76K is most likely for someone with more experience (just guessing you lack overall experience based on the question, don't take it the wrong way). To keep thi

76K is most likely for someone with more experience (just guessing you lack overall experience based on the question, don't take it the wrong way). To keep this brief, I would counter with something like "I've looked at other positions and really feel that I am worth at least 60K. If you can agree to that, along with a performance review and potential merit increase in 6 (or 8 or 12) months based on my performance relative to other members of the team I think we can have a mutually beneficial agreement" You can massage the words a bit, but you get the point. However, you need to figure out what YOU are worth, not what the job typically pays, and also determine if the potential employer has a realistic set of expectations or if they were just looking for a cheap hire. If you're fresh out of school this is probably a decent (but not great) offer. Keep in mind too that the initial experience may be more valuable than the salary...