In our series My Salary Story , women with long-term career experience open up about the most intimate details of their jobs: compensation. It’s an honest look at how real people navigate the complicated world of negotiating, raises, promotions, and job loss, with the hope it will give young women more insight into how to advocate for themselves — and maybe take a few risks along the way.
Been in the workforce for at least eight years and interested in contributing your salary story? Submit your information here.
Previously, we talked to a 33-year old executive assistant who doubled her salary in less than four years, a 37-year old marketing insights manager in the beauty industry who made $85,000 at an internship, and a 37-year old IT professional who got an $8,000 raise with a counter offer.
Age: 30
Current Location: Los Angeles, CA
Current Industry & Title: Financial Services, Technical Analyst
Starting Salary: $32,000 in 2012
Current Salary: $110,000 + up to 10% in yearly bonus
Number Of Years Employed: 6 (almost 7)
Biggest Salary Jump: " From $55,000 to $75,000 in 2014"
Biggest Salary Drop: "I'm so lucky to never have dealt with this yet."
Biggest Salary Negotiation Regret: "Not putting very explicit legally binding terms in the contract."
Best Salary-Related Advice: "Always ask. Asking for more doesn't invalidate the offer they gave you in any way — so always ask."
"I was looking for a full-time job, and recruiters found me and a handful of other recent graduates with different degrees and gave us on-the-ground training.
"They put me on the GE account so I was actually recruiting oil field workers, and it was really interesting how I could apply some of my technical knowledge around physics and STEM. I’d use LinkedIn and various other tools to search these people out for this industry. I did this for about six months."
"I scoured every job board I could until I found one person who was looking to train someone with no experience in a relatively challenging industry. I actually found the opportunity on Reddit.
"This person was 100% willing to take a chance on me knowing that I had no experience but I think they saw in me an ability to learn and a methodical mind, two things that are incredibly important for QAs. You can learn software engineering without being incredibly technical or have development skills, but it helps if you have the right mindset.
"QAs makes sure everything looks good and there are no errors, and the product is ready to go to the customers. It was an incredibly boring and repetitive job."
"I wrote a whole bunch of code and worked with a developer to fix it, and we got the project deployed out to a major film studio. My boss realized I was doing a lot more work than a QA. So they talked to me about moving into a new role as a product manager, and I was promoted.
"They made me an offer, and I argued with them about money. I demanded a new title and a raise. I was able to negotiate from $32,500 to $37,500.
"I was always negotiating with this company about money. It was a little bit like fighting for my right to eat. At that time I wasn’t making enough money, and I needed more money — to pay rent, to eat. And they wouldn’t budge.
"They refused to pay me industry standards or what my male counterparts were making. I was always, always asking about money."
"Six months later, I was transferred to a new boss. He raised my salary to $42,500 and promoted me to product manager.
"When I brought up money with him, he laid out a plan for me that said every year I was going to get a $5,000 bump. At the time, product managers in my state were between $112,00-$125,00. I was making much less."
"After a month or two, I was transferred to another boss. The company had people quit and shuffle around all the time. I was transferred to work under a female boss, and I continued with the same project, making myself an Subject Matter Expert (SME) on anything I could. I became so close with our customers' products that I was indispensable for the success of the project. So again, I asked for a new title and more money.
"Then I was sexually harassed by my previous boss who promised me $5,000 yearly raises. I ended up quitting."
"At my last job, I was always working late and eventually became close to the woman who came in to clean the office at night.
"She let slip that if I happened to leave my résumé on my desk in an envelope with her name on it, it would find its way to some good people. And it actually did.
"She gave my résumé to her husband who worked at a financial technology firm. I ended up interviewing and getting a job with them. I was offered $75,000, and I accepted without any negotiation. I was so flabbergasted at that much money I took it immediately and didn't question. I ended up meeting my husband a few months into working there."
"In my new role, I took on extended responsibilities and managed a direct report. But they didn't offer me a raise.
"I went into the job market and interviewed with a similar company who offered me more money. Putting that offer in front of my boss helped to convince him to counter, which I happily accepted and turned down the other offer."
"Within the same year, I still needed more money. My last job wanted to promote me, and I wanted to move laterally. The job they wanted to put me in was miserable. So I started looking for another job.
"After I got this offer, I had trouble negotiating. I wanted to break the six-figure ceiling with this job change. They were firm with their $95,000 offer, but I managed to get a $10,000 bonus before the end of the year.
"I hated this position. For eight hours a day I was sitting and staring at my computer screen, I wasn't using any of my skills from my degree in astrophysics. I would say if anything this was the job that was an actual step back in my career. Not salary wise, just career wise.
"My previous job was challenging, there were great people who worked at the company, I was always learning. This was the most boring company, and I wasn’t even using my brain. Still, I don’t regret it. I made an executive decision, and it was really empowering. Part of growing is learning what works and what doesn’t work.
"After eleven months, I was fired. They could tell I was unhappy, and I was making everyone else unhappy. I didn’t want to be there so they made the right decision."
"This was a contract-to-hire position I picked up at $50/hour when I was fired from the last position. The contract they set me up with was not the position they matched me with. The skillset mismatch was a big indicator that there would be no way I could be successful in the position.
"In addition, I had to travel every week all around the country, which was not in original contract, and the company didn't follow through on their commitments outlined in my contract such as quarterly bonuses or reimbursement of personal travel expenses."
"I signed on as a full-time employee by the company who brought me on for the contract-to-hire position. I was offered $102,000 plus quarterly bonuses based on company performance. Eventually, the company didn’t follow through on the contract terms and bailed on the pre-negotiated bonuses they owed me. But I stayed because I needed a job.
"I moved onto a government contract working on a federal military property where I had a lot of problems and the leadership onsite made me uncomfortable. They would make jokes about how they’d barter alone time with me for services. Every single room had locks, and I worked with mostly men. I just didn’t feel safe.
"After about two months, I refused to go back onsite, and they told me they were going to find a new place for me, but they never did. So I ended up leaving."
"I picked up a contract position when I quit my last job because of sexual harassment and misconduct."
"This was a transition over from the contract position to a full-time role. I really love my colleagues, I work for an awesome female VP, and most of our team is also women.
"Though I was technically making more money as a contractor, I often felt unsafe and there was no one who was going to fight for me. I got sexually harassed multiple times and nothing happened.
"I’m at the point now where I get that it’s not all about money. And yet, I say this from a position where I have money, and I know that when you don’t have money it is all about money. But it’s a toss up."
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I Went 7 Years Without A Promotion — & It Taught Me How To Negotiate