Keep in mind, if you are making more than your state average that doesn’t mean you don’t have a great opportunity to request a raise. But it also means that if you are below the average, you aren’t necessarily under-paid as an average is just a middle number – there always have to be some above and below it.
The longer you stay successfully employed in an office and the profession in general, the more you are due for a raise. Experience and skill equal value – even if not every employer sees it that way. So you should continue to document the ways in which you bring value so you can present a compelling case.
If you are seeking a job, the best advice is to hold off on any salary negotiation until you are given an actual job offer. Lots of employers will ask candidates up front what their salary requirements are. It’s good for you to know what your specific requirements are, but for purposes of negotiation never give that exact number out.
your statistics are either fabrication or the results of interviewing only employers. As a working dental hygienist and a member of an organization representing 15,000 hygienist nationwide, I can assure you this is far from the truth. In addition, the profession of dental hygiene has experienced an overwhelming saturation of new graduates who are spending 12-18 months attempting to find full time employment with no success. Only Dentist employers have benefited by this recent glut of RDHs. They can offer lower wages and no benefits, undercutting applicants.