A rule of thumb for salary questions and negotiations: Try and get the employer to give you a salary range first. If your figure is too high, you risk being seen as unaffordable. If it's too low, you may be seen as less than serious. -- AskFESCDO!

Online Resources on Salary Negotiations

• Closing The Deal: Understanding Benefits and the Art of Negotiation, idealist.org
  Six Reasons Why You Should Negotiate:
  1. It’s okay to ask for what you’re worth.
  2. The first offer is often not the best possible one.
  3. A higher starting salary means higher raises (in this or future jobs).
  4. Salary is not the only part of a compensation package that you can negotiate.
  5. Asking for a more competitive salary/benefits package does not suggest that you only care about money, or that you do not care about the mission of the organization.
  6. Negotiating shows that you are confident in and can advocate for yourself and your abilities.
• Everything In Your Job Offer is Negotiable, Linda Jenkins, Salary.com
  "A negotiation is composed of two major steps: planning (research and strategy) and communication (information exchange and agreement). In the planning step, get as much information as you can up front and, using both the company's written and unwritten signals, map your skills against what the company values."
• The Answer To The Toughest Interview Question, Penelope Trunk, The Brazen Careerist Blog
  "The person who gives the first number sets the starting point. But if that's you, you lose. If you request a salary higher than the range for the job, the interviewer will tell you you're high, and you've just lost money. If you request a salary lower than the range, the interviewer will say nothing, and you've just lost money."
• Try This: Don't Ask For What You Want When You Negotiate, Penelope Trunk, The Brazen Careerist Blog
  
• Statistics from Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide, by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever
• How To Negotiate Salary, Sakina Rangwala, The Washington Post
"Finding out what you are worth requires research, self-reflection and networking."
• 4 Tips for Salary Negotiation, Penelope Trunk, from Brazen Careerist Blog

Determining Salary Benchmarks

What Is Benchmarking?
“Researching and comparing the broader job market’s standards for compensation, title, responsibilities, and perks based on the position, your skill set and qualifications.” -- from Negotiating Your Salary & Perks, WetFeet

Research Salary Surveys and Tools:

* Bureau of Labor Statistics: Tons of wage, salary and benefits data by region and sector; information on trends and occupational outlooks.

* cbsalary.com: A free salary calculator from Career Builder.

* opm.gov: typically grades 9-11 for Masters degree, depending on previous experience, tables by location. Even if you are not looking at US Government work, these figures are a good starting point and will give a good idea of averages across sectors by location.

* Jobstar.com

* Idealist Guide to Non-Profit Careers, Chapter Ten Resources

* The Riley Guide

* Salary.com

* F&ES Salary and Employment Data

* Ask friends and recent alums