
I just found out a subordinate earns 26% more than me, what do I do? - Pietbull
Hi HN<p>I work at a famous global tech corporate. We have a employee career mentor program, where mentors are responsible for managing performance reviews and communicate salary outcomes. As fate would have it, my newly assigned &quot;mentee&quot; have been earning 30% more than me last year and 26% higher than me this year. I&#x27;m at manager level and this person at consultant level. I&#x27;m a bit stuck in terms of what my attitude should be to get it fixed. What should I do? What&#x27;s the right approach?
======
jsty
I've always found the idea that the manager _must_ earn more than the managed
a little odd. Fundamentally, those are completely different jobs. It's not
like the rather more insidious version where "Software Engineer level 4" is
making a higher base than "Software Engineer level 5" because discrimination /
nepotism / negotiation skills or lack thereof / ...

Consider e.g. a bank or hedge fund - it's perfectly imaginable that some of
the star traders earn multiples of their manager.

~~~
Pietbull
Fair point, in my case we're on exactly the same career track/speciality
unfortunately.

------
NonEUCitizen
Who do you think earns more: An actress, or the actress' manager? A basketball
player, or the basketball player's coach? A boxer, or the boxer's manager?

Is it easier for the consultant to leave for another company and get a new
manager, or for you to hire another person at his/her level to be your
"subordinate"?

Market forces are at play here -- the productive members of society rightfully
make more than people who go to meetings.

~~~
greenyoda
An actor's or boxer's manager is not their boss - they're essentially a
contract negotiating agent who is hired by the actor or boxer. So comparing
this job to the job of a supervisor of a group of professional workers isn't
really valid.

Also, from my experience as both a developer and a manager of developers,
there are many fewer people who have the skills to effectively manage a group
of developers than there are developers (and they're usually already senior
developers before they become managers). Thus, I'd expect that good managers
would be harder to find and would thus deserve a market premium in their
salaries. Also, when I was a manager, I had a more stressful job (being
responsible for the work of many people) and worked longer hours than when I
was a developer.

When I became a manager, I had the same experience: I found out that a couple
of my reports had higher salaries than I did. I asked for, and received
(without argument) a big raise.

------
shyn3
You failed to negotiate an adequate salary when you got the job. Either apply
elsewhere or ask for a raise. If you ask for a raise and get denied, you will
have to quit.

Edit: For anyone reading, don't tell your coworkers your salary, no matter how
close you are, it causes resentment.

------
gotorazor
Is a component of that due to either a performance bonus or commission. Or are
you talking about straight salary?

~~~
Pietbull
Straight salary, base pay.

------
icedchai
Ask for a raise or leave. You're getting screwed.

