Just asking for some bluntness since I know everyone will give it to me

neo9006

Good Evening,

I just graduated in Dec with my Bachelors. My current job hasn't changed at all and I am a crossroads of what to do to a degree. I was told congrats by some fellow co workers which was nice to hear. At this point in my life, I have still have some years of work ahead of me. My questions are these. First, do you think with this accomplishment at the very least should get you a promotion? I got a my only promotion 6 years ago. My retirement benefits are great but my pay sucks. If I am going to look at a different job, I have 2 references from another job I had worked at. Should I ask my boss for a reference or should I not? The reason I ask this question is right now, one other guy is probably leaving next week when I go on vacation at least the indications are that this is highly likely. It leaves myself and one other guy left to do the job. I figure at this point no one has said anything is going to change and the other guy is due to retire in 3 to 4 years. I feel to a degree if the other guy leaves I have more leverage and possibly get what money I think I am worth. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.

4_lom

What is your current position at the company you work for?

neo9006

Assistant Research Specialist, I use to do all the drafting work till it dried up, then I was doing data input for long time besides what we call field work, we deploy traffic counters to count the traffic, we also count the traffic manually if it needs to be done that way or through video, lately I have some work doing some drafting work due to only 4 people out of like 700 know the software and I got picked to do the job. Most of the work we do is for the highway department.

instant000

Hrm.

You were last promoted six years ago. I guess that promotions are not a regular thing at this workplace of yours.

You just cleared the degree in December, and it is January. Unless there was a promise of advancement upon attainment of the degree, I can't understand how you could be hoping for it so soon.

Have you spoken to your boss about this?

He/she may think that you're happy right where you are.

You said that the pay is low, and the retirement is good. That's called deferred compensation.

How close are you to this retirement? If it's nearby, it may be worth fighting it out. If it's far away, you might want to weigh your options.

I just don't want to advise you into an adverse financial situation. If the job pays low, then you might not have had as much spare change to sock away for retirement, and you're more dependent upon the retirement that the firm offers than you might otherwise be.

Are your retirement savings stable outside this job? Are you vested into anything you've contributed so far?

My advice to you is different, if you're 20 years from retiring, versus 5 years from retiring, obviously. Also, your age is a factor, too. Would you have enough time to make up the difference?

I'd advise you to do the math. Don't forget about your obligations to family, etc. When I was single, I would have answered this question another way .

Hope this helps!

wgroom

This is a situation where we can only advise what we would do, as details are very limited. Based solely on what was provided, with a degree and it sounds like some experience, I would be testing the waters to see what is available. Updating your resume is something that you should have done already, and posting it online would be wise. Mine is always up to date, and online. You never know what is out there. Depending on how long you have been at your current employment, and your satisfaction with your current duties, would play a large role in your decision. Best of luck with your decision, play to your strengths no matter which avenue you choose.

tpatt100

If your employer didn't ask you to get a degree and it wasn't required when they hired you unfortunately you did something for your own benefit as far as they are concerned but it is good for "you" as far as I am concerned. When I got my degree/degrees I did it on my own and initially wasn't required but I didn't expect anything since I was doing it for my own benefit. I did notify my manager after my bachelors and MCSE way back and I did get a promotion and pay increase as well as a bonus. I didn't expect it but it was appropriate since as a contractor they were able to move me into a higher billable position.

I think it depends on what you want the most and you sound like you know what you need to do but it's not the same as what you want to do which is stay. If your employer doesn't notice you as you would like to be noticed then look for something else, you will probably be happier once you make the jump.

neo9006

I appreciate everyone's advise since I knew everyone would not sugar coat it. I guess in my eyes since I went out and did something about advancing myself and taking time to do it that maybe there would a chance for a promotion. As for a little bit more background, here is nuts and bolts of it, I am 41, I feel like I could work another 20 years if possible or more. The way the retirement works is they take your 5 highest paid salaries and do some calculating and that tells you how much money you get monthly when you retire. For example if your mark is around 60k a year (I know that is chump change compared to what some of you make) you can look at a retirement amount of 3k a month without insurance. I am kinda of basing this number on someone that actually makes that and from what the comment she was making that one day. I am not close to making that due to some of my own mistakes and a few years we really did not get a merit raise and one year we did not get anything(they had told us we were not ahead of time). I like my retirement but as I said the pay is low. I figured what I can do and am looking at doing that just have to send some resumes out and hope for the best. As for invested with anything outside my retirement, my wife does and then of course I have my own with my current employer. I want to thank you guys for help I think things are clearer.

tpatt100

When I worked for the City and took an opportunity for advancement to work in a SOC I jumped at the chance because I was currently working as a desktop support/network administrator on a three person team. I had great benefits and a pension if I stayed there for whatever number of years.

I took the SOC position because it paid 35K a year more than the City position which was awesome considering it was also what I considered a considerable step up career wise. The City had pretty much no advancement opportunities for me but it was very family friendly. I miss things about it but career wise do not regret the move in jobs. I also know that if I stayed I would have slowly regressed into a pile of Jello-O mentally.....

I would evaluate possible pay increases and opportunities for advancement and compare that to a pension. A pension also is a promise of future compensation. If you can make more and discipline yourself investment wise could come out ahead rather than hope your pension is still around in 20+ years or the company defaults and you end up taking a reduced payment from the government Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp that covers defaulted pension plans. (I thought there was a reduced payment).

neo9006

I have been applying already at other places, I need to fix up my resume more and cover letter. I understand where I shouldn't expect anything, yet as we all know we are certainly expected to do more with the same pay. I am already in that position. Like you say tpatt100 there are other career wise options out there. Right now I think I already see the writing on the wall and in the end I do not to be stuck doing field work at the crappy pay the next 20 years whether my pension is decent or not.

wikiget

Sometimes you need to move elsewhere to move upward.

Give your employer an opportunity to counter any offers though. That shows interest to remain, but forces them to assess your importance within the company. There should rarely (if ever) be a reason to burn bridges with former employers and this may be the thing that helps them remember you when another position opens.

neo9006

I plan too Wikiget, I am not trying to burn bridges, I just feel like nothing ever changed and I am ready for a change. I just have to take my chances and ride for the better opportunity which I know is out there. I just need to find it. With things going the way they are going right now at work, things will come to a head sooner than later and then things will get interesting. Right two of us are looking around and that leaves one guy to do the job, but hopefully things work out for everyone.