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...

[greeklady.livejournal.com]

Exactly.

My lowest paying was when I first started in the SF Bay at $35K. Highest was $55K. Still barely enough to live here depending on your standard of living.

Now I know help desk people are being paid more than me, $25 an hour, but I am now desktop and will not go back to that personal hell of phone support. Also I have a sweet deal where I am at and am going back to school to do something else. So biding my time.

[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 ;)

[katyism.livejournal.com]

I would if there were anything remotely better around here. This is the first job I've ever had where I got to sit in a chair all day. If I quit, it's back to the gas station for me.

[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).

[greeklady.livejournal.com]

Update your resume on Monster once a week. Just go in and save it, you don't have to make any changes. You will be getting calls in no time for a better job. Don't sell yourself short. Ask for more money. If they think they can pull you down they will.

[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.

[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!

[katyism.livejournal.com]

I work in a university town.They totally monopolize the job market here. If you have a degree, you can be salaried, benefit-having staff for $30k and up. If you don't have a degree, you take a student job and compete with the undergrads who don't even work full time. I have no idea where else I could get a skilled job in this town with no degree and no hardware experience :(

[inahandbasket]

That sucks.
Is moving a possibility?

[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.

[(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.

[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?

[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]

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

[malakim.livejournal.com]

Plus, janitors tend to get paid more than your 'average' worker anyway because they do a job not many others want to do.

[katyism.livejournal.com]

Monster, really? I haven't tried that in years, admittedly, although they still have an out of date resume for me. I only have 1 year of helpdesk experience, and all my other job experience is random smalltime retail crap.

[katyism.livejournal.com]

No, I've done enough of that. I just settled in with my boyfriend here last year and he wants to stay since he bought a house...Living expenses here are pretty cheap, and my supervisors only make about $20k a year, but ugh...

[katyism.livejournal.com]

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

[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.

[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...

[thalionar.livejournal.com]

OK, most of what people will tell you of how much they make is before taxes.

After taxes, it's a *lot* less.