Kev,
See? That's what I'm getting at, and why I don't understand why people have a problem talking about money. I'm not trying to crap in anybody's Wheaties here, but it is common that people looking for a job do not know what the position should really pay. I know that location and duties, etc. play a large role. But why did you get offered $8k less than your friend? It's because the company thought they could offer you that amount and get you to take it. That is exactly what I am trying to avoid. I have no problem taking an acceptable salary, but I don't want to accept a job for $8k less than I should because I don't know any better. Which, coincidentally goes back to what BeerCourt originally said regarding good pay. Part of my argument is that there is a difference between good pay and good enough pay, and I'm not ashamed to ask what "good" pay is if it means that it will help me get paid what I am really worth!
Modified for language content. Honeycomb
I don't want to talk about money because there is such a wide spectrum that I can't possibly give you the right number.
Navy nukes get out with and without degrees. They take jobs anywhere from folding laundry (this is not an exaggeration) to Control Room Operator, Shift Engineer, Instrument technician, ... etc. Some live in sunny California, and some prefer Maine or New Hampshire
A BSNE from a "good school" will get you what you are seeking, but remember that the $72 k might be your goal, but you won't be able to live within 90 minutes of your job if that paycheck is coming from San Onofre. You need to look at more than the raw numbers. You won't be doing nearly as well with $90k at some places as you will with $60k in others. When I was talking about "crappy" pay, I was not talking about raw dollars, but about the salary in relation to the local cost of living.
This is one thing that you MUST consider. A lot of plants get their jobs filled because they are in a certain geographical location and they don't need to be competitive with $$$ San Onofre is one fine example. Their compensation is inversely proportional to the cost of living because young, unattached, sun-loving people will work there just to live there. Palo Verde is almost as bad.
Instead of ranking jobs by "who offered the most dollars" rank them by what it will buy.
Try this: Make a chart of median home prices in the areas of the plants in column A (or you can pick a house that you think will be right for you and use the price of a comparable house in each market. In column B insert the salary. In column C the ratio of A to B.
If you have the time, figure the other costs of the area such as whether or not the state has an income tax, or compare property tax rates, also factor in the possibility that you may have to pay for private schools for your kids, the local price of gasoline ( very important if you are going to drive from Temecula to San Clemente and back five days a week or Goodyear to Arlington AZ) In my neighborhood, property taxes can be more than you are paying for a mortgage in Florida, but in parts of Florida the wind damage insurance on a house can be almost a grand a month.
But hey, maybe you think that a certain climate is a good trade off for money. Perhaps you want to be near the mountains, or the ocean, or your wife's family.
Really, don't sweat the money. Find a job in a nice area where you want to live, ask if the pay will cover a decent living in that area, take the one that your gut tells you to take. DO NOT spend a single minute of your precious life worrying over the possibility that they lowballed you by a couple of grand or that someone else got a slightly better deal. That crap is totally unimportant and will not positively affect your life. Let it go.