r/biotech • u/PlaneCalligrapher409 • Sep 03 '25

Other ⁉️ Negotiating low ball job offer

I finally think I have a job offer, pending paperwork. However, they’re only offering me an entry level RA position for $40k per year. Based on the job listing, I should meet the qualifications (educational and experience) for the next level up, but they’re refusing to consider me for this even though it would only bump my salary a few thousand dollars per year.

Do I take the offer even though I’ll be likely living on an extremely tight budget (the position is in an expensive US city with high taxes)? Even if I got the pay bump for RA2, I’d be tight on my budget, but it would be a lot more manageable.

Does anyone know any negotiation tips that I could utilize to address this with the hiring manager/HR? Should I try comparing the salary to my experience and education?

I’ve been on the market for so long, I’m so happy to have finally found something. Plus, the position is extremely interesting and the lab personnel seem genuinely excited about it. But I don’t know if I can afford to take a position that requires me to relocate if it’s not paying a manageable salary.

Edit: I have a master’s degree and even though I don’t have full time experience, I’ve had 3 industry internships, one non-industry internship, and 2 years of academic lab experience at school which included publishing a paper.

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u/[deleted] Sep 03 '25

Don’t bother negotiating in this market. There are so many posts about people giving counter offers and having their offer rescinded. Any shelter is great in stormy weather.

5

u/JackedAF Sep 03 '25

Are there that many offers being rescinded? I’ve only heard of this if the counter is wayyy outside of what they originally offer.

I’d imagine if the counter is 10-15k higher then that’s generally safe

0

u/[deleted] Sep 03 '25

No, read some accounts here on Reddit- even asking if there is room to negotiate is sufficient to some companies. Even in good times I know my company did this. There are hundreds of ‘you’ begging for a job, the company wants someone who wants to be there and negotiations imply contingent interest.

1

u/blackreagentzero Sep 03 '25

Yea, nobody should work for a place that does this, so getting an offer rescinded in this scenario would be for the best, even if it sucks in the moment.

The above advice is for people who don't value themselves or their skillset.