[ihearttaxation]

I have an offer with a big four accounting firm in a big city, starting after I finish up my masters in tax program. My question is — does having a masters warrant a salary increase? I know that I am not receiving any more money than other people I interned with who do not have a masters degrees. However, I have a friend who is working for the same company in NYC who received about $10,000 more for having her masters. We have identical jobs in identical lines of service as well as identical degrees, and she is making about $20,000 more than me, partially because NYC has a higher cost of living, and the rest due to her getting a salary increase for her masters. I just can’t tell if I’m being naive by not pushing for an increase, or if it’s normal because I’m not in NYC. I asked my recruiter about it, and she told me it was very rude to discuss salary with other people and that I would not be receiving an increase. I don’t want to start my career making much less than someone with equivalent experience and skills, Does anyone have advice? I think I’m going to contact other recruiters and people in my network to interview at other firms.

[mla1169]

You actually told a recruiter that you discussed salary with a friend? Going forward, you'd do yourself a huge service to say you were looking up salaries online and found xxxxx. In fact try glassdoor and see what salaries are in your area.

In some situations a person earns more for having a masters. It all depends on the position, the demand for jobs and the requirements for the position. Also if you have no experience, the masters doesn't carry nearly as much clout. The time to discuss that is before accepting an offer. Its a very rare and unique individual that can go back and get more money during the time between accepting an offer and starting a position.

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[ihearttaxation]

@mla I agree, I went about this completely wrong. I basically said to the recruiter that I wasn't sure she was aware that I was receiving a masters prior to starting, and was wondering if there was any salary differential. She acted surprised that I was getting a masters (as if she really wasn't aware) then she told me there was no differential. I told her I had talked to someone in NYC who works in the same service line who received an automatic increase (it was not part of negotiations, they just said, “oh and since you have your m.t. you get $x increase”), then she told me that was very rude to discuss and that there still was no increase.

[Anonymous]

May I ask how much is the offer? Since I am on the same boat, with a MSA degree, and 50% done on my CPA journey. Seeking a job in a big city, but now sure how much to ask for. I have been doing research online, but the result has not been quite inconsistent. I don't want to end up being underpaid again as at my first job(I have two years of public accounting experience), yet do not want to lose a job opportunity by asking too much.

[Author]

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