Just got a job offer, but need advice on salary!

Hello all,

A recruiter reached out to me about a Senior Security Architect contract position. Standard consulting role, M-R on site out of state. $100/hr all expenses paid with an initial 6 month term (40 hours a week). Sounded great. The company is at the beginning of a 4 year infrastructure improvement plan so there will be a lot to do so I thought the contract would most likely get extended.

Well I guess I nailed the interviews because the recruiter calls me back and the company said they want me to be part of their strategic vision and want to know what it will take to get me on board as a FTE. The company has great benefits and are fine with me staying local where I am and commuting(I assume expenses paid but am waiting for confirmation) which will probably morph into a half on-site half WFH arrangement.

The problem is what number do I give them? The recruiter said that a Senior Sec Architect would normally be around 150K but it seems like they are really interested so maybe ask for 160-165. This of course is a LOT less than the contract would have been but it is a full time role. When I look on their Glassdoor I'm not seeing any Security positions but I'm seeing numbers like IT Director for 141-165 and lower numbers like 69-121K for Network Engineers. I don't want want to be so high that they come back with a much lower range. I think career wise it will be a great move but at the same time I want to maximize my starting salary and feel like I am in the driver's seat.

What do you think?

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Comments

gespenstern

I think 150K is great for Florida/South, esp. considering it's partially WFH. Recruiter is probably honest and right.

Kyrak

Well they came back with a really low number $130K max for the full time role so I passed. The good news was I was able to keep the original contract terms of $100/hr and I start Oct 1! If it renews one or two times then I will be happy. With all expenses paid and a $50 per diem for food my net savings will be even better. And there is always the option of negotiating a better temp to perm deal later. Thanks for your thoughts Gespenstern!

gespenstern

Yep, contracts are typically paid +30-50% compared to FTE. Because of the risk and the bennies. Not everyone can take the risk as many have their mortgages and lifestyles. In this case though yeah, FTE is much lower than contract.

But if you are good and there's a good demand in your field you can do contracts all the time! Check with kalkan999 user on TE for example, he says he makes 300K/year on short-term contracts. And happens to secure some of them all the time!

Kyrak

Just a followup, about 4 months into the contract they wanted to hire me on and I was able to negotiate an even better deal. Fully remote (just fly up 1x a month or as needed for important meetings), great boss, flexible schedule and extra vacation days negotiated between me and my boss, and best of all $175K+5K signing bonus. I value the benefits at around 25K so it ends up being almost the contract rate at the end of the day without the contract risk! I'm trying to time it so I finish out the 6 month contract then start since that will be better $$ wise for me but that is still TBD. So keep in mind when you get those contract recruiters that you never know where it may lead!

nisti2

Hi, you can check on Payscale it will give you an idea about the salary an position.
Good luck!

JoshuaT

gespenstern said:

I think 150K is great for Florida/South, esp. considering it's partially WFH. Recruiter is probably honest and right.

It's a nice salary and I agree with recruiter too.