The number doesn't matter, the change in this number from the last number is what matters.  What were you making before?  And, not that it necessarily matters: are you licensed in CA?

That is an awfully low number for 9 years of experience in Los Angeles if you are in a PA role and capable of putting together a set of biddable/permittable construction documents with little oversight.

I'm not sure you realize how bad the economy is and how lucky you are to have any work at all. I'll wager that the 30 or so people who got laid off would love to have the job.

I agree w/ Miles, ANY work should be appreciated.  Lobo, I realize it's difficult to walk in and do the same job for less $, but at least you have something, many I know do not. 

To restate, it's all supply and demand.  Too much supply of firms chasing too few projects.  And too many workers chasing too few jobs in firms.  This will result in lower fees for the firms, and lower salaries for the workers.

If you feel the salary is to low, maybe your skill sets could be used in a related, more lucrative field, nothing wrong with that.

Miles, I do have to note, I used to live in LI, and I am a HUGE fan of your father's work.

I think it's important to parse the question correctly.  $25 ($52,000) IS a low salary for a licensed professional with nine years of experience in a core urban market like LA.  period, full stop.

The second, unrelated question is whether Lobotomy should take it.  The answer there is one only he can answer, dependent primarily on whether the position matches with your interests, ambitions and financial need.  I would guess that the answer there is probably "yes.. take it."  

I wonder if it might be possible for you to negotiate for an understanding about salary increases tied to a recovery in the firm's revenues and profitability.. to try to get at least a tacit understanding from the partnership that your salary would increase quickly, back up to a level that, pre-crisis, would be commensurate with your experience.  It's worth asking.. they can only say no and they seem to like you, and if you put it to them nicely, I don't think they'd cancel the offer they already put onto the table. 

How is it that you are offered a position with benefits but with an hourly salary? I thought those types of setups went extinct a decade ago. Is there a cap on how many hours you can bill per week (40)? If no, then you have a whole bunch of wiggle room. 

Slow week where you have been running out the clock? Sure. Take the grand/week and be frugal with your money. 50 hour/week? That's a $13k/year increase! Working your ass off at 60 hour weeks? $25/h becomes $78k/year! 

Most companies are just looking for best value. If you negotiated a salary based on hours worked, consider this as a victory for both yourself and your employer.

I was in a position where my theoretical hourly salary was just over $37, but counting the hours backwards revealed if I charged $25/h I would have made a whole lot more money. 

Thank you all for your informative answers. I am not licensed and yes I did accept the offer. I need the money right now and can't afford to wait for another opportunity. This is a salaried position so no I can not bill per hour. When I did the math that's what my hourly wage came up to. On the positive side, the work is not very intense and not very demanding.

dude i would say join the dudes...but you don't have the paper....then you can work long fricking hours...with next to nothing pay and call yourself the "Strong Arm of America"...aka the Small Business of America. My next  two jobs will be used to take care of Taxes...sigh

$25/hr should be just enough to keep you going until you find another job.

Get paid what you're worth. period.

Counter offer?  It is obvious that you have the experience and deserve more compensation. The worst that could happen if you ask for 27 to 30, is that they say no.

@ Tim Do: "Get paid what you're worth" -- easy to say, but what rationale does one use to quantify "worth" ?  Seems a rather malleable concept to me.

depends how hungry you are, I guess.

@file: Good response. I agree

It's not like we (architects) have too many choices in this abundance of jobs climate and the audacity to walk away from any full time position offer that actually pays. Unless you're known for and capable of bringing in business, you will get low balled. I've been low balled and had to accept because I had previously been at an even worse law-balled paying gig. "Effect of the economy" we always hear.  We're not petroleum engineers with masters degrees - where you can barter for better pay because your thesis and expertise really makes sense and could benefit product design or something...  ?...... I don't see this in architecture. Has anyone? That's actually an interesting question: has anyone been able to really "sell" their "worth" / design thesis / expertise to an architecture firm in order to garner a higher salary ? I'm skeptic. My understanding now is that our student graduate interns will be 100k in debt coming out of school and will start at a lovely salary of 43k. Yippie. Some will know Revit and be employable, others will not.

'has anyone been able to really "sell" their "worth"'

This problem exists at both the "individual" and the "firm" level -- while we all may have some personal concept of our intrinsic value and the value of the services we sell, at the end of the day the marketplace defines what can, and will, be paid. Firms that must sell their services at a steep discount to have any work at all naturally are not in a position to provide premium compensation to their employees.

at the end of the day the marketplace defines what can, and will, be paid.

this seems rather passive - you either "create a market" for your work or you're competing with people in an existing already defined market - and the easiest way to compete is by undercutting price.

toaster -- I see your point, and at the microeconomic level (i.e. the perspective of the firm) I tend to agree with your words about passivity.

However, my earlier post conveys more of a macroeconomic perspective. Despite many, many efforts by firms to differentiate their services in order to avoid price competition, the marketplace doesn't seem to embrace -- or even perceive -- the benefits of differentiation to any meaningful degree. Even where strong personal relationships exist between a design firm and a client, in times like these price competition seems to invade the relationship due to forces external to that relationship.

Even where strong personal relationships exist between a design firm and a client, in times like these price competition seems to invade the relationship due to forces external to that relationship.

strong relationships?  you mean people weren't always completely compelled by profit margins?  that they'd rather hire people who are good to work with even if they charged a little more?  sounds socialist.

I guess I should chime in as well. If they laid off half their staff THEN they want you back must mean that you are valuable to them. I understand that there are other people that could do your work if you counter offered, but let's call a spade a spade here. Yes $25 is low in a big city like LA. Bide your time and look for another position while you grind it out at this place. 

What were you doing while you took time off?

@cyberpunk: I took time off to help my husband's growing landscape business. It seemed a great idea at the time since it looked like his business was doing really well. He needed extra help to get the work done so I decided to take the risk and work with him. Since then, we both realized we are not meant to work with each other  and felt we needed the security of a paycheck.

I did end up going back and and did not counter offer!

know your worth...you don't have to settle for less.

Something is too expensive, only when no one will pay for it.