I need some switching jobs/career advice

[nboy22]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for some career advice here.

I work at a small studio and have been there for over 3 years now. I get paid shit. When I say shit I mean $13 an hour. So basically I started at $10/hour after college and get raised up $1 a year average, and also have (what I think) is pretty shitty health insurance (healthnet). Recently at work, we have acquired a client that we do motion graphics animations for. It has been an excellent client for us, but it seems that I am the only one that really has the ability at our studio to keep up with the work they dish out. The client loves working with me and they are constantly telling me I do a good job, etc... We charge them $70 an hour to do animation and I usually end up working for them so much that at the end of our month we are billing them like $5000 for the projects we do.

What I am thinking about doing is talking to one of the client's employees privately and ask them to keep it confidential, but that I am interested in working for their company and quitting my old job that I have now. I would like to at least get $20 an hour, which means even if I was working there 40 hours a week I would still be cheaper than them contracting the work out to the studio I currently work for. The one main issue is that I have become good friends with the people who I work for now, and I know once I start working for the client that they will be really pissed about the whole situation. They will basically view it as me stealing the work away from them. They once started to try to get me to sign some bullshit non-compete that they pulled from the internet which basically stated that I couldn't work for any other animation related companies for 5 years within the state of AZ after I quit working there. I didn't sign it and I told them if they wanted me to sign it that they would just have to have a real lawyer write it and stop trying to be cheap and pull fake shit off the internet.

Basically I am just wondering how my fellow ATOTers would handle this situation. I really deserve a huge raise but will never get it for like 10 years at the current place I work. I just want to sever ties cleanly without offending anyone but I am not sure that it is entirely possible in this situation, but at the same time they have to understand that I need to lookout for myself. How would you handle this?

 

[SheHateMe]

I'd start putting my resume out there and in the meantime I would talk to my boss about a raise and would give them examples of why I should be paid more.

 

[mikegg]

I was sort of in the same situation:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2290319&highlight=

I knew I was worth a lot more than what they were paying me. So I just found another job and doubled my salary.

I'm not sure if you should try to steal their client by working for a lower rate. I'm pretty sure you signed something that prevents you from doing that. Even if you didn't, you'd completely burn the bridge with your old company.

If I were you, I'd try to find another job. Ask your clients to write some good recommendations for you. If you don't have a LinkedIn profile yet, get one.

If you are really worth what you want, then you can get another job.

 

[nboy22]

I was sort of in the same situation:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2290319&highlight=

I knew I was worth a lot more than what they were paying me. So I just found another job and doubled my salary.

I'm not sure if you should try to steal their client by working for a lower rate. I'm pretty sure you signed something that prevents you from doing that. Even if you didn't, you'd completely burn the bridge with your old company.

If I were you, I'd try to find another job. Ask your clients to write some good recommendations for you. If you don't have a LinkedIn profile yet, get one.

If you are really worth what you want, then you can get another job.

I'll have to take a look at your thread. I was on ATOT about a year ago asking about other jobs in my industry and someone said there are good full time jobs out there but they are just a bit harder to find. I know that this client we're working for is one of these jobs that I could be perfect for, but it sucks that my current company already does work for them.

It's just hard to find other work like this. For instance, this client needs another animator but they don't even post it on their website that there is a job opening when they could obviously add another person for cheaper than what they are paying right now. I can't help but think there are tons of other companies out there that need help but just aren't advertising it properly

 

[Tweak155]

You can always just submit your resume to the HR department there. Worse thing they would do is trash it.

I would put your resume on Dice.com as a starting point. It is a technical posting board and you can request a salary before anyone contacts you. It is mostly contract work to start, but if you kick ass the employer will keep you at the end. And usually you get paid very well. Lowest job I've accepted from there is $30/hr and highest I've been contacted for is in the $50's, but those seem to be too far for me to take them.

 

[kranky]

Things you need to know:
Are the people who run both companies friendly with each other personally, or is it strictly a business relationship?
Does the other company actually WANT to do that work in-house?
Does the other company have the infrastructure in place to do that work in-house?
Do you know someone at the other company who is (1) high enough in the organization to make a hiring decision, and (2) available for you to talk to about this situation?

 

[xanis]

It's not uncommon for people to leave their current positions to work for another place that pays more. I'd submit your resume to the company that you're interested in along with a quick note about about why you're doing it. Can't hurt; the worst thing they can do is throw out the resume. I've also worked for and known people who've worked for companies like the one you're at now. They're most likely never going to give you that big raise, so I'd start shopping around for another job regardless of what happens with the other place.

 

[Saint Nick]

Don't sell yourself short. If you are worth $70 an hour, maybe ask for $50. But yeah...you need a new company.

 

[Imp]

You should try looking elsewhere, but it might not be a good idea to secretly offer yourself to one of your clients. It depends on what the relationship between the two companies is. Might be some very pissed off people or some snitching.

 

[Markbnj]

You should try looking elsewhere, but it might not be a good idea to secretly offer yourself to one of your clients. It depends on what the relationship between the two companies is. Might be some very pissed off people or some snitching.

This. Be really careful. You could talk yourself out of a job. I don't know your business but contracts often specify that a client won't poach a vendor's staff. If the client and the business owner have a good relationship your inquiry might come back around to haunt you. I'd follow the advice given above and start getting your resume out there.

 

[Cuular]

Keep in mind that a contractor for 70.00 an hour is probably much better for them. They don't have to pay insurance, disability, vacation, sick time, and all the other bullshit a fulltime employee drains a company with.

So unless you are working for them 40 hours a week for most of a whole year, just paying 70.00 an hour for the time they need you, is best for them.

 

[Rumpltzer]

Certainly put yourself out there if you're not happy with your current job or your current pay. Certainly let your boss know that you're not happy about your pay rate.

Making a deal on the down-low with the other company isn't a great idea. In my line of work, we sign documents that prevent us from doing this sort of thing; we need to be out of the specific field for some amount of time before competing with our own company.


You're not trapped in your job. If you're not happy, then you should do something to help yourself to be more happy.

 

[JasonK]

Even if they did pull the non compete "bs" off the internet, a contract is a contract. Good thing you didnt sign it. You could set yourself up for some legal issues if your old company decides to go after you, the client relation you built could be considered intellectual property regardless if you sign a non compete or not.

My suggestion like others have stated, post resume and start looking elsewhere. If I were you i would not approach existing clients until a period of time has passed where you have cut your ties with existing company

 

[redbleed]

Don't ask for a raise. Ask for a fair compensation that reflects your contribution/value to the company. Be open about any intentions you have, such as seeking work elsewhere. If there's going to be pain, you cannot avoid it.