Friday I got offered a job. Finally. After hard core job hunting for about 10 weeks and off and on job hunting before that for about 18 months while I hid out in grad school. Eventually I realized I wasn't personality-wise cut out for research or the ivory tower. So I decided that as much as job hunting may seem like snipe hunting that this is not nearly as bad as dealing with boring research and academic BS.
So I got offereed a job and now it's time for negotiating the salary. So I thought I would come to the Kossack community for advice since in some ways this is a big family from the evil trolls to the big mouths to the quiet lurkers. But then I briefly thought "well this isn't really political". Salary negotiation and all. Or is it?
It is political in in the whole scheme of the class warfare that is discussed on this site. The company that has given me the low ball offer (almost 10% less than the average starting salary from my school's program) has been paying out dividends larger than its profits (primarily to an elite family that hold most shares, but no not Wal*mart) and its profits mostly exist at all over the past few years due to kick backs from the Bush administration.
It is political in that women with the same experience in the same job even with high education still usually make less than men. And in large part that is based on the fact that they don't (can't? won't?) negotiate salary well especially at the beginning. And then all subsequent raises, job offers, bonuses are based on that initial figure.
So yes as Skunk Anansie's song goes
Yes it's fucking political
Everythings political
Yes it's fucking political
Everythings satirical
Yes it's fucking political
Everythings political
And if anyone could give me advice so as not to get ripped off but also so as not to screw things up, I would appreciate it.