Is $36k a reasonable professional salary for a non-profit job in a mid-range cost-of-living city?

It is not uncommon to start someone a bit under the maximum, so that you can give them a bump at their first review; pressing hard for more salary might just cause you to have no raises for a while. It's also not uncommon to promise a bump at the first review which never quite materializes.

That seems totally reasonable for entry level at a non-profit in Raleigh. (I live here, too.) Even a bit generous, actually.

That's not too bad in Raleigh for an entry-level gig.

Are you asking if $36k is good for an entry level position that requires no work experience, or is it good for YOU? It's clearly great if you just graduated with your BA, but you have a masters and half a decade of work on your resume. I think both of these things can be true: you would be overpaid for the role, but underpaid for what you're capable of. So you gotta figure out for yourself if you care to keep looking, but I would never place myself in a position where I was way overqualified for something. Because I know I would eventually be bored, resentful, and unsatisfied. Hey I know you gotta eat, but consider their side of it. They've budgeted $36k as the maximum they're willing to pay a 22 year old. They would be getting way more than their money's worth if you accepted. Are you sure there isn't anything out there for someone more experienced? Will you love what you'll be doing?

Grab the job.

I think that is a great salary for a non-profit job in that area. Take it. You will have other opportunities to advance later.

Take the job! It's good for entry-level in Raleigh. It's not great for a Masters Degree, but whatever...you like the job right? And you are unemployed. So it's a go. If you'd like to negotiate, here are things that are basically "free" for a nonprofit to give you: 1)flexible schedule 2)more vacation days 3)a better title 4)have health insurance kick in immediately (sometimes it takes a month) 5)structured mentoring from the ED or someone else there any of these things can easily "add" thousands of dollars, in a sense, to your salary. Congrats on the gig, and I'd definitely try to negotiate the benes!

Sorry, it's early. You would have a monthly net of $1900.00 to work with doing the $360 contribution each month. Maybe there's room for more?

Expanding on the previous thought a little, you could take $180 every two weeks and put it in your 403(b) instead of having to use it for an insurance premium. Times 26 that's $4680 per year earning interest at 6-12%, plus that's pre-tax on payroll (you don't pay tax on that portion of your income). It also means you finish the year paying federal and state taxes on a gross of $31,300 instead of $36,000. Remember that if you get into an emergency, you can loan yourself money from the 403(b) and pay it back to yourself at a very low interest rate. You would still have $1200 a month after taxes for rent, utilities, car, auto insurance, etc. If you can budget with that, you're in great shape.