Work
Well, our salaries were finally approved last week. While they are supposedly retroactive to the beginning of the month, this is really the "first" week for my perception. It's... bizarre to not have to clock in and out after years of doing so.
All things being equal, the new salary works out to around a 17% increase over my prior wage. I'm very... neutral to that. On the up side, it's on the high end of what I considered a reasonable expectation and I still don't have any reason to think I'll be putting in so many hours as to get the bad end of the deal. On the down side, it isn't as much as I might have hoped for, it's still on the low end of what salaried employees are paid at the company, and any further raises over the next few years are unlikely. It isn't enough to support any real lifestyle changes. I'm not disappointed, per se, but nor am I notably happy over it, which I might have been a month or two ago, before seeing what others made.
So... net positive, but mostly business as normal.
All things being equal, the new salary works out to around a 17% increase over my prior wage. I'm very... neutral to that. On the up side, it's on the high end of what I considered a reasonable expectation and I still don't have any reason to think I'll be putting in so many hours as to get the bad end of the deal. On the down side, it isn't as much as I might have hoped for, it's still on the low end of what salaried employees are paid at the company, and any further raises over the next few years are unlikely. It isn't enough to support any real lifestyle changes. I'm not disappointed, per se, but nor am I notably happy over it, which I might have been a month or two ago, before seeing what others made.
So... net positive, but mostly business as normal.
Considering how long you've worked there, you'd think they'd pay you better. : I'm wondering if you should perhaps ask them about it. Show your qualifications, what you've been doing, how long you've been there, and see if they can nudge it up just a touch more. Hell, last time you asked for a raise, you got it, right?
ReplyDeleteHeh. Y'know, that answer always sounds good on paper. Reality, however, is more complicated. Last time I pursued the matter, the company wasn't in the middle of board-mandated cost reductions. We hadn't just laid off or otherwise lost over a dozen people, adjusted salespeople's pay to commission-only, and reduced the production schedule of one of the papers all to cut costs. This is not a particularly good time to rock the boat, as it were. Plus, my only real "qualification" is that I've been doing this for years. I don't have any special education or certifications to wave around, just lots of experience gained in the doing. Our manager (along with a couple others, even) made a push for raises for us, and he even gave up what he'd budgeted for interns (which seemed a little frivolous to me, but that's beside the point) in order to get us where we are. So I am grateful. My pay may be below average in the IT field (I'm not sure, but sort of assume) and there may be some people in the company making almost sickeningly higher salaries, but I'm not poorly paid for this city, based as it is on a service economy. And as long as I'm only supporting myself, it's enough. I'm not really complaining here.
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