How much do you think is an acceptable starting salary for a Wharton grad?

[legendofmax]

What is the best way to find housing in a new city? How much is generally considered cheap/too much?

[starbright]

I have this thought that I should ALWAYS be looking for a better-paying job, no matter where I am working... however, I wonder if this is a reasonable thing to do (I figure it would also anger employers if I were always looking for greener grass)

While I think its very worthwhile to constantly look for great opportunities, I hope you end up expanding far beyond salary. I know right now it probably seems like the key issue but after awhile, you'll discover a huge number of factors far far more important than how much you make. For example, down the road, look for job opportunities that will develop your career and lead to a better career path (sometimes the 'best' paying job is a complete dead end and bad career move, other times the lower paying job has way way more future growth or resume potential). Or look for a great workplace that values you and lets you learn a lot and grow. Or a place that has great colleagues and is fun and fulfilling. Or one that provides a balanced life. Or one that lets you tap into your passion. Or one that gives you job security.

Not now perhaps but later, be assured that there are far far far more important factors to consider than just how much money you make.

[legendofmax]

Completely understood -- but I've been having a struggle in finding something fun that leverages my skills/provides adequate challenge/pays for everything I want to do in life. I just worry that I may be bottlenecking opportunities, but perhaps I'm fretting over nothing. I'm more or less under the impression that people tend to typecast you based on what kind of work you do after graduation, and I don't want to get pigeonholed or incorrectly evaluated.

[momrath]

I'm sure everyone has noticed that the economy underwent a seismic shift in the past year and the tremors are still rumbling in the compensation area. Bottom line be careful what you believe. Did all those people you know land those prestigious and fun $80 grand jobs this year? Don't get distracted by comparisons with your peers. Someone somewhere will make more than you, but there's no way to predict how long lived that income with be.

What was no longer is. An 07 graduate may have been paid $100 + bonus by Bear Sterns or Merrill or Lehman, but that information needs to be recalibrated to meet the New Normal, and New Normal means things are rough out there. Hiring patterns especially for entry level finance jobs are not was they once were.

If you're interested in living in Chicago, if the firm is reasonably steady, if you related positively to your boss, if the job sounds challenging and offers opportunities for advancement, then it sounds like a good deal.

You know, you don't have to tell anyone what you make, so take your Wharton pride and put it to the side for a moment. Realistically, you'll have plenty of jobs over the course of your working life and it's a lot easier to find another, higher paying job while you are actually employed.

[legendofmax]

It's not so much an issue of telling people what I make -- it's about my own personal earning potential and cost management with enough left over to enjoy things. I've put a lot of work into everything and feel as if lowballing myself is just doing a bit of a disservice... but perhaps I'm worrying over nothing. I can always look elsewhere. I just need to figure out how to find the right firms and how to advertise myself correctly. That could take a while, though, haha.

[MomofWildChild]

I hear you, Max, because my kid and his friends are singing the same song. Y'all (for good reason) thought those admissions letters to Penn were a guarantee of nice salaries and all the trappings that go with those salaries. It's hard for you to understand just how drastically things have changed. It is NOT the same world that it was when you entered Penn. You know that intellectually, but unless you are in the workforce you can't really understand the impact that the current economic crisis has had on your immediate future. The money simply isn't there for you grads. No one will fault you down the road for taking the job you are considering. I also know from your posts over the years how hard you worked to get yourself through the financial burden of Penn. I really feel for you. I know you will be successful down the road, but for right now you have to get your foot in the door.
Also, while you (and my kid) DO have skills and great educations, the bottom line is that you need to be trained and must develop business acumen. It sounds like you need to develop networking and self-promotion skills. That will come.

[Pizzagirl]

MOWC's post is full of wisdom. Read it and study it.

And the ability to network, the confidence to believe in yourself, the humility to realize that the world doesn't owe you bc you are a Wharton grad, and the humility to realize you are at the BEGINNING of your career are skills that are just as important to have as anything you learned in a Wharton classroom.

What's the average HH income in the city of Chicago? Plenty of people raise families on less than $50k, no?

Good luck to you.

[anxiousmom]

I have a master's degree, 18 years experience and make about $50K, (and I'm not griping - I have all the money I need or want.) Take the job, and thank your lucky stars that you have it. Do the best you can at your work, and see where the river takes you.

[anothermom2]

Years ago, I graduated JD/MBA in a somewhat lousy job market. As a top grad of the school, I did not have as many offers as I then thought I should have, and some other students had more to choose from. My first job was a good one, but perhaps 20% less than the top of the pay scale for other new lawyers in NYC. Two years later I went laterally to the law job of my dreams. I had previously been rejected from this firm. The two years of experience were enough to make the difference.

Draw your own conclusions.

[ec1234]

also the salary is largely based on the job-- if you're not working for one of the top financial firms then you are not going to be making the 80-100k (and yes, they are still paying that, if they hire you). And if you are consulting for anyone other than the big three, you are probably not going to be making the 65k.

[TheAnalyst]

For my first job out of grad school, I came in at a very low salary (actually took a cut in pay moving to NYC from what I had been bringing home between GI bill and waitressing in Texas). Some people in our training class (back then the firm trained new hires in a group) had negotiated much higher salaries.

It turned out more was expected of them as a result and most were ultimately fired because they weren't living up to those higher expectations. After all, none of us really knew how to do this particular job any better than anyone else regardless of where they went to college. My salary was increased in huge chunks each year as my experience made me more likely to be hired away by a competitor. The trick is get your foot in the door, in my opinion, at a place that has opportunities.

[ellemenope]

[quote\The money simply isn't there for you grads. [/quote]

Judging from some other threads, JOBS simply aren't there for many grads.

[midwesterner]

Please look at the rental ads on Chicago Reader or craigslist. Finding housing is not difficult, although you want to make sure you have something convenient to transportation. www.transitchicago.com is the CTA website where you can find out transit routes and times.

[aj725]

[/quote] Part of it's arrogance, too, but only to the extent that I know I've got a lot of great skills under my belt that many of my Wharton peers don't have -- it's just that I'm really bad at networking and asking around, and I've had a lot of other things to focus on. It bothers me when I see people I know I can outperform land fun jobs at 80k/year... [/quote]

Keep in mind that this is your first job and the things that matter for getting a first job out of Wharton do not matter later on. I know exactly what you're talking about in terms of 'marketing' yourself -- there were plenty of people who were 'in the recruiters' faces' at Wharton and I always felt like they were the ones who were noticed whether or not they had the grades, the underlying skill set etc. It's not always going to be that way. When you're moving on to your second job, you're not going to be on campus competing with 400 other wharton grads for the same exact job, trying to impress at some presentation by a company. You'll likely be one of a handful (or possibly the only) of Wharton grads and you'll stand out on that basis, in addition to whatever skillsets you've developed in your first job. Just because things were hard at OCR doesn't mean they always will be; I definitely have friends from Wharton who are proof of this -- barely got a job through OCR even though they had good grades and all because they were quiet, not good at marketing themselves, didn't appear as over-confident as lots of others etc. They took jobs that their classmates scoffed at as being lower paying or whatever, but now a few years down the road -- they are VPs at investment banks etc.

[cadbury]

Legend, congrats on landing a decent job in the current environment. I suspect that you will be able to find roommates or housemates in Chicago without too much difficulty.

On a more general note, Legend mentions getting another offer for $120K in NY. Seriously?? With a bachelors degree? Guess not much has changed on Wall St.