There are plenty of examples of entrepreneurs cajoling employees into working for little or no pay, sometimes with a false promise of stock options which are a tiny fraction of outstanding stock. But this is one of the worst I've heard.
I'm sure the other comments from the smart folks who hang out on HN will echo the above. So I'm going to suggest a strategy for you that is as exploitative as your boss is being:
1. Don't tell him you're leaving.
2. Don't tell anyone you work with you're leaving. I know you feel lonely, need moral support, safety in numbers and all that. But DON"T. You need to take care of your family so it's time to put on your game face.
3. Start networking with other developers in your city or the city you want to end up working in. Also, meet with recruiters, employers, even investors in the kinds of businesses where you want to work. But the most important group for you to network with is your peers i.e. other web developers. They are your best route to your next job.
4. DO NOT tell anyone about your sad story. It may make you feel better, but people tend to shy away from any sign of weakness. It will not help you and it will hurt your chances of getting another job. Come up with a generic story and never go off message.
5. Don't EVER disclose what your current (soon to be former) salary is. It will cause your next employer to "level you" and also under-pay you. Again, come up with a generic (but true) story and never go off message.
6. Keep interviewing, go to second or third interviews and actually LAND A JOB before you even mention a hint of what you're doing. No matter how close you are to signing with your next employer, don't get over confident or smug and disclose what you're doing until the deal is done.
7. Once you actually have another job, give your boss notice both in writing and from a personal email account that you will continue to have access to once you leave your company. Be brief and to the point. Don't get emotional. Use as few words as possible.
Now, about that generic story about your current/former position. It needs to project a positive "employable" image that looks strong and makes people want to hire you. Something like "I've had a huge amount of fun in my current job, but I feel I've outgrown the company. I enjoy working with my colleagues and the work is challenging and fun but I'm ready for my next big challenge." Practice the message on a few people you're talking to and let it evolve until it rolls naturally off the tongue and is giving you the body language you want to see from the people you're talking to.
Employers or recruiters will ask you directly about your current salary. Simply say "Unfortunately I can't disclose that information." They're sales guys and they will push but politely stonewall. It will only hurt you badly by disclosing it. You either won't get the job because they'll smell the stench of death, or you'll get an awful deal.
The one hole in this plan is the reference you may need at your next position. They may want to call up your current employer and ask for one. You could just be honest at this point and say that he doesn't know you're leaving yet so you don't want them to contact him until you've given notice. This actually makes you look stronger because you have a current job. You're not unemployed and looking.
As a general bit of guidance in negotiating:
"Never pass up an opportunity to say nothing." ~Robert Heinlein
"Never let anyone outside the family know what you're thinking." ~The Godfather
It's time for you to take care of the most important people in your life: Your family. So put on your war face and go for it! Good luck!!
1. Become slow. Start doing 50% of work you do now and quietly spend the rest of the time preparing for your interviews, getting some portfolio web projects live with POLISH, like getting those corners rounded and stuff. Its really important. Also make sure no one knows you are doing this.
2. When you quit, write a blog, just paste the same thing you wrote here. I am sure many out here will publicize it and help your message reach far. People like these need to be taught a lesson and best way you can do it is by telling everything you told here to his clients. I wonder if they would like to continue doing business with such a person.
Now to make you feel good. In India, 21 is actually early to start making money. I started at 21 at Google. 23-25 is the average age when people start taking jobs and making money. I am surprised that you are married. With your age and experience you should simply focus on building your skills, your resume. Note its better to have one or two polished and public projects than having dozens of half baked things lying around. If you need help polishing things, post it here (seperate thread) and we will help you out.
This is the best advice of all that I've read in this thread. I wanted to add that strategically, you definitely want to have that job in hand before you quit.
Firstly, if you're interviewing at other places when you already have a job, they are usually willing to skip references and hire you based on tech knowledge and interviews alone. Grabbing tech talent these days is really tough, and most recruiters know they have to be discreet with people transitioning from a current job.
Secondly, the job you're at is likely to give you a crappy reference after you give notice. You want to be well on your way to making that next employer your next reference as soon as possible. The alternative, i.e. being unemployed with them as your most recent references, makes you harder to hire.
I agree with you on all aspects. It would be too risky for me to do anything but act normal until I settle my future plans out. One mistake I would have made would have been on the disclosure of my salary -- Thank you.
And admittedly, working at this company has been very fun and a great experience for me. However the nature of how the founder is and the current compensation drove me to where I am right now.
After you say you are not allowed to disclose your current salary, they will ask you your intended salary. You should research your market's average salary in advance, and if possible, ask other developers in the company to give you an approximate figure. Aim a bit higher so you have a margin to negotiate. Don't go too high, or they'll think you lost contact with reality.
Please don't do that. Get them to throw out a salary first and flinch at their first offer. Then ask for more. Don't you dare discuss salary with developers in the company that is interviewing you.
You're going to need to learn to negotiate. This is the only book you'll ever need on negotiating. Even if you don't use a single one of these tactics (and I guarantee you will) you'll at least get an education of how much of an art negotiating is.
It's true as a general principle of negotiation that the person who states a number first is at a disadvantage. However, someone has to budge sooner or later, and as long as you're being realistic there isn't really much to lose by giving the target. If it's out of range of what they're willing to pay, you might as well all know that up front and not waste each other's time.
Sure, if it may not get the optimal deal that might have been available. However, the original poster here is (a) in a relatively weak bargaining position because he's under pressure to move, and (b) so badly paid at the moment that any reasonable offer is still going to be a huge improvement in both money and working conditions.
For what it's worth, I agree with the earlier comment about not disclosing current salary. It's fine for them to ask what you're looking for, and it's fine to have negotiation, but there is no legitimate reason a prospective employer would ever need to know what you've been working on already. I have never accepted a job from a company that asked me for that information during an interview and persisted when I politely declined to give it, and if I were still working as an employee today I would consider it a huge red flag if interviewers (particularly management/HR types) stuck to their guns on that one. Also, in this case, disclosing the absurdly low compensation at present would make the poster look very weak and undermine any otherwise reasonable and honest story about outgrowing the company and looking for somewhere their improving skills will be better utilised.
I'm sure the other comments from the smart folks who hang out on HN will echo the above. So I'm going to suggest a strategy for you that is as exploitative as your boss is being:
1. Don't tell him you're leaving.
2. Don't tell anyone you work with you're leaving. I know you feel lonely, need moral support, safety in numbers and all that. But DON"T. You need to take care of your family so it's time to put on your game face.
3. Start networking with other developers in your city or the city you want to end up working in. Also, meet with recruiters, employers, even investors in the kinds of businesses where you want to work. But the most important group for you to network with is your peers i.e. other web developers. They are your best route to your next job.
4. DO NOT tell anyone about your sad story. It may make you feel better, but people tend to shy away from any sign of weakness. It will not help you and it will hurt your chances of getting another job. Come up with a generic story and never go off message.
5. Don't EVER disclose what your current (soon to be former) salary is. It will cause your next employer to "level you" and also under-pay you. Again, come up with a generic (but true) story and never go off message.
6. Keep interviewing, go to second or third interviews and actually LAND A JOB before you even mention a hint of what you're doing. No matter how close you are to signing with your next employer, don't get over confident or smug and disclose what you're doing until the deal is done.
7. Once you actually have another job, give your boss notice both in writing and from a personal email account that you will continue to have access to once you leave your company. Be brief and to the point. Don't get emotional. Use as few words as possible.
Now, about that generic story about your current/former position. It needs to project a positive "employable" image that looks strong and makes people want to hire you. Something like "I've had a huge amount of fun in my current job, but I feel I've outgrown the company. I enjoy working with my colleagues and the work is challenging and fun but I'm ready for my next big challenge." Practice the message on a few people you're talking to and let it evolve until it rolls naturally off the tongue and is giving you the body language you want to see from the people you're talking to.
Employers or recruiters will ask you directly about your current salary. Simply say "Unfortunately I can't disclose that information." They're sales guys and they will push but politely stonewall. It will only hurt you badly by disclosing it. You either won't get the job because they'll smell the stench of death, or you'll get an awful deal.
The one hole in this plan is the reference you may need at your next position. They may want to call up your current employer and ask for one. You could just be honest at this point and say that he doesn't know you're leaving yet so you don't want them to contact him until you've given notice. This actually makes you look stronger because you have a current job. You're not unemployed and looking.
As a general bit of guidance in negotiating:
"Never pass up an opportunity to say nothing." ~Robert Heinlein
"Never let anyone outside the family know what you're thinking." ~The Godfather
It's time for you to take care of the most important people in your life: Your family. So put on your war face and go for it! Good luck!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6vHOR8lzTg