What should I put for desired salary on a job application?

A number or a range that fits the role. If the posting lists a range, pick a figure inside it; some forms, such as Amplify's, simply ask whether the posted range works for you. If it lists none, use the going rate: about $37 an hour for tech internships that post pay, $64.20 for quant internships, and $125,000 base for new grad software engineers. Match the unit and currency the form asks for.

Can I write negotiable for desired salary?

On most forms the box will take it: 83 percent of the forms that asked used a free-text field. But some ask for a figure outright, such as Gallup's "Please include a specific number or range", 13 forms accepted only digits, and 27 offered fixed choices. A number or a range inside the posted pay answers the question the employer asked.

Do internship applications ask for salary expectations?

Less often than new grad applications. 9 percent of the 952 internship forms we read asked, against 19 percent of the 652 new grad forms, and 17 of the 86 internship forms that asked named an hourly rate, such as K2 Space's "What are your hourly rate expectations?" and EQT Corporation's "Desired Hourly Rate".

Can a job application ask for your current salary?

It is rare on tech forms. Two of the 661 employers whose forms we read asked about current pay: Atominvest for current total compensation, and iCapital Network for any deferred compensation you hold. Twitch's form tells applicants: "Please do not disclose current or past compensation." Expected pay is the question you will actually see.

The Arial guide

What to put for desired salary on a job application

13% of 1,604 tech internship and new grad forms ask for expected pay, and most make it required. How they word it, and what number to write.

By Kevin Tang · Updated November 2026

The short answer

Give a figure or a range inside the posting's pay range when it lists one, and the going rate for the role when it does not. Of 1,604 application forms for tech internships and new grad roles we read on November 8, 2026, 13 percent asked for your expected pay: 9 percent of internship forms and 19 percent of new grad forms, and 82 percent of the forms that asked made the question required. Most use a free-text box worded like "What are your salary expectations?" or "Desired salary", and one in five internship forms that ask names an hourly rate. About half of the postings behind those forms printed a pay figure, so have a number ready: tech internships that post pay offer a median of about $37 an hour, and new grad software engineering roles a median base salary of $125,000.

The pay question tends to arrive at the end of an application, when you have not thought about it. We read the application forms behind the open internship and new grad postings we could reach to see how often they ask about pay, how they word it, and how often the posting gives you a number to work from.

What we measured

On November 8, 2026, we read the application forms of the open postings on the SimplifyJobs internship and new grad trackers, the feed behind Arial's job board, that apply through Greenhouse or Ashby, two of the systems whose forms can be read without an account: 1,604 forms at 661 companies, 952 for internships and 652 for new grad roles. We left out contract AI-training gigs and the postings of AI-training firms such as Scale AI and Mercor. We counted every question that asks for expected, desired, or target pay, salary, compensation, or hourly rate, and checked each posting's description for a pay figure. (SimplifyJobs internship tracker, November 8, 2026 file, and the job pages of its open postings on Greenhouse, Ashby, Lever, and Workday, with the Greenhouse and Ashby application forms, read that day; SimplifyJobs new grad tracker, November 8, 2026 file, and the job pages of its open postings on Greenhouse, Ashby, Lever, and Workday, with the Greenhouse and Ashby application forms, read that day; Greenhouse Job Board API documentation (job questions))

How often application forms ask for your expected pay

Scroll sideways to see every column

Application forms	Ask for expected pay	Required when asked
Internships, 952 forms	9.0%	81%
New grad roles, 652 forms	19.0%	83%
Greenhouse, 1,009 forms	15.8%	84%
Ashby, 595 forms	8.6%	78%
All 1,604 forms	13.1%	82%

New grad applications ask about twice as often as internship applications. By employer, 84 of the 360 companies with new grad forms asked, 23 percent, against 49 of the 412 with internship forms, 12 percent. When a form asks, it usually insists: 173 of the 210 forms that asked made the question required, so you cannot leave it blank and still send the application. (SimplifyJobs internship tracker, November 8, 2026 file, and the job pages of its open postings on Greenhouse, Ashby, Lever, and Workday, with the Greenhouse and Ashby application forms, read that day; SimplifyJobs new grad tracker, November 8, 2026 file, and the job pages of its open postings on Greenhouse, Ashby, Lever, and Workday, with the Greenhouse and Ashby application forms, read that day; Greenhouse Job Board API documentation (job questions))

How employers word the pay question

Six in ten pay questions use the word expectations or expected, three in ten say desired, and about one in nine asks for an hourly figure. 83 percent of the forms that asked gave a free-text box; 13 took digits only, and 27 offered fixed choices or a yes or no. Typical wordings:

Expectations: "What are your base salary expectations?" (K2 Space, Alpha FMC, Aescape).
Desired pay: "Desired Salary" or "What is your desired salary?", the plainest version.
An hourly rate, mostly on internship forms: "What are your hourly rate expectations?" (K2 Space) and "Desired Hourly Rate" (EQT Corporation).
A range: "What are your salary expectations? Please state a range." (NewsBreak).
Total pay rather than base: "What are your annualized total compensation expectations?" (Aquatic Capital Management). iCapital Network asks separately for base salary, bonus, and total compensation with equity.
Another currency: "What is your expectation for total annual cash compensation (CAD)?" (Bree).

About half of these postings show the pay

Of the 210 postings whose forms asked, about half printed a pay figure in the description, internships and new grad roles alike; across all 1,604 postings, 55 percent did. So about half the time, the form asks for your number without giving you theirs. When the posting does print one, some forms just ask you to accept it. Amplify asks "Does the posted salary or hourly pay range align with your expectations?", Teamworks has you confirm "I have reviewed and acknowledge the compensation range for this position", Hootsuite lists the salary for each work term and asks whether you are comfortable with it, and Morning Consult's new grad program states "a non-negotiable annual base salary of $66,000". (SimplifyJobs internship tracker, November 8, 2026 file, and the job pages of its open postings on Greenhouse, Ashby, Lever, and Workday, with the Greenhouse and Ashby application forms, read that day; SimplifyJobs new grad tracker, November 8, 2026 file, and the job pages of its open postings on Greenhouse, Ashby, Lever, and Workday, with the Greenhouse and Ashby application forms, read that day; Greenhouse Job Board API documentation (job questions))

What to write in the salary box

If the posting lists a range, give a figure or a range inside it, and answer yes when a form asks whether the posted range works for you and it does.
If it lists none, use the going rate for the role. Tech internships that post pay offer a median of about $37 an hour, quant internships $64.20, and new grad software engineering roles a median base of $125,000; New York and California roles pay more than Texas.
Match the form's unit and currency. An hourly rate, an annual base salary, and total compensation with bonus and equity are different numbers, and some forms ask for one in CAD.
When a form asks for a range, make the low end a figure you would accept.
Leave out your current or past pay unless a form requires it. Twitch's form asks you not to share it.

On Arial, the agent applies for you: when you tap Apply on a job hosted on Greenhouse, Ashby, Workday, Oracle, or Indeed, it fills in the employer's form from your resume and profile and submits it. It answers a required pay question with the figure you gave in More about you in your Apply profile. If you gave none, it says you are open to discussion where the form takes text, or picks the most flexible option; a box that takes only digits gets a figure that fits the role. Add your numbers there, an hourly rate for internships and an annual base for new grad roles, and Arial uses them on forms that require one.

Most tech application forms never ask about pay. The ones that do usually require an answer, and about half of their postings print no number to work from. Decide it once, from real pay data, before a form asks.