What is the right salary for you?

What is the right salary, and why is it hard to answer?

There is no single correct figure for what a particular role should pay. The right salary is what is normal for people doing similar work, with similar experience and responsibility, in the same type of organisation. Two people with the same job title can earn very different amounts because one leads a team and the other has just started.

That is why you should compare yourself with a group that resembles you as closely as possible. A national average for the whole occupation gives a rough picture, but says little about what you should be earning right now. The more precisely you define your comparison group, the more reliable the answer.

Salary statistics: where to find comparison figures

Statistics Norway (SSB) publishes salary statistics by occupation, industry and sector, and the figures are freely available in StatBank (Statistikkbanken). Among other things, you can see monthly earnings for full-time employees, broken down by sector and gender. Always check what the figure includes, for example whether fixed allowances and bonuses are counted, and which year the figures apply to.

If you work somewhere with a collective agreement (tariffavtale), the agreement often contains pay scales or minimum rates. In central and local government the pay systems are largely public, and many collective agreements in the private sector set minimum pay for different groups. Ask your union representatives if you cannot find the agreement yourself.

Many trade unions run their own salary surveys among members, especially for groups such as engineers, economists and lawyers. These are often more detailed than SSB, with figures by experience and responsibility. Job ads can also give a hint, as some state the salary or pay grade, especially in the public sector.

What affects your salary

Once you have found a figure, you need to adjust it to your situation. These are the main factors that separate the pay of people in the same occupation:

• Experience: Pay usually rises most in the first years in an occupation and then levels off.
• Education: Longer or more specialised education often gives a higher starting salary, but not in every occupation.
• Sector: The pay gap between the private and public sector goes in different directions in different occupations, so compare within the same sector.
• Region: Pay levels vary between regions and cities, often in line with how strong the competition for workers is.
• Responsibility: Managing people, budgets or a professional area pushes pay up.
• Industry and employer: Large and small employers in the same industry may pay differently.
• Allowances: Shift work, rotas, evening and weekend work often bring allowances on top of base pay.

Median and average, explained simply

When you read salary statistics, you often see two figures: the average and the median. The average is the sum of all salaries divided by the number of people. The median is the salary of the person in the middle if you line everyone up from lowest to highest pay. Half earn more and half earn less.

Say five people earn NOK 500,000, NOK 520,000, NOK 540,000, NOK 560,000 and NOK 1,200,000. The average is NOK 664,000, while the median is NOK 540,000. The one high salary pulls the average up but does not affect the median.

Because a few high salaries pull the average up, the median is often lower. The median therefore often gives a better picture of what a typical employee earns. Also look at the spread if it is given, for example quartiles, which show where the pay of the lowest and highest paid lies.

Is my salary too low? How to check

Follow these steps to find out whether your pay is where it should be:

• Find figures for the same occupation and the same sector, ideally for full-time employees.
• Convert your pay to the same unit. If you work 80% and earn NOK 40,000 a month, that equals NOK 50,000 in a full-time role. If you are paid by the hour, you can use the hourly pay calculator.
• Compare with the median, and see whether you are near the lower or the upper part of the spread.
• Adjust for experience and responsibility. If you are new in the role, it is natural to be somewhat below the median.
• Include the whole package. A pension above the minimum, a bonus or extra holiday can make up for a slightly lower base salary.

What to do if you are underpaid

Start with a factual conversation with your manager. Show the figures you have found, explain what you have contributed, and say what level you think is right. It is a good idea to read the guide on how to negotiate salary before the meeting, so you know how to present your case.

If your workplace has a collective agreement, you should also check that you are placed correctly under it. If you are a union member, your union representatives can help. In industries where the collective agreement has been declared generally applicable, you are entitled to at least the minimum pay, and Arbeidstilsynet (the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority) has an overview of the rates.

If nothing changes over time, that is a signal in itself. For many people, changing jobs is the quickest route to higher pay, and it pays to know what you are worth before you enter new negotiations.

Check whether you are paid the right salary with Selja

In the Salary check at Selja you choose a role and see typical pay based on figures from SSB, adjusted for experience, education, sector and level. You also see whether your salary is poor, standard or good for the role. The Salary check is free, and you can paste in a job ad to see what that specific job ought to pay.