"How much money do you want to earn?"

[Reaching4stars]

I am a soon-to-be new grad who has an interview coming up for a position I really want. I had one interview prior to this one where the physician asked how much I want to get paid.  I simply answered that PAs in this region make an average of ~"93k" dollars yearly.  He thought it was an appropriate answer, etc. but I'm not really interested in that specialty anymore due to other reasons.

Now i was not expecting him to ask me that question ten minutes into the first interview. I did not bring up compensation on my own. However, I am wondering what an appropriate answer would be if this question comes up again in the next interview. I understand I am a new grad and will have a learning curve, so am I being greedy by asking for the average salary which includes experienced PAs? Is there a better way to answer this question so they can make the offer first and then I can consider whether or not to accept it?

[MT2PA]

You could be vague and say something like "Well the average salary for this region for this specialty is XYZ but I like to consider both salary and benefits when assessing compensation so I'm afraid I don't have an exact number for you".  Hopefully they won't push you for an expected salary.  If they do, roll the dice and be realistic (don't undersell yourself but don't request something ridiculous).

[mandrew1]

He who mentions money first, loses! I would answer that question with a question, "What do you typically pay PAs for this job?" After his answer I would say, "Well we're certainly in the same ball park. " then negotiate from there. Maybe he typically starts PAs at 100k, you would LOSE 7K if you accepted the average 93K.

 

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[BruceBanner]

Yep, never be the first one to give a figure. You can only go down from there, especially if you pull out the AAPA figure. Every employer knows what the average salary is for a PA. They are trying to gauge your expectations. Just redirect the question to them.

 

"Id be interested in hearing what you typically pay PAs".

 

"I have some figure sin mind but Id like to hear your best offer"

 

or if you wanna be ballsy you could say "well we both know what the average is but I'd like to hear what you consider a fair offer."

 

etc.

[Reaching4stars]

Okay! Thank you for your input, guys :) 

[stellahead]

I want to earn all the money, please.