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I know not everyone feels this way, but for your very first professional job, you are obligated to negotiate. Truthfully, you often don’t have a ton of leverage to do so. Now, as said, if the offer comes up short, please do advocate for yourself and get in a range that is in line with what everyone else pays.
This
Negotiating is totally normal and companies expect candidates to negotiate. Employers dont rescind offers just because someone tries to negotiate. It makes no sense for them to start the whole recruitment process over again after they found someone they like enough to extend an offer. If by chance they do rescind just for negotiating, that’s a huge red flag and it’s not a company I would wanna work for anyway.
You only need to negotiate if their offer comes up short. I would do research on salary ranges for similar positions. An intelligent conversation on this topic shows you have done your homework and shows initiative and interest which are all good things.
This!
Research says 80% of employers are looking for candidates to negotiate. Show them you know what you are worth. The lower you start the lower every raise will be... just keep that in mind. Good luck!
There's nothing wrong with negotiating, but if you're satisfied with the offer and you're happy to get your foot in the door there's no point. If you believe you should be paid more, you can make a case for yourself, but without a lot of experience you don't have much to stand on. Companies will rescind offers if someone seems unserious, so if you negotiate, be professional and polite and make a reasonable request.
I asked what the max budget for the role is, then go from there. If they’re already giving you the max budget, you can still negotiate a little more or leave it. Second role in my career I tried negotiating and was rejected, offer was still on the table. It is normal & expected to negotiate, some companies have budget, some don’t. As you gain more experience, you gain more leverage and knowledge about what’s possible. I gave myself a 40% salary bump just from jumping to another company after 10 months in my first role. Hope this helped!
If you are young and this is your first real job AND you are happy with the salary, I would probably suggest taking it as is. It's a bad job market and their #2 potential might be almost as good as you. This is advice for 2026 only lol. As you progress, please do negotiate because yes it is expected. But I have seen (on Reddit, not my IRL) people get their offers rescinded for first jobs. Who are these "everyone" anyways? You have to do what feels right for you. Best to realize that earlier in life than later.