What to consider with costs of an entry-level salary

Entry-level jobs will rarely pay the amount of money that graduates need today to pay off student loans, pay for rent, transportation, etc. The entry level salaries continue to decline with the demand for the job, you would make more money working as an entry-level employee at an accounting firm than you will if you start at entry-level at a newspaper. This is simply because there are less jobs out there for writers than there are for accountants, jobs for writers are highly coveted. It is important to not solely fixate on a number when thinking about entry-level salaries, but to think about what that number means to you.
After graduation, a friend of mine faced a dilemma between two jobs offers doing lab work. One job was offering her $30,000 for the year and the other job, $28,000. As a recent college graduate there is definitely an inkling to just go for the job that offers the most money. However there are pros and cons to every offer. The job that offered more money was 30 minutes away (or more if there was traffic) and it was on a major highway that was notoriously heavy with traffic at almost all parts in the day. The other job was 5 minutes from her house. She could have taken the higher salary but spent time and money on traffic and gas respectively. Instead after reflection she realized that since she was living at home and saving all of her earnings, it would be easier and way less stressful to be closer to work. You just have to determine what amount will work for you in your own situation.