How Do You Know If You’re Settling for Less Than You’re Worth?

I’m at the point where I’m just taking whatever comes my way.

Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash

I found out today that I may have landed a job that pays me 40% more than my current job, and — if all goes well with my references — I’ll start the beginning of January 2022. I was thrilled by the news and thought I’d finally made a huge step forward with my path of employment.

But then, as the excitement dulled and unease began to set in, I thought, “Just why am I so happy about this?” I never really judged my life by money before — I went six years earning less than nine dollars an hour — but now my life seems to spiral upward or downward dependent on the almighty buck.

The description for the job I applied for stated the terms — such as wages — were “non-negotiable.” Yet I didn’t think much of it at the time. My resume bore only retail experience, so I knew I wouldn’t have had much of a case even if I had wanted to haggle about what I would be paid. People who have decades worth of experience can do that; I, having been in the job market for less than ten years, don’t have the gall.

In the back of my mind, though, I keep thinking that I don’t know what my true worth is anyway. I have a bachelor’s degree, sure, but I don’t have the experience in the field for…