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Raises?

Raises?

(OP)
So, just a quick poll, How mny got raises this year, in this economic climate?

My company is not doing any raises for anyone, including me, of course?   This goes for the people working for me.

Some are hapy to just have a job at this point, others want to see an increase that the profit (loss) does not seem to be able to support.

So, how about you?

RE: Raises?

0%

I've even gotten my PE since my last raise.

Rumor is that they are waiting for the Union contract to be settled before the salery folk get their raise.  Contract is up at the end of July.  I work in the steel industry as an Electrical Engineer.

RE: Raises?

I got a 3% raise; but it was part of a multi-year contract so they had no choice.

RE: Raises?

No raise for me either.  We're living off last year's profit.

 

RE: Raises?

4% for good behavior

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."  

RE: Raises?

I got 9% this year.  5% would be more typical.  Most of my peers are in that range.  I'm expecting 5-6% next year.
 

RE: Raises?

Nice raise plus bonus (O&G industry).

RE: Raises?

I wanna work where ivymike works.

4% for me.

V

RE: Raises?

3% plus $8,000 bonus  

RE: Raises?

7.7% here. Should be happy, but I'm still $6000 behind the lowest paid person working FOR me. It appears company pays on years of experience and age, not what you actually do.  (Must. . .restrain . . .self. . .from. . .rant)

RE: Raises?

4% for me. Keeping up with Consumer Price Index, roughly.  

RE: Raises?

4% and modest bonus - coorporate wouldn't approve any more

Believe it if you need it or leave it if you dare. - Robert Hunter
 

RE: Raises?

Review and raises once a year.  They offered me 1% last year after an "outstanding" review (what a demotivator...) I complained that this did not even keep up with inflation so they gave me about 7%. I am in O&G with hourly fee structures.

Inflation, which is based on the Consumer Price Index, is around 4%/year now based on fuel costs (used to be about 3%/year). You should point this out to your boss and ask them what percentage of a raise is based on a cost of living adjustment and what percentage of a raise is based on merit.

RE: Raises?

5% this year, it was 4 months late, but was paid retroactive to my start date.  Had a $5k bonus early in the year and will probably be getting a 15%-20% bonus later this year.

Business is good......  at least here :)

Wayne

RE: Raises?

First day of new FY today but no news of salary changes yet.  I have no idea whether I earn more, less, or the same as yesterday.  Am expecting RPI (inflation excluding all the things that have actually increased over the year).

- Steve

RE: Raises?

I got a 5% raise this year.  I was disappointed with that.  I got almost 10% last year, but my boss said that was because they typically start someone with a BS only a couple thousand below someone with a masters and they felt my knowledge base and understanding was at least on par with someone with a masters so that wanted to make up for that.  Whether that's hogwash to account for getting a lower raise this year (despite a glowing review) or not, I don't know.

What kind of bonuses does everyone else get?  I've gotten a little better than 1k for the first two years.  That was pretty cool at first (I'd never gotten a bonus before), but it really doesn't seem like much now.  I guess I shouldn't complain...... it IS better than nothing, I'm just wondering what others get.

RE: Raises?

current job about 15-18%, depending on company and division performance (could go as low as 0% and as high as 40%).

last job, about nothing, no matter how good the results were.  There was one year that was better than the rest, but all of my bonuses there put together don't add up to a quarter of a single-year bonus at the current job.
 

RE: Raises?

No bonuses here (actually ever in my career) but we're at 6-month raises of 4% - 8% because of the thieving climate between the local competing companies.   



If you "heard" it on the internet, it's guilty until proven innocent. - DCS

RE: Raises?

Bonuses, ha!

We used to have one site and one bonus based on company profits (by definition, the profit made by that one site).  The formula was simple and open.

When we branched out and opened offices overseas, the overseas sites were loss-making to start with, by design.  So they got no bonuses.  So the management concocted some kind of bonus scheme based on performance against targets, with global and local elements.  It had no direct link to profit.

This new scheme became a farce.  The amount was arbitrarily decided each year.  Then it became clear that not only had the method for choosing the size of the cake changed, the method for slicing it up had changed too.  Managers got twice what regular employees got and directors got five times.  So when we last got a serious bonus (7% of salary), my manager got 14% and his boss got 35%.

Then senior management decided this whole bonus charade was bad for morale and decided to stop the scheme for regular employees.  Managers and directors would still be eligible for bonuses, but only if they met "really hard" targets.  The targets were/are never published; the bonuses are secret.

What a morale boost for the rest of us!

- Steve

RE: Raises?

8.2% raise this year and an 8.5% raise last year.  No bonus yet this year.  I received a 1k bonus last year and a nice end of the year deposit in my company mutual.

I hear the typical raise around hear is 6% to 10%.

RE: Raises?

5.5% raise with cash and stock bonus of about 4% of base salary.

RE: Raises?

5% Mid-year; 4% End of year + $5K
The Mid year was for taking on addtional workload of a co-worker who left and was not replaced.  

RE: Raises?

Steve, for the record, I think they're probably right about bonuses being demotivational.  People start to figure them into their lives, then get really steamed if they don't turn up.  ...a bit like the dog who won't sit or lie down unless he can see the treat in your hand.
 

RE: Raises?

Isaac, I agree that bad ones are.  Like ours became.  In my original interview (quite a while ago) I was told that the bonus was 12.5% of pre-tax profits paid pro-rata to all employees based on salary during the previous year.  Nice and open, very good for morale and staff retention.

I guess you probably worked for the company during its "bonus lottery" period.

- Steve

RE: Raises?

that sounds about right... but I missed the big payout(s) due to my hire date.
 

RE: Raises?

4%, and a $750 bonus.

I thought I had it good until I heard some of you guys and your Bonuses/Raises ;)

RE: Raises?

raises and bonuses are related to a number of issues and straight comparison is not all that useful

- company profit / loss in the last year is a key factor
- expected profit / loss in the coming year
- company liquidity, ie: is it a closely held company with lots of cash, publicly owned and do the officers have control of the stock?
- your level of experience
- your past performance
- your current income level as compared to your peers
- your level of responsability
- greediness of your bosses
- others?

RE: Raises?

Raise only because it is mandatory with a promotion, which I got because they finally made my job title match the job I've been doing for the last 3 years.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies

RE: Raises?

Just had my evaluation a few weeks ago. I asked about salary review, but they were vague about it. Mumbling something about HR's decision, how our industry (semicon) is doing.. and blah blah blah.
Interesting, cos all the research i did shows that my pay is below average. Let's see what they'll say next..
Also, i noticed that everyone in our department got a lower score, compared to last year's evaluation.. Now they have a good reason to to raise us!
I started last year in Feb, and haven't see a single cent of raise yet... sad

Process - Piping

RE: Raises?

Our company had a rough 2007.  A very rough 2007.  So, no raise for me.  I did manage to get an extra week paid vacation which I took advantage of though.

Of course that extra week vacation probably cost me a couple grand, but at least I wasn't in the office.

RE: Raises?

I got 6% plus a 1.5% bonus last November from a company that did evaluations on the employee's anniversary.  The company was bought by a larger company that reviews everyone in May.  I expected to get a prorated raise, but I was stunned to get 7%.  Still waiting for HR to reduce that and demand repayment of the excess.  Bonuses are things of the past.

RE: Raises?

17% + $6000 bonus for the year

RE: Raises?

I was told 3.6% today.
 

- Steve

RE: Raises?

7.5% and bonuses are done at the end of the year but last year got almost 4K

(only 2 years in, woooooh)

RC
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
    Edmund Burke

 

RE: Raises?

Hmm.  9% and no direct bonus, though the company did dump about two paychecks profit sharing into my 401k plan, so that was pretty sweet.  On the other hand, I work for an EPC heavily into petrochem work, so my raises and profit sharing pretty much move with the price of oil.  Oil expensive = billion dollar projects.  Oil cheap = pink slip.

I probably should figure out at what price oil/gas would have to be to maximize my profit.

RE: Raises?

No Raise at my company- MEP consulting firm in north Texas.  They tell us thing are bad.  
I would like to know which part of the country they are giving raises?

regards,

RE: Raises?

houston

RE: Raises?

If I weren't getting any raise at alll I would be out the door so quick it wouldn't be funny......... no matter how much I loved the job.
I'm outside of Philadelphia.

RE: Raises?

Ivymike is spot on.  Firms in cities with large petrochem presences are slaying right now.

RE: Raises?

Heavily populated areas as well.  NYC Tri-State Area is booming as Utilites scramble to meet the new electrical/steam/gas demands.  The advent of this "new nuclear age" is also causing the major companies to pull away from fossil plants leaving us little guys with a lot more work too.

RE: Raises?

my story:
i'm working for this A&E firm since 1.5 year. Main industry we're providing: semiconductors and photovoltaic. Got my EIT licence this year. Prior to this job, i worked 8 years. Degree BS in mech eng. I make 60k and am located in the Bay Area. All the payscale.com and asme.com salary surveys tell me i'm on the far left side of the Bell curve.... No raise whatsovere so far, even with good evaluations. This month is when they typically adjust our salary re: inflation. Inflation last year was, i believe, 4%. So if i don't get a 4% raise on my next paycheck, i'm gonna be cranky!

Process - Piping

RE: Raises?

Don't want to say exact value as there's a couple of members here from my place but suffice to say a bit shy of double digits, the highest in engineering at our site apparantly.

I'm pretty sure most of this was due to taking on extra responsibility and the fact I was not yet at 'mid level' for my job level according to Radford.

Basically as I understand it we're all assigned Radford job titles.  Our pay is then compared to the average for those titles.  Company goal is not to be paying above mid range.  So people already at mid range with no promotion prospects got small or no raises. People at the bottom got larger and combined with extra responsibility I got high single figures.

Industry is semiconductor/scientific research equipment, Santa Barbara.  Overal the company, especially one of the divisions at my site, is struggling a little.  However they already had lay-offs and massively increased health benefits so they didn't feel they could not give pay raises too.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: Raises?

I've had, in the past, similar setups; horribly demotivating for someone who's already to the right of the median line.  This type of approach appears to be designed to force higher paid, hence, previously more productive, people to leave in disgust.  Seems to me to be a silly approach, from a long term success perspective for the company, since all they'll ever have around are lower paid, less experienced staff.

TTFN

FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies

RE: Raises?

IRstuff, I agree.  If you don't want to pay more than average wages then surely you'll end up with at best average staff.

That said we do have a technical as well as management track so there is some chance for promotion without becoming full time management.  Although in practice there are far more VPs in the management structure than 'Fellows' in the technical structure.  In fact I think the only Fellow left several months ago and we still have probably 10+ VPs!

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: Raises?

Oh yeah, had our first quarterly profit sharing for about a year in Q1.  It was about enough for a family dinner somewhere like Olive Garden.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: Raises?

my company aims to be at the 75% percentile or better (I can't remember the exact target).  based on some of the above, they're probably doing pretty well at that.
 

RE: Raises?

Does as much tea as you can drink count?

I dont know what this years raise will be, last year was 6%.  But the CEO has advised all the staff that there is a downturn in oil and gas, with less money available to pay staff with, so it wont be as much as that.

They also seem to be extending the period between reviews, its at fourteen months now.

RE: Raises?

Downturn in oil and gas?!

The world would like to have a talk with your CEO and his moronic statement.  If that's the best reason he could come up with to not give you a raise, he's either an idiot or he thinks you guys are.  Either way, I'd have to think twice about continuing to work there.

Seriously?  A downturn in oil and gas?  

FULL

OF

CRAP

RE: Raises?

The argument they use is that although oil is at a record high, the cost of doing business is also at record highs.  The costs of developing fields have spiralled, subcontactors are demanding more money, as are governments. Therefore they difference between income and costs is less than it was a few years ago.  Hence a shortage of money.   Plus they trade in dollars and pay in pounds.


 

RE: Raises?

In the same way that large companies hire people to find good things (these days read "green") about their products, I'm convinced they hire people to think up plausible reasons for low pay awards.

- Steve

RE: Raises?

Since i consider myself as being an average guy, i'd be really happy with an average pay.. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case..
I remember our CEO telling us earlier this year that the company made a xx millions $$ profit last year, but that money is used to pay the salaries.. Total BS, imo. Salaries are paid by the client, when they pay for our services!

More than half of the people left the company this year. I'm starting to see why...

Process - Piping

RE: Raises?

I just heard a story from a co-worker (admin, not engr).  At her previous job, the supervisor told her group, "I had some merit money, but I didn't think any of you deserved it, so I gave it back."

Talk about yer fine motivational techniques.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies

RE: Raises?

GOSH  ...I'm embarrassed to say ...I got a 12% raise! I'm working for a semi new company with a lot of Mideast oil projects. We were just winding up our first major project the getting the drawings ready to go, and I took a finally look at them! I've been complaining to the project engineer for a number of months to no avail. SO I went into the main bosses' office to complaint about this work ...I told him it was "frustrating" working here because NOBODY knew what good drawing looked like! ...And what we are issuing, if I was a drafting teacher, would give a D- grade!!!(I was pretty P.O.'d at the time! *G*) He just looked at me for a minute (my better sense had come back to me and I was holding my breath ...thinking I had gone too far with my rebuke.) Then he asks "When was your last raise?" I'm thinking negative here so started getting hot again and shot back ..."I've NEVER had a raise here since I started!" ...He quickly said he'll talk with the accountant and put me in for a raise! ...Could have knocked me over with a feather!! ...He went on to say "We appreciate your experience!"   ...todate NOTHING has been done about doing the drawings, we have another large project looming, and I suspect my raise was just to smooth my ruffled feathers!!? *G* ...Which aren't so smooth anymore!

RE: Raises?

I got a 3% raise but I am a young engineer.  Last year was very good to us, this year we are hurting.  The high fuel prices have defiantly hit the aviation industry HARD.  

My father who works in the same field refused to tell me the raise he got but he did clear a  +60k bonus for the year.  Not too shabby, then again he is the GM.  At least it is something to look forward to.
 

RE: Raises?

Ivymike, I would say that is pretty much true.  We have been losing people to competitors as we pay on the lower end of the wage scale.  If the annual raises come out as poor as implied/anticipated I expect a large number will be indicating their dissatisfaction with their feet.  

I think the comments were made to maximise profit at the expense of staff. I could be wrong but if that is the way it turns out then it is very short sighted on the managements part.

RE: Raises?

keep in mind the old saying "the first rat off the sinking ship gets the best driftwood."   

RE: Raises?

well i got a letter today from HR saying i won't have a raise. 17 months on the job, good reviews, yet not one cent of raise. with the inflation going through the roof, i'm making less than when i started...
I'm so not motivated to work today!!

Process - Piping

RE: Raises?

As and owner, I haven't taken home any more than my base salary.  We gave our key employees(engineers) a bonus and plan on a modest raise but the housing crunch has hit us pretty hard so I'm bracing for 18 months of slim pickins.

RE: Raises?

2.7% raise, 26.2% bonus at the end of 2007.

RE: Raises?

No bonus but raise well above inflation.  I always said they weren't paying me enough...

RE: Raises?

In general, even in good times, we don't get cost-of-living raises here, at least not anything that keeps up.  Every several years, the legislature will vote to give us something that makes up for maybe a year or two of inflation.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies

RE: Raises?

that's why they have unions in Europe...
No employer will try getting away with no cost-of-living adjustments..

Process - Piping

RE: Raises?

No raise yet, I guess maybe none at all, we will see.

RE: Raises?

I got a 2.5% raise 3 months on the job (1.5 years ago).  This year they've "suspended" reviews till later.  So basically no raise.

James Spisich
Design Engineer, CSWP

RE: Raises?

We got <4% 'cost of living' adjustment. Pffffff hahahaha! This is Ablerta!

<<A good friend will bail you out of jail, but a true friend
will be sitting beside you saying " Damn that was fun!" - Unknown>>

RE: Raises?

Just under 5% a couple of months ago. Now whe have had a few layoffs, mostly in operations. Timt to start looking.

Peter Stockhausen
Pollak Switching Products

RE: Raises?

Cost of living, this and every year after I'd been working for 10 years.  Adjust the salary vs years of experience data to dollars of constant value and you'll see that it amounts to 10% of starting salary per year for the first 10 years, followed by little to no net salary growth thereafter.  

But that's just salary.  I also get a bonus that you wouldn't believe if I were at liberty to tell you...Let's just say that I've had an upper decile salary for 9/10 of the past decade.  And I richly deserve it, given how much money I personally make for my employer.

Have I ever told you how much I love my job?!  And I'm not just talking about the pay...

My employer believes in shared pain for shared gain.  Base salary sucks, but the bonus system is very, very generous- if the company remains profitable.  It's in everyone's (direct, financial) interest to keep the customers satisfied AND the operation profitable...amazing the corporate harmony, cooperation, innovation etc. that this generates.  

Some really dumb new folks negotiate a higher starting salary in return for less bonus, leaving more for the rest of us.  But no shared pain equals no share of the gain- they get theirs up front every month, whether we're profitable or not.  They don't take more than a year or so to change their tune generally.  Even dumb folks smarten up eventually!

If we were a public company we'd never get away with paying ourselves so well- when the business is profitable.  Fortunately the employees are also the share-holders, and the non-employee share-holders know which side their bread is buttered on and don't mess with the system.

We do some oil and gas business, but we also do business for the people that use oil and gas to make products.  Their business has completely dried up, but the oil/gas folks are spending like drunken sailors and we're happy to take our share.  During the long run-up in oil prices, the oil consumers' business dried up quicker than the oil- producers spending grew.  Fortunately we kept everybody- and everybody took it in the teeth on the salary- or else we'd have been totally unprepared to sieze this market boom.

The Dilbert guy has it nailed:  my favorite strip has the pointy-haired boss saying, "It's our policy to hire only the best technical professionals".  Dilbert replies, "And is not also our policy to pay the industry AVERAGE?".  The boss replies, "That's the way we like 'em:  bright, but clueless"...

RE: Raises?

Our raises came early in the year - January or February. It was so hugely significant that I couldn't even tell you which month it was in. I think it was about 4% but my costs of living are rising significantly faster, and that was after a good appraisal where I met or exceeded all my targets. My 'bonus' - effectively a lumped overtime payment - was about 15%, which brings my salary roughly back in line with the industry norm, but in the words of our dear personnel department "it isn't contractually guaranteed"!

I'm currently about 4 weeks away from starting with my new employer because the enjoyment-of-job / compensation / quality-of-life equation has become so imbalanced over the past few years. It's worth the extra 12 miles each way just to enjoy going to work again. I am sure it will work out at my new employer - otherwise I wouldn't be going - but even if things were to go sour in the recession that is supposedly looming there is such a desperate shortage of professional engineers in the UK's heavy electrical sector that I'm not too worried. Lately I seem to get at least a couple of phone calls each day from utility and O&G recruiters!
  

----------------------------------
  
If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!
 

RE: Raises?

6% - Max permissible based on year end evaluation for my company.  Quite a few of our guys received mid-year raises as well to try and keep them working for us.  Fossil Power industry.

RE: Raises?

Pipeline1972, it sounds like you really need to get yourself to Texas.

I also work for an E&C company in Houston serving the Oil and Gas business.  I've been getting double digit raises for the past couple of years.  The market here in Houston has become fiercely competitive as companies are actively recruiting to staff all the work that's build up.  Of course, back in the dark days around 2001, raises were small and widely spaced and we were all just hoping to survive the bottom.

I recently heard rumors that new grad mechanical engineers in Texas are asking $90,000 to start.  That's a little higher than I expected, but not much.  I thought they were "only" looking at $75,000 or so these days.

Edward L. Klein
Pipe Stress Engineer
Houston, Texas

"All the world is a Spring"

All opinions expressed here are my own and not my company's.

RE: Raises?

75k - 90k to start?  I went into the wrong field of engineering!

RE: Raises?

Not dealing with thermo is worth 20k lass a year :)

RE: Raises?

Just for the record - I love what I do.  The extra money wouldn't be worth it.

RE: Raises?

Stressguy:  glad to see that you're reaping the benefit of surviving the long drought.  All booms bust again though, which makes it doubly important to profit from the boom when it comes!  My grandfather probably didn't make it past grade 6, but even he knew that you make hay when the sun shines...  

Somebody here had a tagline about reciting the oilman's prayer, which was dead on:  

"Dear Lord, please give us another oil boom.  I promise not to p*ss it away this time!"

RE: Raises?

20% raise.  We get our bonus later in the year.

RE: Raises?

Waiting until November for my 1 year review.  Basically on pins & needles at this point due to:

1) I'm getting paid very poorly for an entry level electrical engineer ($20/hr).
2) I've quickly realized that I'm essentially spinning my wheels financially on my current pay.
3) My company is eliminating overtime rates for contract employees (this will be interesting, though, as I'm one of maybe 2 or 3 people out of 70+ that know this is going to happen).


My company has been doing very well (natural gas) and I've worked on some high-level projects so I'm hoping for something significant.  Considering that I'm a contract employee (and therefore get almost no benefits) I really should be getting something like a 50% raise to make up for how badly I'm getting shafted right now, but realistically I'll be very surprised if I even get as much as a 20% raise.

RE: Raises?

When I was road shopper, the first task on the 2nd week, update the resume, just in case.

Peter Stockhausen
Pollak Switching Products

RE: Raises?

Greg,

I'm seriously considering looking for something else if I don't get a decent raise, I just wish it didn't have to come to that.  It was hard enough just getting this entry level engineering job, it's not going to be much easier with just one year of experience.

RE: Raises?

StressGuy,

I almost wanted to ask who is your employer, if I can, because I am also in a Houston company serving oil & gas industries.

I guess I have waited too long on this thread to share my situation. I have been on this job for 3 years with B reviews all three years, but only got 4% increase once. So I am earning a lot less than what I started with even with tremendously increased responsibilies. Note, our company is making record high profit every year.

Regarding to starting salary for new grad students. My impression is about 65K for master and 75 for Ph.D. 90K is really high for me to believe.

I do love what I am doing, but also periodically when I think about my financial compensatio, I am so so so ready to leave.

RE: Raises?

So look elsewhere.  The job opportunities in Houston are ridiculously prevalent for most in oil & gas.  Screw getting underpaid.  Ask for a raise.     

RE: Raises?

My problem is that as a foreign people, I need visa sponsorship and English isn't my first language. I can barely manage to communicate OK with daily work, but always no good at interviews and bargain on salary. I have put my resume out for sometime, and got a lot of phone calls from recruiters. But usually after I told them I need visa sponsorship, no more follow-up. Somehow I said to my boss's boss once because I couldn't get raise from my direct boss that I will be looking for better opportunties somewhere else if no change on my salary. He said you can do for your best interest, still no change. It is several months later now, I am still here. So managers must know that I can't find anything better and I have to stay.

Really if I have no visa concern, I would have been gone a long time ago even though I got no offer on hand. But because of visa, I have to have a work to be legal in US.

RE: Raises?

nothing, neither raise nor bonus.

but, seeing as how I still have a job in this homebuilding economy, I am actually grateful!

RE: Raises?

Quote:

0%

I've even gotten my PE since my last raise.

Rumor is that they are waiting for the Union contract to be settled before the salery folk get their raise.  Contract is up at the end of July.  I work in the steel industry as an Electrical Engineer.

The Union got a raise.  So all the salaried folks got theirs, retroactive from normal raise time.  Should I be pissed at a 2.5% raise in a year that I got my PE?  The PE was something that my managers wanted me to get.  I think I'm making about 15K less than my potential.  That makes me not want to work here.

RE: Raises?

Only 2.5 when you got yoru PE, and I assume your business effectively requires you to have PE to progress.

So yeah, I'd be upset.  If your sector is affected by the current economic down turn that may be a partial reason but at the end of the day if you aint happy, vote with your feet.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: Raises?

We all got a 2% raise for this fiscal year.  Not quite half the rate of inflation.  All hail the powers that be.  Some years we don't get any.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies

RE: Raises?

HgTx,

The minute that hit my desk I would be on the web looking for somewhere else!

Your skills and productivity increase with experience so your salary should also (in real terms).

RE: Raises?

I've received three raises in the last two years, 8.9%, 8.1%, and 7.6%.

I work in South Louisiana and most of the work we do is related to oil and gas.   

RE: Raises?

Depends if we go on strike this year.

Yes, I'm one of the few unionized engineers.

RE: Raises?

Out of interest, but a bit off topic, does the union actually add much benefit to you?

In retail it cost far more than it was worth.  In the UK my Dads post office union is kind of lame.  However, my wifes union, while not fantastic is very cheap so good value all in all.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: Raises?

5% raise & 5% bonus.  Next year supposed to be 10% bonus.  No idea about raise.   

-
Syl.

RE: Raises?

Kenat
Some wisdom there, but it didn't mention many of the 72 or so advantages of a big pay packet.

Back to personal raises; I just got 7.5%, but no bonus this year.
This is on the back of a 13% increase in charge-out fees and very healthy profits, so I'm not particularly impressed. I'm on the look-out for other opportunities but the market is not large in a provincial city.

RE: Raises?

I didn't say I agreed with all of it etc. Just thought it vaguely relevant.

As to the OP, or at least the bonus part:

I also got a small (by the time the IRS took their cut, very small) financial reward a few weeks back for doing a sizeable CAD data transfer for a major new product, working extra hours in the evenings/nights doing it so as not to disrupt Engineers working on it in the day.   

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: Raises?

KENAT,

Interesting link.  I'd agree with 1 & 5 as real problems.  3 may be a problem, but all you would have to do is not disclose/fib about your salary and it wouldn't be an issue.

2 and 4 are idiotic.   

RE: Raises?

Yeah, I couldn't get my head around 2, especially the claim that you could end up worse off.  While you may pay a higher percent of that extra money as tax, that tax wont take all of it as far as I know, however, I'm not that familiar with the tax code.  I hear the same argument from people about overtime, all I know is that when I was lucky enough to get overtime for a short period in the UK I had a lot more money getting paid into the bank.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: Raises?

#2 just means that you won't get as much of an increase as you might have thought, and one should consider the net increase as opposed to gross increase when judging whether the new salary is worth the new responsibilities, relocation, whatever.  I suppose if you were at the very top of your bracket and you get bumped over the edge, the combination of a higher rate and possible loss of some other bonuses (like ability to deduct student loan interest) could mean a net loss in some situations.  Worth thinking about, anyway.

#4 is silly.  If the max is $200k, how is being stuck at $200k for 5 years worse than starting at $150k and working your way up to $200k over the next 5 years?  Is the warm fuzzy feeling of "growth" worth the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars?

#5 isn't a backfire.  If you're the type who will never be happy with your salary, you'll be no less unhappy with a larger salary than you were with a smaller salary.

I agree that #1 is a big backfire.  But is it worth keeping one's salary deliberately low to avoid being a target?  If the market is that dicey, maybe it's time to look into a change of career.

#3...as someone else said, the people hiring you don't necessarily have the right to your prior salary info, and if you won't take a pay cut, that's your problem.  Goes back to #4--are you worse off working at $90k for a while and then having to go to $80k, or having been at $80k all along, just to avoid the icky feeling of "pay cut"?

Quote:

"The ultimate freedom is the executive who says, 'Pay me $1 a year because my salary doesn't matter. I have all the money I need. I'm here because I want to make a contribution,'" Smith says in Zwell's book. "Based on the intangibles, he's making more than everyone else."

Oh, please.  He's not making more than everyone else in intangibles; he *already* made more than everyone else in the past in very tangible tangibles, or else he couldn't afford to be an executive on a hobby basis.  I doubt that hypothetical executive is living in a yurt on public land, subsisting on nuts and berries.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies

RE: Raises?

Good point on the not so obvious tax breaks HgTX for #2.

Anyway this has veered a bit off topic, so appologies to the OP.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: Raises?

Shredding  some consultant's article is more fun than a salary survey...

I should have said in #2 that this issue is why rich people and corporations make large donations to charities as tax writeoffs.  It can be worth it for someone on the cusp of two brackets.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies

RE: Raises?

I appreciate that HgTX, I think part of the issue is I still don't automatically think 'American' tax system with its 100's of different tax bands and myriad of deductions etc.  Back in the UK they only had about 3 bands, and for the average worker not as many deductions etc..

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: Raises?

HgTX

On further thought you are right about point 5.  I just read the first line and thought: "yeah, I agree with that".  But just because it's true that money doesn't = happiness, that doesn't mean you're worse off than if you made less.

RE: Raises?

My raise was 3.8%.  Supposedly, this was for cost of living and performance review.  Didn't get a breakdown of how much for each.

RE: Raises?

The whole US tax thing is hilarious.

People knowingly pay too much tax and then take short term high interest loans, secured by their refunded tax.  Only in America...
 

- Steve

RE: Raises?

What should a junior engineer in his first year expect to receive after the first review?

RE: Raises?

wid 3, I suggest a separate thread with a lot more information on the specific circumstances of said junior engineer.

What Sector, What geographic location, what size company, how long with the company, what degree, other relevant details such as EIT/FE/PE/CEng what was the rating from the review...

Once you've started a new thread I suggest you 'redflag' your above post and this one.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: Raises?

6.7%.  Covers inflation and demand but nothing for merit/performance.  Didn't really get a performance review, the raise was mainly for still being here.

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