[KeepPushing]

Hi all,

I am moving to Austin, TX soon, and by that point I will have the cpa exam passed, Lord willing. I also have 1 year of public accounting experience. I was getting paid 53k at my previous job. Do you think asking for 55-60k with almost a freshly issued license ( for which the new firm will not have to help me pay for) and my experience is too much, too little( should I be saying 60-65? Is this in line with the market? Thanks in advance for your input!

[KeepPushing]

I forgot to say! I still plan to continue in public accounting. I have both tax and audit experience. More strong in Audit though!

[bigstakk]

Aim high and find a number you would be happy with as a minimum take. That said def look to get no less than $60k. In general, When switching jobs the magic number is 20% as far as pay bumps go, so always look to increase your salary by that %. Good luck.

[Recked]

It would be helpful to know what job market you are currently making 53k in.
Location location location.
Also check out RobertHalf salary guide. They will surely have some useful information for Austin.
1 year + license, maybe even 60k is too low for a city setting like Austin.

[KeepPushing]

I was making 53k in Alaska, working for a 12 person CPA firm. Cost of living there is high but you are right it is about location. I checked out what you said @recked and it was so helpful! Truly thank you for the input guys.

[Recked]

I just got back from Alaska on Saturday.
Beautiful part of the country. Which part of Alaska were you living in?

[KeepPushing]

I'm glad you got a chance to go! It's certainly one of the more untouched beauties of the world. I went into a glacier in Anchorage while I was there. Super neat. I lived in Fairbanks. Where in Alaska did you visit?

[KeepPushing]

I'm glad you got a chance to go! It's certainly one of the more untouched beauties of the world. I went into a glacier in Anchorage while I was there. Super neat. I lived in Fairbanks.

[Recked]

Cruise from Vancouver up the coast, then took a bus from Whittier to Anchorage and rented a car for a few days to drive to Denali.
Stayed in a cabin just outside the park entrance, then back to Anchorage for the flight back home.
Saw lots of amazing glaciers and mountains. Very beautiful.
–
Low 30's overnight early morning outside Denali park, I can understand why you want to move to Texas.
The cold isn't for me anymore.

[Tugga]

The issue is that you have did all this work only to ask for $65,000 K. Something is not adding up. Folks in the IT sector makes way more than what accountants ask for and they don't have to go through all of the headache.

[Jonah]

I'm working at a firm in Alaska too! I would also check Glassdoor, a lot of people report their salaries and possibly people at your new firm may report them as well.

[Biff Tannen]

Once you pass your CPA exams, you can easily make between 60-70k in Austin as a staff accountant. Just make sure to wait for the right opportunity – there’s plenty of recruiters out there trying to push the jobs in the $50k range, but learn to say no.

[FutureCPA2020]

How many years of experience do you have? I'm in Houston and I think you could EASILY get $60-65K in Austin. I would even think that asking for $70K is easy. … Austin is more expensive, compared to Houston . … Connect with a recruiter and I'm sure you'll be able to get anywhere between $60-70K. I've had several reach out to me and ask me to move. They were offering $90K but my husband is the bread winner in the family, so I couldn't accept it. Good luck!

[AusNat]

I'm in Austin. Mid to upper $50s is a typical base salary for fresh out of school (newly CPA exam eligible) associates here in regional to largish firms. Goes up from there.

[Author]

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