Salary expectations: how do you answer? after 14 years as a forklift operator

I have been out of work for 11 weeks and feel pressure to accept less. This is my first time dealing with any of this. I looked up ranges in Knoxville and they vary a lot. How do you research fairly?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.