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“We value none of our workers, it’s nothing personal.”
I had exactly the same experience. The manager answered me “wait, I can actually raise you! Here it is!”. I merely had to be a dick like them for them to do something. I still left.
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The other thing I always tell people is every year you don’t get a raise that’s at least equal to inflation you’re getting a pay cut. Finding a job that does cost of living increases every year is a huge benefit.
Isn’t this the norm? I’d quit if my company didn’t do this.
Sadly no, my company does, but many companies see employees as resources, not assets.
The newcomer: Oh, I don’t have to work here? Thanks for reminding me!
Me: Nobody wants to work! Sorry for our slow service, Covid these hard times 9/11
Also supply chain, egg prices, Biden “I did that!” sticker. Damn lazy avocado toast is killing diamonds with tiktok.
You actually have to quit periodically and demand more money upfront at a new job.
In a span of like eight years, I did this 4 times to go from $11.25/hour to now $52/hour. All with a gen ed associates degree from a community college. The best time to look for a job is when you already have one. It’s your safety net. It enables you to walk away from the table when negotiating after crushing the interview. You are also interviewing them to see if they’re worthy of your valuable labor. They have no revenue without workers like you, and they have no profit if they pay you what you’re actually worth, so understand that technically every offer they extend to you is a lowball offer. Having the confidence of knowing this makes you appear competent enough to merit higher pay. They will look at candidates and remember that you were the one who had the sauce and stuck out.
Tell me your secret! I have a gen ed associates degree and I still haven’t figured out how to make it more valuable than a high school diploma. Everyone seems to want a four year degree.
If you’re any good with STEM stuff, look into power plants. I had to be a basic laborer to get my foot in the door but shifted to water chemistry. It took a lot of effort, but eventually I got in as an operator and have since gotten a couple of raises and a promotion. The downside is the schedule of rotating shift work, but that’s why they pay so well. On nights and weekends, it’s just me and two other guys running the ~750MW power plant, sometimes running our asses off to keep it running on the grid, but usually just keeping up with general preventive maintenance, minor upgrade/replacement projects, calibrations, and responding to alarms.
Another option especially right now is to look into data centers. Learn refrigeration cycles, UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply), and refresh your mind on chemistry 101 and physics 101. I interviewed at and got an offer from one but turned it down because they were offering $40/hour plus up to 4% bonus while I was at $42/hour plus up to 10% bonus, all while HR was kinda being shitty with me during negotiation. So I walked away and contacted the supervisor and manager I interviewed with and thanked them and let them know that I thought they were great and that it was the money and disrespect from HR that made me reject the offer.
Of course you’re not going to get a huge raise. Only three ways that happens:
- You directly generate money for the company, as in, you bring new revenue. Most employees are cost centers.
- You get a huge promotion, and even then, you’re not likely getting a 20%+ bump.
- GET ANOTHER JOB.
#3 is well-known and obvious to those of us in tech. I often forget that non-techs and young people may not have got the memo. My last job hops have bumped me 30% and 90%.
Non-tech example: My friend took an oil change job when we moved here. That was well below his skillset. He kept proving his skills, improving his skills, moving up a bit and moving on. Now he’s at $120,000 and is the service manager for the largest car dealer chain in the area.
And no, employers generally do not expect our lifelong loyalty. They talk like that, because it would be stupid to talk otherwise. I’ve answered “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”, with, “Let me dig in and see how it goes! I may move on at the 5-year mark to keep my skills growing and fresh.”
HR didn’t bat an eye. “Well, we hope you enjoy your 5-years here!”
Keep your resume polished and move on!
Option #4: Organize with your coworkers and form a union and collectively bargain for higher wages and better benefits.
That should be an option, and yet my initial reaction was “like that would ever happen.”
Ive been working at my company for 5 years. The previous senior person in the roll got that promotion after working their for 2 years, so when he left and the senior role became available everyone in the department was expecting me to get it… then they give the role to the guy who started 3 months ago.
So since then ive just stopped trying. Im not going to get another chance to be promoted until that fucker leaves, so now im working like the minimum effort junior that they treat me like. Going to coast like that for a while until i get a couple more qualifications, then go somewhere better as a senior.
Start sending out applications now, you may already be qualified, and getting a job offer in the back pocket is never a bad idea.
I am probably under qualified for thr job i want and while I may get a job still, i don’t think I want to be working at a company that’s going to hire under qualified people for senior roles.
Plus even just going through and updating my CV and writing cover letters is a lot of mental effort and time that I would rather just spend on studying for my certs.
Boss 2 years later: “why did all of our newcomers quit?! I swear there’s no good employees anymore.”
