Ask HN: The new job I started is severely underpaying me. What can I do?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5762652

by Kerrick • 13 years ago

4 13 13 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I just started a new job in the midwest USA with a B2B web software firm (~100 people, ~1/3 developers) as a Front-end Web Developer a week and a half ago. Stupidly, I gave them a salary number ($45k) first, and gave them an absolute minimum. They exceeded it ($47k), and I accepted without negotiations.

Fast forward to yesterday, and I find out they are still looking to hire another front-end dev with the same experience and skills as me. That night, I find a job posting offering $75k-90k, and confirm with the person who posted it that it is indeed the company that is paying me half of that.

How can I start earning what I'm worth? Should I go to the founder and demand more with that posting as a reason? Should I go to my direct supervisor and ask him? Should I buckle down and accept my low earnings until my yearly raise evaluation and ask for an 80% raise then?

paulhauggis• 13 years ago

It's too late for that. Take it as a lesson to ask for what you are worth. I think we've all done this at some point in time.

At one company, I was getting paid $75K. Years later, I found out that my co-worker (who was essentially hired to do the same job as me), was only getting paid $42K.

I now have strict minimums on my salary requirements and won't go anything below it.

joelima2• 13 years ago

You need some leverage. Employment is at will. Why not look for another job? If your boss asks you why you are leaving, you can say you are leaving for better pay. If they are truly looking for someone eles for a similar job and are willing to pay $75k plus, chances are they will give you a counteroffer not to leave.

Kerrick2• 13 years ago

Even though I've only been here two weeks? Wouldn't that look of on my résumé?

glitch273• 13 years ago

leave it off your resume

joelima2• 13 years ago

Agree with the other reply. Just leave the job off your resume. No one will know.

hexagonc• 13 years ago

The question is, what was your situation before you took this job? Did you resign from a previous job in order to take your new one, or were you unemployed before this job? If the latter, how long were you unemployed? Since you haven't been employed at your current job for very long, like others have said, I would basically start looking for another job as a continuation of your prior job search. Don't mention your current job on your resume unless the effective employment gap becomes unseemly. Don't mention anything immediately to your coworkers or boss until you've already found something.

One of the big mistakes that many developers make is accepting a low or barely acceptable initial salary in the hopes of making up the difference with raises later. The reality I have found, and probably many people will agree with, is that it is very hard for a non-executive/manager to make up for a small starting salary from within a company, especially with the same role. A good salary increase for performance is 10%, but it would still take over 4 years of the maximum performance increase to reach $70K from $47K. And that assumes that your contributions are acknowledged and you get the maximum performance increase for it. Even changing positions within the organization may not bridge the gap as much as you would like. I remember a very smart guy at a previous company that started at a low salary. Due to his competence, he was moved/promoted to a different department that had much higher average salaries than the one he came from. The problem was a company policy that capped salary increases when moving from one job to another at 15% of your prior salary. This struck me and him as completely counterintuitive. The company was willing to pay someone off the street that had much less institutional knowledge much more simply because they were new.

So the final question is, is $47K an acceptable salary for your area? Did you accept it because you were desperate or because you truly thought $47K was a fair salary? The moral of the story is that if you really feel like you deserve $70K - $90K, then the only practical way you're going to get it is by changing jobs or truly committing to your current company and getting multiple significant promotions from within. Your mileage may vary depending on the bonus/promotion structure of your company but don't count on just doing a good job and being loyal to cut it.

onion2k• 13 years ago

Don't go wading in demanding more money with a line like "pay me more or I walk!". That won't work. Any founder worth their salt would just let you go because that's a really awful way to deal with people.

You're in this position because you failed to negotiate, failed to research the market properly, and (presumably) undervalued yourself(1). That's not a strong position to start from. However, hindsight is perfectly acceptable, so you might still be able to negotiate a better salary. Don't use the advert to show what you think you should be earning, but instead use it to show what the typical salary for someone with your skillset is. Be willing to give some proof points (demonstration of learning new things, willingness to do some of the less glamourous stuff, etc) before getting the raise.

Take this to your direct manager or HR manager if the company has one. Don't go to the founder (because that just undermines your manager, not because they wouldn't be receptive.)

Unless they're a dick they will listen.

And last, and possibly most importantly, learn from this. It's an important lesson. Don't be lazy when it comes to something as important as your job.

(1) It might be that they wouldn't have recruited you on $75k but gave you a shot because you're cheap...

conanbatt• 13 years ago

Its not a weak negoatiation position that the OP didnt do his original due-dilligence. If he is employed at will, he can resign immediately and that is his bargaining power.

Said that, no reason to believe the company is acting in bad faith, they were offered a bargain and took it.

As it was posted, the best thing you can do to leverage and feel comfortable in your position is interview for another job, however, i would talk directly to your employers and talk about this directly.

Its probably better for you to suck up a month or so with a bad salary than start looking for a job from scratch which might take you as much time. You can atone the initial mistake with one cheap month of salary, and negotiate the next one. If the company strongs their position, you can always look for an alternative.

japhyr• 13 years ago

This is an interesting question for me, because I am a teacher. Teachers don't get to specify a salary range, because we are paid strictly on years in the profession and the credits we earned. I am looking to switch careers, so I interviewed for a developer position recently. It was really interesting to be asked for a salary range. Money isn't everything, but I certainly felt a little more respected professionally than when I have been interviewed for teaching positions.

That said, I have almost no experience applying for developer jobs. The power to walk if you find another job is pretty good leverage. The resolution seems straightforward: be honest, tell your supervisor you undervalued yourself, and ask for an adjustment based on what you are worth.

If they hesitate, ask for a set of milestones to reach your desired salary, so you are not stuck on a long-term path below your peers. If their response doesn't satisfy you, quietly look for other jobs. If I were interviewing you and I felt your current employer was severely underpaying you, I would respect you for looking for new employment.

RubberSoul• 13 years ago

You can ask for money, but "demand more" is not the right way to do it. I suggest you keep a copy of the posting, and others like it, to demonstrate what the market wage is for someone with your skills. Then, after you've done something good for the company (had a successful project for example), ask for a raise using your research to support a salary proposal.

You sound a little angry in your post (understandable), but being angry when you ask for a raise is bad strategy. The company did not do anything wrong by giving you what you asked for. You bargained fairly and should have done the research before accepting the job, but don't beat yourself up over it. Live and learn.

If your work is worth what you're asking for, they will pay you that.

shail• 13 years ago

My suggestion would be (considering you have been here for only 2 weeks), spend another month and a half and find out whether you are valuable to them and they are too valuable to you (as an opportunity) then and only then go to them and say that 2 months can be seen as internship period where you were actually being paid less and the relationship seems to be working both ways, hence a more deserving salary will help me keep my heart here for a long time.

thifm• 13 years ago

Keep your job and do interviews for companies in the $75-90k range.

It won't look so bad as much as you think if you leave after fiding another job. You negotiated badly and they ripped you off... also, a >50% raise should always be a reason to leave your current company, it doesn't matter if you are there for a week or a decade.

You are the "prize", start acting like it and they will treat you like so.

Kerrick2• 13 years ago

See, I'm not sure I want a different job. The people and the product are both really cool, I'd rather not leave.

Ask HN: The new job I started is severely underpaying me. What can I do?

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