Always counter offer?

[TexasTower]

So, I am graduating UT with a CS degree and have gotten a pretty good offer, 60k+.

I have very little real world development experience but have 15 years of customer facing exp. The job will require a mix of both.

As a rule of thumb, do you always counter an employment offer even in such a crappy economy?

 

[HornsInTheHouse]

Is it a BS degree? I was a liberal arts graduate and took the first job offer I got. It was a decent pay and I was in no position to negotiate it. Liberal Arts Career Services never mentioned anything about a counter offer. You've got a lot more work experience in addition to your CS degree, what was your last salary? If it was close to your offer you might consider asking for a little more but $60,000+ is very good for any job in this economy.

 

[texaszete]

It all depends on the situation. If this is a large company that brings in a lot of new hires fresh out of school each year, doubtful since it's probably a standard contract.

If it's a small company or you're their only hire, do you have another offer on the table to compare it to or fall back to? If not, maybe try and negotiate them to give you a higher moving expense. It sounds a lot better and won't destroy any good will you already have with them if you don't have another offer in your back pocket.

 

[orangotango]

Generally, I alway ask. Though what I ask is something like...

"Just so I know, is there any flexibility in the offer or is it firm?" When I hire our of school people I typically don't have much room for extra $ but can have a lot of room on 1st year time off, or other deals.

Also, CS students with a couple of years of experience (you in a couple of years) are the hottest commodity out there if you get the right experience. So you could easily adjust in a couple of years if you play your cards right and you don't like where you end up.

 

[HornsInTheHouse]

I'm curious, how did things turn out?