CareerKit

Free Salary Research Brief

Estimated range, what moves the number, what's negotiable — and exactly where to verify.

AI estimate from training data, not live market feeds. The brief tells you which live sources to check.

City, country, or "Remote (US)"

Seniority (optional)

0/500

Industry, company stage, your current comp, the offer you're weighing.

How to actually research a salary range

Most candidates walk into negotiations with a number from one Glassdoor page — and most Glassdoor pages mix junior and senior comp, old and new data, base and total. The Salary Research Brief gives you a structured starting point: an estimated range with the reasoning shown, the factors that move the number for your specific role and market, what's actually negotiable at your level, and a checklist of which live sources to verify against.

Honest by design: the estimate comes from AI training data, not live market feeds — and the brief says so explicitly. The real value is the verification checklist. Most people don't know that levels.fyi is authoritative for big-tech bands while the public H1B salary database shows actual filed salaries at specific US companies. The brief routes you to the right source for your case.

How to use the salary brief

  1. 1

    Enter role + location + seniority

    Location matters as much as role — "Senior PM, Remote (US)" and "Senior PM, Berlin" are different markets entirely. Pick the seniority honestly; it changes both the range and what's negotiable.

  2. 2

    Add the context that shifts the band

    Industry, company stage, your current comp, the offer you're weighing. "Is a $190k ask defensible?" gets a sharper brief than no context.

  3. 3

    Verify with at least two live sources

    The brief lists exactly which sources fit your case and what to search. Do this BEFORE anchoring a negotiation — never negotiate off the AI estimate alone.

  4. 4

    Turn the research into the ask

    Take your verified range into the free Salary Negotiation Script tool — it writes the counter-offer email and the talking points with your range as the anchor.

Salary research tips

  • Always verify with two independent live sources. One source is an anecdote; two is a pattern.
  • For US roles at specific companies, check the public H1B salary database (h1bdata.info) — these are actual filed salaries, not self-reported.
  • levels.fyi is authoritative for big tech; Glassdoor/Payscale fit mid-market; BLS OES gives occupational medians for non-tech roles.
  • Total compensation ≠ base. Get clear which one a source reports before comparing numbers.
  • Ranges shift fast in hot specialisations — data younger than 12 months beats anything older.
  • Your anchor should sit at the top of your verified range, not the middle — employers negotiate down, rarely up.

Salary research FAQs

How accurate is the AI salary estimate?▾

It's a reasoned starting point from training data — typically directionally right but not current. Comp data moves fast. That's why the brief puts the disclaimer in the first line and routes you to live sources for verification. Never negotiate off the estimate alone.

Why not just scrape live salary data?▾

Live comp data is owned by the platforms that collect it (levels.fyi, Glassdoor, Payscale) and scraping it would be both legally fraught and stale within weeks. Pointing you to the right authoritative source for your specific case is more honest and more useful.

Which source should I trust most?▾

Depends on the case: levels.fyi for big-tech bands, the H1B database for actual filed salaries at specific US companies, BLS OES for occupational medians, Glassdoor/Payscale for mid-market sanity checks. The brief tells you which fits your role.

Does this work outside the US?▾

Yes — the brief adapts to the location you give, in local currency. Source quality varies by country: US/UK/Germany have the richest public data; smaller markets get wider ranges and the brief says so.

What's actually negotiable in an offer?▾

At junior levels: start date, signing bonus, review timing. At mid: base (5-10%), signing, remote terms. At senior+: base, equity, refresh grants, scope/title, severance terms. The brief details what's realistic for YOUR level so you don't waste leverage on the wrong ask.

Is my data stored?▾

No. We don't persist inputs or output — only your IP address for daily rate-limit counting.