very good question... I think a good trick in negotiating salary is to try and get them to name a number first. If they ask you "How muh do you want to be paid?" you can say something like...

I have shown you my abilities and I will leave it up to you to assess how much my talents are worth to this company? hopefully then they would say... Well someone with your experience usually starts out at ___ and you can agree/ask for a bit more... If they ask you again straight up... No how much do you want then just tell them " I would ideally like to be making x amount" If they say that is too much then you can say... well start me out at what you have suggested and promise to give m a review in 3/6 months to reevaluate my worth to the company again.

I would say that you are safe anywhere between 18 - 24 an hour.. they can always counter and unless you quote a wildly inappropriate number they will tell you what their bottom line is and not hold it against you.

If you recently have graduated and have had experience and have an impresive portfolio, you should be in the lower-to-mid-50k range in LA. That is very reasonable.

Non of this 35k garbage.

Ummm mid 50 range? I know plenty of licensed architects with 10+ years only in the mid 50-60 range.

Woah. Not that I expect anyone to really know the unicode key command for a tab... but I'm disappointed that a top 10%, top tier student doesn't realize that carriage returns and using the shift key are free.

avatar, i'll be graduating this spring (with internship exp.) and was recently hired in nyc in the high 40's range (corporate firm). i imagine cost of living is pretty similar, so... something realistic (for a small firm doing well) is probably lower mid 40's?

definitely shoot higher than lower (not in a demanding asshole way). if they really want you, they won't refuse you out of hand and will just explain what they can afford.

I would say for the minimal level of experience you have, $25 an hour (which equates to $52,000 a year) is probably asking a lot. I have a Masters, 4 years experience, a fairly broad skill set and completed IDP and plan on asking $48k-$52k, perhaps more if the office is larger/corporate. I would love to think that I could get $60k+ but I don't think in this economy it's going to happen. Which isn't to say that you should low ball an offer but rather be reasonable about your experience level.

Keep in mind that smaller offices, while offering more experience and growth potential, also tend to have smaller projects, which mean smaller budgets and smaller profits. Residential projects generally have the smallest returns so it is likely, given the work and size you have described, that the office really isn't in a position to offer exceptionally generous salaries.

Realistically I would imagine you would get on the low end $35k and perhaps $45k on the high end if you are really lucky.

don't make them say the first number. this isn't a game.

go in with a number that you think you are worth and simply state it. do your research (which it seems you have) and be confident in your response.

here is a great podcast that addresses how best to approach the salary negotiation.

http://www.manager-tools.com/2009/09/what-your-salary-expectation

these guys do a bunch of really helpful interview / professional development podcasts. kind of nerdy, but i like to be prepared.

good luck sir.

It definitely depends on the kind of office you are working for.

Starchitect firm could start you @ 36K, the average office @ 45K, corporate @ 50-55K.

These are based on my knowledge of fellow 2009 graduates from an east coast ivy. So I'm sure it varies depending on location as well. From the above comments, it looks like LA pays more in general...

^ depends. I know people there who are doing good to make $10 an hour, probably less.

If a licensed person with 10 years of experience is making between 50 and 60, they are getting screwed without even a French kiss!

I think you have a pretty good chance now to negotiate a good salary, because they invite you 2nd time. I think you can offer $50k, start with higher number, they will of course refuse, and that will be the time to settle with their choice.

$50k for a BArch with no experience... in 2010?

Ummm am I missing something?

I'm with Hawkin.

$50k, after taxes, in SF (and I'd guess LA & NY are similar) is about enough to cover rent in a shared apt, utilities, groceries, and maintenance/gas on an mid-00's Honda, with about $150 a week left over for clothing, dating, eating, drinking and entertainment... so, not unreasonable.

$50k it is still $2.950 net a month. Not that bad for a fresh graduate in the worst economic scenario in 70 years, and in one of the most affected industries.

$2.350 a month just for a flatshare and food seems way too much for me if you are a recent graduate living economically. And you don't need the almost-new 2005 Honda if you live in NY.

Not bad at all: they'd be lucky to land that job, but it's not extravagant either, and not beyond all proportion to living in a town where rent is more than most Americans' mortgages.

Surviving on $40k, however, would be... tricky.

^ no it wouldn't. Its fairly easy.

"Surviving on $40k, however, would be... tricky."

Depends on the amount of student loans he took, I think.If one doesn't have so much student loan debt then 40k is very livable even in NYC.

I appreciate and thank everyone for their 5 cents, this has been very informative and refreshing in some way. It seems that I wasnt that far off and just wanted to see if what I had in mind was somewhat realistic. luckily,I dont have that much of student loans (+/- 32k)
but rent, groceries and gas really will takes much of my expenses but Ill be Ok I guess.

once again Thanks everyone

please post if theres more feedback

Considering most people in most other majors coming out of school make far more than 50k a year, it's pretty reasonable especially in a expensive city. We have one of the hardest majors that takes a lot of education and training! We work long hours and are imediately imersed in some serious problem-solving. the expectations of us as employees are extremely high as we need to quickly learn on our own.

So yes, goddammit, 50k is only fair!

My Dearest med.

3/4 of my firm was let go and the owners floated the ship for 2 years with their own money. The fact they are still open for business is a miracle. If veteran architects are knocked down to 60K for a few years I would assume interns have been knocked down as well. There might be a few large firms with some still larger salaries out there but I suspect this is the exception and not the norm. You seem to have an ingrained hatred of the business of architecture judging by your posts on this topic in other threads and I wonder are you a principle owner? Are you a mid level manager responsible for staff and production or are you pontificating from an ivory tower? From what lofty position is your negative view of firms, their owners and pay-scales being framed?