People with Bachelor of Arts Degrees (United States)

I hated doing this, but I felt I had to. Anyway, the boss made an anouncement that one of my coworkers was getting promoted to a level 3 position. She started with the company a little after I did and we were both at level 2 positions at the time.

It just happened to be our annual review time, so I asked my boss what is it that I'm not doing that "she" is doing that is getting her a level 3. Before letting them answer, throw in that you're doing exactly what she's doing and more and at a higher level of quality and efficiency.

My boss tried making excuses and finally stated she would talk to upper management about it.

Don't be rude about it. I wasn't. Just state the facts and say that you don't understand the difference.

I got called in 2 weeks later. We're making you a 3. That really made my day. I honestly think my 3 would have taken some time if I didn't stand for what I wanted and waited for my boss to promote me.

I was offered what I thought was my dream job three weeks before my wedding. The recruiter pressured me into starting right before the wedding. I finally agreed because I thought I'd found my dream job and I was afraid of losing it if I didn't start when they wanted. I told both the recruiter and the company's HR manager that I thought it was a bad idea to start when I knew I had a wedding and a week-long honeymoon coming up - not to mention the additional stress that would come along with balancing wedding planning with a new job.

Sure enough - I got sick two weeks in because of stress and my fiancee broke his ankle a week before the big day. Two days before the ceremony my new employer decided that "it wasn't working out" because I was "taking too much time off." Never mind the fact that I told my manager point-blank that my attendance would be sporadic until after the wedding. Never mind the fact that I offered - repeatedly - to work from home to compensate that. Never mind that he said he was agreeable to both things.

Lesson learned: never, ever allow a recruiter to pressure you into a situation that you know isn't a good idea. If the company wants you that bad, they'll wait. If they don't, well, then there are better jobs out there.

Not only did I achieve a higher starting salary than the previous manager (whom moved up in her career to the prime contract and Program Manager of the entire contraact); I continued to work hard, having regular contact with my offsite (out of state) boss, getting feedback not only from the employees but the customer, allowed me to maintain success throughout my tenure. Along with this, every year during the annual raise/ performance reviews, I was allways able to show that not only did I earn the higher wage, but in doing so, produced a cost savings to the employeer with no impact to the customer. I continually recieved higher raises, almost reaching the same amount of pay as the Prime Program Manager. Even though this position and mine were interchangeable, there was a huge difference in the responsibility, leagally, contractually, and ultimately on the prime contractor. To know that I had earned the monetary closeness to this position, lets me know that when I was in the roll of Deputy Program Manager I did an excellent job and could, if needed take over for the prime contractor in this position. My advice is this, work hard, show your results, do not be affraid to toot your horn to the boss, not redundantly, more like quarterly, to keep your top performance in thier views of you as an employee and asset to their company.

Unfairly paid due to racism.. See stats from Dept of Labor regarding minority pay compared to non-minorities in the same position

Don't under sell yourself. Many companies that us Freelance graphic Designer feel that they can save money by working this way and paying 15.00 to 17.00 an hour for freelance sevices. Wrong!!! If you are a designer that excepts this, then you are a fool. 30.00 to 40.00 and up is what you should charge. Those that don't are only destroying the field for others and lowering the standards of a highly skilled profession. that 15.00 - 17.00 an hour is what you should be getting paid if you where employed by that company plus benifits. Remember freelance does not give you a 40hr work week or a steady pay check. You have to adjust for this by doubling or tripling your hourly rate. That ad agency is charging 75.00 to 150.00 an hour off of your work. for those Newbies Wake Up! or Get Out of the field.

At my current job, we do not have any Paid Time Off or paid vacation, especially during the holidays. During the major holidays, we have to take time off with no pay. Also, we have to pay a higher amount for our health insurance. The average insurance payment that I pay is $120.00 a month; whereas a company that pays more for their employees insurance usually requires that the employee pays $80.00 a month on average. For this reason, I am looking for a more stable position that has a little more job security and flexibility in this area.

Focus on serving your instituion. Work on ways to improve your instituition or achieve institutional goals.

Set personal goals and work to achieve them.

Be patient.

Build genuine relationships in the organization.

Work hard.

Critically assess and ask other to assess your value in your role.

Ask carefully, humbly, but firmly for what your desire.

Let them know you intend to be an active player in the company. Read what you can about their mission and their objectives and strategies. Ask lots of questions. Although they may not seem to apply to your job, let them know you want to get a solid global perspective on the direction the company is going. The look of a company can speak to that change even before you have goteen there. Imagine the customer viewing your comapny as moving towards the same goals that company is trying to achieve.

I think before you choose any job you should find out what the benefits are and how it will come out of your weekly pay! The better the compensation package the better option you have!

It's hard to say whether my rate of pay is actually fair. It seems that, for the area, it isn't bad, but for the job itself, it's too little. Supposedly the national average for this job pays a lot more than my pay, but employers here are paying below that average - even though I live and work on Long Island in New York! Amazing!

As for my duties, in many ways my employer expects more than is possible, and more than the salary calls for. And there is definitely bias here. If you are not extremely self-confident and even pushy, you will be stepped on!

My advice? Work not just on your work skills, but on your self-confidence. Stick up for yourself, while maintaining professionalism. Dedication is important, but integrity and being the best you can be are the most important things to strive for!