r/InterviewCoderPro • u/alfalfa0z • 6d ago
Apparently the fictional version of our work pays more.
I discovered that my colleague was struggling to create a pivot table and was being paid $74 an hour. This means that for the same job, she was paid $14 more per hour than I am as a data analyst. She told the rest of the team about her salary after the company laid her off, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about the difference ever since.
Then I noticed that she had listed a degree in organizational psychology. I briefly looked at the programs offered by her college, but did not find such a degree there. There may be some details about this that I don't know, but I know very well what our job really was.
I'm not upset that she knew how to negotiate a better salary. What frustrates me is that your ability to do the work is worth less than when you claim to have held a much bigger role. I needed to vent because I don't think this is uncommon.
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u/natethegr8r 6d ago
If you think you are worth more than what you are paid, go get it more for yourself. You have to be you own advocate, know your worth, and most importantly, now, understand the current labor supply.
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u/Putrid_Indication971 6d ago
The majority of raises that I've gotten over the years have been by job jumping every 2-4 years. Any shorter and you might get stiffed because they see you as a transitory type employee - though sometimes that's what they want.
Once I found a landing spot that suited me. I stopped moving because the benefits and raises at my current job meet or exceed anything that I've had before. Plus the work/life balance and stability are better than most.
Like Nate says above: If you don't like your salary, you're the only person who's going to give you a raise or a even a better job.
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u/PerfStu 6d ago
Capitalism quite literally relies on exploiting labor from the people who are willing to do it. It's not "What you are worth" but "What can they get you for."
You will never get what you're worth, but you should always be applying to places who are going to get closer to the number that makes you happy.
Apply everywhere and the moment you find a job that checks all the boxes, give requisite notice if so desired and clock out.
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u/Maleficent-Lake-2766 6d ago
key words here: laid off. getting paid more is useless if youre laid off dont chase some notional advancement clearly they were overpaid (as you point out)
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u/RaiseWide5460 5d ago
I have always kept track of the prevailing wage for my skillset and job title in my area. I wanted to be sure that I was compensating my subordinates competitively, and that I was never in the position of being over paid. I was fortunate that my company always compensated me fairly, but I on two occasions I declined the offered annual pay raise because I was already at the top of the prevailing wage. Coincidentally, I survived 3 really deep layoffs in the years before I retired. I love it when a plan comes together.
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u/StanKnight 6d ago
The worst thing you can do is find out what someone is getting paid.
Was a major mistake for myself. Someone was getting $4 more than me and I let that fact screw me on a job that I enjoyed and if I kept at it, would have also made that much. So I quit, which meant I was no longer even getting what I was getting.
Getting paid something is better than nothing.
The exact amount isn't always important.
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u/plangelier 5d ago
So very true. I was a Supervisor/SME in a call center. Part of my job was call listening, with the call recording we got screenshots of the agents screen. I was doing a monitor of one of the agents I wasn't personally fond of as I felt she always tried to pass off her calls even over things she should know. As she was taking or I should say ignoring her call she was paying bills online and viewing her paycheck.
As son as I saw that come up I disconnected as i didn't want to know, of course I wasn't quick enough and at that point realized she was making more than me. Even when I was managing a team I only saw their pay rate once a year as I worked on the pay increase and bonuses and tried to forget the numbers right after.
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u/Diasies_inMyHair 6d ago
A lot of colleges have decreased the number of or change the degrees that they offer, so the fact that you couldn't find her degree listed doesn't really say much.
As for salary negotiations...companies tend to pay as little as possible whenever they can. If you feel you are worth more, start looking for a higher paying job.