Said It Here

How to negotiate a salary for the first time

First-time negotiators often lack direction on what is fair or what peers in their field are earning. This uncertainty makes it difficult to advocate for a career-changing offer or handle the stress of leaving a current employer before a busy season.

Overview
People affected6 accounts across 3 forums
Workarounds found7 items attempted
Community agreement12 total upvotes

What the numbers show

Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count

  • People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
  • This comes up 78.9× more often in r/careerguidance than across the site as a whole.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

7 items+ Contribute

Found another way around this?

Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.

  1. 1
    talking to the owner to renegotiate pay structures
    Did this help you?
  2. 2
    learning about piece work rates to propose in compensation talks
    Did this help you?
  3. 3
    Asking online career forums for advice on local compensation ranges
    Did this help you?
  4. 4
    Comparing potential accounting salaries against earnings from non-degree jobs
    Did this help you?
  5. 5
    Ask the recruiter about the discrepancy.
    Did this help you?
  6. 6
    Let them offer first then negotiate.
    Did this help you?
  7. 7
    Ask about stock or other non-cash compensation.
    Did this help you?
Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/Accounting2 people · September 2026 – October 2026

“I have been preparing all weekend and it’s an opportunity that would change my career trajectory and personal life. Any tips?”source ↗

“I also wouldn’t know how to tell my current employer I’m leaving before busy season starts and a short tenure.”source ↗

No_Reward_8831 · r/Accounting · 6 upvotes

“What is a fair salary because I have no clue what I’m supposed to think is fair or not”source ↗

“Any advice would help because I don’t wanna seem ungrateful, but I also don’t wanna be taken advantage of”source ↗

AffectionateRatio470 · r/Accounting · 2 upvotes
r/careerguidance3 people · October 2026 – November 2026

“The range was 140 to 220. Recruiter said “we need to not go over 150.” I was glad to decline the offer.”source ↗

btt_lckr · r/careerguidance · 2 upvotes

“They don't want to cheat themselves by asking for less, or get screened out for asking for an unrealistic amount.”source ↗

nian2326076 · r/careerguidance · 1 upvotes

“is there a general rule? how much higher than a base pay can you ask for. for ex if a job has a listed base pay for 75k, how much can you realistically aim for.”source ↗

Majestic_Cap2793 · r/careerguidance
r/hvacadvice1 person · September 2026

“I have sold multiple jobs on my own and have closed them out completely and I still only get the $200 commission”source ↗

“I am just looking for some direction and help on how much is fair and what other technicians are getting out here”source ↗

“no matter what I am at 25 an hour unless I make 25% profit that equals more than my thousand dollar pay”source ↗

boofy333 · r/hvacadvice · 1 upvotes

Where this came up

r/Accountingr/careerguidancer/hvacadvicecareercareer advicecompensationentry levelhvacjob searchjob transitionsalary negotiation

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