QUESTION:

I graduated this past May and just received a job offer to work on a political campaign. I was wondering if you could possibly give me advice and insight on an acceptable salary range for the position, since I'm at a loss on where to start, and relevant online information on typical salaries appear to be sparse. It is a communications assistant position for a U.S. Senate campaign in Texas, with job duties oriented towards social media management, blog posts, etc. I would greatly appreciate any insight you could give me on an acceptable salary, if you can.

ANSWER:

My favorite salary indicator on the web is Indeed.com. As you may know, you can type in any title and any city and get some salary information. I typed in "Communications Assistant" and "Austin, Texas". I don't know if you're in Austin, but given Austin is the capital - the salaries there would be good indicators for Texas. The answer is you might expect a salary of about $35,000. They might offer less given this is a political campaign. Have they given you any numbers? Here's the information I found. Good luck on the campaign!

SOURCE: INDEED.COM -- Average Salary of Jobs with Titles Matching Your Search

In USD as of Jun 30, 2011

Communications Assistant in Austin, TX:  $35,000

Note: Average Communications Assistant salaries for job postings in Austin, TX are 12% lower than average Communications Assistant salaries for job postings nationwide.