4 ms·

In my current role, I like the company, the product, and my co-workers, but I'm almost positive I could be making 20,000 more a year in the same area. My pay is

In my current role, I like the company, the product, and my co-workers, but I'm almost positive I could be making 20,000 more a year in the same area. My pay is (I feel) relatively low because I'm a junior software engineer, so I'm torn on whether I should just stick it out and ask for a large raise/promotion in a few months, or put my feelers out.

KedarMhaswade 12y ago
Is it the lack of making enough money that bothers you? If you dig deeper, what would you say? If you were to ask yourself "What it is that would keep me motivated?" -- what answer emerges? In his book, "Drive", author Dan Pink argues mostly successfully that it's not the salary or the stock options or other perks that keeps effective individuals motivated. He summarizes that it is the pursuit of that illusive trio -- "Mastery, Autonomy, and Purpose" that keeps people motivated in their work and in their life. In my experience, if remaining in a job or switching jobs cannot be traced to one of these three, then the decision one takes (remain in a job or switching jobs) is not likely to turn out to be a good decision.
- d357r0y3r 12y ago
  It's not the money that motivates me. I get the most satisfaction from writing good code and pretty/usable UIs, and that is what ultimately drives me. My feeling is that I could get the satisfaction I describe above at many workplaces, but all things equal, I'd like the option that pays more.
- kghose 12y ago
  I think you meant "elusive". Illusive is a tad pessimistic :)
mc_hammer 12y ago
its actually more profitable for the business to offer you a 5% raise every year (i heard thats average given anyway) when inflation is 7% anually, so definitely ask for a raise every 6 months, the worst that can happen is they say no.
- delecti 12y ago
  Inflation is more like 2%, and I don't think raises average that high.
  - walshemj 12y ago
    depends which inflation measure governments game the system so your RPI or CPI may actually not be a true reflection of inflation as it effects you
blktiger 12y ago
As a junior software engineer you should definitely put feelers out. I would bet changing jobs will increase your pay by at _least_ 10% (that's what happened to me) when most companies only give a raise of about 5%. Even if you don't want to change jobs, if you get an offer somewhere else for more pay you can show that to your current employer. If they really want to keep you then they will increase your pay to match.
jghn 12y ago
I know for a fact that I could walk out the door and get a 20k raise. Well, not quite because our benefits are phenomenal so in terms of total compensation it'd be a but less. But that's not everything in life, I really enjoy where I work and the company's mission resonates with me. If the money is important, do both of what you suggest but consider that money ain't everything
steven2012 12y ago
You should start interviewing and see what offers you get. Then you can see if you're really worth an extra 20k, or more than that, or less. You can then take this back to your employer and if they don't want to match you already have a job in hand.
thinkr 12y ago
I wanted to add my own experience regarding your situation since it is very similar to mine - I liked my company for the most part, I liked what I was working on, and I liked my co-workers. However, my company was going through some rough patches and our raises/bonuses were dependent on the company performing well. I had already missed a raise opportunity so it would mean I would have to put in a total of 2 years before I had the chance to get ~3% raise (adjusted for inflation) when I could get a 20K bump in salary by switching - well that is exactly what I got when I went to another company. Based on how everything happened, here is my personal take-away: - In the current economic landscape, most big companies looks at all employees as being replaceable (my company did not even ask if they could offer anything to make me stay, even though I was hired specifically for a new role they created). - I do not believe a company deserves your loyalty as much as one would think because they would just as quickly let you go regardless of years put in. In the end, both parties are involved in a business relationship and nothing more. - Money is not the only driving force in life, but as a person that is just starting to build their career, you have to think about how much you will be losing out 10 years from now. We are want financial security later in life, so you have to take the steps to insure that. Points regarding the article specifically: - I was recruited while still at my current job and I believe that was an advantage for me just as the author states. - I am in my 3rd month and for the most part I am still learning the systems and routines of this company - so low workload/stress-free for the most part. If you're young and want a wide range of experiences, I do not think it hurts to at least see what the job market is like outside of your current company. Again, this is my personal experience and everyone's situations will vary especially in bigcorp vs startup.
Homunculiheaded 12y ago
It's always worth it to put your feelers out. Even for jobs I love I'll occasionally respond to recruiters just to keep up with the market and see what's out there. Often this will confirm my happiness with my current role. But if you're on the fence at all, there's a really good chance you can find another job that has better pay and even better product, coworkers etc. Interviewing when you're not desperate to leave is much easier. If you have something good to fall back on, all sorts of red flags become more obvious during an interview because you have very little to lose if it doesn't go well. It's also much easier to negotiate salary, if you think you're worth 20k more than you are now, open negotiations at Salary + 30k. Since your primary concern is pay potential employers have very little leverage in terms of pressuring you to take a salary less then you think you are worth, and you already have a clear picture of what you're worth.

KedarMhaswade 12y ago

Is it the lack of making enough money that bothers you? If you dig deeper, what would you say? If you were to ask yourself "What it is that would keep me motivated?" -- what answer emerges? In his book, "Drive", author Dan Pink argues mostly successfully that it's not the salary or the stock options or other perks that keeps effective individuals motivated. He summarizes that it is the pursuit of that illusive trio -- "Mastery, Autonomy, and Purpose" that keeps people motivated in their work and in their life. In my experience, if remaining in a job or switching jobs cannot be traced to one of these three, then the decision one takes (remain in a job or switching jobs) is not likely to turn out to be a good decision.

d357r0y3r 12y ago
It's not the money that motivates me. I get the most satisfaction from writing good code and pretty/usable UIs, and that is what ultimately drives me. My feeling is that I could get the satisfaction I describe above at many workplaces, but all things equal, I'd like the option that pays more.
kghose 12y ago
I think you meant "elusive". Illusive is a tad pessimistic :)

mc_hammer 12y ago

its actually more profitable for the business to offer you a 5% raise every year (i heard thats average given anyway) when inflation is 7% anually, so definitely ask for a raise every 6 months, the worst that can happen is they say no.

delecti 12y ago
Inflation is more like 2%, and I don't think raises average that high.
- walshemj 12y ago
  depends which inflation measure governments game the system so your RPI or CPI may actually not be a true reflection of inflation as it effects you

blktiger 12y ago

As a junior software engineer you should definitely put feelers out. I would bet changing jobs will increase your pay by at _least_ 10% (that's what happened to me) when most companies only give a raise of about 5%. Even if you don't want to change jobs, if you get an offer somewhere else for more pay you can show that to your current employer. If they really want to keep you then they will increase your pay to match.

jghn 12y ago

I know for a fact that I could walk out the door and get a 20k raise. Well, not quite because our benefits are phenomenal so in terms of total compensation it'd be a but less. But that's not everything in life, I really enjoy where I work and the company's mission resonates with me. If the money is important, do both of what you suggest but consider that money ain't everything

steven2012 12y ago

You should start interviewing and see what offers you get. Then you can see if you're really worth an extra 20k, or more than that, or less. You can then take this back to your employer and if they don't want to match you already have a job in hand.

thinkr 12y ago

I wanted to add my own experience regarding your situation since it is very similar to mine - I liked my company for the most part, I liked what I was working on, and I liked my co-workers. However, my company was going through some rough patches and our raises/bonuses were dependent on the company performing well. I had already missed a raise opportunity so it would mean I would have to put in a total of 2 years before I had the chance to get ~3% raise (adjusted for inflation) when I could get a 20K bump in salary by switching - well that is exactly what I got when I went to another company. Based on how everything happened, here is my personal take-away: - In the current economic landscape, most big companies looks at all employees as being replaceable (my company did not even ask if they could offer anything to make me stay, even though I was hired specifically for a new role they created). - I do not believe a company deserves your loyalty as much as one would think because they would just as quickly let you go regardless of years put in. In the end, both parties are involved in a business relationship and nothing more. - Money is not the only driving force in life, but as a person that is just starting to build their career, you have to think about how much you will be losing out 10 years from now. We are want financial security later in life, so you have to take the steps to insure that. Points regarding the article specifically: - I was recruited while still at my current job and I believe that was an advantage for me just as the author states. - I am in my 3rd month and for the most part I am still learning the systems and routines of this company - so low workload/stress-free for the most part. If you're young and want a wide range of experiences, I do not think it hurts to at least see what the job market is like outside of your current company. Again, this is my personal experience and everyone's situations will vary especially in bigcorp vs startup.

Homunculiheaded 12y ago

It's always worth it to put your feelers out. Even for jobs I love I'll occasionally respond to recruiters just to keep up with the market and see what's out there. Often this will confirm my happiness with my current role. But if you're on the fence at all, there's a really good chance you can find another job that has better pay and even better product, coworkers etc. Interviewing when you're not desperate to leave is much easier. If you have something good to fall back on, all sorts of red flags become more obvious during an interview because you have very little to lose if it doesn't go well. It's also much easier to negotiate salary, if you think you're worth 20k more than you are now, open negotiations at Salary + 30k. Since your primary concern is pay potential employers have very little leverage in terms of pressuring you to take a salary less then you think you are worth, and you already have a clear picture of what you're worth.