70K in Nashua (appointed, health insurance, school)

[cabygreen]

as a entry-level signal integrity engineer with master degree,I got salary for 70k. Is it the normal level? plus, there is not too much benefit, no sign up bonus, no annual bonus, no stock option

[cabygreen]

is there anyone who can provide me some opinions?That will help me to decide if I have to negotiate the offer.appreciated!!

[GregW]

Seventy K for an entry level job. I would take it. You can live fairly well in the Nashua area on 70K per year. Sounds like you are going to work for BAE systems. Several of my friends retired from that company or the predecessor.

[miakelly]

That is a very good salary for entry level. My husband used to work for BAE. They are an excellent company to work for. They do have pretty good benefits also.

If that's the company you're talking about : )

Even so, my husband has been in that field for over 10 years and also has a Masters in Engineering. I can tell you that is a fair, reasonable offer for an entry level position.

Is this the first offer they made? You can always counter and ask for more salary, or a sign on bonus. The worst they can say is no. Don't be afraid to counter.

Also, there are websites out there that you can use to determine your market value....I am sorry that I don't know what the name of the sites are, but my husband used it when he started his job search when we were relocating. Maybe someone else will know the name of the websites to do this. Good luck!

[rmcewan]

Did you seriously expect an answer in 45 minutes in the middle of the night? Well you shouldn't expect a response so quickly. And you shouldn't expect a signing bonus for an entry-level position, or an annual bonus for a non-executive post. You're not being drafted for the NFL! Stock options are not offered in most companies, and you are better off negotiating a fixed, known income rather than the possibility of a bonus or stock option profits down the line.

If you get vacation, 401k and health those are good benefits. If you get life insurance and flexible time as well, then those are GREAT benefits.

[BF66389]

70k entry level with a master's is good for the area. It is always smart to negotiate, but not hard enough to slam any doors (ie- don't just go "70k that's great"; but if you ask if they can do 77k and they say "no" then be happy).

Will they be getting you a security clearance as well?

I'd say as long as your benefits include good health insurance, reasonable paid vacation/sick leave, and 401k (or similar) you're good to go. I would only worry about life insurance if others depend on you (wife/kids).

[oddball]

70K for an engineering job (with a Masters) is lower than you could get at equivalent defense contractors over the border in Massachusetts - but you don't have to pay the 5.9% Massachusetts income tax, and don't have to put up with the Massachusetts traffic.

In terms of a signing bonus - they are common for many engineering disciplines, but not usually in aerospace and defense for entry level positions. However, if you are a graduate from a top-notch engineering school (MIT, RPI, etc) then you may have a little bit of negotiating room for a slightly higher salary - but it's likely less than 10%.

Most engineering defense companies (or medical device companies who could also use a signals engineer) today do offer a modest annual bonus - even for entry-level positions (modest being 5% or below).

Benefits typically include 3 weeks of vacation (to start), health, life, and contribution toward a retirement plan. Stock options are usually non-existent at larger defense companies for entry level positions, but some medical device companies may offer reduced price options. Mid to smaller companies are more likely to offer stock options as a way to offset a reduced benefits package.

The other consideration that you didn't mention is "quality of life". Commercial companies tend to demand many more hours a week than defense companies - so take that into consideration as a crucial factor in your evaluation. Medical device companies or others in the Nashua area that use signals engineers may require 10’s of hours more work per week (with no additional compensation). Finally- I would point out that most defense companies have overtime policies even for engineers for anytime worked over 40 hours (driven by government regulations). This is above and beyond your base salary, and sometimes depends on the type of contract, but I would inquire about this possibility as well.

Best of luck - you have some exciting life choices in front of you!

================================================== ======
Go ahead - hit the "Rate this post positively". You know that you wanna.

[cabygreen]

Thanks so much for all your opinions!! You guys help a lot!
In fact,students in our lab mostly got jobs with 75k-85k salary.My expectation is also around this level.So I am just wondering if it is ok to negotiate the salary for 75k in nashua like my situation.I don't want to make the door shut,but I am just a little disappointed with the pay.what do you think?

[miakelly]

It really matters WHERE the other students got jobs......did they get job offers at the same company? Or in Massachusetts? You have to make an accurate comparison.

Mass. will pay higher but as someone mentioned above, you will be taxed so it works out to be about the same.

I think you can definitely go back and ask for $75K, but be prepared to explain why you are asking for more and be able to back it up with something concrete, in case they ask why.

Definitely ask for more if you feel it is . Again, the worst they can say is no and you can still accept the job for $70K. They aren't going to pull the job offer from you, and at least you can say you tried.

[BF66389]

Originally Posted by cabygreen

Thanks so much for all your opinions!! You guys help a lot!
In fact,students in our lab mostly got jobs with 75k-85k salary.My expectation is also around this level.So I am just wondering if it is ok to negotiate the salary for 75k in nashua like my situation.I don't want to make the door shut,but I am just a little disappointed with the pay.what do you think?

I think asking if they could offer you 75k would be fair. As was already mentioned just have some support for it (but don't push it/close the door).

Also as was mentioned location has a lot to do with it- earning 70k in Nashua is A LOT different than earning 70k in Boston.

Then there are quality of life/job expectation differences...

It may be worth it to do some googling for the average salary of someone in your field in the Boston metro area...while its not totally apples-apples; its at least a decent negotiation start.

Again- just don't be rude or pushy...and ask for what you want in an informed/reasonable way.