Knowing your worth???

jamesleecoleman

I seriously don't even know how to measure my worth and so I don't know what it is.

I'm underpaid for what I'm expected to do, what I'm working on and what I have to go through at work. I got switched to hourly because of that salary law, which is great because I have to be paid for the hours that I work. I DO NOT want to be salary just because I know for a fact that it'll be used against me. I would like to ask (should demand) a raise at work. I plan on writing down everything that I've done.



How would one figure out their worth?

gespenstern

If you consistently deliver more than your peers while in the same range you are underpaid.

If your metathinking is advanced enough to fully understand what your boss does and predict his moves you are underpaid.

AvgITGeek

Have you been racking up a bunch of OT hours recently? Sounds like your employer is tightening the belt.
I don't understand the "used against me" comment. Could you please explain?

LittleBIT

I knew I was underpaid when my title read System Administrator, but I was doing the job of the Director of Operations, I was doing project work and I was doing sales and procurement.

It dawned on me when I had the power to tell guys to go home early.

Kai123

Check other jobs in the area and compare rates, or even go for interviews and see what they offer.

Many people in my workplace know they are underpaid but conditions are very good, very hands-off managers and great working atmosphere but they are playing with fire since workload has increased so much in the last 6 months but they keep hiring interns on 6 months college placements.

OctalDump

Make a list of your skills, what you do and can do, and then look at job listings and see what those jobs are offering. Ultimately, you are "worth" what the market pays, so unless someone is going to put their money where their mouth is and actually pay you more, you won't know for sure.

You could start looking for jobs and see what offers start coming in. If you aren't loving your current job, and are looking for to progress, then moving jobs is usually the fastest way ahead.

jamesleecoleman

I'm the only person that works for the organization. What I mean by when I wrote, "used against me." is that they might not even care about my personal stuff that I have to do and that they'll just want everything done asap. Maybe even calls on the weekend to get some stuff done. I had a phone call on holiday break just because a few people couldn't access the website. Once in a while, I'll get a phone call about stuff when I left work and it'll be about stuff that they want to get done tomorrow. Thats what I mean because I'm sure those types of things will happen more often.

paul78

@op - so I'm a bit confused when you say that you are underpaid since you mentioned that you are hourly. If you are working nights and weekends, it sounds like you are being compensated. And in most states, employers pay 1.5x for overtime and 2x for holidays. Does your employer not do that? What about a differential when you are called off-hours which is another common practice?

Or are you saying that you believe your hourly rate is too low based on the type of work that you are doing? If so - you would probably need to elaborate on what you do and type of business you are supporting.

Or are you saying that there is more work to do than you can handle?

So - from a business perspective and without knowing the economics involved or the business you provide your services - I would say that there are a couple of options:

1) If there really is sufficient workload, ask to hire another person. If you are being paid a lot of overtime, it may make more sense to hire another person especially if you are the only person as you mentioned. Although that means, you get less hours - but you reduce the amount of calls when you are off work or weekend.

2) If there is sufficient workload but not enough for another FTE, hire an MSP to handle after-hours break-fix which you train and manage, and you become an escalation point instead.

3) Make sure the points that I mentioned regarding differential pay, overtime, etc. are in place and if not - have that discussion with your management. Also - you could setup SLA's for when you are actually accountable to respond to an after-hours request.

3) You can start to look for another job where you are not the only person in the organization supporting IT. Perhaps it will give you a wider view of what your skills will fetch.

As for your comment about "... they might not even care about my personal stuff..." - perhaps I'm in the minority on TE but I do not believe that an employer should care about personal affairs of an employee. Frankly - an employer relationship with an employee should be limited and personal affairs of an employee should be irrelevant. That said - Yes - I have strong beliefs that employers ought to have empathy and should be accountable for providing reasonable commercial accommodations in a consistent way for all employees. That's why if you can agree on business objectives like what business impacting events you should respond to - when you respond to them - and the compensation involved - then you get paid more, and the employer gets what they need.

But if your employer refuses or cannot afford the expense of the support you provide - that just means that either your employer's support model doesn't work and they are just lucky that you are there and currently willing to put up with it - or that's the market value for that kind of support in your area. So that would leave you option 3.

Also - writing everything that you have done isn't going to be useful if you are the only person in IT. The value may not be understood. What's more relevant is writing down everything that you have done that impacted the business - either in savings or in expense if it was not done.

My comments and beliefs do not necessarily apply outside the US...

advanex1

I feel the same way.

Russell77

You are only worth what someone be it the company you are at or another company that wants to hire you is willing to pay you.

volfkhat

jamesleecoleman wrote: »

I'm underpaid for what I'm expected to do, what I'm working on...
How would one figure out their worth?

So... what exactly do you Do at your job?
:]

my 2 cents:
If a company considers it a hassle to replace you... then you have Leverage.

If you have Leverage... then perhaps try the direct approach: Have a meeting, Tell them you want xx dollars, and make your case why (blahblah).

If/when it doesn't pan out.... then go apply for other (better-paying) jobs.

After you put in your 2-week Notice.... maybe they will have a Change of Heart :]

ImYourOnlyDJ

advanex1 wrote: »

I feel the same way.

I think almost everybody feels this way. I just live off this quote.

"When you do more than you get paid for eventually you'll be paid for more than you do."- Zig Ziglar.

kiki162

You sound pretty miserable at this point. Instead of second guessing your situation, take the time to figure out your next step beyond your job now. Make a list of all the things you think you need to do to get to a more ideal job. I've been in similar situations where I would get calls on weekends, or had to come in because no one else on my team picked up the phone. At the end of the day, I knew I was worth way more, and I did something about it. Stop feeling stuck...and get unstuck

AvgITGeek

I don't know if anyone else has overvalued themselves. I sure did. Became complacent and because of that I suffered. I read a great tweet from a tech guy that said... I'm paraphrasing here "If you aren't growing in your current position after 3 years then it's time to move on because your career is stagnating." Oh how did I learn this the hard way. Moved jobs, now working with technology I thought I'll never have the chance to work on.

Sometimes it is in your best interest to take something not in your comfort zone if it will expose you to more technology. I was a corporate network guy for over 15 years and now I'm working as a MSP dealing with things I'm not used to dealing with *cough macintosh cough* but I'm learning new things daily and will only make me stronger.

SpetsRepair

Learn to negotiate better, they need you not the other way around. I messed up by not asking for more money, only to learn other people refused to work at the original rate and they were given what the company agreed too. We had people who had less knowledge/certs and general experience and they were being paid more than other people since they negotiated to what they wanted and they got it. Most companies need people anyway and some might not want to let you go

LaSeeno

volfkhat wrote: »

So... what exactly do you Do at your job?

Well-well look. I already told you: I deal with the god damn customers so the engineers don't have to. I have people skills; I am good at dealing with people. Can't you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?

alias454

I almost spit out my coffee.

TechGuru80

jamesleecoleman wrote: »

I'm sure those types of things will happen more often.

Is it just normal employees calling? I am pretty sure they don't care either way.

Do you know what the average pay is for your position and experience level in your area? If you are being unpaid, look for another job and leave gracefully...at the end of the day it's a numbers game.

jamesleecoleman

Alrighty well it got way more complicated than I thought it would be. Maybe I should have asked more specific questions but I didn't know where to start.


I'm hourly, taking on more responsibility than I believe that I should and because I have to. I don't mind it as long as I am getting paid what I should be getting paid. I'm stuck with a 40 hour limit but over time will be paid because it has to so I have to rush and do what I need to do.

I'm working on getting an intern but that's not working out at the moment. I can't even get any paid help from within the organization.

DatabaseHead

gespenstern wrote: »

If you consistently deliver more than your peers while in the same range you are underpaid.

This right here.

volfkhat

LaSeeno wrote: »

Well-well look. I already told you: I deal with the god damn customers so the engineers don't have to. I have people skills; I am good at dealing with people. Can't you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?

It's probably been at least 5 years since i last (re)watched that classic.
Gonna try and correct That over the weekend :]

mjnk77

volfkhat wrote: »

It's probably been at least 5 years since i last (re)watched that classic.
Gonna try and correct That over the weekend :]

And I said, I don't care if they lay me off either, because I told, I told Bill that if they move my desk one more time, then, then I'm, I'm quitting, I'm going to quit. And, and I told Don too, because they've moved my desk four times already this year, and I used to be over by the window, and I could see the squirrels, and they were merry, but then, they switched from the Swingline to the Boston stapler, but I kept my Swingline stapler because it didn't bind up as much, and I kept the staples for the Swingline stapler and it's not okay because if they take my stapler then I'll set the building on fire...

Such a good movie