Author Topic: Another Update!: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?  (Read 24655 times)

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #50 on: May 22, 2015, 08:11:04 AM »
Yeah!

Neustache

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Re: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #51 on: May 22, 2015, 09:03:31 AM »
OHMYGOODNESS!!  Please post salary updates...if you don't mind.  Very excited for you!

BBub

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Re: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #52 on: May 22, 2015, 12:43:44 PM »
Wow, that is awesome!  Good for you.  Can't wait to see the updates.

SwedishChef

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #53 on: May 27, 2015, 10:14:37 AM »
Alrighty guys, I have an official offer in-hand for the Predictive Analytics job:

They're offering me $60,000, a pretty big bump from what I'm making now. I have to wait till Monday to tell my boss I have an offer, though. I fully intend to take this new job, and they know I'm excited about it, but I'm wondering if that hurts me in salary negotiation...? I'd like to maximize what I can get at this point, knowing that this is where women often take a hit in compensation.

Start date is also up-in-the-air. I need to find out the ideal phase-out/transitional period for my current job, plus I have a family commitment out of town the week of July 13th. I also want to remain long enough to get my bonus in mid-June! Ergh...timing is everything, huh? Ideally, I'd like to start July 20th...but that may be asking too much. We'll see.

Other relevant info:

  • They match 6% on their 401(k) plan, potentially up to 10% based on profit sharing. No vesting period.
  • 20 days of PTO
  • High-deductible/HSA plan offered with a suite of wellness programs
  • $6,000 annual stipend for training, conferences, or educational opportunities

I'm still processing a lot of this. Thoughts?

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #54 on: May 27, 2015, 10:27:10 AM »
That's more like it. I would do some research on Glassdoor and other sites to see if you can get the salary higher, though. It's a huge improvement, of course.

asiljoy

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #55 on: May 27, 2015, 10:41:50 AM »
That educational stipend is pretty sweet. I didn't know that was a thing!

Axecleaver

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #56 on: May 27, 2015, 11:07:27 AM »
Quote
I have an official offer in-hand for the Predictive Analytics job:
That's awesome!

Quote
I fully intend to take this new job, and they know I'm excited about it, but I'm wondering if that hurts me in salary negotiation...? I'd like to maximize what I can get at this point, knowing that this is where women often take a hit in compensation.
Not at all, that's considered good manners. When you hire people, you want them to be excited about it. You have two things to negotiate, a start date and a starting salary. You can provide a small counteroffer, but realize that if they say no, you're going to accept their initial offer. I'm a big believer in not coming to the table unless you're willing to walk away. You're not - so that will restrict your performance in negotiations. If they turn down a salary increase, you can negotiate other things (soft comp) like vacation and work from home privileges. A signing bonus of up to 20% is common in some industries, and may be worth asking for if they don't increase the salary.

Quote
I have to wait till Monday to tell my boss I have an offer, though.

I recommend you don't turn in your notice until you receive your bonus. Most bonuses are completely discretionary (as opposed to contractually defined), and it's customary to pull those back for people who leave before they're awarded. You should discuss this with your new employer, though, since that's two weeks away. If you turn in notice right after the bonus, that's four weeks total. Two weeks notice is standard in the US, although some people negotiate longer periods, it's usually not very helpful. The sooner you start, the sooner you get your 50% raise. Seven weeks is an unusually long period to stick around.

It can't hurt to ask your new employer, but be sure they understand you're flexible on start date. You don't want a seven week delay to scuttle the deal.

Make sure to bring the offer letter to your current job. Who knows, they may give you a sweet counteroffer.

Quote
They match 6% on their 401(k) plan, potentially up to 10% based on profit sharing. No vesting period.
20 days of PTO
High-deductible/HSA plan offered with a suite of wellness programs
$6,000 annual stipend for training, conferences, or educational opportunities

The 401k and 4 weeks PTO is above-average, way to go!

midweststache

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #57 on: May 27, 2015, 03:48:30 PM »
Congrats on the new job! How exciting! If we go back to your original post...

1. How will this new job effect your monthly surplus?
2. What is your plan for paying off the car loans? Are those taking priority (at least the 3.1%) over 2015 IRA contributions and a down payment, or did you decide to allocate proportionally?
3. Will you stick with your husband's HSA plan, or is the one with your new job more competitive?

I'm just going to assume you're upping your 401k contribution to achieve the max match... ;)


SwedishChef

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #58 on: May 28, 2015, 07:28:45 AM »
Quote
Not at all, that's considered good manners. When you hire people, you want them to be excited about it. You have two things to negotiate, a start date and a starting salary. You can provide a small counteroffer, but realize that if they say no, you're going to accept their initial offer. I'm a big believer in not coming to the table unless you're willing to walk away. You're not - so that will restrict your performance in negotiations. If they turn down a salary increase, you can negotiate other things (soft comp) like vacation and work from home privileges. A signing bonus of up to 20% is common in some industries, and may be worth asking for if they don't increase the salary.

Here are the circumstances: new employer wants the offer signed and returned by tomorrow (Friday; 48-hour turnaround period). However, my boss is out of the office until Monday, meaning my current employer can't 1) get a counteroffer together till next week, and 2) establish a departure timeline for me. I'll likely need more than two weeks considering the nature of the work -- large projects need to be handed over to other people. The new employer knows this, but said to just email them the signed offer on Friday regardless, with the understanding that some specifics are not set in stone (such as start date and salary). 

I'd also like to ask for $65,000 from the new employer, but I don't know how much leverage I have at this point. I honestly don't know if/how much my current employer will counter with, and when they'll even get a counteroffer together. How should I approach this with this set of circumstances in mind?

Quote
I recommend you don't turn in your notice until you receive your bonus.

Given the above, how will this work? Note that the pay out date is June 11. It's a nice little chunk of change, but honestly, one paycheck from the new job will be more than the bonus.


ZiziPB

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #59 on: May 28, 2015, 08:27:23 AM »
I'd say, don't let the new employer pressure you into accepting.  Go back and ask for the money you want (asking for $65,000 when they offered $60K is very reasonable) and the starting date you want.  As to the bonus, you could also for a sign up bonus from the new employer.  Explain that you are walking away from a bonus in your current position in the very near future.  Employers are generally very receptive to things like this and don't mind a one time payment to incentivize the right hire. 

I'm not sure why you would wait for a counter offer from the current job.  They are so far apart in terms of compensation that they are not likely to come close.  And if they matched the new salary, would you stay?  I thought there were other issues there that didn't quite work for you (like inability to work from home, etc.).


asiljoy

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #60 on: May 28, 2015, 08:32:29 AM »
Realistically, what would it take in the counter-offer for your to stay? Is it just about the money? Or does this new position afford you opportunities that your current position just can't?

You can counter without an offer from your current employer. Simply say you've done your research and you feel you're worth X. Given the demand for your talents (and there is demand, I'm in the same industry), I would say 65,000 is reasonable, 70,000 wouldn't be out of the question (I'm in a different city, I don't quite know how it translates).


But yes, don't let them pressure you. Just let them know you don't feel comfortable accepting this position without discussing it with your current manager, who you have a good relationship with and don't want to burn any bridges.


SwedishChef

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #61 on: May 28, 2015, 10:05:56 AM »
All excellent points -- thank you! I just gave them my counteroffer -- we'll see what happens. I asked for $67,000 and my desired start date, explaining my bonus situation. I'm anticipating they'll come back with $65k and have me start on my desired start date, with perhaps a couple of days of docked PTO. I'd be fine with that.

MonkeyJenga

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #62 on: May 28, 2015, 10:20:42 AM »
Congratulations and good luck! I would be shocked if they didn't budge on salary. In general, every single person with any corporate job offer has automatic leverage: they want to hire you! They spent time looking at resumes and interviewing people, and decided on you. Salaries have ranges, companies never offer the top of the range to start, recruiters want to close the position, managers want to get someone in to dump work on, and thus you have leverage.

SwedishChef

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #63 on: May 28, 2015, 12:00:23 PM »
Congratulations and good luck! I would be shocked if they didn't budge on salary. In general, every single person with any corporate job offer has automatic leverage: they want to hire you! They spent time looking at resumes and interviewing people, and decided on you. Salaries have ranges, companies never offer the top of the range to start, recruiters want to close the position, managers want to get someone in to dump work on, and thus you have leverage.

Ugh, I hope so. I got a call a few minutes ago from their HR department regarding the counteroffer. They make it sound like they're jumping through hoops to ask for it...I just used the lost bonus as my main emphasis -- trying to "minimize that loss" is how I put it. But it makes you feel guilty for even asking, and then my paranoid brain goes, "That's it -- you lost the job!"

This is why I hate negotiating.

ZiziPB

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #64 on: May 28, 2015, 12:13:06 PM »
Good job on asking for more and don't worry - it will be fine!  The recruiters always make people feel like that.  Don't let them.  The company wants you and they will give you more money.

MonkeyJenga

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #65 on: May 28, 2015, 12:36:25 PM »
I can 100% guarantee that you are not the first person who has asked for a higher starting salary. This is a game, and they are trying to intimidate you into accepting less money. When I was offered my current role, and I acted displeased with the money, I was told it was the highest possible salary for a new hire, they were doing so much for me, etc. I waited a few days, they offered me a signing bonus. Tada! Last week I found out I had been offered the exact midpoint of the job's salary range.

If they rescind the offer because of your request, you don't want to work there anyway. That would be bonkers.

expatartist

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #66 on: May 28, 2015, 05:35:53 PM »
They may have been telling the truth with the midpoint offer.  That is our new HR policy -- new hires can be offered no higher than the midpoint of the salary band for their position.  Not that it can't be negotiated, as anything can, but in an organization like mine negotiating exceptions to these general HR rules is VERY challenging.

My org as well has a solid salary scale, based on documented years of experience. It's the other perks which can - sometimes - be negotiated, and they can be quite substantial.

Best of luck OP! You're going to be fine ;)

MonkeyJenga

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #67 on: May 28, 2015, 05:51:29 PM »
They may have been telling the truth with the midpoint offer.  That is our new HR policy -- new hires can be offered no higher than the midpoint of the salary band for their position.  Not that it can't be negotiated, as anything can, but in an organization like mine negotiating exceptions to these general HR rules is VERY challenging.

That's true. I completely believed them at the time, and still think it's feasible, mainly because they came back with a one time bonus, not a higher salary. My main point is that, even with that restriction, and after acting like all their teeth had already been pulled, they still came up with a little more cash.

Spondulix

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #68 on: May 28, 2015, 11:03:03 PM »
SwedishChef sounds like you did an awesome job in negotiating!! They offered what worked best for them, you said what worked for you, and you'll probably meet somewhere in the middle. If you're not interested in keeping your current job, I wouldn't even bother with a counter-offer... you don't need it. You asked for a good amount above what they offered and have legit reasons for asking for a bonus (which is smart to do up front). Worst case, they come back and say no (for someone to rescind an offer after that much interviewing would be ridiculous). It never can hurt to ask. :)

lemanfan

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #69 on: May 28, 2015, 11:20:52 PM »
This is fun to follow, congratulations on the new job!

SwedishChef

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #70 on: May 29, 2015, 10:35:04 AM »
Well -- you all were right! They budged on the number, and my official offer is now $65,000! Just what I was hoping for. I'm going to be sending in my signature by the end of business today -- it's official!

Thank you everyone for all of the encouragement! This feels amazing. Honestly, some of the feedback I was getting here helped me make some tough decisions -- and it was all worth it! This is a huge step up for me not just in pay, but in my career prospects and trajectory: I'll be working in a Fortune 500 corporate office (they're in the 230-250 range on the list, I think...), working on analytic projects affecting the whole of the business. Actually, one of my interviewing tests was giving a technical presentation to non-technical people -- later they said I'll likely be giving presentations to VPs and the CEO. Intimidating, yes, but what an incredible networking and professional opportunity!

I'm deeply grateful, you guys. Thank you!
« Last Edit: May 29, 2015, 10:56:35 AM by SwedishChef »

ZiziPB

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #71 on: May 29, 2015, 10:41:53 AM »
Excellent - well done!  Congratulations!

MDM

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #72 on: May 29, 2015, 11:34:48 AM »
Congratulations!

It would be interesting to see how things are going in a year.  Enquiring Minds.... ;)

hazenp

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #73 on: May 29, 2015, 12:55:55 PM »
This thread is amazing. 20K+ increase in income in just a month!

Congrats

lemanfan

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #74 on: May 29, 2015, 02:41:39 PM »
Excellent!

Neustache

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Re: UPDATED: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #75 on: May 29, 2015, 03:02:15 PM »
Congrats!!!  Very cool - so happy for you!

SwedishChef

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Now that I’ve had some time to settle into the new job – five weeks in the books and going well! – I wanted to update everyone on my situation, and look for some advice now that my circumstances have changed.

This was definitely a major step up on multiple fronts. Not only am I doing much more intensive and innovative work in the predictive analytics field, but I really feel like this company takes care of its people. They’re also privately-owned (one of the largest privately-owned companies in the country, in fact), and will open up shares to employees after x years of service. It’s definitely there to build in loyalty, though – we’ll see if I ever decide to buy into that. (If we ever went public though, those could be hugely profitable…)

Updated Info

Income:
Gross Annual: $125,000 ($65,000 me + $60,000 husband)
Monthly Take-home: ~$7000

Income/Benefits Breakdown:

Me: ~$900 weekly, contributing 6% to 401(k) with 6% match. Most years the company does an additional 4% contribution (to 10%) as their way of profit-sharing.

Him: Hasn’t changed…$3330/month, continuing to contribute to an HSA and his state retirement account to the tune of 9.8%.

Monthly Expenses:

This hasn’t changed much from before, BUT – now we’re only paying $25 (!!!) for phones each month! My husband switched to Republic Wireless, and my new job gave me an iPhone 6. They encourage us to use it as our personal phone if we wish, even assuming my personal Verizon contract and porting my number over, so I now have a free phone! Instant $1000 a year savings!

I’m also working to optimize our grocery budget as much as possible. Current goal is to get it down to $350 from $400. Found an Aldi in town and that’s helping!

Total Expenses:
~$2380, leaving ~$4620 left over.

New questions/plans regarding savings:

  • New 401(k): Our plan is with Wells Fargo (yuck) without the quality of fund choices I had at my previous employer’s 401(k). That one was through Fidelity. Has anyone dealt with Wells Fargo’s funds before? I’m tempted to just throw mine into their Target Retirement Fund and not worry about it.
  • I’ll be rolling over my old employer’s 401(k) into a Vanguard Traditional IRA. This account will become the one I continue to make IRA contributions to going forward.
  • What should I do with my Roth IRA? It has about $1050 in there, but at this point it’s more advantageous to contribute to a Traditional. I know you can convert a Traditional to a Roth, but does that work in reverse? Or should I just leave it alone?

Going Forward:
  • The car from the original post is now paid off! Just got the title in the mail. The only debt we have left is my car (somewhere around $9k at 0.9%). Gonna leave that alone.
  • We really want to start looking for a house (and yes, we do want a house) a year from now. Our goal is to save up a $40,000 downpayment, establishing a $200,000 ceiling and ensuring at least 20% down. We’re looking at buying in the $175-$180k range, though. I’ll either keep it in our savings account, or open a separate money market account with our bank…
  • That being said, it’ll take about 10 months to save the $40k assuming we save about $4000 a month. Problem is, I’d still like to get something into our IRAs for the 2015 tax year. Competing goals and priorities…not quite sure how to reconcile these two.

Long-term Goals:
This is something I really didn’t address much in my first post. Right now, it’s all about solidifying and establishing our careers, which includes stair-stepping as much as we can on the income front. It’s now my husband’s turn to do that – he’s looking to jump ship in the next six months.

As we move forward though, things become more uncertain. My husband and I definitely want to have a couple of children, and our window for that is about 5 years from now (puts me in my early thirties). The thing I am really struggling with is how we’re going to balance young children and our careers. I’m painfully aware of what could happen to my (potentially) lucrative career if I decide to stay home with children, but I also know the consequences of me continuing to work fulltime. Part of the reason for us getting our finances as comfortable and tight as possible now is to ensure future flexibility in our lives.

Spondulix

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One thing to consider when you're talking about being in a good financial place for having kids: how much money would you need on hand to not have to worry about the time off? Do you want the option to stay at home if you choose to? The reason I ask is it might be good planning to look at both goals now - even if it's a little every month (over five years it'll add up). It may seem rational to save for the house and then take care of family planning, but there are always extra house costs after you move in, plans for big future repairs etc- even on a house in good condition. Add into the mix a spouse who's changing jobs (or career paths) and you may have other slowdowns to your savings along the way.

I've been on a similar path but a few years ahead (already in the house, ready to have kids) and the big thing I'm thinking about now is financial security during that time off - I want the financial option to take a year (but likely won't). There does come a point where that career drive changes, too, and cash opens up a lot of doors (if you put it all into a mortgage downpayent, it's tied up in the loan).
It's one thing to budget six months on one salary and it's another level of security to actually have the money in an account. In retrospect, I wish I had focused more on my emergency fund... Or better yet a "time off" account.

MidWestLove

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congratulations on the interview - however 60k is still lowballing by huge amount. did you had to disclose them the former 43k salary?

I can not get DBAs (forget data science professionals) for that amount as this is what you pay to someone straight out of college and with less than two years of experience.  Data science, and your skills are easily around 100k right now, do not see yourself short

john c

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I have a couple of kids, that have been in grade school for several years each.  My wife took off 7 years from working, and now works 8-10 hours per week.  She's lucky that she works mostly during school hours or at home in the evening, and makes very good money.

One thing we've found is that taking time off from your career has very little impact in the long run.  My wife, who has a Phd in her field (bio sci), was able to make a couple of calls and found a job for higher hourly pay and less hours than the one she left 7 years prior.  If you have education and skills that are valuable, YOU are valuable.  At worst, you may have to accept a lower-rung position for a year until you get your experience honed with the latest tools and methods.

Also, if you decide to go to work part-time when your youngest is in school, you may find yourself in a lower rung position because you're working part time.  Don't worry about it.  If you don't FIRE, which you are likely to do in short order on your current path, you will be working until age 65.  Once your kids are in high school or out of the house, you'll have plenty of time to work full time.  You'll quickly be back to where you would have been if you'd not stopped working.

Take the time to be there for your kids.  You won't regret it.  We appreciate every minute with our kids, and don't regret one iota of our decision, though it extended FI by a couple of years.  The one thing I realize now that my son is 10, is that I'll only have him in the house for another 8 years.  At your age, that probably seems like an eternity.  At my age.....that seems like an instant.

FIPurpose

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Re: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #80 on: July 27, 2015, 01:05:38 PM »
This thread encouraged me to ask for a raise today. Thank you to whoever posted the 'get raised' website. I put in a request for a 12% raise. Though I do work at a Fortune 50 company, so we will see if that actually produces anything.
Woohoo!! Definitely give us an update on that :)

So the story is not by any means over, but I thought I would give the details up tilll now.

I left a note on my boss's desk that I got from the 'get raised' website and a few modifications to it that I thought were particularly weak.

My boss met with me 2 days later to tell me that he has been trying to get funding for a raise for the past month, and that this letter may help swing corporate to make a decision quicker.

So no official raise as of yet. The bureaucracy only reviews requests once a month, so I'll have to wait on an official review until then,  but I know that I've done everything I can save get a job offer and that my boss has done everything he can. Definitely glad I went through with it.

I'll be back to report how the salary gods answered my petition.

Well finally got a answer back after almost a month.

Got a  5% bump! Not a huge move but it is something. Still working out the details to how this changes my FIRE timline :)

SwedishChef

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Re: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #81 on: August 05, 2015, 11:22:35 AM »
I do have a lingering question to pose to you guys: I'm rolling my previous 401(k) into a Traditional IRA at Vanguard (more advantageous at this point, tax-wise), but I still have a Roth with a little over $1000 in it. What should I do with that? Just leave it alone and start contributing exclusively to a Traditional IRA?

And thanks for the sage advice about kids vs. career. Thankfully, I'm pretty sure my new employer will offer me quite a bit of flexibility, like work-from-home and part-time options in the 12 months after having a child. My position is very knowledge-based (both in the industry domain and in advanced analytics), and they've told me it's a bear to find people with the skill sets they want. Once I'm established here, it'll be a MUCH bigger pain for the them to find and retrain a replacement than it would be for me to work 20 hours a week for a year.

Well finally got a answer back after almost a month.

Got a  5% bump! Not a huge move but it is something. Still working out the details to how this changes my FIRE timline :)

Congrats! May not be a huge move, but it's better than a 0% bump. :)




FIPurpose

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Re: Another Update!: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #82 on: August 05, 2015, 11:54:16 AM »
Somewhat similar to you, I have a $5k Roth from the days that I did not make nearly as much money as I do now. I have it 100% in VTSMX. It's probably more trouble to mess with it than it is worth. My plan is to leave it as is until I quit my job and can start converting m tIRA to the Roth.

Easye418

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Re: Younger couple starting out -- can we pick your brain?
« Reply #83 on: August 05, 2015, 01:56:40 PM »
Hi SwedishChef,
 
I worked in a Fortune 500 as a director for seven years over a department 110 people. I have to disagree with the status quo advice in this thread so far. I think you should hang in there for one more year, because you have so little experience.

Big companies do not give significant raises, no matter how awesome you are. A 6% raise is unusually high, especially for someone with less than a year of experience. The way to get raises is to change jobs, ideally every two years.

I would guess that you got the top performance rating, which is usually 1-2% of the workforce. In my company, we rated every person from 1-5, where 1 was awesome, 3 was average, and 4 and 5 were performance problems. The distribution was:
 1-2% 1's,
20% 1s and 2s
98% 1s, 2s and 3s
2% performance problems

The raises looked like this:
1 3.5-5%
2 3%
3 2-2.5%
4 & 5 nothing

Keep in mind this is with an average inflation of 2-3%, and increasing benefits costs every year. Top performers do not make much more than the rank and file folks calling it in. It's a lesson we all had to learn as we started our careers.

The standard ask when you move jobs is 20% improved pay. It's common to be in the 10-15% range. While 43k is pretty low, your problem is that you don't have much experience. Unfortunately, it is very tough to get a better job with a year of experience. Your Master's degree may not be that helpful to you today, it's going to be more useful mid-career as a differentiator from other candidates with similar experience.

You should always be looking for a better job, but be prepared to continue exceeding expectations and doing the best job that you possibly can today... For one more year. Then hit the job search super hard and (this is really important) do not tell anyone what your current salary is. This forces your job offers to be offered at market rates, rather than a 10% bump from your current role (this is standard hiring practice). You should be willing to talk about what you want, but go into that conversation armed with glassdoor stats and the like.

When you get a new offer, it's polite to allow your current employer to provide a counteroffer, but always get this in writing and do not permit yourself to be swayed by "maybe down the road" promises. You have just seen how "business conditions have changed" and your WFH privileges were canceled, which is an effective cut in pay for you due to the commuting cost. You should also get the new employer's offer in writing before talking to your current employer, because most companies cannot provide a counteroffer without a written offer in hand.

+1 Spot on.  Finance for a CPG Company.  Worked at 2 F500.

I've jumped twice for 20% and 16.67% bumps on base now.  Granted, they were just getting me up to speed on my pay, but none the less, jumping was far more profitable for me.  Still have 1-2 jumps left in me (mid 20's).  Those jumps came with 2 years and 3 years of experience levels.  Going on 4 years experience in January and looking to get that Senior role 4.5-5 years on the job.  Hopefully move me to $80k plus 10% bonus.  That would get me darn close to $100k salary by 30. 
« Last Edit: August 05, 2015, 02:07:51 PM by Easye418 »