How good/bad do I have it at my job? - Page 2

meleader2 · #11 07-26-2007, 10:02 AM

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1) Telling us how much you make, but not where you live, makes it very difficult to judge your pay.

2) 325/month rent? Do you share or live in Costa Rica? I guess you have sex on lunch break, so gf?

3)I'm assuming you have no college loans?

4) Is there any room for progression in your job?

5) $120 in spending money is not a lot. It'll take you years just to save up enough for a decent vacation.

6) You work 8-4 with an hour break and no weekends, seems ideal.

7) What is the point of this thread? Thinly-veiled brag? Beat? Variance?

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1. i live in buffalo, ny in the city.

2. in the city. the guy renting the place isn't a very good business man (he could get a lot more. hardwood floors, 2 stoves, 3 bedrooms, washer/dryer on site, dishwasher...) gf.

3. i have 60k in college loans, about 530~$ a month

4. not sure. there are 13 office employees, so i would like to think so, but as of yet nothing's been said to me.

5. i agree with you.

turnipmonster · #12 07-26-2007, 10:03 AM

I would think more in terms of, is your job (in terms of function) the kind of thing you want to stick with?

meleader2 · #13 07-26-2007, 10:03 AM

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5 minute commute? holy [censored].

How is your rent is $325 and yet you only have $120 for spending money? What are you spending the rest of your money on? Also, is that $120 for the month of per pay period?

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omg i'm sorry. its 120$ a week

meleader2 · #14 07-26-2007, 10:04 AM

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You work only seven hours a day, only five days a week. That sounds like heaven to me.

Is it 2-D CAD work? $30k doesn't sound out of line for that position.

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2d.

meleader2 · #15 07-26-2007, 10:05 AM

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I would think more in terms of, is your job (in terms of function) the kind of thing you want to stick with?

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the issue here is the gf is still in college and has 1 more semester. i do NOT want to stay in this city, but as of right now i'm unsure how good/bad i have it at my job, so i want to try to assess my situation b4 she graduates.

CrazyEyez · #16 07-26-2007, 10:08 AM

Questions:

1) Estimate Med/dental/eye premiums per month.
2) Vacation/sick time? Ease of getting time off when you need it?
3) 401k? (Is this what you were referring to when you said retirement? They are often two different things.)

Comments (1-5 scale, 3 = no better/worse than peers)

Pay (I have no knowledge of your field): 3
No raise after a year: 1
Schedule: 4.5
Proximity to work: 5
Boss: 3
Rent: 4
Benefits: TBD

What other bills do you have? Seems like you should have more than 120 leftover considering the low rent. Overall you have it pretty good. But if you don't have 401k, that's pretty horrible. I can accept slightly lower pay as a trade off for great schedule/commute. But if you can't even bank anything for retirement and get some kind of company matching, that really blows.

edit: $120/week, that's better. Yeah overall it seems like you are a 4 on the crazyeyez job satisfaction scale.

meleader2 · #17 07-26-2007, 10:12 AM

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Are there opportunities for advancement? Are you taking the initiative to get noticed by those in charge of said advancement?

For an entry-level job, it sounds okay. At this point in your career, you are just learning. Your focus should be on amassing KSAs (knowledge, skills and abilities), not so much on salary. You want to be somewhere that allows for your development as a professional. The money will come as you become more valuable.

Oh, and you generally need to ask for a raise in order to get a raise.

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well i do stuff above and beyond what i was hired to do. seeing as i have a bs in comp sci i also run their small network, fix their comps (and their home comps they bring in) as well as the new wide format printer they just purchased.

CrazyEyez · #18 07-26-2007, 10:13 AM

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Oh, and you generally need to ask for a raise in order to get a raise.

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Two people have said this. Really? All the jobs I've had, there were semi-annual or annual reviews where raises were de facto guaranteed unless you sucked really bad. Have I been lucky?

turnipmonster · #19 07-26-2007, 10:19 AM

at small companies you may need to ask, it really depends.

z28dreams · #20 07-26-2007, 10:21 AM

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Are there opportunities for advancement? Are you taking the initiative to get noticed by those in charge of said advancement?

For an entry-level job, it sounds okay. At this point in your career, you are just learning. Your focus should be on amassing KSAs (knowledge, skills and abilities), not so much on salary. You want to be somewhere that allows for your development as a professional. The money will come as you become more valuable.

Oh, and you generally need to ask for a raise in order to get a raise.

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This is the best piece of advice so far.

Your salary pretty much blows, so you need to take advantage of your first entry level job and get as many other benefits out of it as possible.

FWIW, a friend of mine took his first serious job out of college here in DC doing autocad work for a small machine shop, and was paid $50k/yr. (of course, DC's cost of living is much more).

I think your salary should be closer to the 40k range IMO.