Total compensation calculator

Base salary alone is misleading. Model the full True Compensation Value (TCV) — including equity, benefits, brand premium, and lifestyle economics.

How this works
Enter the details of any job offer and this tool calculates your True Compensation Value (TCV) — the full economic picture beyond base salary. It sums base, bonus, equity (RSUs), sign-on (amortized over 3 years), retirement match, and benefits, then applies a brand multiplier based on the employer tier. Remote days are converted to commute savings at ~$5,200/day/year. The breakdown bars let you see at a glance which components are actually driving total comp.
A $180K base with no equity may be worth less than $145K with strong RSUs Use alongside the COL Normalizer for geographic context
Offer details

TCV = Base + Bonus + Equity (RSUs) + Sign-On (amortized over 3 yrs) + Retirement Match + Benefits, adjusted for brand multiplier. Remote savings estimated at $5,200/remote day/yr.

Continue to the Comp Negotiation Tool

This is advisory context, not structured offer data — there's no "offer" yet at this stage, just a ballpark. Paste this note into that tool's Step 1 as a reference when you set your baseline market salary manually.

Cost-of-living normalizer

$145K in Salt Lake City often outperforms $210K in San Francisco in real purchasing power. Compare two offers on adjusted terms.

How this works
This tool adjusts each offer's nominal salary using a Cost of Living (COL) index — a measure of how far a dollar goes in each city relative to the US average (100). For example, San Francisco has a COL index of ~197, meaning things cost roughly twice as much there. Each offer is also adjusted for top marginal state income tax to show after-tax take-home. The result: a side-by-side purchasing-power comparison so you're evaluating real economic value, not just the number on the offer letter.
SLC index: 94 — below US average, strong purchasing power Seattle and Austin have no state income tax — a significant hidden advantage
Offer A
Offer B

Industry compensation heatmap

Compare 10 industries across five strategic dimensions. Darker = higher score. Click any cell for roles, salary ranges, and market signals.

How this works
Each industry is scored 0–100 across five dimensions based on 2025–2026 market data. Color intensity encodes the score — darker blue means a higher score for the selected dimension. Use the filter buttons to switch dimensions and re-rank industries instantly. Click any cell to open a detail panel showing MBA entry-level roles, realistic salary ranges, and a strategic market signal from current hiring data. Scores are editorial assessments synthesized from Levels.fyi, Glassdoor, H1B data, and industry reports — not algorithmic outputs.
Total comp (TCV) — full package value including equity Growth trajectory — 3–5 year comp acceleration potential AI resilience — robustness of the career path to AI disruption Equity upside — meaningful equity / carry / long-term incentive potential Work-life fit — typical hours, intensity, and flexibility
Low High — click any cell for details

Offer evaluation scorecard

Rate two offers 1–5 across 8 weighted dimensions. The weighted total reveals the stronger long-term strategic choice — not just the higher number.

How this works
Label your two offers, then rate each on a 1–5 scale across eight career dimensions. Each dimension carries a preset weight reflecting its long-term impact on career outcomes — Compensation (25%), Growth (20%), Brand (15%), and Leadership Exposure (15%) carry the most weight. Your ratings are multiplied by the weights and summed to produce a score out of 100. This forces a structured tradeoff conversation: a $200K offer that scores 54 may be a worse strategic choice than a $145K offer that scores 81.
80–100: Strong accept 65–79: Accept with negotiation 50–64: Proceed with caution Below 50: Decline or renegotiate

Skill premium index

Skills are market assets. Compensation is their market price. Use this to prioritize upskilling for maximum compensation ROI.

How this works
Each skill is assigned a premium score from 0–100 representing how much compensation lift that skill currently commands in the MBA-level job market, relative to peers without it. Scores are synthesized from 2025–2026 job posting data, Levels.fyi compensation reports, LinkedIn salary insights, and recruiter-reported hiring trends. Filter by category to focus your upskilling plan. A score of 90+ means the skill is actively commanding premium offers and is frequently listed as a differentiator in MBA-level hiring decisions.
AI & data — fastest-growing premium category Technical — analytical tools and applied coding Business — strategy, communication, and leadership skills
Recommended live data sources
Levels.fyi — tech & PM Glassdoor — broad benchmarking H1B Salary DB — employer data Blind — negotiation intel RepVue — SaaS sales LinkedIn Jobs — live transparency Salary.com — corporate bands