Salary Calculators: How Much Should You be Making?

In a career search,” How much should I be making?” is a common concern. It is not something that is taught in a classroom and is a topic employers may avoid. In social settings, it can be seen as an inappropriate subject and should not be discussed. If no one is talking about salary, where do you begin? The Internet has several options for how to search for a salary comparison, but there are a few steps you should take prior.

Updated May 14, 2020

Know Your Personal Value

First, begin by assessing your personal background and preferences. Be sure that you take a look at the education level, job title searching for, total experience in the field, skills, and location. Within your self-worth search, it is important to factor in the salary your lifestyle needs. Consider the lowest salary you can live on and go from there. Remember to also include benefits you may need such as health insurance or a student loan assistance program. All of this will help when you begin to research job comparisons and opportunities.

Do Your Research on Typical Salaries

After taking a look at your personal values and needs, take your search to the Internet. There are several websites that can calculate salary, so finding one that fits what you are looking for is important. Here are a few helpful websites and what they offer.

Educate to Career ®

The information needed to use the tool includes your job title, the field of interest, experience, and location you provide and uses education levels to predict your salary. This is a more student-focused tool and uses career centers around the United States to generate salaries for the career you are searching for. This is a good starter tool that will ease you into the salary search and is a good place to begin.

Glassdoor ®

Most people know Glassdoor® as a site that posts jobs and helps connect companies to potential employees, but they offer additional tools too.  The Know your Worth Salary calculator is available through Glassdoor®.  This calculator uses marketing trends to give you an idea of what you should be earning. The requested information is your job title, education, skills, and location preferences, and then it will estimate your possible income.  This particular calculator is unique because it will indicate what your salary could be in another region or with an additional degree. Glassdoor® will also show job opportunities available in your preferred field and location. It’s important to note that this tool does not include benefits in the estimated salary.

Payscale ®

The salary calculator tool by Payscale will compare employees in the same industry you are searching for to your current total pay (If you are already in the field of interest). If not already in the field, there is an exploring option. The needed information for this tool is your job title, education, skills, experience, and location. The Payscale® tool includes bonuses, overtime pay, and benefits. In addition, it gives in-depth results and can help you find what you could be making in another company or field.

LinkedIn ® Salary

LinkedIn®  is a social media channel for professionals looking to network. It connects professionals to possible employers. Linkedin Salary takes this a step further in using the networking application to estimate potential compensation. They give information on the highest paying businesses, regions, and job titles. A bonus is that LinkedIn® Salary includes a current view for the career industry you provided and how salaries in these industries may be impacted in the future.

Using a wide variety of sources can help compare the salaries in your field. By taking advantage of these tools, you can get the most accurate estimate for what you should be offered by an employer.

Moving Forward

Once completing your salary research, look at all of your options. Compare salaries from different industries and understand what would best fit your lifestyle. Find a career that has the right location, job security, and can support you. Remember that if the salary is not what your research indicated, there is always room for negotiation.

3 Steps for Negotiating Salary

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