[txusa03]

Originally Posted by ///Mantis

u been raped bro!!! my promotion was like 30% but required i change jobs tho hahaha that's the way to do it.

at my old job i got a 20% coz i was entry level, then i got 5% at 6-month mark and 10% at 1 year mark.

the 5% is only accounting for inflation really.. it's not really a raise bro

That is why you drive a v8 and I am still driving a straight 6. does this matters if you live in Cali (where cost of living is high) vs Texas? Any job opening in your company right now?

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by txusa03

am I being screw all these years, I thought a raise is anywhere around 1-4% (based on performance) while a promotion is 10-15%? Or am I off target here.

As I wrote, it depends on how your company calculates raises. Where I work, a "Meets Expectations" is good for 5-7%, "Exceeds" is 7-9%, "Exceptional" is 10-12%, depending on where you are on the pay scale for your job (the higher your salary, the lower your percentage gets, and these numbers are fictional but representative).

At any company expectations should be upfront enough that a reasonable person can anticipate about what their raise will be, unless they're completely deluding themselves. Ideally, when I sit down with my people, we will either agree the amount is fair or be able to back up why we disagree - I'll have a list of examples why I graded them as I did, less frequently they'll have some accomplishments they feel warrant recognition and more compensation.

What no company wants is a widely varying range of salaries for the same job - that's how lawsuits get started.

[///Mandy]

Originally Posted by iatacs19

Fastest way to get a raise is to quit and get a new job. As long as the demand for the position exists, she will be ok.

Exactly.
I was with mine for 2 years and still on the same salary......

[mpimping]

tell her to quit

[Kiemyster]

the real question here,

How good does she look? scale 1-10. 10 being best. let me know.

[jlspeed29]

Originally Posted by mpimping

tell her to quit

lmfao! good one!

[DFW_M]

Originally Posted by iatacs19

Fastest way to get a raise is to quit and get a new job. As long as the demand for the position exists, she will be ok.

+1
In today's rough economy, be happy to get a raise.
However, ~4%/year is very much standard with most medium/large companies. I have never seen anyone getting more than 5-6% yearly increase in all companies I worked for (engineering) -- all of them were 3000+ people.
And yes, the raise is negotiable, especially if you're a desired person...

[achien]

If you want to get real salary/bonus increase, it's not how well you do your job but how much $$$ you bring in to the company.

From the description you provided below, it looks like your gf may be working on the "cost center" side of the business. If you want to get real salary/bonus increase, move to the "revenue generation" side of the business (i.e. sales, external consulting for the company).

Otherwise, it doesn't matter how hard you work, you are only a "cost center" to the company.

Originally Posted by jlspeed29

So my gf has been with her company for a year now. Shes been busting her balls and basically wearing many hats.
Today they gave her a measly 3.7% pay increase WTF??
To me thats an insult.
Companies across the board will give out cost-of-living increases of roughly 3%
For the past 5 months she has had to travel for work because she was the main person on this project. I'd say over the past few months shes had to travel about 30-40% of the time, away from home and driving 300+ miles roundtrip to work.

Bottom line, 3.7% is a joke, I wish I was there for her to tell them where to put it. She is one of the youngest in her department but shes also one of the best. She even had to train someother person who makes like 15g's more than her!

WTF??


How would you guys ask for a raise?


thanks for letting me vent!

[GreenThree]

Originally Posted by dr325i

+1
In today's rough economy, be happy to get a raise.
However, ~4%/year is very much standard with most medium/large companies. I have never seen anyone getting more than 5-6% yearly increase in all companies I worked for (engineering) -- all of them were 3000+ people.
And yes, the raise is negotiable, especially if you're a desired person...

+2. She could quit and get a new job, that would probably be the fastest way. I agree with Dr. - in this economy, I would be happy with a raise, even if it was a small one. If she likes her job she should stick with it. If she performs and adds value, then she will get paid more. If they ignore this fact, Peace out. There is also the option of MBA. Not sure if its a sales job, but the way I make more money is by increasing sales. This is my raise!

[TurboFan]

Originally Posted by jlspeed29

So my gf has been with her company for a year now. Shes been busting her balls and basically wearing many hats.
Today they gave her a measly 3.7% pay increase WTF??
To me thats an insult.
Companies across the board will give out cost-of-living increases of roughly 3%
For the past 5 months she has had to travel for work because she was the main person on this project. I'd say over the past few months shes had to travel about 30-40% of the time, away from home and driving 300+ miles roundtrip to work.

Bottom line, 3.7% is a joke, I wish I was there for her to tell them where to put it. She is one of the youngest in her department but shes also one of the best. She even had to train someother person who makes like 15g's more than her!


WTF??


How would you guys ask for a raise?


thanks for letting me vent!

What is her job description? Was this not part of it? Did she not get paid? Sure, we'd all like a bigger salary, but there come a point where what we do is only so valuable. Then it becomes what you know. I have 18 people working for me, and they all think that doing a great job means they should get a huge raise. My point to them is I'm paying them to do a great job - anything less is unacceptable.

Now, if she can make more somewhere else, it may be time to move on. Is this her first job after completing some level of education? If so, that employer provided training and worked her through a learning curve. They've seen her warts, so to speak. If she's been there 3-5 years, it's probably time to move on.

[nissan]

It's seems somewhat reasonable given the economy now. I was promoted 5 mths into my job and couldn't even squeeze 10% out of the company just b/c of the general biz environ. (despite my going back/forth w/mgmt). I work at a pretty big company, so I think a lot of places are just playing it safe. Then again, my co. is very much tied to consumer spending so we're more sensitive to the macro environ. than fin svcs companies and the like. I still think it'd probably be best for her to just talk w/her mgr and learn why the raise wasn't up to her expectations.

[jlspeed29]

Originally Posted by TurboFan

What is her job description? Was this not part of it? Did she not get paid? Sure, we'd all like a bigger salary, but there come a point where what we do is only so valuable. Then it becomes what you know. I have 18 people working for me, and they all think that doing a great job means they should get a huge raise. My point to them is I'm paying them to do a great job - anything less is unacceptable.

Now, if she can make more somewhere else, it may be time to move on. Is this her first job after completing some level of education? If so, that employer provided training and worked her through a learning curve. They've seen her warts, so to speak. If she's been there 3-5 years, it's probably time to move on.

shes a computer programmer, but since she started she's kind of assumed a couple different roles. Shes doing some EE (electrical engineering) work, tracking (which is a whole different team) and it seems like a lot of that falls on her plate because of the size of the company, its small.

When she started out, she was programming, like she was hired to. Nothing was mentioned about travel, and having to travel was not part of the original plan. Shes in the back, climbing ladders to work on the effin satelites

I told her, what if you slip and fall off a ladder...WTF thats not what you do! you program your not a wrench turner (no offense)

I dont know what a "cost center" is but shes was the main person working on this product that was sold to a client. so where ever that puts her

[Comet]

Originally Posted by TurboFan

What is her job description? Was this not part of it? Did she not get paid? Sure, we'd all like a bigger salary, but there come a point where what we do is only so valuable. Then it becomes what you know. I have 18 people working for me, and they all think that doing a great job means they should get a huge raise. My point to them is I'm paying them to do a great job - anything less is unacceptable.

exactly
I hate how employees feel they should get paid more for doing the job they supposed to be doing
I hear my friends bitch all the time "man.. I'm in there from 9-5 working non stop" yah.. you're supposed to be... that's what u are paid for, isn't it?
"damn boss is always on vacations and I'm there working"... yah.. he hires u so he doesn't have to do it...
whenever an employee DEMANDS a raise, it means they don't deserve it...
I'd say 80% of raises I've given were from my own end without the employee even asking for it...
you prove yourself, and management will give it to you without needing to ask...

[Couch]

Wow, glad to hear there are others working for the same shitty cheap-ass greedy company I am. I've been here 2.5 years and have only had 5% raises EVERY year. The first year I only recieved 2.5% because I had only been there for 6 months at the time.

I'm in the midst of preparing to begin a search. If I'm still here when the "reviews" happen I'm asking for more because there's no excuse for me to be here this long on only make $2500 more than when I started. It's a bunch of crap and I'm about to explode if I don't get out of this shit hole. And I've made myself more than clear about how shitty the pay is at least a few times a week.

[achien]

Yes, your description below tells us she is one of the "working bees", therefore, she is considered as a "cost center".

She needs to move to another role where she has the opportunity to meet clients and bring revenue in to the company (i.e. technical manager, account manager, sales, ...).

Originally Posted by jlspeed29

shes a computer programmer, but since she started she's kind of assumed a couple different roles. Shes doing some EE (electrical engineering) work, tracking (which is a whole different team) and it seems like a lot of that falls on her plate because of the size of the company, its small.

When she started out, she was programming, like she was hired to. Nothing was mentioned about travel, and having to travel was not part of the original plan. Shes in the back, climbing ladders to work on the effin satelites

I told her, what if you slip and fall off a ladder...WTF thats not what you do! you program your not a wrench turner (no offense)

I dont know what a "cost center" is but shes was the main person working on this product that was sold to a client. so where ever that puts her

[Scarecrows25]

Originally Posted by TurboFan

What is her job description? Was this not part of it? Did she not get paid? Sure, we'd all like a bigger salary, but there come a point where what we do is only so valuable. Then it becomes what you know. I have 18 people working for me, and they all think that doing a great job means they should get a huge raise. My point to them is I'm paying them to do a great job - anything less is unacceptable.

I agree that a lot of people ask for raises when they do only what's asked of them. But in this case, it sounds like she's taken on a lot of additional work, and not rewarded for it.

In early 2007, my raise was over 6%. Earlier, this year, it was only 4%, as my company's earnings fell 83%, and we posted a $10B loss in Q407. Yeah...we rock

[jlspeed29]

Originally Posted by Scarecrows25

I agree that a lot of people ask for raises when they do only what's asked of them. But in this case, it sounds like she's taken on a lot of additional work, and not rewarded for it.

In early 2007, my raise was over 6%. Earlier, this year, it was only 4%, as my company's earnings fell 83%, and we posted a $10B loss in Q407. Yeah...we rock

holly molly!
do you work for AIG or CFC?

[TurboFan]

Originally Posted by jlspeed29

shes a computer programmer, but since she started she's kind of assumed a couple different roles. Shes doing some EE (electrical engineering) work, tracking (which is a whole different team) and it seems like a lot of that falls on her plate because of the size of the company, its small.

When she started out, she was programming, like she was hired to. Nothing was mentioned about travel, and having to travel was not part of the original plan. Shes in the back, climbing ladders to work on the effin satelites

I told her, what if you slip and fall off a ladder...WTF thats not what you do! you program your not a wrench turner (no offense)

I dont know what a "cost center" is but shes was the main person working on this product that was sold to a client. so where ever that puts her

It basically comes down to this - can they find someone else to do her job for the same or less money, and how much would it cost the company to replace her.

We can all argue until we are blue in the face, but unless you have an employment contract, a company doesn't owe you or me shit. If her company is a small one, they need people to do what's needed, and just get it done. If that means climb a ladder or sit at a desk, you are getting a paycheck, so who cares? If you don't like the work, quit. Chances are, if she's getting some field experience, that's only going to make her more valuable to the company, and a promotion and raise will likely be in order when she masters all that they are asking of her.

A cost center can be described as a lot of different things, but the general use is pretty narrowly defined - it's a line item in the accounting books under which costs are accumulated. They are generally considered to add value, but little profit. It could be a division or group within a company, or a particular market segment. Just depends how the business is setup.

Originally Posted by Couch

Wow, glad to hear there are others working for the same shitty cheap-ass greedy company I am. I've been here 2.5 years and have only had 5% raises EVERY year. The first year I only recieved 2.5% because I had only been there for 6 months at the time...

There's nothing in life that entitles you to a raise. If you don't like it, you're doing the right thing - leaving.

[!Xoible]

Originally Posted by txusa03

That is why you drive a v8 and I am still driving a straight 6. does this matters if you live in Cali (where cost of living is high) vs Texas? Any job opening in your company right now?

i havent had any raise in this company yet. been here for a few months only. but my industry, IT, allows for that coz typically you move around every couple of years. so you can hit ur cap pretty quick, but ur stuck at it for a while after

[jlspeed29]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

3.7% is pretty good for a kid out of college. I would give my peeps 3.5% for "good work" and only a superstar would get 5%. Most companies won't even approve a 2% raise. Welcome to the real world.

lol..are you kidding me? 3.7% is hardly a cost of living increase give me a break

I'm one year out and got 15%+commissions


like I always say

conformity breeds content

[mpimping]

it's as simple as don't quit until you have something better...

[///Mandy]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

Honestly, in today's economy she's lucky she got a raise instead of a pink slip. That includes you too. Instead of complaining, hold onto your jobs like gold until the economy gets back on its feet. You're both inexperienced - you need at least 5-7 real world years to start pulling in the real money. That's the problem with younger workers these days. You have no patience. Everything has to happen now... and instantly. It's called "paying your dues"... and that's why your gf is wearing a lot of hats. Senior Managers and Executives are trained to "interview" younger canidates this way because most younger workers are too damanding just after one-year on the job. I NEVER hire college kids. Anyway, the crap economy will only be a few years. Once that happens, hop to another job and expect a much bigger increase in pay that'll make up six-fold the 3.7% raise your gf got.

Well said.
Made me re-consider what I said earlier...