Can’t you just put “flexible” for desired pay, OP?

Anonymous wrote:I’d expect a salary commensurate with 8 years of experience. I’d target 100K, but it will vary based on industry and role. If you approach this from a place of fear and diminished worth, then you will get less pay. But, as a mom, your time is now more valuable than ever.

For the record, a man would NEVER go into this scenario thinking he should make anything less than 100K. And he’d get it.

Men would never take 8 years off voluntarily.

Anonymous wrote:I’d expect a salary commensurate with 8 years of experience. I’d target 100K, but it will vary based on industry and role. If you approach this from a place of fear and diminished worth, then you will get less pay. But, as a mom, your time is now more valuable than ever.

For the record, a man would NEVER go into this scenario thinking he should make anything less than 100K. And he’d get it.

OP here. I'm concerned that if I put the request too high in the application, I'll just be passed over as delusional, especially if it's towards the top of the range in the job posting. At least that send to have happened when I've applied to rules that seemed a good fit that I'd be qualified to do.

OP here. Wish there were internships for people returning to the workforce.

Anyway, I'm not sure how to make a case in an online application that asks for "desired salary" for a job with a huge range, like $60-120k "commensurate with experience" - and the experience being 1-2 years in a rule that requires less questions with than I've done before. Is it too ambitious to put $80 as "desired salary"?

I’d expect a salary commensurate with 8 years of experience. I’d target 100K, but it will vary based on industry and role. If you approach this from a place of fear and diminished worth, then you will get less pay. But, as a mom, your time is now more valuable than ever.

For the record, a man would NEVER go into this scenario thinking he should make anything less than 100K. And he’d get it.

I hate to say it but data analysis experience from even 5 years ago (and it sounds like yours is much longer) is obsolete. You are essentially staring from scratch.

Anonymous wrote:I would also consider the value of your work to the company as opposed to only thinking about what you earned in the past. When I was in revenue-generating jobs, I focused on the money I could bring in. Even a job that does not directly generate revenue can have a number attached to it to indicate what monetary value is brought to the company.

Part of the point of this is to prove your worth to them and also to get people not to look at the past salaries and "anchor" your new salary to a past salary.

I would also consider the value of your work to the company as opposed to only thinking about what you earned in the past. When I was in revenue-generating jobs, I focused on the money I could bring in. Even a job that does not directly generate revenue can have a number attached to it to indicate what monetary value is brought to the company.

OP here. Thanks for the perspectives. There's a real option of trying to pursue and get into teaching, as that gets me time with my kids and I'm good at it; I started on that path but we had to leave that school and I couldn't teach there anymore, and the money just couldn't justify the choice.
So it seems like I should be taking whatever job I can find. Again I'm not totally new to the workforce - I had a decent career before I quit, and I did *something*, even though it wasn't a ton, in the interim...But yeah maybe in this market it's not enough.

I would avoid getting back into the job market (unless you need to) at this exact time. It's harder than usual right now; could be better in few months. Consider getting on a board or something that would build up skills.

Anonymous wrote:I think you need to take the long view. You've got to find a job and get someone to take a chance on you, and that first job isn't going to pay much. BUT I would plan on staying a year or two, updating my resume, and actively searching again, and then, with a job already, I think you'd be at $80k again, so at least where you left off, and maybe even higher.

So don't focus too much on the actual salary of the first job. Think about opportunity. Will this open doors for you, in or out of the company? Then great - might be $60k for a year or two, but that's no problem as long as you can move back up quickly. Getting your foot back in the door is going to be the hard part.

Agree with this. It’s always easier to get a job when you have a job. And the market is tough right now, especially for jobs that can be done with AI, like data analysis. Take something that works for you, and figure out how to scale up from there.

I think you need to take the long view. You've got to find a job and get someone to take a chance on you, and that first job isn't going to pay much. BUT I would plan on staying a year or two, updating my resume, and actively searching again, and then, with a job already, I think you'd be at $80k again, so at least where you left off, and maybe even higher.

So don't focus too much on the actual salary of the first job. Think about opportunity. Will this open doors for you, in or out of the company? Then great - might be $60k for a year or two, but that's no problem as long as you can move back up quickly. Getting your foot back in the door is going to be the hard part.

I think in this situation you are starting over and will have to take whatever the market starting salary for your type of position is. Which is probably higher than when you started initially.

OP here - I meant to say a career of EIGHT years.

I left a career of years working as a data analyst to become a SAHM. Due to Covid, a big move, and more kids, I ended up staying longer than I planned. I did some small part-time things (teaching, tutoring) here and there but now I need to find full-time, reasonably-paying work-- in this market. I am further out than DC proper but still in the broader DMV, so I'm impacted by the federal government's troubles.

I was wondering - what is a reasonable pay to expect or ask for? I have a floor lower than which I can't go because it is less than childcare. Now, I've been out of the workforce six years, and I made $80K in an corporate strategy role. Adjusted for inflation this would approach $100K but I'm not expecting that. However, is $80K even reasonable to expect, or should I be expecting to be making $50-60K - which is what I made in my first job ever out of college over 15 years ago? Thank you for your help and advice.