Job: Administrative Assistant (Canada)

I have been interviewing for other admin jobs and feel I am not getting them due to my age. I see younger people advancing much faster and am afraid to ask for a return of cut pay because I would like to keep my job. It is a hard knock life!!!

I was hired into a new position with in my company. They basically told me to 'pick a wage.' After taking into account my commute time, I thought I would name an amount which seemed to me slightly high. I was not educated on wage discussions having just previously finishing school. After several months into my new position with more responsibility, I realized through communicating with close friends in the workforce that I was being paid less than people who were doing less of a job than I was. Believing this was unfair, I decided to discuss this with my supervisor on my 6th month review. My supervisor went to my director who told me straight out 'don't believe everything you hear.' I put my trust into these words and accepted a 3% raise. Three months later, I find out that I am the lowest paid employee within the company, and still the people who are doing less work than I am, have a higher wage (still) than I do. I guess I don't have any advice, other than don't let people take advantage of you.

Consider the total cost of living including housing, transportation, etc.

I believe that my pay should reflect the workload and responsibilities that have changed over the last year. I do not receive benefits or any other income for my child and I am the sole support/wage earner in the household.