How to check the salary range of a profession

Short answer: consult several sources (salary surveys, job postings, official statistics and conversations with professionals), compare by role, region, company size and experience, and treat the result as a range, not a single figure.

What helps before you start

• The exact job title, with seniority, and the main responsibilities.
• The city or region, and whether the work is on-site or remote.
• An idea of your experience, to see where in the range you fall.

Steps

1. Define the role precisely. The same titles can hide very different functions. Look at job descriptions to understand what is really expected.
2. Consult official statistics. Statistics and labor agencies publish data by occupation, which gives an overview.
3. See salary surveys. Consultancies, professional associations and career sites publish surveys by field, role and company size.
4. Look at open postings. Many describe the range. Compare several to get a sample.
5. Talk to professionals. Colleagues, mentors and communities can help you calibrate, without asking for personal numbers.
6. Adjust for context. Region, company size, industry, education and experience change the value.
7. Consider the package. Compare salary, benefits, bonuses and other perks, not just the gross amount.
8. Compare the sources. If values differ a lot, try to understand why: sample, year, type of company.

An example

Researching the range for a data analyst, Paula saw three figures: 5,000 in one survey, 7,500 in postings and 9,000 in a community. She realized the sources had different seniority levels. Filtering to people with experience similar to hers, the range came to between 6,500 and 8,000. The numbers are illustrative.

Common mistakes

• Trusting a single source.
• Ignoring the date: salaries change with inflation and the market.
• Comparing different jobs with the same name.
• Using the average as if it were your case: your experience and context count.

Next step

Build a small table with three sources and note each one's range. Use it as a basis for a conversation, not as a fixed number.