Thoughts on Starting Pay
Money. That’s what this blog’s about, right? Now, I’m no expert, but I do know a bit about what’s going down with it. One of the things that I learned a lot about from the career center on campus was money… but not budgeting or how to get good deals. All the money advice I got there was about how much I should expect to make in different lines of work.
Nowadays, I don’t care as much about that as I used to. Sure, I want to be comfortable, but with the job market the way that it is, it was almost at a point where if I even had a job, I didn’t care how much it paid. I’m established now, so whatever, but in some people’s lives, that starting pay is everything.
Like my best friend. Her position at the school she was at got eliminated, and she lost her job at the end of this last school year. Now, one of the schools that she interviewed at offered her $26,000 a year for her starting pay. If that happened in my area, that’d be fine for starting pay. But she lives near Washington DC, where the cost of living is much more. Honestly, in my opinion, that should be one of the things that you worry about the most- what is the cost of living where I will be in comparison to how much I will be making.
Now, yes, in some cases, there are times you should be getting paid much more than you are. For example, I had another friend who got a ‘promotion.’ This promotion entailed more work for the same pay, with assurance from her higher-ups that she was going to get a raise. Then, they told her that she wasn’t going to. I haven’t talked to her since then, but last I knew, she was going to have a respectful conversation with them about this issue.
That’s really important, the respect thing. You can’t just go in there and DEMAND that you get a raise. That won’t help anything. You need to go in there with a clear argument (not just “I need more money) about your value to the company and why your work is worth a little more than you’re getting paid. Your manager may come back with a statement about their hands being tied. Then what?
Well, there’s other ways to help your situation. When I worked as a graduate assistant while I was working on my Master’s degree, and one of the secretaries at my office took every Friday off during the summer. It was from saving her vacation time, but she was still enjoying three-day weekends all summer long. Can you get off work at noon on Fridays? How about get your travel expenses paid for a business trip? See what else you can get, even if it’s not a higher salary.
Anyway, I’m done with this ramble. Think about this stuff when you’re looking for a job, friends. Until next time, spend smart, save smart.
