I've been offered a junior financial analyst position in the fp&a department of a huge private agriculture company. Their offer: - $42,250 - 2 weeks vacation - great benefits - 15% Bonus - minimum 3% salary increase per year - up for pay raise after 5 months of starting
I at least want $45,000. Should I ask for $48,000 and then see if they drop it to $45,000? What if they tell me to fuck off and then I'm stuck teaching?
Education: - 2016, B.S. Economics (honors), Florida State University, minors in math and business - 3.99 FSU GPA
Work experience: - Currently a high school social studies teacher - Middle School Math Teacher: 2016/2017 academic year
That's incredibly low. - what does glassdoor say they pay a regular FA? Cargill Monsanto
50k
There is usually a job grade and pay range associated with it: R10: 44k-56k, R11: 57k-xx, they usually start negotiates at the lower to mid-end of the range.
It does seem low, but it does depend on what city you are in though - NYC, low. Omaha, maybe not so much.
See if you can gauge the average price for the position from websites/forums as it will help with negotiations as @TippyTop11" has said.
As long as you are respectful about the way in which you ask, I don't think someone is going to pull an offer just for simply asking for more money - it is a negotiation.
All the best, OP.
For perspective, my company (F250 Aero&Def) pays its first year analysts $47k in a low COL city. 3 weeks PTO, no bonus, promotion possible after a year, but not likely til 2 years.
Defense salaries are generally lower than other industries.
Like others said, it all depends on the city. Unless this offer is for a low COL town, it's below market average.
I wouldn't worry about getting told to fuck off for countering at $47k base, especially if you can show them that $47 is closer to market and you're respectful about it. Even if they say no, I bet they won't rescind the offer.. And I would absolutely still take it at $42k because 1) it pays more than teaching, and 2) if you aren't happy with your raises and such, you can leave after two years and get a SFA job paying $70k-$80k. I would take the lower salary now to build up the resume (unless you've been getting tons of interviews and its only a matter of time before you get that $60k offer).
Good luck!
I live in a small town in southwest Florida where the COL is pretty low. The survival of our town stems from this agriculture firm.
Do you have other prospects? Take it from me. Get far away from living in a small town where one industry dominates. They OWN your ass once you own property in that town if it's a slow area to turn real estate. You will be far less desirable if you own a home because companies won't want to relocate. There's also no other need for your skills in the immediate area so your wage growth will be small to stagnate.
I don't have any other offers, nor do I own any property.
Will it be hard for me to lateral to another firm in a bigger city? I mean..this teaching thing isn't gonna get me anywhere either.
Sorry. I didn't read your entire post I guess so I missed that part.
I don't think the Fp&a job will hurt you at all in relocation to larger firms in larger cities. It's probably pretty solid experience that you'll be able to leverage elsewhere. I was just concerned about you putting down "roots" in an area by buying property/settling down & getting married there, etc where you'd be stuck.
If teaching isn't your forte then I would absolutely take the Fp&a job. It would be desirable though if you could latch onto some more $. It's very unfortunate you're in this situation because you had a solid GPA and apparently you're a pretty bright person. They kind of have you over a barrel though because they can taste your desperation to get more relevant experience. They will either have to pay you more after a year or two or you should absolutely be able to get a large pay increase elsewhere. Within 5 years you should be making 80-90k (or more) if you are successful/bright.
take the fp&a job and tutor on the side for the gmat, SAT, ACT, etc.
I just gave a counter offer where I asked for $47,000.
After I gave the offer, the HR lady told me that they have someone else they are considering with one year experience. I feel like she told me that as a scare tactic so that I'd just take the $42,500. What do you guys think?
Furthermore, during my last interview, one of the VP of operations said, "they'll probably shoot me for telling you this, but the director is pretty set on getting you in here. So I should be seeing you around soon."
hold firm. HR is just a middleman of useless middle-aged out of touch people
What do you mean by "hold firm"?
Let us know how it turns out! That was absolutely a negotiation tactic they used, to say that they are also looking at someone else. Who the hell would have one year of experience getting paid LESS than $42k? And why would they jump to that company when they could wait another year and get a role as a senior for $20k-$40k more?
They are bluffing, and if they recind the offer then you probably wouldn't have wanted it anyway, if they are going to be that tight about paying market. Again, entry level pay in a low COL city is at least at the higher end of $40k. My entry level CF pay was right around $60k.
you dont have any other offers, you dont have any experience to leverage, its your first job so $2500 is irrelevant.
That's true. So if they come back with the same offer I'll just take it.
Mom mom is friends with a woman whose husband used to be the director of the operations department that wants to hire me. He encouraged me to shoot for $45,000 and assured me that they won't rescind their offer. Otherwise, I would have probably just taken the $42,500.
negotiations only work when you have leverage. not trying to be a d-bag, but in this case you do not. if they come back with a higher number, then awesome and take it. otherwise, take the initial offer, work for a year or two, then try to negotiate a higher salary. if they say no, then f them and leverage your experience into a new role at a different company.
I gave a counter offer at 47k two days ago. I got a text this morning from the HR lady to inform me that the CFO is reviewing my counter-offer. Otherwise, I haven't heard anything concrete.
Now for the curve-ball. I just ran into an old high school friend of mine. He teaches out at the Seminole Reservation not too far from our little town. He said they are looking for a middle school math teacher (the same subject I taught last year) and, at the bare minimum, start teachers off at 50k alongside a $500 monthly gas check. I gave him my credentials and he said he will talk to the principal for me. If I get an offer from the Seminoles, can I use that to leverage a better salary?
A lot of higher paying Fp&a jobs will be in higher COL areas, but you could easily be at 70k / year or more in 2-3 years in Fp&a. You might have to leave FL though to achieve it (just depends on the job market).
So it's up to you. If you want to teach, teach. It's not a bad gig. You won't get rich but if you like to fish etc. you can't beat it. Otherwise, if you care about lifetime earnings, you will probably make more money on the Fp&a route (and work more hours). You won't get rich this route either but certainly will make a good living by most measures.
What are the exit opportunities for someone with Fp&a background?
Could work up to a VP Finance role. Some people are able to lateral over to corporate development. At my company our head of IR I believe came from a regular corporate finance background. Directors of FP&A.
All of these jobs pay a lot. I'm sure $150k+. Some probably several hundred thousand a year at larger companies, perhaps more.
I'd say there are many other paths you can take too. Of course none of this is guaranteed and competition is fierce. Even Senior Financial Analysts at some companies crack six figures.
It seems like biting the bullet for these next 2/3 years could pay off in the long run. My mom's friend's husband, the ex-director of the department that wants to hire me, warned me that I will work an average of 55 hours per week. When budgeting comes around, I should expect 70 hours/week. When you break that down hourly that is some horrible pay. What worries me further is starting at such a low income. The dude was there for 21 years and left with a base salary of 90k. So point is, if I go this route, I want to be careful that I prepare myself to leave this area and play with the big boys. CPA? MBA? CPA and MBA? I'm not sure what to do next. I mean, I'll have 3 years to figure it out, but having a plan sooner can reassure me that this decision will be worth it; otherwise I might be better off teaching. The district will pay for me to get a master's in educational leadership, and within 15 years I can see myself becoming a principal making 100k.
edited: wife's -> friend's
wtf 90k after working for 21 yrs?? That is why you jump around a couple times early on in your career to other firms for 15-25% each time.
Is work experience enough to jump around? Will I need to get an MBA or some sort of certification?
edit: job -> jump
Yes. While a MBA Helps differentiate you, it isn't mandatory (I just picked up a f500 Fp&a job and i have a BS.)
To be honest with you, I wasn't even intentionally targeting an fp&a role. I just saw that the agricultural firm was hiring a financial analyst and applied. While at the interview they informed me that this is an fp&a role. I pretended to know what that meant and then looked it up online. I read a lot of posts about people wanting to transition from public accounting to fp&a. Why is that? What is it about fp&a that attracts people?
What makes FP&A attractive is that it isn't just accounting and reporting, but it includes analysis and forecasting which is a little more interesting. FP&A roles are needed at almost all companies, so with that experience you are highly marketable. Since you are highly marketable, you generally see more turnover in FP&A compared to other corporate finance functions, which means promotions come comparatively faster.
For example, at my company, people in program finance (a financial analyst who focuses on reporting the financial health of a specific contract we have) typically stay in their role for a while because the next promotion for them (to manager) requires that they spend years learning all about different contract types and becoming "old salt" in the industry. Also, if you leave the company, your experience only really transfers to companies in the same industry. So you are pigeon-holed. In FP&A, on the other hand, everything is highly cyclical, so you are going through the same forecasting drills on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. It's pretty fast to master, and once you feel you are ready for a manager job, you can leave the company to find said job since your skills are transferrable to virtually anywhere else.
The next attractive thing about FP&A is the hours. I think 55 hours is probably exaggerated, unless you are understaffed. I'd say 45-50 is a better average at the analyst level. It gets into the 50s-60s when you are a manager.
The last thing is the career and salary growth. You are typically an analyst for 2-4 years, making $40k-$60k. 2-4 years into your career you can get a job as a Sr. Analyst, making $70k-$90k (and sometimes into 6 figs depending on the company/city). 5-10 years into your career you can work as a manager, making $100k-$130k. After that it depends on your networking and political skills, but the path can lead to Director, VP, CFO, and even CEO if you really master your industry and such.
For perspective, I'm in a 3 rotation, 3 year program that gives experience in various finance roles in the company. Starting pay was around $60k, and after the program is over I'll be a Sr. analyst and will not take anything lower than $75k. 2-3 years later (5-6 years out of school) I'll be shooting for that manager role that should take me to 6 figs. Not as lucrative as private equity, hedge funds, or investment banking, but there is no limit to your earnings potential (if you get to C-Suite), and if you are willing to move around to get the next promotion as soon as you are qualified, you can reasonably expect to be making *at least * $150k at the peak of your career.
you do you, Holmes.
HR informed me that their company doesn't like counter offers, so they are interviewing more people.
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