Comments on: How You Should Compare Salaries

By: A Shark

A Shark — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:26:57 +0000

Sorry, I have to disagree with this blog. While I am happy for Bob for getting more money, my resentment would be for my employer. I found out that an individual at my level who started after me makes 8% more than me. This other worker spends less time working and more time socializing. He even brings in work from his other job and works on it in the Office when he should be working. I know I could get paid much more if I left this job; however, my skill set is specialized and I do not want to leave the area in which I live. I thank you for this opportunity to vent.

By: MoneyNing

MoneyNing — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 22:19:55 +0000

Minimum Wage: Do you have other options? Surely there are some other choices if you look hard enough? You need to surround yourself with positive thinking people!

By: Minimum Wage

Minimum Wage — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 20:14:16 +0000

I work for an employer who owns several convenience stores. There are two “managers” for the stores who work day shifts and also are emergency contacts evenings and weekends. The “managers” are responsible for covering shifts when a scheduled employee doesn’t show up (i.e. the managers get unwanted overtime, as they are salaried). One of them argues he’s NOT a manager (but merely a glorified store babysitter) because he does not have the power to hire and fire.

By: jim

jim — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 12:35:30 +0000

Where do you work?

By: Minimum Wage

Minimum Wage — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 12:00:55 +0000

I live in an area where college-educated twentysomethings have been moving in for years. Large surplus of cheap educated labor. Where I work we usually have three or four college graduates earning minimum wage.

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 03:47:48 +0000

Minimum Wage is there to protect those that cannot get a better job than a “starting” job. No one, unless their parents own a business, gets a management job when they’re 16 years old. Heck, the owners could pay them only $5 if they could. Minimum Wage when you’re 20+? You seriously need to reconsider, unless you’re already wealthy and like to be bossed around all day.

I think the true measure of success is your net worth. A guy making $100K per year could easily blow every sent and have nothing, still be living pay to pay. However, someone making 50-60K per year could easily be contributing to their 401k and making post-tax investments. Yes, it must be nice to be the MC Hammer of today, however, what is he doing now? In 35 years, with all of the savings, the person making 40-60k all his/her life will be much better off. Vacationing when you’re retires? Seeing the world? Now that’s success!

By: MoneyNing

MoneyNing — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 02:40:36 +0000

Minimum Wage: That’s a sad thing to say! You should look into alternatives because you deserve a better working place! Find a place that allows you to be positive with your future!

By: Minimum Wage

Minimum Wage — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 21:58:26 +0000

Where I work, nobody asks for more money because we know we won’t get it. Superior performance won’t get you a raise and poor performance won’t get you a cut.

By: the baglady

the baglady — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 21:39:05 +0000

Great article. I think I would be very unhappy if I constantly compared my salary with others who do the same job. I know that for my profession I am getting paid below the median, however, my fiance reminded me that 40 to 50 year olds also have the same title as me but they would be paid more just because they are older. I don’t think it’s necessarily fair, but I am happy that in my age group I am being paid a lot. I think the idea of comparing yourself to the past is a great way to measure your growth because there is really no end to comparing yourself to others.

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 20:43:42 +0000

I think the issue is more of getting paid for what you are worth. If a person is doing essentially the same job, and you are tolerating working for less, then what does that say about you? If you are content with your position and how much you make, so be it.

in the end, you define “success”.

By: plonkee

plonkee — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 20:26:37 +0000

One of the things that I’ve discovered about other people’s salaries, is that they make a lot more money than I think they do if they are higher up the chain. Which I read as, I could earn a lot more money than I am now someday. But I’m not exactly the assertive job hopping type it’ll take me a long time to earn a really good income, but if the work is fun and I can manage on what I make, who cares?

By: Anon

Anon — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 20:13:51 +0000

What I find interesting is that the people who are always interested in “what you make” tends to also be the people who management see as only interested in money and not in doing a good job.

Its hard to give someone a raise who you know spends their time asking for more money compared to the person who spends that extra time doing a damn good job at their work.

By: Minimum Wagec

Minimum Wagec — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 19:59:16 +0000

Where I work, the entire pay range is 20 cents.

By: mapgirl

mapgirl — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:33:00 +0000

Someone making more for the same job only proves one thing: THEY ARE BETTER THAN YOU AT NEGOTIATING A SALARY.

That is all.

Salary is some measure of success because it’s a quick and dirty metric for comparision, but I know some losers who make a lot of money just because they work in high-paying fields. I won’t even get into what defines success, that’s like asking people what is love. It’s different for everybody.

Back to my statement though. I used to make more than one of my girlfriends at work because I knew what kind of salary to ask for (i.e. demand?) during the employment process. My friend was referring me to her new employer and we talked about her offer to move to the new company in the first place, so I had prior knowledge about what they were paying, which she did not when she entered her negotiation. (Isn’t the market mostly about information arbitrage anyway?)

I had more complete information. I also know how to sell myself through proper valuation and negotiation. I am simply more assertive than my friend is. We both know it. I asserted myself to go to school at night and get more valuable skills while I was at that job. I also asserted myself to make my job and my salary my highest priority, which my friend doesn’t do because she would rather be a mom. (Which is fine with me and with her, and not a stab to instigate a mommy-war so don’t even start.)

In the end, I found out that I, too, wasn’t making as much as the next person because they were better than me at selling themselves, or the tide of the company’s fortunes had changed and they felt they could pay more when the next person came along. It’s not a pissing contest with your co-workers because if you think that way, you’ll be chasing jobs by the dollars they pay versus the quality of work or life balance they can offer you.

I totally agree that the competition is with one’s self. I had set a goal of making $60K my goal at my last job. I told my friend that I was going to be ruthless in my pursuit of it and that I hoped I could achieve it in 3 years. I managed it 2 years later by going to night school and hopping jobs. It was easier than I thought and I didn’t bother looking around me for competition because going to class 2x a week for 6 months was enough!

By: saladdin

saladdin — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:07:31 +0000

Patrick,
I agree that money by itself does not equal success, but it sure does seem to be most peoples goal. So there must be something to it…

Also, if the guy next to me is doing the same job and has an equal skill set making 20% more then me it is human nature to think “What the hell?” and not “Good for Bob.”

I’ll just say again, I have seen a lot of posts (not necessarily here) with people concerned with their paychecks and how to make more to say that money is not an important factor in defining success.

I’ll just say, that it is a factor in defining it for me.

This is just my opinion guys.

saladdin