Bitterness in salaries

[katyism.livejournal.com]

Inspired by thequestionclub....

How much do the overlords pay you per year, typically?
How old are you?
How many hours do you work?
Are you salaried or hourly?

I ask because I suspect I'm getting shafted. I work 40 hours a week, at an hourly rate, for a little over $15k a year. I'm 25, and I know janitors in my building who get paid more than I do, are younger, and yet they're salaried so they also get health insurance. I get jack. If I were cute I'd go be a secretary. I hear they make more money than I do too. And less head-desking maybe....

Comments

[greeklady.livejournal.com]

All I can say is, get the hell out and find another job.

[inahandbasket]

Pay also varies by location, you cannot live on 15k in NYC for instance.
15k... sheesh. I'd say you're getting the shaft, especially with no benefits. If you have some experience at a helpdesk now, get the heck out of there and find yourself a new overlord. The lowest paid HD worker that I ever worked with was still getting 25k as a subcontractor, and they were getting GOUGED by their contractor (who was charging like $60k for the placement).

Run.
Run away fast.

[jon787.livejournal.com]

The janitors have a union...

[katyism.livejournal.com]

Someone told me I should start a union here, but I don't know how to get started. I don't even know what a union really is. Plus, my job also has part-time student workers... they can't do unions can they?

[katyism.livejournal.com]

Beleive it or not this is the highest paying job I've ever had.

[mtlchick.livejournal.com]

I've seen a lot of mention of helpdesk in the comments, so I think we're doing the same thing.
I make approx. $39,500 /year (CAD).
Hourly salary of $17.38 hour.
Full benefits.
37.5 hours/week.

Yes, you're being shafted. Best of luck on your job hunt.
If you're in Canada, let me know ;)

[justsomegurl.livejournal.com]

I started about the same, but I live in a very small community in WI. Cost of living is very low here. I am making much more after 2 years. I average about $20-$25k with overtime. I also get health insurance (it's crappy, but it's something).

[thalionar.livejournal.com]

holy shit... in bumfuck south carolina I made $19K a year. In 1999.

You're making what, $7.50/hr?

I currently am a salaried employee of a major company and in my area we make $36-44K depending on skill/experience.

I am 30, work 40 hr/week and am salaried. I've been doing tech support of one flavor or another for 8 years.

[katyism.livejournal.com]

I make $8.50 an hour but after taxes it comes to $15,200 k a year.

[alysania.livejournal.com]

Okay.. will give you info from past helpdesk/phone support jobs..

How much do the overlords pay you per year, typically? $20/hr
How old are you? 23
How many hours do you work? 40/wk, overtime is 1.5x hourly rate and holiday is 2x hourly rate
Are you salaried or hourly? Hourly
Location: Parsippany, New Jersey

How much do the overlords pay you per year, typically? $12.50/hr
How old are you? 24
How many hours do you work? 40/wk, overtime is 1.5x rate, no extra for holidays
Are you salaried or hourly? Hourly
Location: Norfolk, Virginia

See the difference in pay even though it was THE EXACT SAME job? Frustrating.. and the "cost of living" difference is part bullshit IMHO - oranges cost the same at walmart in VA as they do in NJ, and if anything, I've found food/grocery/products to be more expensive in VA than in NJ where cost of living was supposedly higher. Houses cost about the same, there's more sales tax here, slightly lower property taxes, but if you don't own a house, there's little difference in cost of living. *shrugs* Just my experiences!

[toxico.livejournal.com]

[+] How much do the overlords pay you per year, typically?
$40k/yr; $19.23/hr. Benefits and bonuses also.

[+] How old are you?
29.

[+] How many hours do you work?
40/week.

[+]Are you salaried or hourly?
Hourly.

You're getting screwed. Find a job with a place that at least uses lube. You can easily make twice what you do now. Of course, I don't know your area's job market; if that's the median pay where you live for the type of work then consider getting out.

[katyism.livejournal.com]

This area's job market is THE UNIVERSITY OF DOOM which employs me. (And we are supposed to have one of the best university helpdesks in the nation, one of the few with 24 hour phone teams) There is literally nothing else in a 50-mile radius...

[(Anonymous)]

FWIW, age and salary are usually not tied to each other.

My masters typically allow me around 32K yearly for my 40 hour IT monkey position. I'm 28. I am blessed (and cursed) that it's hourly.

I don't think I've over or under paid where I currently am at, and what I current am doing. previous places, yes.

the ISP place I feel I was vastly overpaid for what I was doing. not surprising I was laid off from there due to the company running out of money. The place right after that I felt I was underpaid for what I was doing.

posted anon, because I would rather not have ny name attached.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, BTW, this is in Phoenix, AZ. our cost of living is somewhat lower here.

either that, or I'm being screwed myself.

[tecie.livejournal.com]

Look for a new job. Assuming you're technically proficient, you should be making at LEAST 35k a year. The lowest I got paid at a helpdesk was $11/hr, and I was looking to move. They compensated me with all the OT I could handle. If you're willing to move, you will be in business.
Let me know if you need help with your resume.
A good list of job sites I compiled about a year ago is:

http://www.monster.com
http://www.hotjobs.com
http://www.carreerbuilder.com
http://www.dice.com
http://www.nerdswanted.com
http://www.geekfinder.com
http://www.regionalhelpwanted.com
http://www.AMMAssociates.com
http://WomensJobSearch.net
http://www.free-for-recruiters.com/
http://www.coolworks.com
http://www.jobs.com
http://www.hirediversity.com
http://www.topusajobs.com/

[katyism.livejournal.com]

Back when I was in college I tried all those sites and they seemed geared towards degree-holding people. I don't know if that's changed. All the jobs in my area that those sites said I was qualified for were at retail stores and shit. I never did finish my degree, and I may be digging myself in deeper, but I just got admitted to the university that employs me in hopes that if I can get the degree done soon enough, I can request a new position in this department. (I'll have some seniority by then)

[drquuxum.livejournal.com]

$44k after 5.5 years (/w degree, though), salared & exempt, health benefits with $50/month credit, 403[b] /w matching program (similiar to 401[k]), 37.5 hours/week (that I get paid for; realistically it's around 45.)

Help desk? We might be hiring. Pittsburgh's cost-of-living isn't very high, either.

[bibliophile0614.livejournal.com]

You're definitely getting shafted. I make about 31K through a contracting job... and I've never made less than 27K. I''d look for another job...

[compwizrd.livejournal.com]

How much do the overlords pay you per year, typically? 53k CAD last year w/overtime. Taxes were about 11k.
How old are you? 29.
How many hours do you work? 40 min, usually 45-50
Are you salaried or hourly?Hourly.

I'm the sole sysadmin/netadmin, I support about 150 users.

Location is Southern Ontario(not TO). 9 years at this job. Hourly pay is 20/hour. No raises for the last two years(business is down), but I usually get 10% increase a year.

[byh.livejournal.com]

Giving up all that shiny techy weirdness for a boredom of secretary being? Shame on you! :)

[jcaswell.livejournal.com]

Mine works out at about $36K US (converted from GBP). I'm 36, salaried and work 36 hours a week. Been here 5 years, am really underpaid for what I do / where I am, but I love the job. :)

[xforge.livejournal.com]

You're a Helldesk technician? I think the nationwide average is in the high $40Kish range. In my vicinity the average for first-level phone people and deskside techs is $51K, which makes me very hopeful when my review FINALLY COMES THROUGH HOW LONG WILL IT BLOODY TAKE. (I just transferred from Marketing.)

[katyism.livejournal.com]

I'm not a technician necessarily. I'm a "consultant." Whatever those words mean.

[indigo-max.livejournal.com]

How much do the overlords pay you per year, typically?
Between doing all the jobs I do from Technical Support, PC Technician, and Computer Operator, I made about $34K last year. After taxes and deductions (health insurance and retirement) I come out with about $22K take home.

How old are you? 41

How many hours do you work? 40

Are you salaried or hourly? Hourly

I can't believe you work for a Higher Ed institution and get shafted that hard. I almost was about to say that you must work for Maritz cause I was getting about what you are getting now when I worked there as a Computer Operator. I work for a Community College district now and people here think they get paid squat. Both of our help desk people make in the range of $40K a year but they salaried.

Max...

[residentgeek.livejournal.com]

I work for a community college. I'm the only part-timer in my department currently. Not by choice.

How much do the overlords pay you per year, typically? $10K before taxes
How old are you? 25
How many hours do you work? 19.5 (I'm not allowed to work over that for IRS reasons)
Are you salaried or hourly? Hourly. I make $11.25/hr.

ALL of the full-timers in my department make at least $25K before taxes. And they all have health insurance, tuition assistance, 403b contributions (the non-profit 401k), etc. You're totally being screwed, even given the college budget situation.

[gilmoure.livejournal.com]

How much do the overlords pay you per year, typically? $19/hr
How old are you? 38
How many hours do you work? 40/wk
Are you salaried or hourly? Hourly
Location: Albuquerque, NM

Cost of living out here is cheaper than Florida (last job) and it pays more. Woot!

[anivair.livejournal.com]

My overlord pays something like 30k per year (as a sysadmin, which makes me one of the lowest paid sysadmins in my state, but whatever).
I am 28
I work 40+ hours. usually 42. This week, almost 50 (butI make OT)
I'm hourly (because I refuse to go salary).

meh

[kalidor.livejournal.com]

Still in the bottom 10 percentile; we were below that last year. Well Eric I think made as much as you; but he has 5 mouths to feed ...

[annamaryse.livejournal.com]

>> [+] How much do the overlords pay you per year, typically?
$40k/yr; $19.23/hr. Benefits and bonuses also.

That's about what I was making too. I did second tier telephone and email support for a software company. I was non-traditional to the max, as in female and 40ish (no one knows for sure, I'm not even sure) but you know what?

I kick BUTT as a tech. Problem was, I got no end of grief from the others, like, if I found a bug in the program and bitched about it no one paid attention to me or the red flag until finally someone else would write it up 6-8 weeks later and get MY credit for finding it.

And why should they continue to pay me when they can hire a cute new girl who is just out of school for a lower salary and she's someone who can sit on their laps.

I also have no degree. I had a kid VERY early and was out of the workforce for a while for other family reasons as well (I had to nurse a mother who was dying, long boring story)

SO here's the thing. At 25 you can still go båck to school GET A DEGREE. THe closer you get to 30, the harder it will be for you to find a job you can get without a degree. THey won't even CONSIDER YOU.

You won't even get an interview. Unless you want to do shit jobs for the rest of your life and risk having to work as a retail slut forever once you are no longer in the age bracket they hire to do what you're doing now. Think about it... they don't hire women of 40 do to the job you're doing now.

And you hate it now. Get a degree. NOW. Waste no time. Do not pass GO. Let me be your poster child for do not do as I did.

[annamaryse.livejournal.com]

P.S. -- you've posted in here about how much you're getting shafted before... months and months ago.

Stop bitching about it. Pull up, do something about it!

[poprockgrrl.livejournal.com]

you're in bloomington. i know that it's not exactly a huge city, but it's go to have some tech jobs around there.

You are getting screwed BIG TIME.

Just my $.02

[lovemonster.livejournal.com]

It's time for you to find a new job!

What kinda techy job to you hold?
2nd level tech support

How much do the overlords pay you per year, typically?
~$35K/yr

How old are you?
30-ish ;)

How many hours do you work?
40-ish

Are you salaried or hourly?
salary

[major-error.livejournal.com]

Certainly sounds like a shaft...

How much do the overlords pay you per year, typically?
Accounting for the recent raise, ~37k gross, roughly 30k net after taxes, benefits and 401k

How old are you?
29

How many hours do you work?
40/wk

Are you salaried or hourly?
Salaried. Not missing out on much in the way of OT pay, so it's all good.

Location: Cleveland, OH

[kalidor.livejournal.com]

I was going to post past jobs, but honestly rates have changed a lot in the last few years. For the worse from what I can see.

How much do the overlords pay you per year, typically?
CAD$67,000+Full health beyond Ohip. (Single IT person for this nation's branch of the company ... running about 350 people now.Honestly I feel underpaid for the amount of crap I put up with daily. I do NOT fix microwaves!)

How old are you?
26 (~11years experience. Associates in Networks systems. Working on my B.S. in IT managment. MSCE, CCNA, SCSA, CNA)

How many hours do you work?
Can range from between 35 on a good one to 50 on a bad one. I try to aim for the lower scale and I think it mostly averages out about 41 hours

Are you salaried or hourly?
Salaried. Took pay hit from hourly contract. But the tax witholdings make my life easier in the long run. Plus I average about 5000 back on my taxes each year so that makes a good nest egg for summer vacation.