[Paula Smith]

One thing not mentioned is, what are they paying everyone else? If everyone else doing the same thing you are doing is being paid $35K and they’ve been there a lot longer, you can’t expect them to pay you the same amount regardless of what you think you are worth. It’s what they think you are worth.

Also, 6 months anywhere does not look that good on a resume. You should have at least two years worth of paid employment. Otherwise, it looks like a glorified internship.

I also live in the Midwest and the wages and cost of living are lower than in LA or NY. MUCH lower than in LA or NY.

I would suggest you look at the average wage for the type of work you are doing with your experience (6 months) in your city. That’s really the only gauge you can use. You can’t expect to make the same as someone with 2 years experience in LA.

And, continue to build your skills and your demo reel.