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$10,000 pay cut...

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by rschmid1 1 view

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Well I got a nice christmas gift. I am a one man IT department who was paid by the hour including overtime. (salary non-exempt) New plant manager comes in (march) makes a few changes. I was requested to monitor my overtime to minimize it as much as possible. I maintian a 200+ node network all infrastructure wiring and manufacturing equipment computers and plc's. I'm the one that gets the phone call at midnight that a piece of equipment goes down usually a HDD failure. etc I tried to go back to school at night and ended up dropping my classes due to getting called back to work during my class time(s). I was informed that I got a raise 4K but that I was being moved to a salaried position. The pay increase was nice but 10K shy of what I made for the whole year.. This was NOT discussed or even hinted to me prior to the information being presented to me. I'm completely at a loss. I feel under appreciated, and basically left to like it or lump it. Any ideas or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Semper Fi

48 replies

by faradhi

but you have two choices, Lump or leave.

Get your resume out. Once you have alternatives and if you are not sure you want to leave, you can then negotiate.

Just remember that the grass is greener on the other side. But usually that is because it is better fertilized. ;)

by richard

once you have a job to go to, just go. If you negotiate it will almost always not last for the long run. Once you decide to go just go.

by gpastorelli

I'm sorry, $10,000 is a lot of money. Leave. Polish up your resume. In my experience when you go from a hourly position to a salary, the pay is usually higher b/c you dont have the opportunity for o/t. In the meanwhile, explain to them if they're taking severe advantage hourly that you want time off in lieu of overtime. Meaning if you get called in for 3 hours, you come in 3 hours late, leave 3 hours early, or save up the hours and take a day off when they accumulate.

by noyoki

The other alternative is: they don't want you to take O/T? Fine, but when they call you, you get to say, "Sorry, it will have to wait till tomorrow morning when I get in." See how fast the boss retracts that statement.

by the_m0nk

It's always amazing to see how non-IT people see the IT job role, especially when it's a one-man band. I think that the reponse above about time in leu or not coming in out-side of "salaried" hours is a great call. I was working for a software house and was salaried, but was paid for being available for out of hours emergencies. It will also help to quantify the number of times you are called out and the time spent. Good Luck.

by amcol

If you were offered $4k more and you're still $10k under what you've been making, that means your net economic loss is $14k.

Let's make a couple of assumptions and do a little simple math.

Let's say you're at around $50k and get paid time and a half for OT. Let's further say you take two weeks off every year. Put all the numbers together and you're working approximately 8 hours of overtime a week. Every single week. Week after week after week.

That's a lot of overtime.

Your employer previously told you to monitor (code for limit) your overtime. Then they come along and offer you a not unreasonable raise (at $50k annually a $4k raise is 8%) which artificially limits your compensation, since you're now no longer eligible for overtime pay.

What a surprise. Didn't see this coming?

One of two things is going on here. Either you've been abusing overtime and your employer finally caught up with you, or your employer has no concept of what it takes to get your job done and is really the one who's guilty of abuse. Only you know which is the right answer.

I'm just trying to put this into perspective for you. You were wondering about being appreciated and what to do about your situation. That's a function of the reason for what's happened to you.

People who routinely work a lot of overtime typically are either incompetent or in the wrong job. Some OT once in a while is inevitable. Lots of overtime, all the time, is a danger signal.

Either way...sounds to me like it's time for you to move on.

It sucks that this happened right around the holidays, which makes me think it's your employer who's at fault here. Good management knows better than to ignore the calendar when making these kinds of moves, unless the it's a save-the-company scenario and in that case they should have explained that to you. Best of luck.

by rschmid1

Ive done exactly as you have stated, Come in 3 hours later, left early so they did not have to pay me for the overtime etc. Ive had to do bullets of accomplishments / tasks and the time for each. Ive even gone as far as found ways to save the plant money by increasing yield on raw materials. The real kicker here is all I hear is what a great job I'm doing then wham a kick in the face...

Oh an BTW my orig base was 41K so it brought me up to 45K.

by amcol

It's very easy in a situation such as yours to personalize what's going on. On the other hand, there are many possible contributing factors.

They've told you you're doing a great job. OK, why not take them at face value? You probably are doing a great job. It's nice they notice.

They've limited your compensation potential. Not necessarily big bad management coming down on the neck of the working stiff again. Is the company in trouble? Did you recently lose a big order? Not get an order you were counting on? Economic downturn? Cost increases? And here's the $64,000 question...are you the only one who's been put in this position, or has the pain been equally mayonnaised across the whole work force?

Did you discuss this with your boss? Is it at all possible the economic impact to you is not obvious to your management? (Unlikely, but who knows.) Whatever, it's in your best interest to vociferously make your displeasure with this situation known. You probably won't get very far in terms of getting your comp increased but at least you'll make it clear you're not a person to be taken lightly or underestimated. It's all about respect. Go get some.

What kind of relationship do you have with management? Can you quietly and professionally, but firmly and clearly, have a discussion with them as to what they're doing and why? Is it possible there's something going on in the company of which you're not aware? (Highly likely...management doesn't typically check everything with the staff first.)

If you've been there a while and you know you have a jerk for a boss, who also has a jerk for a boss, then you're stuck. Not in your job, but with the situation at hand, and the only thing you can do is leave. If your management doesn't typically do stupid things then give them the benefit of the doubt and go find out what's going on and why. Maybe you could work out some kind of bonus program...based on exceeding an aggressive set of documented deliverables in the coming year you get some sugar.

If at the end of the day you're unsatisfied and see no light at the end of the tunnel, then you know what to do. Good luck in your new job if that's the case.

by 50kilroy

It must be nice. I've been in the I.T. game since 1984, tons of experience from DOS 2.x through WindowsXPPro, Novell through 5.12, SCO Unix, Linux, MAC through OS10, certs for every HP printer through LJ4500 series, MS certs (for what they are{nt}worth), IBM hardware certs A+, etc, etc. I'm making 36K with all that. Our network admin is barely doing 40k. If you are making over that, you had best hang on. You are doing really well.
BTW, before anyone posts, the _only_ reason that I stay here is the insurance.

by somebozo

compromise causes loss of respect, so negotiate. For hard work, u are entitled to raise no depriciation. Otherwise take your own steps. As soon as you have completed the 8 hours per day you are required to, just walk out.. dont care what will happen if the the machine if down or what ever. If they want high avalibilty from you, then they have to pay you high as well. otherwise, they should either increase the staff or your pay.

meantime look for a new job on side which pays according to your requirement or close to it. Once u have recived formal offers, take them to the management and let them know what you are being offered vs what you are reciving at your current job and therefore thinking to leave. Nothing threatens a manager more than loss of a loyal experienced employee so play your game well beacuse in the end its worthed to stick at one place for a long time rather changing jobs frequently. They dont yeild you much benefits as well dont look good on your CV

by jamesrl

Some companies consistently under resource themsleves and count on overtime to get the work done. Instead of hiring for their needs and being forced to layoff when needs diminish, they count on some flexibility in employees to get things done.

My group is under resourced. Everyone does some overtime, at least once a month. Some people consistently do 5 hours a week. I am the only one not paid for overtime, and frankly its an expectation that I do what needs to be done.

None of my team nor myself are incompetent or in the wrong job. We are constantly challenged to do more with less. If we have a failing its my failing to push back and get more resources, but my predecessors have faced the same thing. In the last six months, I have taken on many added responsibilities with no increase in pay. That is life unfortunately in some companies.

James

by amcol

Do you know any company, and especially any IT department in any company, that ISN'T under-resourced?

The phenomenon you're describing is what makes the productivity measures all a joke. It's comparing apples and oranges...the pundits tell us productivity is improving because we're turning out more goods and services per eight hour day. That's a nice economic observation, but in real life the reason companies are more productive is because during the course of a single 24 hour period we're expected to generate ever more output with the same resources, which means work smarter or work harder. Smarter work can only be facilitated so much by process and technology improvements, the rest comes from sheer hours on the job.

I'm all for a challenge but you have to rest sometime. You said it yourself...you have to push back.

There's no such thing as indispensible. If Richard Nixon could resign the Presidency with 24 hours notice and the world managed not to go to hell, I find it hard to believe that any of us couldn't just go away and have our absence unnoticed by those we leave behind. In the meantime, work real hard but go home and have dinner with your wife and kids. Once a week, at least.

by beads

If your position is really that overworked and management is clearly failing to see the need to pay overtime - a rarity in IT today as it is - then perhaps your only other alternative is to ask for a second IT position to easier swap out the after hours duties. Obviously, adding another position salary is going to be a great deal more expensive than paying you the additional bucks.

Most IT positions these days are salaried with some flexibility allowed for all nighters, etc. Your new plant manager I am sure is aware of this as well and may have decided to take a bit of advantage of the situation.

You mentioned going to school at night. If you are finishing a 4 year education that should be your first concern before sending out a resume if at all possible. Though finding a new position that would be flexible enough to allow you to continue your education might be worth investigating. It depends more on your specific situation and only you can make that call.

If you can move on from this position in fairly short order it will be easier than in say 6 months and a new "salary". Timing can be cruel here but if you appear to be willing to work for less money over time you've lost your negotiating leverage. Hopefully, that will make sense to the hiring managers reading this as well. Well, off to find some more coffee - lol.

Good luck! This is a perfect rock and a hard place scenario.

- beads

by wayne m.

Consider where you want to be in 5 years. Do you still want to be working the same hours for approximately the same pay?

It sounds like your company is offering a generous increase in base pay, 10%. You are probably already at the top end of what you can receive as an hourly employee and will need to make the switch to salaried. I doubt that 10% increases will continue, by 5% per annum is feasible. This would return you to break even in about 5 years.

As a professional, you need to take responsibility for managing your time. What can you do to reduce or eliminate the amount of overtime work you perform? Do you have published SLAs (Service Level Agreements) describing what response time you, your department, or your company needs to provide? If not, get some written.

After getting your overtime under control, decide how best to make use of the newly available time. Give yourself some extra downtime, but also spend some time going to classes, getting certifications, etc. This time is key to staying on track for 5%+ salary increases.

Take the short-term hit in pay in exchange for getting on-track as a salaried employee and as a means to get your overtime work under control. My prediction is that in 5 years you will be making the same pay and in 10 years you will be far ahead of your current hourly-based pay.

by tony hopkinson

with the management, whether they'll be happy making it a salaried position is another question.

I sucessfully pretty much did as you suggest, when I moved from a shift based job with premium and overtime to day based with no chance of there being any overtime. Dropped me about ?5k (1987 !), not something I've ever regretted, but get your head round the reduction quick and make sure the family is on side, a reduction in income of that order has a serious impact on the domestic front. Santa's visits didn't get cancelled, but his sack was filled at Bargains4U and it was a small sack ! Sort of pocket sized in fact.

Took me four years and a benefical grade restructure to get back to where I was in terms of earnings. But I wasn't working nights or 6-2 , shudder. Career wise it made me, if I hadn't have done it I'd still be pressing 100,000 buttons a month and trying to remember if I'd pressed seven or nine first at two in the am when putting in a six digit number again and again and again, well you get the idea.

by rush2112

I disagree with your statement here:
"People who routinely work a lot of overtime typically are either incompetent or in the wrong job. Some OT once in a while is inevitable. Lots of overtime, all the time, is a danger signal"

I have been involved in jobs where overtime is necessary due to workload and working 5 to 10 hours extra a week is normal. The situation that makes this happen is overwork by employer, or unwillingness to add resources due to COST of said additional resources(namely people) I also know of others who have done this for years because they get the JOB DONE and working a bit extra is what it takes to get it done.

Nearly every case where this occurs there is a "ONE MAN SHOW" (or woman). Until the actual cost of health, due to overwork, or overtime reach the cost of a salaried person, I say keep working the overtime so long as you get paid or otherwise acceptably-compensated for the extra time.

I do not believe that being a one person show working overtime a lot is a "DANGER SIGNAL" either.
But that ONE-PERSON must also accept the fact that vacation is not happening either since you wll be "THE PERSON" And yet some IT shops do just that, they have ONE PERSON running the whole shebang and when he/she is out, they wait or attempt to get them to fix something remotely, all the while interrupting their time away from work.

I disagree that it is a two sided issue.
Incompetence or Wrong Job.
Some jobs just are full of work and short on resources, others are full of resource and short on work.

In the IT/IS world, you often switch from FEAST to FAMINE mode rather quickly and back again and most people learn to handle it.

If the original poster is losing 10K in the deal, then a talk with Management and some numbers on paper as well as the suggestion by another reply of doing the "I'm sorry, I can't do that till tomorrow Dave" scenario are great ideas.

Leaving will just put you into another trial period another pot-of-troubles/customers/equipment/networks etc.
At least you arlready KNOW this network.

If getting the compensation back fails to satisfy your needs, SURE, get a better job. It always helps to have a current resume. Even when you are NOT looking.

You should not feel so PUNISHED by the change to salaried from hourly. The amounts of overtime mentioned would be caught by most employers anyway and they would move to end as much of it as possible. Overtime is 1.5 times wages (sometimes more) So it is an accounting issue to reduce salary-expense for them and a good business decision.

The fact that it made you go down in income 10K is a rare occurance in my opinion.

Also remember that YOU WORK for the company.
They do not OWN YOU. Scheduled overtime, extra work is much better on your social life than work that is last minute, (aka, OFFICE SPACE Movie style) "I'm gonna need you to come in this weekend)"

On unscheduled events there needs to be ground rules for compensation on time off or extra pay.
Because that is what is FAIR.

Then again if the company calls you more than twice a month for after-hours emergency work, then it may be time to ADD A RESOURCE and/or Request ON-CALL PAY.

On-Call Pay would be extra pay you receive just for being AVAILABLE, then if the call is resolved in less than two hours you still get paid for two (or whatever minimum is set)

Also remember that as you move up the corporate ladder, Salaries go UP and so do the hours that one winds up working just to get the JOB DONE since responsibility also increases. The trick is to surround yourself with competent & responsible people that you may delegate toward, those tasks for which you have no real time.

Till you get those resources, work the overtime sparingly, and let the company know that they are asking ABOVE AND BEYOND normal working conditions and yet, the compensation is less than fair.

by oz_media

Say goodbye and convince a better company to hire you. And I say, CONVINCE A BETTER COMPANY TO HIRE YOU, don't just wait for ads and apply as they popup. Go and target your choice of company, create a pitch and SELL yourself to them. As for certs etc. I've done it several times with NO qualifications, once without any IT experience at all, CONVINCE them,they will then ask YOU how much you will cost, instead of them telling you how much they pay.

by matthew moran

Oz is giving you the right advice.

A job is simply an agreement between two parties exchanging something of value. You have two choices with the company you are with.

Change the agreement:
Go to your company and explain your case. Let them know that while you appreciate the $4,000/year, if you are expected to be on call at all hours, you either need comp time added (overtime) or you need a larger salary. Don't do this with a poor attitude, just a matter of fact, "this is the value I bring" attitude. If they do not recognize that value, you need to take the next option.

Find a New Agreement:
Find a company that places value on the value you bring. Do not believe the lie that there are no jobs or that no one pays good money for IT. In fact, you should be able to - with some directed marketing (yes, you are marketing yourself), find a job close to home and with the compensation you feel is fair. Of course, I am assuming that you bring tremendous value to your employer. You see, I never view myself in terms of what I cost a company and I make sure the companies that hire me do not view me that way either. Instead, get them to view you in terms of your value to them.

Your resume won't really do it. Instead, write up a few one-page position papers (case-studies) on projects you have successfully completed. These should cover 1) technologies and processes used; 2) the company (if not specific name, industry and demographic) profile; 3) the challenge being addressed (identify the pain); 4) the solution your created (how you took the pain away); 5) a call to action (contact me for more info, if you have questions, etc., etc.

Get your case-studies to the CFO, CEO, Controller, etc. because they are the ones most cognizant of the pain - in most cases.

Important:Have a tremendously positive attitude - one that expects success, expects them to recognize your value, and when they do not, does not portray disappointment or disdain. From my perspective, if someone does not hire me, they simply made a mistake. I didn't do a good enough job of explaining my value.

Whatever you do, do not feel trapped! You are not a victim, you are not an indentured servant. If the company you work for does not recognize your value, they simply do not place value on the value you bring.

Example: With all the skills I can bring to a company, if I try to convince a 1 person, 1 computer mechanic shop to hire me for 30 hours a week, at $3,000 per weeek, I am fighting a loosing battle. It isn't that my skills or my potential value is diminished. But that mechanic shop cannot and will not place the value I desire on the value I bring.

Price is an issue in the absence of value.

Matthew Moran
Technology, Careers & Consulting
http://techcareerconsult.blogspot.com
http://www.cbtoolkit.com

by rschmid1

Appreciate the advice, I was In Az back in August starting up a plant out there... Nice area. YUMA...

Thought about starting a radio station there.

Semper Fi

Ray

by wje_jr

I would get another position lined secretly and when I do I would walk out on the sons of bitches with no notice-and take your all your work and skills with you. Their shitting all over you, treating you with contempt and cutting you out of the loop. They knew darned well that you would be taking a pay cut. Piss on em, screw em. They have no problem treating you like a piece of garbage. And if they do ask why your leaving, cuss them out they know darn well why, they are just patronizing or pacifiying you. I would eat them up like a drill sergeant from the Korean war era.

by bschaettle

Do you think for second that the new plant manager didn't get a nice fat rai$e for cutting expenses like your salary??? This guy is strictly bad news -- you need to beat it outa there quick. If it's any consolation, this guy is going to look really bad when he hires some incompetent replacement for you in order to save a couple buck$.

by ericktreetops

I'm sorry but did you say you are were earning 45k a year plus over time.

We have co-ops...ie IT students not yet graduated. They work a 37.25 hour week and get 36k a year.

A contractor on call 24/7 should be on around the 70k mark.

For this price they can get a Uni grad who will soon turned their well oiled machine into a rust bucket.

The companies attitude makes me think start looking else where.

by mudgie

Anyone that can do what you are doing (200 node network support) should be able to hang out his shingle and work for himself.

I lost a job in 99, and went out on my own shortly thereafter. My company is hugely successful, and I now provide good jobs for others. My customers get enterprise-level service, even though they are often 2-25 node offices.

I'll never go back...

by drplanner2

There's a lot of good advice in this discussion. Here's one more. In Canada, each province has Labour Laws which set out the maximum number of hours per day or week you are required to work including on call. These apply regardless of whether you are 'hourly' or 'salaried'. There is likely something similar in your state laws.

Whatever you do, don't do it while you're mad. Give yourself time to cool down, plan ahead and don't sell yourself short. With your experience, you may have more options than you think.

by drplanner2

There's a lot of good advice in this discussion. Here's one more. In Canada, each province has Labour Laws which set out the maximum number of hours per day or week you are required to work including on call. These apply regardless of whether you are 'hourly' or 'salaried'. There is likely something similar in your state laws.

Whatever you do, don't do it while you're mad. Give yourself time to cool down, plan ahead and don't sell yourself short. With your experience, you may have more options than you think.

by lsmith1989

I am also considering the same option.

When you made this move, would you have considered it a satisfying move? I beleieve that over my lifetime, I will be healthier if I can find a satisfying job as compared to a job that pays the most.

by grimshiire

Be careful in looking to hard at being satisfied. Although contentment restores health, it does not pay the bills. It is almost impossible to get the best of both worlds. But if you can, more power to ya.

by dforrest

I'm also the lone IT department and I've been salaried for years so I feel your pain. About 2 years ago, the Bush Administration "quietly" changed the labor laws. Depending on your job title and classification, you could be required to work long hours without OT. I suggest finding another job as I am and then letting your elected officials know how feel when you go to the polls.

Regards,

Don

by thudson56

If your job duties are essentially the same, and just the name of the job is changed and declared now to be a salaried (management) position, that's simply not legal (at least in the US). Now, it may be they were paying you hourly when the position should have been salaried. In that case, you won't have much option. But management (salaried) positions have some definite criteria in order to be considered management. Spend a little and check with a labor attorney to see if they think you have any recourse. There have been some hefty fines levied recently against companies trying to save money by making hourly jobs salaried simply to get rid of overtime.

Also, your base seems really low to me. Check out the salary tool on Monster.com to see what the salary is for comparable jobs in your area. Any and all information you can gather will be good to go in and negotiate.

Good luck!

by jer2911tx

I was at American Airlines when 9/11 hit. Everyone was facing paycuts and layoffs, even management. I was told my position was secure, but I would be facing the minimum management paycut. We were underpaid, already, and morale was low, so our managers simply said, "If you think you can do better elsewhere, go do it."
I'm pretty sure they were trying to imply we couldn't do better elsewhere, but I checked out Monster.com and within 2 months I accepted a contract position with benefits and a 50% raise. Switched from contract to full-hire within a year at a 5% pay cut, which I got back with a raise 6 months later.
Hit the job sites and see what is in your area!

by frwagne

If you haven't taken a vacation (and you must have a bunch of hours banked), plan one, let your management know how long you'll be gone, and ask how they'd like to cover your responsibilities while you're gone. That will get them thinking, and possibly get you a 2nd person, even part time, to help learn your responsibilities and tasks to keep the place running. It will also let them know what it will cost to replace you for two weeks. Do NOT agree to take a laptop and cell with you to be on call. That will not be a vacation.

by wmlundine

I was working in California in 2000 and my employer had to pay me $12k for all the unpaid overtime. You need to document it and check your state overtime rules. In CA in 2000 your function had to be primarily administrative and you had to supervise at least two other workers to be ineligble for time and a half over 40hrs.

by bmwwaterman

Call the Department of Labor if you are in the US. You don't have to give them your name either for them to start an investagation. The company I'm at right now went through this situation. I went from salary to salary/hourly. I'm guaranteed my 40 hours pay regardless whether I show up or not. But if I work over 40 hours, I get paid for it. But it's a silly formula. Go to the DOL site for see how it works.

The DOL isn't completely sure yet how to classify us IT professionals due to the nature of what we do. At this point, they are saying we are to be paid for work after we work the 40 hours that week.

Stand up for what you should get!!!!!!!!!!

by goal120

I am the lone person at a plant also, and was converted a couple years ago, but it was a positive thing (so far). Sorry in your case it is not! They eliminated my supv and gave me both jobs with a title and a salary in between the two. I compared my new exempt salary to my old non-exempt, and it was still a 2% raise. Shew!

Sometimes it is hard to not stay all night and work late every day, because you feel unprofessional leaving things undone. You have to alternate between giving your all to the company and taking some time for yourself. I definitely advocate taking long lunches or coming in late after a late night at work (unless there is a new crisis to deal with of course). There is always work to be done but there isn't a true crisis every day.

I don't take comp time on a 1:1 basis, but just enough that I don't hate my job and or feel trapped. Other folks at my plant are dealing with the same "prioritization" issues due to cuts in other departments, so I am not alone in the distress of not attempting to do a 100% perfect job.

When it makes me feel bad enough (or when I start hearing my cell phone in the whistle of my sleeping husband's breath), I browse the want ads. It might be time for a change, but most days I've learned to live with the compromises. It is still a great job and fun to be the one person on-site. It won't be easy, but I'm sure you can figure out a compromise that either works for you or at least tides you over while you look around for something else.

by bg6638

I would gladly take the pay cut that you had to take, because it would mean that I would at least *HAVE* a job to go to! With the current job market, one should be thankful if they are still working. I never thought that after 30 years in IT that I would be between jobs for over 2 years! And yes, I was a one-man IT dept. before the company went bankrupt right before xmas! Some present that was!

by rschmid1

All of you have made valid points. Yes I do live in the country away from the larger towns. There are to types of Salaried Positions in NC. Salary non exempt
Gets paid overtime. (thats what I was from the first day I was hired on) The other is salaried exempt that does not get overtime.. (thats what I am now)
Again many thanks for your time

Semper Fi

Ray

by noyoki

That really depends on where you live. If you are in a town/city with a high Cost of Living, then you generally get paid more. Upstate NY, you can rent an entire 2-3 story house for about $500 a month... Out here in NYC, that won't even get you a studio in the surrounding cities (Queens, Brooklyn, etc) nevermind actually living IN the city.

But Upstate, the base salary is much lower than it is down here.

by 50kilroy

According to government standards, my I.T. salary put me in the 'poverty' level. I was eligible for food stamps.
Does that tell you how much underpaid I was?

by mudgie

This is beginning to get rather whiney. If you are not making enough money, go somewhere else. You are not a slave, you are there by mutual agreement. If you feel you are underpaid, demonstrate that fact by your zeal, competence, and performance. If that isn't enough, then go elsewhere.

This might mean going out on your own, which I posted earlier. It might mean polishing your resume skills and furthering your education. Whatever.

Let's put a stop to all of the "this might violate labor laws" and "the president changed the labor laws" crap. Let's stop prattling on about living at or below the poverty line. Have some dignity, for goodness sake!

If you are: a) skilled/competent, and b) diligent, and c) of good character, you cannot lose. If you lack any or all of these traits, you are in the wrong field and you will never be content with your circumstances.

Suck it up. Be a man. Life is tough, get over it. Press on diligently.

I hereby relinquish my soap box on this topic.

by matthew moran

After this post I decided to blog the topic of getting a raise. I believe most people go about salary planning poorly. They usually look at their title, find out the average salary, and then hope they get there or a little above.

Set a salary goal, find out what your roles and responsibility to get there must be, put a plan in place - with your employer, and then enact your plan.

Getting The Raise You Want:
http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/career/archives/007173.asp

Unfortunately, many people have been taught that when you work at a company, it is your employer's job to notice you and proactive approach you with raises and career growth. You will do a lot better if you understand that a job is simply an agreement between two parties trading something of value. If you do not like the agreement, you have two choices - change the agreement (work with your employer) or find a new agreement (get a new position).

Do not settle for setting for a job you dislike. On the other hand, if every job you have ever had is dissatisfying, you will probably need to change your perception.

by lanpro

It's unfortunate what happened, however you should
be thankful you still have a job. Many of us in IT are without jobs including myself. The job market in IT is still very sluggish. If you look at the current market you will find many positions that are offering 10+ K less than what it should be. I know many IT professionals that had to take up to a 20K cut just to get back to work. Bottom line is that if you are currently employed in IT, be very thankful.

by sean

I had this happen to me as we. I was told to stop working overtime completly... My first 2 weeks I finagled in a bit of OT, namely becuase people called me after hours... And they came down with the Hammer and told me NO MORE OT... So when my boss's boss called me at 10pm, what do you think i did... Of course, I helped him... But, I told him that I was doing this on my own time and gave him a polite ear full on what what going on... Needless to say, the next day my boss comes in and complains to me. And 2 weeks later I went on Salery with a 5k raise... Still 10k short of my last years pay...
Now I do not know what state you are in, but I did some research and from what I can gather, in the state of Washington, you cannot make a person take a saleried position and make them work over 40 hours, UNLESS they have direct reports under them... I went to my manager and showed him a copy of the law book I photocopied at the libary and all of a sudden I was a Non-exempt saleried employee... So I kept my 5k raise and I still got Over time... Check the laws in your state...

by gnx

I would find another job. This is a slap at you. also the plant manager seems to be trying to look good with the bottom line. Have home take a pay cut. I'm sure they will miss you when you leave. Just give a 2 week notice. Good luck

by jekoski1

You should talk to the person that put you in that position, of a loss of income. If he wont restore the pay,or return you to hourly rate, stop the 24x7 support. Look for other employment. But above all dont get mad or quit. Be the professional you are. Go back to school and while you are get someone to help with the after hours support.
jekoski@msn.com

by breadtrk

When you walk out the door @ 8 hours, leave the company cell and pager on your desk. I also recommend what many have already suggested, call the Dept of Labor to make sure what is going on is legal, it very well may not be and the company is not aware of it.

The other thing is use your competitors to your advantage. Apply with them, even if you do not intend to leave. Nothing wakes up a supervisor like an employment history call from the other team.

by the ref

Without knowing your situation fully, you have to factor in other benefits like sick days, holiday pay and training. I work on the basis there are only 44 working weeks in the year when comparing Full Time to Contract. This comes from:
52 weeks in the year
10 Public holidays
4 weeks holiday per year (I know this is less in the US)
8 days sick leave per year.

You might find that you dont take holidays because you are not paid for them, whereas as a full time employee you get this accruing.

On a $50k contract job, what may appear to be a cut to $44k may not be as bad as it first appears.

That said, after you have worked out the real wage including entitlements, if you really are unhappy then plan to leave as soon as you can. A piece of career advice - life is too short to be stuck in a job you hate.

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