New MSc grad trying to understand my worth in the market

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the offer!

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

• First of all, I fear there won't be much room for negotiation since Big 4 companies - just like consulting companies - tend to have fixed salaries for every seniority level and across the office/ country/ region. I would still advise you to find out if there is room for negotiation at all though you should be cautious about it.
• Glassdoor is, unfortunately, not a very reliable source when it comes to specific salaries. It is a great way to get a rough understanding of your future salary, however, people tend to, e.g. convert salaries from local currency to USD, include all types of bonuses (or not) or even indicate net salaries which all distort the figures shown.
• If you happen to know someone at KPMG Canada you truly trust, ask him/ her about his/ her salary on your level. If not, I would advise you to find out the salaries with other Big 4 companies as salaries in the same country/ region tend to be very much alike.
• Signing bonuses are normally solely granted as a motivation for candidates who are unsure whether to sign or not. Thus, if you have signed the offer immediately, what would be the reason for the company to still offer your a bonus to sign?
• Moreover, I would advise you to not compare salaries with other industries. Besides the fact that there are so many more important factors to consider when opting for a career, reasons for higher salaries in the tech industry in Canada might as well be that companies try to fight risen attrition (cf. what happened with investment banking in the US) or simply that salary increases in the future will not be significant either way so companies must at least offer a very competitive entry level salary.
• Lastly, you will experience double-digit salary increases almost every year and even more significant increases when you progress to the next level.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare your next steps with regards to negotiation/ career entry, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Hi “New MSc grad”!

Congratulations on your degree!

If you are not finding the information you need about KPMG on Glassdoor, I suggest you check the info on their direct competitors (other Big 4, Accenture etc.), as salaries across these professional services firms tend to be aligned with each other (but a minor differences of a few thousands are possible).

Hopefully you can also get an idea of the salary increases there. Usually in consulting you get double digit salary increases every year and an even higher jump when you move to the next rank (senior consultant), so hopefully in a short time frame you should be making significantly more than the 72k you mentioned.

Hi there,

I think you should negotiate.

Try for $70k and/or a signing bonus. Flag that other people of similar backgrounds and similar roles get $x (do your research and flag it).

Re-express your interest in the firm, and say you're interested in joining, but just need to be able to justify it financial.

If you need to, ask for some time, and wait for the Deloitte interview process to finish (so that you possibly have leverage).

I've never seen anyone regret negotiating (if they do it right, of course). I've seen plenty of people regret not negotiating.

Hi!

I would check what's the salary in the other Big 4 as they are often aligned with only minor differences. Ask for total compensation (i.e. salary + bonus, etc.) and for salary increase.

Also, if you have valid reasons to believe you deserve more than 65k, try to negotiate it. Be prepared to support your statements with concrete results!

Good luck,

Anto

• Dislike the idea of negotiating: My friend, it is your job and your life. If you don't negotiate for it, then who will? I urge you to get comfortable with the idea of negotiating.
• Is this a decent offer for someone with my background? Difficult to say unless you check with existing employees. Entry level salaries in tech firms for MSc grads can potentially be higher than Big 4, so if your tech friends are getting 72k, then 65k may not be too bad.
• Will the pay get better with time? In life? Yes of course. As you grow into more senior and higher paying roles.

If you have given them the 65k-70k range, try to negotiate for the upper bracket instead of the lower bracket.

An alternative option will be to negotiate for a joining bonus that can help cover the difference and then in a couple of years you will anyways be promoted.

.