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So I got a job offer I'm very excited about. Would take me from ~60K to ~72K base + 7% cost sharing in December.
The catch is, I have no clue if the salary is fair. I am usually very good researching this sort of thing but have been unable to find data on the salary this type of job pays...the ranges are all over the place.
Coincidentally, I got an email this week from a contracting company for a one year contract for the same exact position with the same company. Exact same title as my offer, exact same job description too. They are offering 61.50/hour for the contract position. This equates to ~124K/year.
??
Now I know contracts offer way more than perm positions, but that is a HUGE difference. Now I'm wondering if I should counter my offer...? And if so, by how much? I don't really have a basis to counter other than the contracting position. Or should I just take it as is? What is the likelihood if I counter by say 10K, that the company would just take their offer back altogether and not hire me? That's a risk I don't want to take....
Contracting companies don't pay taxes, benefits, work comp, etc. That's why their pay rates are higher. YOU will have to cover all of that for yourself including all taxes.
My personal policy is to politely counter ALL offers. It's silly not to. Do it nicely, provide some reasoning and see what happens. Most places won't immediately pull an offer if you counter.
Is it really? Are you just going by those two numbers 72K vs. 124K? IF this contract position is a 1099, you need to realize that the 124k is the all inclusive cost. In other words, you get to pay your payroll taxes, benefits, vacation, sick leave, 401k, etc. Not to mention you may be looking for another job after 12 months.
To compare apples to apples, you would need to subtract all those costs out of the 124k, or add them into the 72K.
I think you still come out ahead with the contract position. Yes, the Self Employment Tax is higher, but the max Fed tax rate is 35%. You can't collect unemployment after the contract is up but what is that - $13K total? And do you have any guarantee the Permanent job will last longer than a year?
Is it really? Are you just going by those two numbers 72K vs. 124K? IF this contract position is a 1099, you need to realize that the 124k is the all inclusive cost. In other words, you get to pay your payroll taxes, benefits, vacation, sick leave, 401k, etc. Not to mention you may be looking for another job after 12 months.
To compare apples to apples, you would need to subtract all those costs out of the 124k, or add them into the 72K.
I understand but I was thinking more along the lines of what the poster below you is stating.
I was able to find one salary listing for the same position at the same company on glassdoor.com and the salary was $88K. So I'm still thinking a counter might be reasonable.
So, an update for anyone interested...I ended up asking for $10K more and got $2.5K more.
When I countered they called me, inquired where I got the numbers I countered from and I explained. They stated because I haven't worked in industry before, the numbers I had were likely for people who had and already had experience/exposure in the position I'm going to be taking.
They explained the offer was fair and that they didn't think there was much, if any wiggle room. So in the end they came up a little and I'm actually okay with it because it's still more than the initial offer and it's fair enough considering my background to accept. Plus I do have to consider we get that 7% cost sharing in December, although I wasn't initialing considering that and was only keeping base salary in mind.
So I think it all worked out 'okay' and I'm just glad that part is over with. This has been a learning experience though; although I've countered before in the past, I will definitely work on making my negotiation skills better going forward.
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