7 Best Ways to Find Out If You’re Being Paid Enough
Think you're underpaid? From AI-powered tools to salary chats with peers, here are 7 no-fluff ways to check your true market value, starting with PayScope.
Alex Vavilov
CEO at Glozo | Helping Recruiters & Agencies Cut Sourcing Time by 80% with our Talent Intelligence Platform
You know the feeling.
You open Slack, see Steve from accounting just went to yet another Caribbean cruise, and you start wondering…am I being paid enough?We’ve all asked it silently, at 2am, while scrolling job listings “just out of curiosity.” But the question deserves more than vague Google results or awkward glassdoor averages. So here it is:
1. Use a resume-based salary estimator
Forget title-based guesswork. Upload your actual resume to a tool like PayScope, and let AI do the math. It reads your experience, matches it against 27 million+ job listings, and tells you exactly where you stand: median, top 10%, bottom 25%. It’s free, instant, and weirdly satisfying.
2. Compare job listings for similar roles
Take a quick tour of job boards. Look at listings for jobs that match your skills and experience, not just your title. Pay close attention to roles in your region or industry. If most of them list salaries above yours… well, that’s a sign.
3. Talk to recruiters (yes, even if you’re not job hunting)
Recruiters have one foot in the market at all times. A quick conversation or even just replying to a cold LinkedIn message can reveal what companies are willing to pay for your profile. You don’t need to say yes. Just listen and learn.
4. Ask your peers (tactfully!)
It’s 2025. Talking about salary isn’t taboo anymore. If you’ve got trusted colleagues or former teammates, open the door for a salary chat. Try framing it like: “I’m trying to understand the market better, mind if I ask roughly what range you’re in?”
5. Benchmark by geography
$80K in Austin is not the same as $80K in Amsterdam. Use cost-of-living calculators and local salary data to get a sense of what “fair pay” looks like where you live (or where you’re thinking of moving). Tools like PayScope can help you toggle locations too.
6. Reverse-engineer job offers
Apply to a couple of roles just to get a feel. No need to accept anything, just go through the process. What’s the salary range? What’s negotiable? Sometimes the best way to know your value is to see what someone else is willing to offer.
7. Check in with yourself
This one’s not data-driven, but it matters. Are you growing? Do you feel respected? Do your responsibilities match your compensation? Money is one piece, but how you feel about the tradeoff matters, too.
There’s no single perfect answer to the salary question. But combine a few of these tactics, and you’ll start to get a pretty clear picture.And if you want to skip the guessing entirely?Try PayScope. Two clicks, instant results, and no awkward recruiter small talk required.
