Salary negotiating

GuanAndOnly

Hi y'all! 
I was wondering how much do you up the ante when you negotiate your pay? Unfortunately I was pretty underpaid when I first landed my job after graduating, and since I used that as a reference, even after a few years I think my salary is below average. For reference, I'm an intermediate modeling artist making $58k in Vancouver. Would love to know what rule of thumb y'all go by when negotiating, and if you're comfortable with it, what salary and position level y'all have had!

Ashervisalis

Yo yo! I'm an intermediate modeling artist in Vancouver too! I've gone into huge conversations with other artists in the industry on this very topic.

It seems like in Vancouver, people are making between 50-70 as intermediate artists, at animation studios, so you don't seem like you're vastly underpaid. You'll be able to find a ton of threads on r/personalfinancecanada or r/personalfinance about wage negotiations, and those tips always transfer to our industry.

- The more you job hop, the higher your salary is going to be. When moving jobs, have them speak first about the range that this position pays. Then negotiate, always! Job hopping isn't always the best option, but when our industry is mainly contract jobs, nobody really looks down upon someone who tends to leave at the end of contract. When moving jobs, when someone asks what you're currently making, allow yourself to fib and inflate your current salary a bit, by maybe 10%?

- ALWAYS negotiate pay upon contract renewal. If you think you're underpaid, especially negotiate. Every year, ask for a raise that matches inflation, plus a bump by a few thousand.

I'll summon @R3D in here for some more handy tips.

Eric Chadwick

Also I've com[piled some resources here
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Game_Industry#Salary_Research

marks

If someone asks you how much you make at your current (or previous) job in an interview, don't tell them. Its none of their business, and imo its unprofessional to ask. The polite way to respond to that question is to just state the salary you're expecting for the position and reiterate that you think that represents the value that you will bring to their company.
It is rarely (if ever) in your best interest to tell a prospective employer what you make at your current or previous job. It doesn't, and shouldn't matter to them. You are negotiating a business transaction where you bring value to their company, and you attach a price tag to that. The discussion should be centred around what you bring to the table and what is a price you're both willing to accept for that.

Alex_J

skilled labor living in a big city you should be making minimum $70k. 58k is too little. How many years it took you to learn what you know? That time has a cost.

Questions I'd ask myself: Can I afford to go out to eat a couple times a week? Can I afford to buy a new hobby toy a few times a year? Can I afford a vacation once or twice a year? Do I stress about my budget often even though I live within reason?

If you can't do these things and you are often stressed about finances (provided you arent blowing money on stupid shit), your quality of life is too low. Demand more and walk away if they can't provide.

This is just examples. Maybe you couldn't care less about food or ever leaving the house but the important thing is you feel respected and have dignity. Nobody is exploiting you, you trade value for value.

poopipe

If you feel underpaid, start looking for work. 

Going to interviews helps you understand what value you hold to an employer.

In the event you get a good offer you're in a position to either bugger off and get moar moneys or negotiate a more favourable arrangement with your current employer - both of those options can safely be considered a win.

To emphasis marks post.  It's your value that should be the talking point, not what you're currently being paid. 

GuanAndOnly

Sorry for the late reply, thanks for all the help y'all! Yeah, I've been looking around and am thinking of applying for some jobs in the near future. I got an offer last year to work on a feature and it didn't work out because of COVID, but doing some digging the starting salary for that position is about $15k more. :' (  Do y'all know if job-hopping is a red flag in our industry? I moved out here a couple of months ago, and I've only held the job I have now for about half a year. 

poopipe

a pattern of several 3 month employments would make me think you failed your probation period at a series of studios.  generally you'll get asked about it if they're concerned - if your reasons are solid then it shouldn't be a problem. 

kierangoodson

Hey @GuanAndOnly , 
Although I don't know a great deal about Vancouver at the local rates, I did cover salary and negotiation in my latest ArtStation Learning series. There's about 25 mins of video content on these topics so I hope they uncover some useful resources and point you in the right direction.
https://www.artstation.com/learning/courses/xml/art-tests-and-interviews/chapters/Eawp/negotiation