Negotiating Your Salary?
I love to hear a student ask about a city’s cost of living because it means they’ve begun salary negotiations. This morning, at 10:43, I noticed the beginning of that happiest of times – job offer season. A student asked for a reliable source for local level cost of living data because he couldn’t trust what he’d found on the web.
Sometimes those words are like angels singing to my ears. It means there are still a few things I have tucked away in the reference collection that can really help someone with a major decision. In this case, it’s the ACCRA Cost of Living Index. Not a stunning title, but this quarterly publication issued by the Council for Community and Economic Research, provides cost of living and comparative price data for 390 US urban areas. In addition, it also offers an equation that allows users to compare the cost of living in one city to another.
So when that offer comes through, look for the latest AACRA Cost of Living Index. Better yet, stop by the reference desk and I’ll show it to you. Happy Job Offer Season!