Blog Post: Finding The Right Job: How Much Salary Do I Need?

Many job seekers have a minimum salary in mind. If an employer offers less, they would consider it unacceptable.  It is very interesting to find out how people come up with this amount.

From my experience, many job seekers determine this amount based on their amount of experience and geographical location.  This makes sense. In reality a store clerk can't expect a $100,000 income if other clerks are making $7.25 an hour.  There is a point where you have to be realistic.

While this all has merit, there is another important factor that is sometimes overlooked or not given enough attention.  In the current job market, you may have to determine an acceptable salary that will allow you to be comfortable.  If your field normally pays $50,000 and there are very few jobs available, you may have to accept less in order to keep marketable experience.  No one wants to accept less than they feel worthy of, but we are in challenging times. 

If you determine that you may need to take less, how much less makes sense?  Though many variables may come into play, at a minimum, determine how much it takes to stay afloat. 

The only way to know this is by making a family budget.  First determine and write down all of your monthly expenses.  For example, you may determine your monthly expenses are $1,500.  To come up with your minimum survival salary, start with $1,500 and consider increasing it by 10% to 20% for a couple of reasons.  First, if you determine that $1500 is the minimum amount, a salary of $1,500 will have you living check to check.  No one wants to do that.  Secondly, we encourage people to save at least 10% of their income.  Unexpected things come up such as automobile expenses, broken household items, etc.  Make sure you have a buffer for emergency funds.  Also, if possible, you want to save for retirement, college funds, etc.  Again, at a minimum, make sure you can save for an emergency fund.

Now that you have come up with your number, you know your minimum amount for survival.  Let's face it.  In these economic times you have to know the minimum, because taking a job that doesn't cover the minimum can lead to a life you don't want to imagine.  Hopefully this minimum amount is a lot less than a job in your field currently pays.  The key is to at least know what it takes to stay afloat.

A. L. BEAN & Company

Consulting, Tax & Accounting

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