Salaries Raises

NightShade1

I was reading on another tread that someone had a raise of an 8% and he said it was not bad...

What is a good raise % for you? i actually see 8% a way too low...
And also how many years or amount of time you would wait until you ask for a raise?

For example ill put my case starting for the job im working right now.

i have been working there for almost 3 years... its a really nice small bussiness as we are just like 4 Engineers but Elite Engineers with Banks, internationals companies, insurance companies etc as clients.
My manager its pretty cool and the owners are cool also no complain of it just some lot of overwork sometimes but well guess we all get that

Anyways After 2 years of working i was about to ask for a raise but before it they call me and told me i was doing a really good job and they gave me 20% of my salary as a raise...
When they gave that to me i let my manager know i wanted to reach X amount of money.
Then a few months later like 5 months later they gave me another 25%.

Anyways it has pass a year after my last raise and i would like another 20% of raise maybe like 2 years after my last raise, mmm you think im asking too much? or soon? hahah
I do have a really good performance, there are a couple of clients telling my manager that i did an awesome job and they liked a lot my job. Plus im always getting more and more certifications... and always doing more and more complex stuff.

pham0329

Are you asking for too much?..umm, yea.

You got a 20% raise, then another 25% in 5 months, and now you want another 20%? Thats pretty much 65% of your initial salary. You must have a very generous boss

ptilsen

Obviously any raise must be earned. But, assuming the current job experience adds value and the candidate is studying for and earning additional certifications and degrees, I would say 5% should be seen as a minimum for most IT professionals. Keep in mind, the raises drop off as you near a cap. CCIEs aren't going to see 10% raises, but at $100K plus salaries, 5% is a big raise.

I have averaged, over six years, about 15% raises. That is an average, again, meaning I've had raises of 3-6% and raises of around 40%. I would consider any raise that is not at least double the rate of inflation to be worth quitting over, depending on your career point and whether you've discussed the subject with your employer. My most recent raise was about 5% for the year, with the likelihood of small raises occuring quarterly or semi-yearly for the next year. I was satisfied with that, if not thrilled.

Basically, you should shoot for an average of 8% to 25% per year up until you near the six-figure mark. The reality is, it's hard to do that and stay in the same organization for more than 1-3 years unless there is a clear promotion path for you. The good news is that working for a consulting firm, MSP, VAR, etc largely staffed with or even run by IT professionals means that your value as an employee will typically be recognized well, and you are unlikely to get insufficient raises. All that said, don't expect to keep getting 20% and 25% raises. Unless that's coming from a sub-40K starting point, it's just not sustainable for very long.

Edit: Keep in mind, this is from a US standpoint. I have no idea how the economic climate is in Panama.

cyberguypr

pham0329 wrote: »

Are you asking for too much?..umm, yea.

You got a 20% raise, then another 25% in 5 months, and now you want another 20%? Thats pretty much 65% of your initial salary. You must have a very generous boss

I am more inclined to think that he was grossly underpaid.

ptilsen

pham0329 wrote: »

Are you asking for too much?..umm, yea.

You got a 20% raise, then another 25% in 5 months, and now you want another 20%? Thats pretty much 65% of your initial salary. You must have a very generous boss

Actually, it's 180% of his original salary (or an effective 80% raise), provided each percentage increase is of the new salary (and it doesn't make sense to calculate it any other way, IMO).

Keep in mind he's also asking for 20% two years later. Unless he went from fairly paid to grossly overpaid, I don't think that's unreasonable. Plus, a lot can happen in two years. Two years can be the different between CCNP and CCIE, or an Associate's degree and a Master's degree. Two years of your most valued job experience is generally more valuable than the previous four years.

Yes, those numbers are pretty high, but sometimes that's how IT works.

NightShade1

haha well ill clarify you all
Salaries in my country are not salaries like in the US... let start with that.
the 20% or 25% sounds like a big money but im earning under 40k a year, thats because life here is cheaper and i have seem people earning like 60k or 70k in the US doing what im doing here hahaha... for example a ticket in the movies here cost you 4 bucks in the US cost you like 10 bucks or more and so on... thats why we got soo many call centers...
They are not grossery underpaying me as the salaries here are like that...

What i call tell you is that my first job which was as network operation center tech i was earning like 700 bucks a month.. thats not even the minimum salary in the US... and yes thats a normal salary for an entry level job here. As far i was tlking with someone i know from the US... he is earning like 3k/month with no experience just out of college... thats is what you pay to managers here or senior engineers here a really high paid senior engineer here its like 5k/month thats like with a CCIE... a CCIE in the US does 10k/month see the difference?
For example the senior engineer in the company i work for, does like 4k/month.
Ah yeah we dont have crazy taxes like in the US you just pay a 7% tax and thats it.. just one.

Now you guys got more info about the situation in my country ill ask again you think im asking too much? or soon? for a raise?

Everyone

Depends on the company. Everywhere I've worked, they've had roughly a 2% to 6% range for annual raises. All employees got the same range, and it was based on your annual performance review.

I have friends that have received 15% to 20% raises, but that is not a regular thing, it was a 1 time Market adjustment. They were underpaid, and the company they worked for was nice enough to adjust their salary to bring it in-line with current market rates.

I've changed companies for as low as a 13% raise.

ptilsen

It sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what typical salaries in your country look like. Do your skills, credentials, and experience match up with what you are asking?

NightShade1

ptilsen wrote: »

It sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what typical salaries in your country look like. Do your skills, credentials, and experience match up with what you are asking?

Well i think my credential do match i mean i do earn haft of wha tthe senior engineer earn and i can do most of the things he can... yes he does have more complex projects i give you some examples
i do install Frewalls, switches, routers, Wireless controllers and some server stuff.

i can do anything he can do in firewalls configs, i can do almost everything he does with routers and switches and wireless controllers configs, i can still small proyects of windows servers, but he can manage big and large proyects with this and i cannot yet but im learning here.
I got all the certs he does for wireless firewalls switches routers, and some of his server certs...

thats why i think my credential can match up with what im asking... i could be wrong because i mean windows server its like a big WORLD.... and he knows A LOT of it. But like i said i still think my credential match up for what im asking.

pham0329

ptilsen wrote: »

Actually, it's 180% of his original salary (or an effective 80% raise), provided each percentage increase is of the new salary (and it doesn't make sense to calculate it any other way, IMO).

True...I just didn't want to calculate it! I guess it does depends on what you started out at, but 80% is essentially doubling your salary, and to do it within 3 years at the same position, that's unheard of!

I've been in the same situation as Everyone, where annual raises falls between 5-10%. If I get anywhere close to a 20% raise, I would be ecstatic...but usually, those type of raises means I took a job with a different company.

Certification isn't something you should use to measure how much money you make. For example, take a look in the "General Certification" section where N2IT posted a thread about the projected earning of Project+ is over 85k. IMO, just because you have the same certs as your senior engineer doesn't mean that you should make the same amount of money.

NightShade1

Im not asking not near the same he does... im just asking a 20% of my salary as raise.... i can tell you that even with the raise im asking he does like 1.2k more than i would do.
Remenber here the salaries are not like in the US... i say this because maybe for you 1200 is not a big difference of money but here it is a big difference...
Remenber for example CCIE here maybe 4k or 5k in the US what? 10k a month? thats the double...


When i feel i can do anything he can do, then ill ask something around of what he does..... not before.. and i still need to learn the big world of microsoft which it will take quite a time...

swild

I have never had a raise that didn't come with either a new company or a new position. I always stay at places until I haven't recieved a raise in 2 years and then I start looking for a better place. In Arkansas, our SOL is very low so I feel like I am being generous with 2 years and I always let my bosses know with plenty of lead time that I will start looking if things don't change.

I happened to get very lucky in temping at my current company that went through restructuring and then the IT manager left, leaving me with his job at about 80% of his pay. Which, by the way is more, than double what I was making a year ago at my last employer.

I feel that at bare minimum everyone should get a cost of living adjustment every year, regardless of performance. If I get a 20% raise at any point, that would most likely keep me happy for about 2 years. After that, assuming positive performance, it's time for another. I don't think that 10% a year is asking too much at all if it includes cost of living.

Monkerz

My yearly raise is 2%, has been for 4 years now, and I am grossly underpaid. Only sticking around for experience, both technical and corporate. This would be my first corporate gig, so I really am still learning what to expect.

ptilsen

Monkerz wrote: »

My yearly raise is 2%, has been for 4 years now, and I am grossly underpaid. Only sticking around for experience, both technical and corporate. This would be my first corporate gig, so I really am still learning what to expect.

Not to detract from the original thread, but I think you're 1-2 years past due. Unless they are constantly exposing you to new tech, you have just about gotten all the value out of your current position that you're going to.

Hypntick

I got a 10% at 6 months, then again I work for an MSP, I know this is not the norm in the corporate world. I have also been told to expect (provided my performance continues, which it has and will) at the year mark, another 10-15% on top of that. As I continue to add value and gain in experience, they have made it clear I will be compensated accordingly for it.

Tackle

6 month raise was 7%, 1 year anni. raise was 10%.

Still make about 25% less than I feel I deserve. I'm thinking if at my 3 year mark I'm not to where I feel I should be (Where they said I would be at 3 years), it'll be time to look elsewhere.

jmritenour

Wow. In a day and age where some really smart, hard-working people are unemployed, underemployed, and struggling to make ends meet, people are willing to complain because they only got an 8% raise.

I left my last job, where there had been a salary freeze for 3 straight years due to the economy. I was extremely grateful for the 7% raise I got at my new job after 6 months.

NightShade1

swild wrote: »

I have never had a raise that didn't come with either a new company or a new position. I always stay at places until I haven't recieved a raise in 2 years and then I start looking for a better place. In Arkansas, our SOL is very low so I feel like I am being generous with 2 years and I always let my bosses know with plenty of lead time that I will start looking if things don't change.

I happened to get very lucky in temping at my current company that went through restructuring and then the IT manager left, leaving me with his job at about 80% of his pay. Which, by the way is more, than double what I was making a year ago at my last employer.

I feel that at bare minimum everyone should get a cost of living adjustment every year, regardless of performance. If I get a 20% raise at any point, that would most likely keep me happy for about 2 years. After that, assuming positive performance, it's time for another. I don't think that 10% a year is asking too much at all if it includes cost of living.

My raises didn't came with new position but i do had new stuff to do... before when i just started i just did configuration and troubleshooting of routers and swtiches.... then they added firewalls, then they added wireless, then they added some servers and so on... maybe im not changing from position but im getting a way more responsibilities...
Also Before i used to take care of small companies, now i don't , i do go banks insurance, international companies right now.... now they hired someone else which is doing the stuff i was doing before, and the small clients i used to work with.

jamesbrown

NightShade1 wrote: »

My raises didn't came with new position but i do had new stuff to do... before when i just started i just did configuration and troubleshooting of routers and swtiches.... then they added firewalls, then they added wireless, then they added some servers and so on... maybe im not changing from position but im getting a way more responsibilities... Also Before i used to take care of small companies, now i don't , i do go banks insurance, international companies right now.... now they hired someone else which is doing the stuff i was doing before, and the small clients i used to work with.

I got 1% from 2009 - 2011. I left the organization.

cvuong1984

jamesbrown wrote: »

I got 1% from 2009 - 2011. I left the organization.

Got a 3% raise with my last company. In terms of your situation, IMO Nightshade, you got a company that truly appreciate you.
Sounds like they work you, but when it comes time to compensate they show you the money. I say after 2 years asking for another raise is not at all out of line.

20% of 40k is only $8000.00. It would cost them more money looking for your replacement and training him. That's just my 2 cents.

NightShade1

cvuong1984 wrote: »

Got a 3% raise with my last company. In terms of your situation, IMO Nightshade, you got a company that truly appreciate you.
Sounds like they work you, but when it comes time to compensate they show you the money. I say after 2 years asking for another raise is not at all out of line.

20% of 40k is only $8000.00. It would cost them more money looking for your replacement and training him. That's just my 2 cents.

The owners they do appreciate all their employees we are not too many people like in big companies but they try to have everyone happy... but i do also got my goals which i want to reach.

Im really doing my best with the performance and getting more certs so when i ask for a raise then they truly think i deserve it. If everything goes good like it is right now,i guess ill stick in this company for a big while.

instant000

Only YOU can decide what you're worth.

My only advice is two things:
1) Don't sell yourself cheap.
2) Don't sell yourself cheap.

Hah.

ptilsen

jmritenour wrote: »

Wow. In a day and age where some really smart, hard-working people are unemployed, underemployed, and struggling to make ends meet, people are willing to complain because they only got an 8% raise..

This isn't about being grateful, greedy, ungrateful, or content with our good fortune. It's relatively simple economics. People want to make what they're worth, there's nothing unreasonable about that in or out of a recession. It's not like anyone in here is truly complaining about a substantial raise. It's just a frank discussion of what is reasonable to expect in this industry and economy.

Keep in mind, the entire conversation, especially my own input, is completely fallacious in that we are discussing everything in percentages. That's just not realistic. CPI, for instance, inflates at between 2% and 4% per year. That doesn't truly mean that one needs even a 2% raise to keep up with inflation -- inflation's impact does not scale up with incomes. So NightShade1 talking about 20%, 25% seems like a lot, but in reality his 20% raise is probably around the same in dollar value than my 5%, simply because of cost of living differences and his starting salary. I seem to vaguely recall the thread in which OP talked about 8% raises, and IIRC, his 8% is probably around the same as NightShade1's 20%.

The truth is that relative salaries and raises are not so easily expressed as percentages, and as an international site, we have to be mindful of that.

NightShade1

ptilsen wrote: »

This isn't about being grateful, greedy, ungrateful, or content with our good fortune. It's relatively simple economics. People want to make what they're worth, there's nothing unreasonable about that in or out of a recession. It's not like anyone in here is truly complaining about a substantial raise. It's just a frank discussion of what is reasonable to expect in this industry and economy.

Keep in mind, the entire conversation, especially my own input, is completely fallacious in that we are discussing everything in percentages. That's just not realistic. CPI, for instance, inflates at between 2% and 4% per year. That doesn't truly mean that one needs even a 2% raise to keep up with inflation -- inflation's impact does not scale up with incomes. So NightShade1 talking about 20%, 25% seems like a lot, but in reality his 20% raise is probably around the same in dollar value than my 5%, simply because of cost of living differences and his starting salary. I seem to vaguely recall the thread in which OP talked about 8% raises, and IIRC, his 8% is probably around the same as NightShade1's 20%.

The truth is that relative salaries and raises are not so easily expressed as percentages, and as an international site, we have to be mindful of that.

Yep that was really clear explanation and also really true...