[quote=CricketOnTheHearth]Another anecdotal data point here.
My pay has not gone up *at all* since about 2002, yet the rent for the apartment I used to live in has increased ~ 50% from then– from $1100 to $1600. And of course we all know how berserk housing prices have gone in that same time.
I am an “almost-professional”– scoped as a technician but doing an engineer’s work. It seems if you are not scoped as an engineer or other technical professional you have been SOL in this economy.
Call me a sucker if you will for staying with the same employer. The coworkers and culture are great; the pay sucks. I could apply across town to a place where I could get a job scoped as an engineer, but I don’t know aobut the culture– especially as far as discrimination. I’ve worked in disrespectful, discriminatory workplaces before and vowed never again. But if I continue to piss my financial future down the drain as I am here, I may have to before it’s too late.[/quote]
Well then, with all due respect the tradeoff of risk versus reward has already been made, right?
Alternatively, you could do what many people do. Leave your current company for another. Work at the other company for 1-2 years. And then re-apply to your current company again to a higher position, with the appropriate adjustments…
Back in few years ago, nothing gave me more satisfaction than doing this…
* Getting turned down for a promotion: $0
* Effort to leave for another firm with increased responsibilities and dollars: $0
* Not really doing that much more work in new firm….$0
* Effort to reapply to previous employer 1 year later: $0
* Going back to the same employer, with a brand new shiny title and experience,into a higher position and higher comp/stock package and outranking folks that turned me down for a promotion and people that stayed there for years… Priceless…
Just remember one rule of corporate america…Squeaky wheel gets the oil…If you’re good, you’re not squeaky enough..That’s an issue. Company ain’t going go out of their way to give you what you want unless you ask for it. And even then, if they still don’t give you what you want, they aren’t really going to respect you until you get whatever they think you should have elsewhere.
