Vocations · Professional Development · Job offers

The bigger salary
is not always
the better offer.

Put each offer’s pay and benefits side by side. The calculator turns hourly wages into a year, adds the match and benefits, takes off insurance premiums and the commute, and ranks the offers by what they are worth to you.

Compare my offersWhat you get

The offer comparison

The worked example is made up: three entry-level offers in health care administration, one paid by the hour. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

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What you get

Vocations · Professional DevelopmentAlso for Vocations · Career ResourcesFree

What you finish with
Each offer’s yearly value after health premiums and commute, the hours you would actually work, its value per hour worked, and a ranking with the gap between the top two. It prints as a one-page summary and downloads as a spreadsheet you can bring to a negotiation.
Who it is for
Students with a first offer, adults changing jobs or returning to work, and the career, CTE and adult education teachers who help them decide.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Up to six offers. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Professional Development space in Caveat Vocations; also listed for Career Resources (job seekers and adult learners).
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add each offer with its base pay: a yearly salary, or an hourly wage and hours a week.
  2. Fill in the bonus, retirement match, the health premium you would pay each month, any other benefits with a cash value, and the commute cost.
  3. Add paid days off for each offer and paid holidays for all.
  4. Read the ranking by value a year and by value per hour worked.
  5. Print the summary or download the spreadsheet before you reply to an offer.

Compare my offers

How each offer is valued

Pay, plus what the employer adds, minus what the job costs you.

Hospital billing office: from base pay to value a yearBase pay+$46,000Match 5%+$2,300Other benefits+$1,200Health premiums−$1,140Commute−$2,400Value a year$45,960Base pay to value a yearBase pay+$46,000Match 5%+$2,300Other benefits+$1,200Health premiums−$1,140Commute−$2,400Value a year$45,960
The top offer in the example, step by step: $46,000 base, plus a $2,300 match and $1,200 of other benefits, minus $1,140 of health premiums and $2,400 of commuting, is $45,960 a year.

The arithmetic

Hourly pay becomes yearly pay at the wage times hours a week times weeks in the year. Value a year adds the expected bonus, the employer’s retirement match (the match rate times base pay, if you put in enough to get it) and other benefits you would otherwise buy, then subtracts what you pay for health insurance and the commute. Hours worked are weeks times hours a week, less paid days off and holidays; value per hour worked divides the two.

What to check beyond the numbers

Health plans differ in more than the premium: compare deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums and whether your doctors are in network. A match may vest over several years. A bonus that is not guaranteed is an estimate. And the work itself, the schedule, training and room to grow often matter more than a few thousand dollars, especially in a first job.

Sources

  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (bls.gov/ecec): wages and benefits as parts of total compensation.
  2. U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. Life changes require health choices and retirement plan guides (dol.gov/ebsa): comparing health coverage and matching contributions.
  3. HealthCare.gov. Health insurance basics: premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.
  4. CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. Salary and benefits and Negotiate your salary (careeronestop.org).

The worked example is made up. Values are estimates from the figures you enter and leave out taxes. Your figures stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.