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Subject:RE: Ask for a raise? Or pack my bags? From:"Robart, Kay" <Kay -dot- Robart -at- tea -dot- texas -dot- gov> To:Kate Schneider <kateschneider42 -at- gmail -dot- com> Date:Tue, 23 Jun 2015 19:59:02 +0000
A lot of STC chapters have a local salary survey, too.
From: Kate Schneider [mailto:kateschneider42 -at- gmail -dot- com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2015 2:55 PM
To: Robart, Kay
Cc: RaphaelWorkman -at- comcast -dot- net; TECHWR-L Writing
Subject: Re: Ask for a raise? Or pack my bags?
You may also be able to find salary data for your city. When I worked in Iowa, I was able to get quite good salary data from Iowa Workforce Development's website. It had several years of pay data (both hourly and salary) for hundreds of jobs in different cities and metro areas around the state. It was amazing to see the difference in pay between different areas of the state. But, I found this to be invaluable information when looking for contracts and negotiating pay. I know other states offer similar pay surveys, as well.
On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 12:50 PM, Robart, Kay <Kay -dot- Robart -at- tea -dot- texas -dot- gov<mailto:Kay -dot- Robart -at- tea -dot- texas -dot- gov>> wrote:
I'm really surprised at the number of people who seem to feel it's a job risk to ask for a raise. In my experience, if you don't ask for one, you won't get one unless your company has a regular program for merit and cost-of-living raises. Sometimes you don't get what you ask for, but I've never had anyone lay me off just because I asked for a raise. If you back up your request with enough data, present your request in a professional manner, and don't ask for a raise you know your company can't afford, your boss should not see it as a cue to replace you. If the company does, then you don't want to be working for them anyway.
But the respondents are right that you are unlikely to get a raise from $36K to $50K or $60K. Do your local research and see what it tells you, but I wouldn't expect that you could get much more than 10% from an existing company. I had one boss who took over a department and found out all the writers were underpaid, and she forced management to upgrade all of our pay. In some cases, people got raises of more than $20K a year, and some of them had to be raised up over time. I personally got raised a job grade and about $5K at that time. But that's one boss in 30+ years of working.
Kay
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+kay -dot- robart=tea -dot- texas -dot- gov -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:tea -dot- texas -dot- gov -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kay.robart<mailto:techwr-l-bounces%2Bkay.robart>=tea -dot- texas -dot- gov -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:tea -dot- texas -dot- gov -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>] On Behalf Of RaphaelWorkman -at- comcast -dot- net<mailto:RaphaelWorkman -at- comcast -dot- net>
Sent: Monday, June 22, 2015 6:32 PM
To: TECHWR-L Writing
Subject: Ask for a raise? Or pack my bags?
Hello tech writers:
I don't know where else to turn for advice.
Is it a risk to my job security to ask my supervisor or an HR employee for a raise or work from home privileges? I earn an anonymous amount of money between $36K and $38K annually. I was hired 3.5 years ago at $32K. I just found out the national average is around $60K. I'm feeling undervalued with long hours long commute and low-ish pay for my field. I used to be allowed 2 days/wk work from home and just to come in on those days for occasional meetings. I was told our new building is new and nice and I am now expected to be in the office every day. I've been with this company for 8 years total and 3 years as an above-average tech writer, content developer (Adobe Captivate and Articulate Storyline), and instructional designer. I write/develop for a department of 1,000 people in 2 states in call centers that support all of the security system installers for US and Puerto Rico. The subject matter is highly technical including hardware, software, and troubleshooting. I came up th
rough the ranks 4 years troubleshooting and programming, one year leading and training, and 3 years as a tech writer with many "other duties as assigned." I imagine my job/work is worth at least $50K. Am I delusional? Should I just be happy to even have a job at all? FYI I'm too nervous to strike out on my own as a free-lance contractor type but I'm looking around at places like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Jeppesen. I'm in my mid 30's and I'm old enough to wish for a company from which I could retire, but I think I may be deluding myself to think this could happen where I am. There are no similar jobs in my company that are just a step up from where I am, and none of my peers makes very much money. With my annual "merit increases" being anywhere from 0% to 3.1% I don't see myself making very much money in the future. I can't really bring this up to my boss or HR without a strategy because I fear once they know I want a lot more money they may begin quietly looking to re
pl ace me.
Advice?
Thanks,
Raphael
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