
Underpaid and not sure what to do about it - BayAreaPyGuy
Review time is coming up at work, and I&#x27;ve found out I&#x27;m being paid at roughly the 30th percentile for someone with my experience (3 years, Python&#x2F;Django backend) in the city I work in (SF).  I&#x27;ve been with the company for about a year, and I would like to stay there, but certain external factors have caused money to become tighter than it was a few months ago.<p>I want to fix this situation, but I don&#x27;t particularly want to change companies.  I like going into work; enjoy my coworkers; and the company is in a good position to become cash-flow neutral very soon, so we&#x27;re in a good place in spite of all the articles about the impending blood bath in the Valley.  On the other hand, I&#x27;ve explicitly been told by my tech lead that the days of 10%+ raises are over, but I&#x27;m making around 16% less than the median.<p>Is this a hopeless situation?
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bobby_9x
The median wage also depends on your experience and abilities. You may not be
worth that much to the company.

If you think you deserve more, ask for a raise and if they say no, ask what
needs to happen for you to get one.

Otherwise, find another job. This is how I got raises every few yeara, when I
was an employee.

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BayAreaPyGuy
I have asked.

This was the response:

>...the days of 10%+ raises are over....

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bobby_9x
This is usually a bad sign. Your company will probably be out of business
within 5 years. It might be time to look for another job.

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chrisbennet
It's hopeless. If they pay you poorly in the beginning they will almost never
give you a raise to market when your skills advance. This is why it is
important to negotiate aggressively when getting a new job.

The only time I got a 25% raise was when I negotiated it before I took the
job. The deal was, raise me to market in 6 months or we decide it's not
working out and we go our separate ways.

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stray
Wait six months and get a new gig -- jumping ship after a year and a half is
fine, and that's how to get paid more.

Smart monkey doesn't let go of one branch till another is firmly in hand.

~~~
BayAreaPyGuy
That's exactly (and unfortunately) what this monkey was thinking. :(

