People in engineering and technical professions hate hearing that, but it's true. Learn some simple and basic negotiating skills. Even if you don't want to use manipulative techniques on others, at least learn to recognize when you are being manipulated and what to do about it.

Never go into a salary negotiation without a figure in mind. Web sites and industry magazines are good starting points for information on what to expect. Try to get your (prospective) employer to name a figure first, though, in case you're pleasantly surprised :)

Once they make an offer, ask for it in writing (an offer letter) and don't discuss anything else with them until they send it to you. Get a copy of the employee handbook so you can review benefits and check for gotchas. Keep a few recent offer letters and use them in other negotiations; when I moved to Denver, I got a high offer from a company which would have been my last resort, and waved that letter at the president of the company I did want to work for, which got him to raise his offer by 12%.

Walk away from mediocre offers or situations that make you uncomfortable. Don't be rude about it, but make it clear that you are walking away. Some will call you back with more. When I was interviewing in Oregon a company offered me a dream job with the catch that I was expected to put in 70 hour weeks. I told them clearly that I would love to work with them, but couldn't agree to that and went home. The next day they called and offered me the same job for 40 hours a week.

As with anything else, this will improve with experience. I was reamed ridiculously at my first job, but handled the situation better with each move.

Can you work independently? How much guidence do you require for your work?
How dependable are you? Can your manager rely on you to keep the commitments you make?
Can you communicate your ideas to others, orally and with witten documents?
Do you make your manager's job easier or harder?

For a given area, find out what others with similar abilities are making. You should expect the same.
Salary often results from your ability to present your skills, both technical and non-technical, to whomever is doing the interviewing. There is much information on the web on how to do these things. Any of the job search sites, like monster.com, have a lot of good stuff.

Firstly, my background. I have been working in the IT industry since 1977. I wrote C code on one of the first Unix installations in Australia, learning from the legend John Lions. I have been a self employed contractor / consultant for over 7 years, and never been out of a job in that time. When one job finishes, my next contract is lined up to start pretty well the next day. I have found my skills and experience in high demand. OK, enough of the boasting :) (Those really intersted can see my cv from the link on my home node)

In September last year, I spent 5 weeks in Dallas, Texas. Why there - when the Olympic Games were on here in Sydney, Australia? A good personal reason - I am moving to Dallas in a few months after I marry my fiancee, who lives there. I contacted several agencies, and sent expressions of interest to a variety of companies. Most of these positions were (from the job description) identical to what I was doing here, or had done before. All were with organisations that said they would sponsor H1-B applicants.

What was I doing wrong? I started to twig when a most recruiters were not interesting in viewing my resume on line (Strange - you would think that a company wanting a web designer / internet expert would look at that first). No - they wanted my resume in MS Word format, or completed on line using their templates. Most places now have electronic scanning of resumes - and only (humanly) read those that pass the filtering. You need to know exactly what keywords they are filtering on before you can even speak to the non-technical HR / Recruitment person.

Why was I not getting to the first stage? I was too old - at 42. A lot of companies don't want someone with 20 years experience. They want people with two or three at the most - in the current "hot technology" (last year and this year it is Java). They get these young, keen types, with as yet no family committments, that can work for 50, 60 or more hours a week, and then in a few years time, when they are burnt out and have not have a chance to update their skills to the "next hot thing", they are "let go". Even easier if they are a non-immigrant (H1-B) worker - they have to quietly go back home - no severance pay, just "there's the door".

I will be back trying again in June - this time with permanent residency. I will not be stressing the considerable experience I have, rather just things I have done in the last few years.

How does this apply to people starting out, trying to work out what salary they should accept? Firstly, your salary is just one part of what you shoudl be looking for, albeit an important consideration. I have a number of "rules" that I follow when looking for new work:

• Am I prepared to work for that company anyway? There are several places I would not work for, either because of thier reputation in the industry, or my own ethical beliefs. For example, I have refused in the past (and would always do so) to take positions with tobacco companies. You may have your own set of beliefs that you set - remember you have to be comfortable in yourself with what you are doing.
• Is the work being offered something not only can I do, but would I be happy doing? Yes, I can write and maintain Cobol code, but would I want that as a full time job?
• Are the overall working conditions acceptable? Hours, location, travel requirements, expectation of working outrageous hours at no notice, management / employee relations, and so on? You have to work in an environment that you are happy with.
• Are the total benefits acceptable? Salary, training opportunities, employer contribution to superannuation (pension plan), health cover, car, etc.
• What are the career and personal development opportunities

Finally, how do you calculate what you are worth? Turn that question around. What do you need to earn to have the standard of living that you believe is appropriate? Where do you want to be in 5 years time - in 10 years time - in 20 years time? What do you need to get there? Do you intend staying in Seattle, or do you want to go somewhere else? I would imagine you would need a higher salary to have the same standard of living if you wanted to live in the Silicon Valley area.

Finally, as someone who has been through personal ups and downs, don't fall into the trap of thinking that a great job where you earn lots of money will be your ultimate reward. I had that - a great house, fancy car, all that - but in the race to achieve that, I forgot that there are other things more important - your family, friends and partner. Don't lose those because you thing "well, the hours are long, but it will be worth it in the end". Invariably, you discover only too late how important these other things are, and how transient material success can be.

You may find this book interesting.

Too true. I often lose sight of life goals when plotting out career goals. Your words ring true to that bestselling book, "Your Money or Your Life". Thank you for the insight!

Seattle Area with one year: You were pre-med so I assume a degree? That can influence some firms, especially at the low end of experience. (I don't have a degree, but some places are annoying in that way. I guess it shows you can stick through to get a degree.)You're probably making in the low money end, but there are other benefits that may be included. Health Insurance, Stock (wee! stock eq stress), bonuses, etc...
My current job is as a contractor, but my contracting firm pays a salary (I still get OT), pays for my Health Ins, training, and public transportation pass. My actual salary didn't change much from my last job, but I had quite a bit taken out each month for most of the above. I'm currently in Portland, Or which has a similar market to Seattle last I checked so that's why I'm guessing low. If it was SF, that's poverty wages. ;)

On contracting vs. permament employee. If you can do it, contracting can be better. Once you establish yourself, you have a lot more freedom. Though if you're a private contractor you need to be more organized than if you just go through a contracting firm. My experience is that the contracting firm gets a healthy cut. You might be making $35, but you're firm is charging at least $45 with $70 not being unlikely. And if you're private, you can easily buy computer equipment as a tax writeoff. Another reason to be organized. A friend of mine who writes custom software (Perl, C, and systems work) charges around $150/hr + expenses. Lives in Bay Area, works all over.

To answer your questions: Not too bad, and once you show value you can get some drastic jumps in salary. I've gone in and negotiated bad on salaries and wound up getting 25% to 40% pay increases. (8 - 15K) Better to have a firm idea when going in. I have a minimum requirement now, but I pad that up to give them something to cut. Works a lot better.