More responsibility / same pay

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Farang

Lifer
Jul 7, 2003
10,913
3
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Have you had (or do you have) and employer that promotes you, gives you a lot more responsibility, etc. without ever giving a pay increase? I'm interested in what other people's experiences are.

My boss wants me to study for and take a licensing exam that in practice would make me a production supervisor. The exam will be given on-site and I can study for it on the clock so there isn't much work involved for me. However it opens me up to more shift variability, as only those with a license can open up the factory at 3am. So in my current daily life it is detrimental to me.

I've already determined that this is not a place I want to be long term because I've been "promoted" twice without a pay raise. I've taken it both times since I needed the money and the responsibilty looks good on a resume. Its increased the amount of jobs I can apply for and the number of callbacks I get for those jobs.

Now its happening again and I feel like an idiot for going along with this. I could resist taking the exam and keep my normal shift, and not get fired. Or I could push for a raise. But I'm in my early twenties, am making maybe 26k/year, and figure what good is a raise at this level anyway (what am I going to get? a buck more an hour?) and I should just be their lapdog and take on as much as they want to give me to leverage into a future position. My new role pays $35k-$60k elsewhere, depending on the size of the factory, if you have 1-3 years experience.

I guess I'm just thinking out loud to see if its the right move to just keep my mouth shut and take whatever added responsibility they want to give me. I should say I like doing my job and the new responsibilities don't really stress me out too much. Just feeling like a bit of a tool.
 
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daishi5

Golden Member
Feb 17, 2005
1,196
0
76
Farang said:
Have you had (or do you have) and employer that promotes you, gives you a lot more responsibility, etc. without ever giving a pay increase? I'm interested in what other people's experiences are.

My boss wants me to study for and take a licensing exam that in practice would make me a production supervisor. The exam will be given on-site and I can study for it on the clock so there isn't much work involved for me. However it opens me up to more shift variability, as only those with a license can open up the factory at 3am. So in my current daily life it is detrimental to me.

I've already determined that this is not a place I want to be long term because I've been "promoted" twice without a pay raise. I've taken it both times since I needed the money and the responsibilty looks good on a resume. Its increased the amount of jobs I can apply for and the number of callbacks I get for those jobs.

Now its happening again and I feel like an idiot for going along with this. I could resist taking the exam and keep my normal shift, and not get fired. Or I could push for a raise. But I'm in my early twenties, am making maybe 26k/year, and figure what good is a raise at this level anyway (what am I going to get? a buck more an hour?) and I should just be their lapdog and take on as much as they want to give me to leverage into a future position. My new role pays $35k-$60k elsewhere, depending on the size of the factory, if you have 1-3 years experience.

I guess I'm just thinking out loud to see if its the right move to just keep my mouth shut and take whatever added responsibility they want to give me. I should say I like doing my job and the new responsibilities don't really stress me out too much. Just feeling like a bit of a tool.
Click to expand...

You are getting a raise, you just don't get to collect it until the next job.
 
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onza

Diamond Member
Sep 21, 2000
8,937
0
0
reviews.ragingazn.com
pay the price early then you will get your reward later on.

I experience it myself. Worked in a low paying accounting job for 2 years, no raise no nothing. Got a new job after my 2 years - now I'm making close to twice of what I was making at my old job.
 
OILFIELDTRASH

OILFIELDTRASH

Lifer
May 13, 2009
12,333
612
126
It sounds like it's a shitty company to work for. I had a job like that at one time. They wanted me to basically do two different jobs and I refused and was fired.I also didn't help myself because I said I'm not doing it and you can do whatever you want. It wasn't even disguised as a promotion.

One thing you have to realize is you're not going to change the way they run the place. They aren't all of a sudden going to say oh yeah let's give Farang a nice salary and still fuck over all the other employees. Your best bet is to duck this "promotion" and find a way out. Unless of course they come off with teh cash which I highly doubt. It wouldn't hurt to ask for some $$$$!
 
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darkxshade

Lifer
Mar 31, 2001
13,749
6
81
Assuming all of the schooling and fees are paid for and if I can study on the clock, it's almost like being paid to go back to school. I'd do it just to get the extra experience and credentials. If I get promoted again without a raise, I'll use that to my advantage to get a better higher paying job and thank them for the free tuition on my way out.
 
Yreka

Yreka

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2005
4,084
0
76
Happens all the time around here.. especially since the "Economy situation"..

There is a running joke, the reward for hard work is more work.. Quite a few ppl got "promotions" over the past couple years that entail you taking on the new job's responsibility, while still doing your old job.. Oh and BTW, wages are frozen, so all moves are "lateral"
 
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Strk

Lifer
Nov 23, 2003
10,197
4
76
You know what's funny about a $1 an hour raise? When you put it into dollars and not just "I make X hourly," it's probably more than what most people get for an annual raise nowadays.
 
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Farang

Lifer
Jul 7, 2003
10,913
3
0
Strk said:
You know what's funny about a $1 an hour raise? When you put it into dollars and not just "I make X hourly," it's probably more than what most people get for an annual raise nowadays.
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The way I see it you need some leverage in asking for a raise. As in 'If you don't give me a raise I am not taking the exam.' That opens the door to being fired (not likely) or not taking the exam (likely).

So now I'm out a "promotion" because I didn't get my buck an hour. But is that really worth it in the long run? I'm not so sure.
 
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darkxshade

Lifer
Mar 31, 2001
13,749
6
81
Honestly, if I had a choice, I'd turn down a promotion if I could do it without any negative consequences. I know a lot of companies are handing them out like candy lately to avoid giving higher raises (vs. promoting in the future) because they know they can get away with it right now due to the economic landscape and many employees are fooled by it.

edit: especially long term employees who they know will stay and won't see another climb up the ladder in a while.
 
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DrunkenSano

DrunkenSano

Diamond Member
Aug 8, 2008
3,892
490
126
Companies these days will milk you for whatever work they can pile onto you. Hard work is only rewarded by more hard work. It's how the company saves money and with the way the economy is right now, most workers won't complain because they atleast have a job. Really sucks. Solution is to do just enough not to get fired unless you like doing more work for nothing.
 
lxskllr

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
60,221
10,670
126
I'd do it if you aren't staying at the company. They're giving you knowledge, and you can sell that elsewhere. It'll suck in the near term, but so did school, and you had to pay for that ;^)
 
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Farang

Lifer
Jul 7, 2003
10,913
3
0
FoBoT said:
It's the economy, stupid
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We're upping production 30% this year, would do even more if we had the room. It seems like its just the nature of the business. The business people set goals just a bit higher than can be reached, like labor cost per pound of product, and assign those goals to the plant manager. The plant manager then doesn't give anyone raises because that would completely shit all over the unattainable labor cost goal.

If we somehow worked twice as hard and cut in half the labor cost per pound, the business people would just move the goal posts to a scenario where we worked three times as hard and we'd still not get raises.
 
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Jzero

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
18,834
1
0
The big question is whether you intend to stay in this line of work for a long time. If so, then this seems like a good thing to do in the long term. In your early 20s, with the certification necessary to supervise the plant AND experience to back it up. Sounds like the kind of job where you have to pay your dues (as is often the case in industrial/manufacturing fields) and this could be a move that pays off big in 5-10 years. The shifts might suck, but better now while you're young and unencumbered than later on in life!

On the other hand, if you don't intend to stick with this as a career it might not be worth it.
 
Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,674
13,836
126
www.anyf.ca
DrunkenSano said:
Companies these days will milk you for whatever work they can pile onto you. Hard work is only rewarded by more hard work. It's how the company saves money and with the way the economy is right now, most workers won't complain because they atleast have a job. Really sucks. Solution is to do just enough not to get fired unless you like doing more work for nothing.
Click to expand...

Yeah my mom is in a situation like that now. She's a trainer for SRs but they make her do SR work and even management work on top of that, while trying to organize trainning sessions. It's brutal, they are burning her out.

Same with where I work, we have projects coming out of our ears.
 
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spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
5
76
Farang said:
We're upping production 30% this year, would do even more if we had the room. It seems like its just the nature of the business. The business people set goals just a bit higher than can be reached, like labor cost per pound of product, and assign those goals to the plant manager. The plant manager then doesn't give anyone raises because that would completely shit all over the unattainable labor cost goal.

If we somehow worked twice as hard and cut in half the labor cost per pound, the business people would just move the goal posts to a scenario where we worked three times as hard and we'd still not get raises.
Click to expand...

I see the light bulb going off in your head. You're starting to get it now.

It's called "dangling a carrot" and it's how you get a horse to walk.
 
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seepy83

Platinum Member
Nov 12, 2003
2,132
3
71
This is only my 4th year of full-time employment (finished college in 06), but every year it has worked like this for me:
Step A: Get more and more responsibilities as the days/weeks/months go by
Step B: Get compensated at the next yearly review (January)

So I can't say that they never compensate me for the responsibility, but there is always a lag. I'm fine with it, and I'm always happy when new responsibilities are thrown my way, because I know that I will be receiving an increase the next year (and if not, I've got leverage if I feel the need to discuss my salary with my boss).

Best advice I can give is that you shouldn't be afraid to ask for a raise if you deserve it and you have some industry data to back up your opinion. Just make sure you know your boss and you know how to talk to him. In my first year, when I started seeing the "outside-of-job-description" work flowing my way, I wasn't quiet about it when it came time for my review. This approach worked for me...I've received a handful of increases and I'm being paid about 190% of what I was when I was first hired.
 
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