I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
(OP)
Went to an alumni event last week. Found out that STARTING salaries for people graduating from my program with a BS are right around what I'm making now after 10 years and an MS.
I remind myself...no one takes a government job for the high salary.
But it wasn't fun to find out, anyway.
Hg
I remind myself...no one takes a government job for the high salary.
But it wasn't fun to find out, anyway.
Hg
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RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
The real pain is when you have to sue the government to get paid, or go to the IRS because some idiot in finance and non-accountability decides to set themselves up as an independent tax authority, or when you get dropped from payroll for 3 months, or when you inexplicably get a pay cut that no one can explain (current situation) and try to get your salary restored for 4 months.
I've never had an issue with salary, as I knew what that was walking in the door. Actually getting paid that salary has been a severe problem. Getting to design and manage projects that I would never get to in the private sector until years of more experience was a very large plus, as well as the travel and training available. I'm certain that if I was in the private sector, I would never have had the opportunity to see and do the same things through the public sector. If you don't want to travel and do new things, that is an option in the public sector (main reason why I now am still working for Uncle Sugar). I've been offered sizable salary increase on multiple occassions to move to the private sector, relocating my family (which they do not want to do)or not spending weeks/months away from home are benefits that don't get mentioned much, but for me means more than salary differential. I love the work I do, and why I'm doing it, which is often not the case in the public sector.
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
No matter how fortunate you are to have a job or a degree of satisfaction or security, it's still a demoralizing slap in the face. Best advice I can offer is to find an activity to blow off some steam that does not involve hurting your own health. For me I like dance. However I have also found that making a full size dummy of the target of my anger and unloading a banana clip into it while yelling "git some, git some", and then setting it on fire works wonders for the soul.
"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
I bet your retirement benefits, especially medical, will be better and more secure than theirs!
Good luck,
Latexman
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
You can't help but tie your dignity up a bit in what you're paid. If you absolutely love the job you're in, pay matters less, but after 10 years you should be earning double a typical starting salary, not equal to it. That's a pretty serious differential and can't be ignored. You can struggle to get it changed in the system like others have, or you can seek work elsewhere, but sitting around thinking about how great it will be when you retire is not really an option!
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
On the other hand, the cited figures on the university career center website do seem awfully high. They're significantly higher than what my grad school classmates headed for the private sector were starting at when I graduated. I wonder how much of it is built-in bias from self-reporting.
On the first hand, today I opened a trade magazine, looked at an article about "career ladder" and saw that I am making significantly less than what they think a "technician" should be making. I'm on the first rung. Technician is on the second. Engineer was up there at twice my pay.
None of this is affecting my plan of action or lack thereof (at least none of us are being furloughed), but it's still no fun.
Hg
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RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
Then again, I got given a print out telling my my pay rate the other day (I actually got a moderate raise this year instead of a cut/freeze). However, on it there was my 'job classification' stated along with the typical pay range.
I'm a good few thousand below the 'minimum', and not much more than half the maximum. So, I could choose to me miffed at this, or try and remember that I actually make OK money for what I spend much of my time doing, and that there are a lot out there worse off.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm
Good luck,
Latexman
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
Look at it this way, yours is back loaded as 10 years from now, you'll be a potential double dipper.
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
Nothing double about it. Do I get any more this way than if I took the retirement benefits and worked at a different job? No. (Probably less, given the above discussion.) Is the government paying out any more money this way than if they hired a replacement for me with a similar level of experience? No.
So why does it make a difference that the retirement benefits and salary happen to have the same source and destination?
Feh.
But eenyhow. I took this job because it was more interesting than anything else that happened to be in the right place at the right time. I justified the low wage telling myself it was X% of what my classmates were getting but I was probably working Y% of the hours they worked, where X>Y.
None of it matters, in the end. Time & place are no longer right, but if I leave it probably won't be over money. On the other hand, if I stay it sure as hell won't be over money!
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
The link that Latexman gave looks more reasonable to me. Based on that, I'm doing ok - based on my degree, I'm in the 50% bracket, and based on my current "position" given in my handle, I'm in the 75% bracket. Roughly 2.5x starting salary, 20+ years in. But no pension, just my 401k and whatever is left of Social inSecurity when I retire.
Also gotta say, I like Cass' approach. Mine was to find a good skeet range, and picture your nemesis' face on the clay pigeons...I got to where I could actually shoot in the high 20's on every round using that technique. Need to get back into that again.
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
Good luck,
Latexman
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
btrueblood, I don't go for that kind of accuracy as long as I have sufficient ammo. My brother on the other hand regularly participates in marksmanship competitions and is a lot more serious about it. I set up this little still life from all the various cartridges, shells and dropped live rounds.
"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
Personally I view it in the same way as my house, I could have a better house in a worse location or a worse house in a better location, or I could have a better house in a better location but that would mean sacrificing other things that I am not prepared too.
I really fail to see how being bitter improves anything.
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
Comparing your salary against what the marketplace can and DOES offer to others of similar background IS useful to avoid being ripped off in salary negotiations.
A little bitterness may motivate you to get out of a rut that you've found yourself in out of laziness and complacency, if you're the right kind of person. It may just as easily motivate you to stay where you are and slack off, or make you an irritable and annoying employee, co-worker, life partner, parent etc. It's not the information itself, or the emotion or even your attitude- it's what you DO about it that matters.
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
In my state, one can learn the salaries of all state employees via the internet. Probably you can do the same in yours. I checked the salary of my boss and a few coworkers just to make sure my salary is on par with theirs. It was, and that made me feel better. If my salary is lower than it would be in the private sector, I try to console myself by remembering that I get 4 weeks vacation, 14 holidays, etc. although it would be nice if Veterans Day was in the summertime!
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
So if you enjoy your job and have enough resources to meet monthly cheques, stick to it with out comparisons-the otherside of fence may not be as green as you see from this side.But if you are not enjoying the work and have to content with peanuts,take a run,the world is wide and full of opportunities!
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
I'll have to try that sometime.
Fe
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
I'm staring down the barrel of that particular gun. We call it the golden handcuffs.
Cheers
Greg Locock
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RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
Good luck,
Latexman
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
I actually *am* in it (engineering) for the money...at least for the time being.
It's hard to get pumped up emotionally about a "career" when everyone you deal with thinks you are unimportant and add no value, but they "have to" (begrudgingly) tolerate you because, after all, somebody has to be accountable if something goes wrong, falls down or blows up.
Such is Alberta's EPC sector, anyway.
I must admit...the most "job satisfaction" I have ever felt has been in my "job away from work". For 1 hour a day, 4 times a day, for 17 days a year, 14,000 people cheer wildly and line up after the show to come and see us.
Sadly...even at that...it's really the *dog* that they want to see. They could give a rat's bottom about *me*. But, nonetheless, the minute that I can figure out a way to turn this non-paying hobby that I spend my holidays pursuing make even a fraction of the money for me that engineering does, I'll be out of the engineering business.
Being appreciated and doing something enjoyable, as it turns out, is actually worth one or more hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Regards,
SNORGY.
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
Experience says so.
Fe
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
That was so amoosing, I am afraid I don't have a good antler.
Wa-piti.
Regards,
SNORGY.
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
Maybe I'm a odd ball but I sometimes find simple and sometimes stupidities can serve for the gut something unexpected to most people.
(this could be because most days my skull is in some complex shargons)
Fe
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: I'm not in it for the money...I'm not in it for the money...