<prompt> Human: Wife engineer has 5 years of work experience in a related engineering field, and she finally landed a job that is directly in the line of work she desires so now she is pretty desperate to accept. Starting salary was based on what she made at her last job. She has only been receiving 2 annual raises and no pay bumps since starting her career, and we live in very high COLA. With the new job offer she is getting a slight bump in base salary but with a lower 401k match and no guaranteed annual bonus. It is effectively a wash overall. I kind of think she should push back and ask for a little more money 5k, thinking all they can say is no. She also would like a bit more money, but doesnt want to lose the job or harm the employer-employee relationship. As this is a new field and she needs a lot of training to get up to speed one could argue she is already a well-paid entry-level employee who is now pushing her luck. But on the other hand she recognizes this is probably her only chance to get a pay bump because this company will probably only give her 2 raises like most companies do. Frankly, I dont have experience in this department and none of her friends or family do either. We are looking for opinions on whether or not we should raise the topic with HR and, if yes, then how so? Thank you!  <response>: Asking for more money so as to be in line with the market is definitely the way to go.Honestly, going forward, your wife needs to get comfortable with NOT telling a prospective employer what her current salary is, and instead state I am looking for a position that pays X,000 - Y,000 per year, is this in line with the opportunity? whenever the What is your currently salary? question comes up.Some states and cities already make it illegal for a prospective employer to ask for current salary.Your wife really needs to go and research on Glassdoor, Payscale, and get a good idea of what the market is paying, and learn to ask for that. Otherwise shes going to be underpaid her entire career. 