS A RESOURCE: Financial Aid website: Financial Wellness
Managing your finances can be overwhelming – and if you’re like most undergraduates, you may never have done this for yourself before.The Financial Aid Team is providing this Financial Wellness Web site to help you understand how to manage your student loans, personal finances, and how to create and maintain good credit. www.plymouth.edu/finaid/wellness
Handout – “Expense Considerations”
AN EXAMPLE:
Using an annual Salary of $35,000: Monthly expenses
– Rent: $650/mo
– Utilities: $150/mo
– Insurance: $100/mo
– Cable: $100/mo
– Car payment: $500/mo
– School Loan: $500/mo
– Food: $400/mo
– Clothes $100/mo
– Other: magazines, entertainment: $100/mo
Total $2600/mo
Total: 2600 x 12 months: $31,200 annual expenses
Add income taxes @25% 8,750
Add 7.5% social sec. tax 2,660
total salary needs: 42,610
Can you survive? ************* You are in the red -7610
RENTAL ESTIMATES: Rent.com’s powerful apartment search tool and detailed rental listings make it easy to find your new apartment. http://www.rent.com/
Here is just one site that will make that calculation for you and also give you the definitions of the budgetary items you should consider such as food, housing, utilities, transportation, health, miscellaneous which are categories you should have listed for your budget:
http://www.bestplaces.net/col/
RELOCATION/COST OF LIVING:
Sample search for cost of living http://www.bestplaces.net/COL/
Cost of Living Comparison:
Manchester, New Hampshire – Burlington, Massachusetts
Change cities Burlington is 26% more expensive than Manchester.
Housing is the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.
Housing is 83% more expensive in Burlington.
A salary of $50,000 in Manchester, New Hampshire should increase to $63,192 in Burlington, Massachusetts
Cost of Living» Compare these cities in over 100 categories
THOUGHTS FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION:
This is not a to do list – it is meant to cultivate some thoughts about –your own approach to your cost of living –and how that relates to your occupational area and the salaries that are projected for your occupation.
Possibly treat this exercise as an assignment
- when am I going to begin
- where am I going to be living
- what will I need for a salary
- how do I stack up against the market
– Create a realistic job search strategy
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