

Ask HN: The new job I started is severely underpaying me. What can I do? - Kerrick

I just started a new job in the midwest USA with a B2B web software firm (~100 people, ~1/3 developers) as a Front-end Web Developer a week and a half ago. Stupidly, I gave them a salary number ($45k) first, and gave them an absolute minimum. They exceeded it ($47k), and I accepted without negotiations.<p>Fast forward to yesterday, and I find out they are still looking to hire another front-end dev with the same experience and skills as me. That night, I find a job posting offering $75k-90k, and confirm with the person who posted it that it is indeed the company that is paying me half of that.<p>How can I start earning what I'm worth? Should I go to the founder and demand more with that posting as a reason? Should I go to my direct supervisor and ask him? Should I buckle down and accept my low earnings until my yearly raise evaluation and ask for an 80% raise then?
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RubberSoul
You can ask for money, but "demand more" is not the right way to do it. I
suggest you keep a copy of the posting, and others like it, to demonstrate
what the market wage is for someone with your skills. Then, after you've done
something good for the company (had a successful project for example), ask for
a raise using your research to support a salary proposal.

You sound a little angry in your post (understandable), but being angry when
you ask for a raise is bad strategy. The company did not do anything wrong by
giving you what you asked for. You bargained fairly and should have done the
research before accepting the job, but don't beat yourself up over it. Live
and learn.

If your work is worth what you're asking for, they will pay you that.

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japhyr
This is an interesting question for me, because I am a teacher. Teachers don't
get to specify a salary range, because we are paid strictly on years in the
profession and the credits we earned. I am looking to switch careers, so I
interviewed for a developer position recently. It was really interesting to be
asked for a salary range. Money isn't everything, but I certainly felt a
little more respected professionally than when I have been interviewed for
teaching positions.

That said, I have almost no experience applying for developer jobs. The power
to walk if you find another job is pretty good leverage. The resolution seems
straightforward: be honest, tell your supervisor you undervalued yourself, and
ask for an adjustment based on what you are worth.

If they hesitate, ask for a set of milestones to reach your desired salary, so
you are not stuck on a long-term path below your peers. If their response
doesn't satisfy you, quietly look for other jobs. If I were interviewing you
and I felt your current employer was severely underpaying you, I would respect
you for looking for new employment.

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paulhauggis
It's too late for that. Take it as a lesson to ask for what you are worth. I
think we've all done this at some point in time.

At one company, I was getting paid $75K. Years later, I found out that my co-
worker (who was essentially hired to do the same job as me), was only getting
paid $42K.

I now have strict minimums on my salary requirements and won't go anything
below it.

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onion2k
Don't go wading in _demanding_ more money with a line like "pay me more or I
walk!". That won't work. Any founder worth their salt would just let you go
because that's a really awful way to deal with people.

You're in this position because you failed to negotiate, failed to research
the market properly, and (presumably) undervalued yourself(1). That's not a
strong position to start from. However, hindsight is perfectly acceptable, so
you might still be able to negotiate a better salary. Don't use the advert to
show what you think you should be earning, but instead use it to show what the
typical salary for someone with your skillset is. Be willing to give some
proof points (demonstration of learning new things, willingness to do some of
the less glamourous stuff, etc) before getting the raise.

Take this to your direct manager or HR manager if the company has one. Don't
go to the founder (because that just undermines your manager, not because they
wouldn't be receptive.)

Unless they're a dick they will listen.

And last, and possibly most importantly, learn from this. It's an important
lesson. Don't be lazy when it comes to something as important as your job.

(1) It might be that they wouldn't have recruited you on $75k but gave you a
shot because you're cheap...

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conanbatt
Its not a weak negoatiation position that the OP didnt do his original due-
dilligence. If he is employed at will, he can resign immediately and that is
his bargaining power.

Said that, no reason to believe the company is acting in bad faith, they were
offered a bargain and took it.

As it was posted, the best thing you can do to leverage and feel comfortable
in your position is interview for another job, however, i would talk directly
to your employers and talk about this directly.

Its probably better for you to suck up a month or so with a bad salary than
start looking for a job from scratch which might take you as much time. You
can atone the initial mistake with one cheap month of salary, and negotiate
the next one. If the company strongs their position, you can always look for
an alternative.

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shail
My suggestion would be (considering you have been here for only 2 weeks),
spend another month and a half and find out whether you are valuable to them
and they are too valuable to you (as an opportunity) then and only then go to
them and say that 2 months can be seen as internship period where you were
actually being paid less and the relationship seems to be working both ways,
hence a more deserving salary will help me keep my heart here for a long time.

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thifm
Keep your job and do interviews for companies in the $75-90k range.

It won't look so bad as much as you think if you leave after fiding another
job. You negotiated badly and they ripped you off... also, a >50% raise should
always be a reason to leave your current company, it doesn't matter if you are
there for a week or a decade.

You are the "prize", start acting like it and they will treat you like so.

~~~
Kerrick
See, I'm not sure I want a _different_ job. The people and the product are
both really cool, I'd rather not leave.

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joelima
You need some leverage. Employment is at will. Why not look for another job?
If your boss asks you why you are leaving, you can say you are leaving for
better pay. If they are truly looking for someone eles for a similar job and
are willing to pay $75k plus, chances are they will give you a counteroffer
not to leave.

~~~
Kerrick
Even though I've only been here two weeks? Wouldn't that look of on my résumé?

~~~
hexagonc
The question is, what was your situation before you took this job? Did you
resign from a previous job in order to take your new one, or were you
unemployed before this job? If the latter, how long were you unemployed? Since
you haven't been employed at your current job for very long, like others have
said, I would basically start looking for another job as a continuation of
your prior job search. Don't mention your current job on your resume unless
the effective employment gap becomes unseemly. Don't mention anything
immediately to your coworkers or boss until you've already found something.

One of the big mistakes that many developers make is accepting a low or barely
acceptable initial salary in the hopes of making up the difference with raises
later. The reality I have found, and probably many people will agree with, is
that it is very hard for a non-executive/manager to make up for a small
starting salary from within a company, especially with the same role. A good
salary increase for performance is 10%, but it would still take over 4 years
of the maximum performance increase to reach $70K from $47K. And that assumes
that your contributions are acknowledged and you get the maximum performance
increase for it. Even changing positions within the organization may not
bridge the gap as much as you would like. I remember a very smart guy at a
previous company that started at a low salary. Due to his competence, he was
moved/promoted to a different department that had much higher average salaries
than the one he came from. The problem was a company policy that capped salary
increases when moving from one job to another at 15% of your prior salary.
This struck me and him as completely counterintuitive. The company was willing
to pay someone off the street that had much less institutional knowledge much
more simply because they were new.

So the final question is, is $47K an acceptable salary for your area? Did you
accept it because you were desperate or because you truly thought $47K was a
fair salary? The moral of the story is that if you really feel like you
deserve $70K - $90K, then the only practical way you're going to get it is by
changing jobs or truly committing to your current company and getting multiple
significant promotions from within. Your mileage may vary depending on the
bonus/promotion structure of your company but don't count on just doing a good
job and being loyal to cut it.

