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careerzone.com

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Karl Blessing

Programmer
Feb 25, 2000
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In filling out the Salary survey, which compares your salary with that of the average meeting your criteria, for example mine would be under 25, High School Degree, No benefits, 30K a year, 2-3 years experience, 1 year in current job, and then when it pops up it says I make about half of the Lowest Salary of the average with same criteria, how exactly accurate is careerzone.com , Kein (employee who came back to work for us this summer from college) is making 20$/hr , thats alot more than my 12$/hr before I got bumped upto 30K a year, he says I know a heck of alot more than him, and that I Really should explore my options, Kein's job is some Active Server Pages, and graphic design, my job in volves, ASP, Interdev, Visual Basic, Visual C++, ActiveX, some Java, client-side Scripting, HTML, Hardware maintenance, and other small tasks. The only benefit I get out of this is that my Appartment and utilities are paid (which brings the salary close to 35K a year), and requirement is to work 44 hours a week, not beyound 50Hr, and not paid for any hours past 44.<br><br>any Opinon on my options?, where to check, and I am aware it is ALWAYS best to do this kind of Option checking from home. <p>Karl<br><a href=mailto:kb244@kb244.8m.com>kb244@kb244.8m.com</a><br><a href= </a><br>Experienced in , or have messed with : VC++, Borland C++ Builder, VJ++6(starting),VB-Dos, VB1 thru VB6, Delphi 3 pro, Borland C++ 3(DOS), Borland C++ 4.5, HTML,Visual InterDev 6, ASP(WebProgramming), QBasic(least i didnt start with COBOL)
 
Sounds to me like the company may be playing favorites.&nbsp;&nbsp;To tell the truth, it sounds like the company is in such desperate need of people so they probably re-hired Kien after they gave him an offer he thought was much better than when he had left.<br><br>Kb, that may be why he told you to <u>explore your options</u>.&nbsp;&nbsp;He probably knows that they are in such need that you could probably threaten to quit and they may give you a raise just to keep you.<br><br>I think it was Ghost that mentioned that it does not hurt to look at what's out there.&nbsp;&nbsp;Send out your feelers and see what comes back.&nbsp;&nbsp;You may be suprised.<br><br>I hope that you do get a higher position, you deserve it.&nbsp;&nbsp;Unfortunately, in this day and age, you have to look out for yourself because there aren't that many that will look out for you.<br><br>Yeah, it is nice that the CEO's wife is pregnant.&nbsp;&nbsp;But, let me tell you.&nbsp;&nbsp;When that baby(ies) come out, you know who's MOST LIKELY TO GET A RAISE?&nbsp;&nbsp;The man with a growing family 'cause now he'll need more money for: diapers, newborn clothing (watch out..babies tend to have a growth spurt about 1 to 2 months after being born then it's infant clothing), baby formula, bassinet, crib, bibs, doctor's visits (leave work early), sleepless nights (get to work late), baby need medicens, developmental toys, religous cerimonies...etc.<br><br>Yes I have a 19 month old and a 4 month old baby.&nbsp;&nbsp;And, when the place I work at found out I was having a baby, they gave me a 3% increase in pay AND a whopping $1.07 extra an hour bringing my anual salary to approximately $18K.&nbsp;&nbsp;I had contemplated leaving, but my wife reminded me that they pay full medical (nothing out of my pocket) and not too many other places would do that.&nbsp;&nbsp;So, I'm <i>stuck</i> there for a while longer.&nbsp;&nbsp;But, I still look at what's in the papers and the web....just incase I do find something much better.<br><br>By the way, did you finally pass that exame that your boss was screaming about back in the other posting?&nbsp;&nbsp;And don't worry about Java, I'm teaching myself the language and its a little like C++ its mostly an OOP language.&nbsp;&nbsp;I don't think you will have many problems with it.<br><br>Well, that's my advise.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br> <p> <br><a href=mailto: > </a><br><a href= > </a><br>You Show me your code, I'll show you mine. :cool:
 
Havent gotten around to taking the exam again, seems to have put it off for now. <p>Karl<br><a href=mailto:kb244@kb244.8m.com>kb244@kb244.8m.com</a><br><a href= </a><br>Experienced in , or have messed with : VC++, Borland C++ Builder, VJ++6(starting),VB-Dos, VB1 thru VB6, Delphi 3 pro, Borland C++ 3(DOS), Borland C++ 4.5, HTML,Visual InterDev 6, ASP(WebProgramming), QBasic(least i didnt start with COBOL)
 
Karl, I'd encourage you to keep your eyes open, but also be sure to compare apples to apples. Figure your hourly rate (annual salary/2040, salary never includes overtime hours), how much of that is allowable for PTO (vacation, holidays, sick time), your commuting costs (30 cents per mile), your medical/dental/whatever benefits, any bonus or 401k (some match 20 cents on the dollar, some dollar for dollar, some 2% of pay, some up to 8%, some is invested in &quot;guaranteed&quot; rates at 5% return, others you can pick your own funds), or retirement (you probably won't retire from a company you join now but you may get some vesting), free time and costs of education, plus intangibles like flextime, dress code (gets expensive to wear a business suit every day), etc.<br><br>Also I've found that most <i>successful</i> employers don't hire technical people based just on tech skills. There are also social and communication skills that are very important, and a level of personal maturity as far as knowing how to behave appropriately in professional environments. What helps you do &quot;do the right thing&quot; rather than just &quot;do the thing right.&quot; I have consistantly been paid in at least the upper range if not above my actual level of technical skill in most of those surveys. I think it is because when I interview with employers, they are evaluating my reliability in critical situations like having the good judgement to know how to handle a messy situation with a customer, what hassles to avoid bothering them wth, and how to anticipate which situations are escalating and need senior level involvment. So you may want to look for a mentor to help you evaluate and improve in those area (as far as I'm aware, 99% of us need improvement in those areas!), rather than focusing on your tech skills. It isn't your tech skills that get you hired, it's your ability to present your skills well in an interview.<br><br>All that said, $17.50 per hour sounds low for anyone who has the skill sets you mention. And providing an apartment is very unusual, perhaps even a bit fishy.
 
the appartment+utilities was offered, when they found out I was moving soon. , comparing the 30K to the previous 12/hr I was making , which doesnt seem like much of an increase, on the 40hr/wk I was doing, since I am now required 44Hr a week, then only benefit seems to be the apt, which in my mind is part of the salary addition. and I am a very sociable person, get along well, and every employer I have worked with prior has enjoyed me alot. <p>Karl<br><a href=mailto:kb244@kb244.8m.com>kb244@kb244.8m.com</a><br><a href= </a><br>Experienced in , or have messed with : VC++, Borland C++ Builder, VJ++6(starting),VB-Dos, VB1 thru VB6, Delphi 3 pro, Borland C++ 3(DOS), Borland C++ 4.5, HTML,Visual InterDev 6, ASP(WebProgramming), QBasic(least i didnt start with COBOL)
 
Karl,<br><br>It is never a good idea to leave a job just because of money, I have worked in many jobs were salaries varied a great deal between my colleagues and myself and I have learned not to let it bother me.<br>Your main consideration has to be 'does the job give you what you want from it?' (Not just salary).<br>If it does not then analyze what is wrong taking all the other factors, previously mentioned above, and formulate a proposition to take to your boss, explain how you contribute to the company and how you want to remain a part of it (assumng you do). If you do not appear to be getting anywhere then show how the bottom line could be effected if you leave. <br>After that, if your requirements are not met then it is probably not the sort of company you should work for.<br>(This is my opnion only, we all have to think for ourselves)<br> <p>Ged Jones<br><a href=mailto:gedejones@hotmail.com>gedejones@hotmail.com</a><br><a href= > </a><br>
 
it isnt just about the money, I dont feel I am grabing the same learning benefits I could from a different company, they do sound sincere, but also I ask mainly cause by the end of this year I may want to move upto michigan which is where my family will be moving before I get up there, and I would be nice to understand where my expertise, and my personaly type stands on the market, I want someting with a reasonable pay and health, but at the same time I want something I can progress in learning about the area of my job, at the moment I cant even save up enough money on my current job to pay for a semester of college which I am considering. but I do have a Simple IRA with them, so thats a Start. but I will take your sugestion into consideration, the thing is I also found out by fall, the only people that'll be employeed there since I started will be the CEO and his wife, everyone else will be gone and so will the 2 new employee's that are there (they're only there for the summer) but the idea that'll be one of the only people there since I started, and personally I'm not too crazy about getting closer to the CEO. one of my co-workers(one of the summer worker)encourages me to explore my options. <p>Karl<br><a href=mailto:kb244@kb244.8m.com>kb244@kb244.8m.com</a><br><a href= </a><br>Experienced in , or have messed with : VC++, Borland C++ Builder, VJ++6(starting),VB-Dos, VB1 thru VB6, Delphi 3 pro, Borland C++ 3(DOS), Borland C++ 4.5, HTML,Visual InterDev 6, ASP(WebProgramming), QBasic(least i didnt start with COBOL)
 
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