Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with wage

What am I really worth?

amanda — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:40:28 -0800

How can I quantify (in dollars) my worth to my company so that I can get raises and perks? I was reading this fascinating post on jezebel about the "wage gap" (the comments are especially interesting) and I started feeling like I was not certain how to quantify my own worth to the company. I'm in creative services (architecture) and due to where I'm at in my career, I'm not sitting at the big kids' table for contract negotiations, etc. Also, I see what seems to be a staggering waste of time and energy (low ROI) on projects due to our process. It's sort of part and parcel of this industry but it makes it difficult to see where I'm having successes that are good for the bottom line.

In a general way, what's the method for starting to track how much you are "worth" so that you have leverage in wage negotiations? I'm especially looking for advice for the creative sector -- I'm not in sales so I can't say, "I brought XX dollars to the company last quarter." The last firm I was at was very large so they could seemingly afford to have some redundancies and still make money on projects. Perhaps at a smaller firm things would be more easily quantified.

Also, how to you track your own job progress? Do you have a journal or a spreadsheet or a word doc where you keep track of what you're doing? How do you turn that information into a number?

I miss recess

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 14:29:08 -0800

I'm fresh out of college, I have a job I love, and everything's going great. But it would be awesome if I could have more time off, because of a few reasons, and I can afford it... but does anyone do that? I'm making 'A' a month and spending almost a thousand bucks less than that paycheck. As odd as it is, at this point I could afford to support myself for a few months, maybe a year even, with savings, since I rarely spend and always work.

Everything's great, except I'm in a long-distance relationship (about 100 mile distance, with bus/car/train transportation in between) with an amazing girl who is leaving the country for three months, and then going to be in school for a year. So, going down for weekends is great, and I will do that as much as humanly possible, but I'd like weeks. I get 15 days of vacation time (how does that compare to other jobs in the web-field?), which I'm going to split between a few days before and a week or two during her trip to the other side of the world, in which I'm going to fly there too.

So, my situation is: I'd like to just say, could I take, say, another 10 days off of work, unpaid? I know this is a personal thing, but I'm wondering if it's so nonstandard and possibly annoying for the company that I shouldn't even bring it up? Has anyone does this and how does it work out?

More time would be so great, if I could take off fall/spring break or something, that would be so incredibly golden, and seriously, I could do it financially.

I guess this is related to the question 'why don't people work less when they earn more?,' which I also wonder about...

Grant for small businesses?

tessalations999 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:56:40 -0800

My dad and mom live in a rural area of Massachusetts. My dad makes wooden bowls and they want to start their own small store in the area selling the bowls. They have no capital, and want to look into a small business grant. They both work extremely hard and make almost minimum wage, and so without the grant could not have the time or money to start the business while also supporting themselves. Do you know of any resources or grants that could help them? Thank you so much for your help.

Should I let myself be exploited for a year in academia?

Anonymous — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 06:07:38 -0800

Should I take this job offer to work at a wage that's barely livable so I can get into grad school? I have a job offer to work for a wage that's considered just barely high enough for a single person to live on in my area. The unquantifiable perk is that I'd be working for someone whose recommendation will considerably strengthen my grad school application, in exchange for a year or two of near-poverty.

I've done a budget with their offer, and I could do it, barely. I wouldn't be able to eat out more than once a month, and I wouldn't be saving more than 5%, and I could end up bankrupted by a major unplanned expense. I already tried asking for a little more, and they made me feel like a jerk for trying to take money from a non-profit that's already strapped, so any extra income will have to come from side gigs.
I have tentatively accepted their offer, but now I feel bad for doing so. I feel like I'm perpetuating a system that feeds off the labor of those at the bottom of the academic ladder who are largely duped into thinking that their work will be recognized and they will get their turn. I have no such high hopes; I want to get into grad school because I like my subject, and I have plans outside academia for after the PhD, but I'm worried that I'm paying too high of an opportunity cost now to get it.

Where is the point where love of the field isn't enough? I'll walk away before they ask for my firstborn, but should I be running already?

How much does a nanny make for the summer?

hulahulagirl — Sun, 18 May 2008 14:30:39 -0800

FairWagefilter: My 25-year old sister is a 2nd grade teacher who is considering going to NY to nanny for the summer. So far the general specifics are: 3 young boys (I don't know their ages); in Rye, NY; 2 days off a week; I think that they will buy plane ticket, groceries, etc.; duties will be taking them to their day camp, sports/music lessons, making food for them, etc. This is someone who has referred her---a friend of a friend situation, so no agency to deal with, just the family. She's just wondering what a fair range of pay might be, considering this is the first time she's done anything like this. Thanks in advance for your help. I'm telling her to check this page.

Moving from Freelance to Employee

conigs — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:17:05 -0800

I am currently a freelance film/video editor slash motion graphic designer. One of the companies I freelance for is in the process of making me a job offer. I'm trying to figure out what a fair salary/wage is compared to what I pull in as freelance. I realize there are many factors to take into account with benefits, reduced taxes, etc. (Location isn't a big deal as all the places I freelance for are within 5-7 miles from home.) But it's really difficult to see what I make in a year go down that much (even considering the above). Basically, it's looking like I'll take what I make freelance after taxes and use that as the basis for judging the offer (take that number, add back in taxes the company with withhold, then take off any benefits).

Have you gone through this? I'd love to hear what you decided on and how you came to that decision.

Overtime pay versus comp time

Optimus Chyme — Tue, 01 May 2007 06:16:25 -0800

What are the rules, if any, governing overtime pay versus comp time? Yesterday afternoon, my employer told all employees that there would be no more overtime pay, only comp time. Neither I nor anyone else on my team is salaried.

I live in Arizona and as far as I can tell, Arizona does not have an overtime law, so we should be covered under federal law. But I can't find any explanations of overtime pay versus comp time here.

So, my questions are pretty simple:

1) Is it legal to give employees comp time in lieu of overtime?

2) Would that comp time be accrued like overtime pay, that is, one and a half hours for every hour worked over 40?

3) If it is not legal, what are the specific laws and penalties covering it?

Thanks!

Any economists in the house? Arm me with counter-arguments to neoclassical orthodoxy!

lunasol — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 13:03:11 -0800

Is there a counter-argument to the idea that indexing wages to inflation encourages inflation? I'm currently taking a class in macroeconomics, taught by your standard neoclassic economist. She recently mentioned off-hand in a class discussion about inflation and consumer confidence that indexing the minimum wage to inflation can encourage inflation. I'd only ever heard Republicans say this, so I was skeptical.

I did some research, and the only place I can find this assertion is either on conservatie think tank websites, or in my textbook, which is well-written but co-authored by a former member of Bush's Council of Economic Advisors.

It concerns me that my professor might be causally tossing around partisan arguments in an othrwise great class, and I would like to press the professor on this. I'm prepared to admit that she may be right, but I'd like there to at least be a debate about it.

So, anyone got any good counter-arguments for me to try out?

Is there a formula to figure out how much an independent contractor makes?

bigmusic — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 18:47:07 -0800

Contractor filter: I need to figure how much I am actually getting paid. I have a feeling I'm getting the shaft on my pay. I read thru the C and E handbook but I am having a hard time getting my head around it and it really doesn't seem to appy to my situation.

Ok so the situation is this: I drive around and write reports on specific projects being worked on. My boss pays me by the job @ $20 per site. If there are more sites in that area I get a reduced ammount of pay per site. My checks are around 1300 every 2 weeks.

These are some things to take into account as well.

I have to pay for gas on my car. So that could equal somewhere around 300 a month (bad gas mileage.) and around 1500 miles on my car easy. I just started so it doesn't look like I am going to make enough money this year to even deduct the car mileage from my taxes.

I have to pay my own taxes which I still haven't figured out yet.

I also have to put time in at the office doing scheduling paperwork for the other people that do this and schedule them. Plus other stupid office crap that adds to the time that I spend working. I get paid nothing for this. Pretty much all this ensures is that I have a full route of sites to look at, but it costs me time.

I haven't made a contract with him yet so I am not locked into any payment price for my services. My boss really tries to play up the whole independent contractor benefits, like being my own bosses and writing crap off on taxes. How much do I need to be making for writing stuff off to even really matter?

Underpaid part-timer.

itchie — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 19:54:31 -0800

How do I go about asking for a pay raise? Having a discussion with my coworkers at my part-time retail job, I've found that I get paid the least. I've been there longer than a few others, and have a higher seniority than most of the cashiers. I, as well as my colleagues, feel I do an excellent job at what I do, and that I deserve a higher wage than what I am getting. (This is in the range of maybe - at most - a dollar more an hour.)

Am I in the wrong for wanting this? How can I go about bringing this up to management without risking my job, or bringing in my coworker's wages?

Looking for a dull well paying job with good hours

b1tr0t — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 10:33:23 -0800

Since the cool jobs suck and pay badly, which less exciting jobs pay really well and have decent hours? Do you have to move to Nebraska? [please add comments so there will be more inside]

How much do caddies for professional golfers make?

o2b — Sun, 20 Jun 2004 18:14:10 -0800

How much do caddies for professional golfers make? Do they make a percentage of the purse?