r/Salary

That's a fantasy, ngl. I wept at the thought. Never made more than $20/hour after college. And $24 still isn't shit in this economy but certainly would've been better than ruining my health for ass wages.

Most people I know aren't really doing much better either. One's at a call center making 42k/year, another's at a grocery store making $19/hour, etc. And we're all in hcol areas. Feels bad. One of em has been considering a life of crime. I might follow suit. At least that way we can afford shelter, right? And we'll be getting tax refunds.

Gen Z as a whole is unemployable tbh.

Everything else is so oversaturated I'll never be able to get a job in it

I’m curious to get some opinions from people who have experience with corporate HR/management. I work for a large financial services organization in Canada.

My AVP recently called me out of the blue and told me that HR had reviewed my salary against the industry/market standards for my role. She said they were increasing it by around 3% and congratulated me, saying it was a reward for my hard work.

I never asked for a raise or requested a compensation review.

One thing that makes me curious is that a little while ago, I applied internally for an AI-related role and mentioned it to my manager. She said thanks for letting her know, and I didn’t think much of it.

When my AVP called me about the salary increase while my manager was sitting right beside me. My manager saw the call and even messaged me asking, “all good?” After the call, I told my manager about the salary adjustment, and she seemed genuinely unaware that it was happening.

So I’m wondering: Is it normal for HR/leadership to proactively review someone’s salary and increase it without the employee asking? Could the internal AI application have triggered some kind of compensation/retention discussion? And is it possible for an AVP/HR to make this kind of adjustment without the direct manager knowing beforehand?

I’m not complaining at all 😄 — I’m very happy about it. I’m just curious whether this is a normal corporate thing or if there’s more context behind it that I’m missing.

https://preview.redd.it/rra20ft15dkh1.png?width=742&format=png&auto=webp&s=651cebcfb461cd6ffa4b10426a06813fda82913b

Hi all! I was recently offered a job as a Test Engineering Technician at a company, with a pay of 32.88/hr.

I have a BS in Electronics Engineering Technology (but no prior work experience) and the pay scale for this position is 32.88-48.00. I have been looking for a job in my field for a very, very long time. And I’m super grateful to finally be given opportunity. But it’s a bit disheartening to be offered something at the bottom of the scale. Do you think I should negotiate for something higher? The benefits are good.

I’m 24 and currently making about $52k/year as a Sales & Digital Marketing Coordinator for a wedding venue in Pennsylvania.

I’ve been there for about a year and I genuinely like a lot of my job. I handle sales, proposals, tours, couples, social media, website work, marketing, etc. I’ve also generated roughly $1M in wedding sales without any commission.

The problem is the lifestyle.

I work weddings, so weekends are basically gone. Event days can be 12-14 hours. I carry a work phone and feel like I’m reachable constantly. There have also been some management/coworker issues that have added a lot of stress. I’ve reached the point where I don’t think the job is sustainable for me long term even though I’m very emotionally attached to the couples and the venue.

I recently received an offer for a Sales & Marketing Coordinator position at a company in Pittsburgh for $65,000/year.

It would be a more traditional weekday schedule and eventually hybrid after the first few months. I’d get my weekends back, have much clearer separation between work and my personal life, and it would also allow me to move to Pittsburgh, which is something I’ve wanted to try.

I was basically prepared to accept it.

Then my current employer found out I might leave and things escalated quickly. The owners want to meet with me and I’ve been told they’re preparing to offer me a “crazy raise.” One of the major coworker issues I’ve had may also be eliminated after this wedding season.

So now I’m trying to figure out what number would actually make staying worthwhile.

Going from $52k to $65k is already a 25% increase. If my current employer offered $65k, I don’t think I’d stay because the new job still wins on lifestyle.

If they offered $70k? Probably still no.

$75k-$80k is where I start wondering if I’d be stupid not to seriously consider it.

But even then, I’d still be giving up weekends, dealing with weddings/events, being tied to the work phone, and staying in an environment that already pushed me close to burnout.

I also worry about looking like a job hopper if I leave. My previous job lasted about 8 months and I’ve been at this one about a year. At the same time, the Pittsburgh job seems much more sustainable and like somewhere I could actually stay for several years.

For people who have dealt with counteroffers or chosen between salary and work-life balance:
How much more would your current employer have to pay you to give up weekends and a more predictable schedule?

Would you take the $65k job and move on regardless of the counteroffer, or is there a number where staying becomes the smarter financial decision?

Currently 3x week in the city, great work life balance. Generally like my job and love my manager. 2025 TC was 150(120 base 30 bonus).
Up for promo in January would bump me to 140 base. Not a great year for the firm so not sure what bonus would look like.

Just received an offer for 130 base and 35k bonus, with a 20k sign on for a total of 185k first year comp. My actual total comp is 165 without the sign on. Projection for next year would get me closer to 200. I can probably get them to bump the sign on to 30 to get me to 195. Sign ons are one time though, so I can’t base it just off of that.
4 days a week, likely longer hours, but with a more prestigious firm and broader team.

I’d be leaving my current firm ahead of our busiest season and am feeling very conflicted. I plan on calling my manager today (whom I am very friendly with) and being honest. Received an offer, this is what it is, ideally I stay, do you think we can get me close to this in the upcoming cycle?

What would you do?
The new firm seems exciting and appears to have more room for growth. I’d potentially be taking a small temporary pay cut but is it really worth it?
At the end of the day, I’m very comfortable in my current seat and the flexibility is excellent. I worry about my growth here. New firm is verbally extremely excited to be offering me the role as I apparently checked every box (I am a pro at the main system I’d be using there, which they are in desperate need of).

Whats reasonable for how much should I be making?

30m, we currently have 3 stores & i can do just about any job/repair that comes through the door.

Currently get paid $20.5/hr + 11% commision...

I'm a 2026 graduate, and I've been looking for a Software Engineering job for more than 6 months now.

I've spent years learning DSA, competitive programming and development. I have a decent profile, built projects, solved a lot of problems, and genuinely tried to improve myself.

I've applied through company websites, LinkedIn, referrals, cold emails, job portals, pretty much every route I could think of.

But the hardest part isn't getting rejected.

It's not even getting the chance to be rejected.

It's applying again and again, putting hours into applications, seeing hundreds of other people applying, and then getting absolutely nothing back.

At first, I was confident that if I kept working hard, something would eventually work out.

Then months passed.

Now I'm at a point where I'm still trying, but the motivation isn't the same anymore. It's difficult to keep convincing yourself that the next application might be different when you've already sent so many.

I'm only 21, so I know I have plenty of time. But watching months go by without being able to start my career is genuinely depressing.

I don't want sympathy. I just wanted to know if anyone else has been through this phase and eventually managed to turn things around.

Because right now, I'm slowly running out of hope.

What’s your title/salary, school length (preferably less than 6 years including undergraduate), and lifestyle? What steps did you take to get to your career?

Edit: thank you everyone for sharing! One more ask: what specific internships, projects, and/or activities during university or your life actually helped you land your first role in the field? And how did you start/find them?