I Make $6,000 To $12,000 By Freelancing On The Side

Illustrated by Eutalia De La Paz.

In our series Salary Stories, women with long-term career experience open up about the most intimate details of their jobs: compensation. It’s an honest look at how real people navigate the complicated world of negotiating, raises, promotions and job loss, with the hope it will give young people more insight into how to advocate for themselves — and maybe take a few risks along the way.

Been in the workforce for at least five years and interested in contributing your salary story? Submit your information here.

Age: 31
Location: Chicago
Current industry and job title: Science communication, medical editor
Current salary: $67,000 + projected freelance income of $12,000
Number of years employed since school or university: Eight
Starting salary: $50,000

Biggest salary jump: From $44,000 to $62,000. I started with my current employer at a salary of $44,000. I received annual incremental merit increases until I was promoted to a new position as medical editor, which allowed me to make a significant salary jump. I asked for $70,000 but was offered $60,000. I countered with $62,000 and they accepted.

Biggest salary drop: From $50,000 to $34,000. My contractual employer terminated our agreement. When I looked for new employment, I received an offer from a nonprofit organization as a marketing assistant for, unfortunately, much less.

Biggest negotiation regret: When I was negotiating for my medical editor salary, I initially asked for $70,000 and cited online evidence of an average salary for this type of science editor in Chicago. The human resources person actually laughed at me and said, “Well, that’s not the average here.” I acquiesced politely and went down to $62,000.

I wish I'd had a little more moxie and cited reasons why I deserved higher pay after the HR person’s somewhat condescending comment. For example, I was about to receive a master’s degree from a very well-respected school in the field. I also required significantly less training than a lot of potential hires since I worked for the company already. While I advocate for being reasonable and negotiating, I think if I pushed a little harder, it may not have taken me a year of more hard work to get to $64,000, which happened with an annual incremental merit increase.

Best salary advice: Do your research about the average salary for your position in your location, and even at your company. If it is supported by your research, just ask for what you want. The worst they can say is no. They might be taken aback in the moment but they will probably forget about it a couple of hours later. You can ask for what you want and also be reasonable in negotiation.