Ask HN: Salary Raise after MS degree | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Salary Raise after MS degree

4 pointsvbtemp3 comments

I'm asking this question on behalf of a friend who works in cybersecurity for a large-ish technology firm. I know HN may not be the ideal place to ask this, given it's purpose, but I know a lot of people here would have some wisdom to contribute to this.

The question is how much of a raise should she expect (and ask) after receiving a MS degree in computer science. She got the degree in Summer 2010, and goes in for the performance review this week. 10% seems reasonable for the degree itself, but not including the normal increase. So does asking for/expecting something like a 13%-18% raise seem reasonable? Low-balled or high-balled? I've heard her group's budget has been increased 5% since the previous year.

Thanks for any input!

Did her employer pay for the degree? Does she have to stay with the company for a certain amount of time before her education credit gets "vested"? (for lack of a better term)

18% is definitely unreasonable in my opinion. If she is looking for an increase anywhere in that neighborhood she needs to switch jobs. If she paid for the degree herself and has no strings attached to the company than asking for a 5-10% bump for the degree is a reasonable request but I'd imagine it will vary greatly from employer to employer as to whether or not she will get anything.

Typically an advanced degree should move you up in line to get a promotion, not necessarily guarantee you a nice pay bump upon completion.

Hm.. Interesting. Thanks for the response. I think her company in the end paid for something like 10% of the degree.

She should expect 2-3% and here's why. Even smart people don't want to give away money. Now picture the typical manager and their simplistic, child-like "whatever is best for me is the truth" rationale: "why should I pay MORE when I'm getting the same thing." So it's definitely a career change thing. 13-18% will probably be possible with a 3 month job search. If the group's budget increased 5% it is only so that more direct reports can be hired by whoever controls the budget.

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