In a couple of weeks I will be flying to San Francisco for an interview and expect to be offered an entry level engineering consulting position (not tech/software). I'm in my mid-20s and have a master's degree in my field, though I don't have any direct work experience in this field. I feel very well qualified for this job and am fairly confident that I would perform well (though you can never know for sure I suppose).
In our last phone interview, the interviewers threw out some rough financial details of a typical offer for someone in my position. Apparently they just tried to hire someone, but that guy walked away because he felt the compensation wasn't adequate for the cost of living in the Bay Area.
What they mentioned
- $55k base salary, with $2-3k signing/relocation bonus
- Full health/dental coverage (they were vague about this)
- Highly probable that there would be a ~10% raise in year two as long as I'm performing well and completing all applicable training
- Around $10k annual bonus depending on performance (they were vague about this)
- 5% match in 401k, but they said I would have to wait until year 2 to contribute. This surprised me so I probed them a little and they said it was a "legal thing". I didn't push it any further, but I really don't think they knew what they were talking about. Maybe they meant the match wouldn't be contributed until year 2 or that there would be a vesting period. Any thoughts? Is this normal? Potentially losing out on a large amount of tax-free savings in the first year seems like a pretty big deal to me.
What I want
- $60k base salary (ok, yeah I'd like more but I think this number is more realistic)
- The ability to contribute to a 401k from day 1 (if I have to wait until the second year of employment to get the 5% match, then so be it)
- 13 to 15 days of vacation (we didn't discuss this at all, but I'm assuming 10 is standard for a new hire)
- Strongly prefer the ability to contribute to an HSA over the standard health plan
- More solid metrics for knowing how to track performance and progress towards bonuses and raises
So how do I go about getting some/most of these things? I didn't respond with any numbers, just that we were thinking in the same ballpark. I obviously want to be well-prepared and have a plan of attack when this discussion comes up in a couple of weeks. This whole process is new to me and a little overwhelming (I've never had to worry about my own health insurance for example), so I would appreciate some MMM input.
Semi-relevant info: I don't have any debt at all and would plan to rent a small room in an apartment for around $1200-1500 somewhere in the city and go car-free if I were to move for the job.
Thanks for reading!