Potential new job... salary negotiation advice?

tier~

After a handful of interviews and all that good stuff I'm one of 3 candidates being considered for a Jr. Linux / DevOps role with a world leader in cloud solutions and software activation for mobile devices. Needless to say I'm beyond thrilled to even be in the running to get into a role allowing me to make the leap out of the Windows world. The position is ideal as it'd be a heavy dose of Linux administration as well as learning a lot of infrastructure as code / automation as they move many of their platforms to AWS. They're in the midst of evangelizing a DevOps culture so it's a great time to get in.

Really, the only drawback to the position is it's 57 miles one way to the place so in the short term the commute would be about a 70 minute drive each way until my girlfriend can also find work in the area, then we would relocate.

The HR recruiter contacted me on Monday concerned about the travel and I re-iterated it'd be a short term thing, which I had discussed with the hiring manager, and she was glad to hear that. She then brought up salary. Early in the process they had stated that the range was 40-65k depending on if they hired someone very junior or someone with some experience but trying to make a change (like myself). Not wanting to lay out my hand I asked where she thought they'd come in at if I were to be offered the position, and she said 66k and then flat out said, "What's it going to take to get you to make this commute every day?" I proceeded to discuss benefits and all that stuff with her. Some of which include an annual 3-8% bonus, stock options, paid for training/certs and what not on top of the normal medical, 401k, etc. She did ask what I make now and I slipped and said "around 50" but otherwise didn't say much more than I think we're at a good starting point until a formal offer is made which would come probably by end of week.

I was hoping for 60 so the 66k far exceeded my expectations and is substantially more than I currently make. Being that 66k was above the initial range (albeit only slightly) I'm not sure how to interpret it. Does it imply I'm the favorite candidate? Is there wiggle room there? Am I being greedy for even considering asking if there is wiggle room since they now have an idea of what I'm at? Having never been in this particular situation I'd love some input.

Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself... but I'd like to be prepared if a real offer is made.

Thanks.

lsud00d

Take these things into account:

Your years of experience
Your level of experience
The market in your area
The average going rate of that position in your area (if unable to locate, find national average and scale using COL adjustments)
How this will benefit your future, short and long term
Wages/time lost to commute
Your current benefits
The potential new benefits

When you jumble all these things together and come out with a dollar amount, that should be the compensation for your work. If it's outside of a budgeted range (either too high or low), don't go for the job.

If you come up with a solid figure, stick to it because you're not being greedy. Of course we all want the most money possible, but I find you are better at negotiating when you yourself know how much you're worth, and you are convinced of it...it will come across when discussing salary/benefits.

/My $0.02