3 ms·
Is your employer underpaying you? How do you know?
by cpeterso 6y ago
Is your employer underpaying you? How do you know?
- sys_64738 6y agoAm I being paid much more than my co-workers? I don't want to know and I don't want them to know.
- triceratops 6y ago> Am I being paid much more than my co-workers? I don't want to know Then how do you know how good you are at negotiating? I can assure you your company knows exactly how much other companies in your area are paying for every role. Market participants with incomplete information get taken advantage of.
- sys_64738 6y agoYou need to decide what your labor is worth. The number you’re willing to work for. Negotiations is a class I’d recommend people do. It’s very enlightening. But my general strategy is define a number and add 10%. Let company make an initial offer then counter. Usually you meet in the middle so your 10% padding gets you there. Companies have many levers such as salary, sign on, bonus, stock, etc to be flexible. You’re trying for a win-win. All this means what your peers might earn is irrelevant as no two job offers are ever the same for experienced people in soft/hardware.
- triceratops 6y agoIf that's seriously how you negotiate job offers, I suspect you're leaving money on the table. I'm terrible at negotiating and even I know that. > You need to decide what your labor is worth. Based on what? > The number you’re willing to work for. There's no set number. I'll take as much as an employer is possibly willing to part with. Since I can't know that number, the next best thing is to know how much they pay others and start negotiations at > than that number.
- sys_64738 6y agoIt all depends on the individual. Leaving money on the table is a false concept. If you accept a job for a salary and are happy to take it then the salary is right. What others earn is not relevant. When you are looking to move to another job there are multiple factors you need to consider. Are you stressed in your current jobs? Maybe you'd take less salary for a less stressful job. Are you interested in the particular opportunity as it's a stepping stone? Perhaps you'd take less salary to that opportunity for the doors it opens. Moving to another job isn't just about getting a bigger salary and those are factors you need to evaluate in terms of coming to what you think you're worth in the new job.
- triceratops 6y agoBut what if you could have less stress and make more money? (don't scoff, I've done it). Or learn something new and make more money (I've done that too). Or whatever other axes you want to maximize vs more money. If you're happy with the job, more money is always better than less money. You're worth as much as your employer can/will pay for your skills. Why would you ever take any less, assuming you like everything else about the job? How much you value the non-money aspects of the job is irrelevant to the discussion of how much you should be paid. If you like the non-money aspects treat it as a bonus meant just for you, because it is. You should be happy in your job, no question about it. But happiness vs money is usually a false dichotomy.
- sys_64738 6y agoI don't know what you do but when you earn enough to move from your needs to your wants phase, you find happiness is more important. A nasty job paying lots will make you miserable and impact your health. Money is secondary in the wants phase. Maybe you're different, I don't know.
- ticmasta 6y agoThis implies you can't determine your value based on contribution, so just use coworkers as a relative measure. Doesn't seem to make passengers happy wrt airline tickets so not sure about salaries...
- meddlepal 6y agoWhy does it matter so long as you feel the deal is fair? If you feel like youre being paid crap then leave but if you’re being paid crap and dont care because its still more than enough why worry about it? Too much time is spent trying to measure ourselves against others only to breed unnecessary dissatisfaction.