Learn Adobe in a Flash
June 22, 2013 5:22 AM Subscribe
Two part question.
1.) Roughly how much does it cost for a company to hire someone to do one on one training for a new hire in Adobe Flash?
2.) Company likes you so much they offer you a job and are willing to pay out for your training on said and/or similar software, but give that as a reason for (insert too low salary range here) being the pay scale. You want to negotiate the best salary for yourself. Is it unheard of to ask for your salary to be increased the following year because the training will no longer be a hit to the budget?
The justification for the future raise is that you are now competent Flash developer and are worth more, not that you saved them some cash on training that year. Anyway, they aren't offering to pay for your training because they like you. They are doing it because they believe it will be cheaper to pay you less and train you than to just hire somebody competent on day 1.
posted by COD at 6:14 AM on June 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by COD at 6:14 AM on June 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Extra info: Very small company, less than 15ppl. Main reason for hire is 70% of the position requires (x) skill set which you have mastered. Flash is secondary but still vital.
posted by MayNicholas at 7:12 AM on June 22, 2013
posted by MayNicholas at 7:12 AM on June 22, 2013
I don't know about this company, but flash is very much on the way out due to widespread mobile incompatibility. Maybe you could tactfully say that you'd be taking a paycut to learn a skill that's on the cusp of obsoletion? Or maybe you could accept the job and keep that wisdom in the back of your mind while you look for a new job? For a small company, this seems a little out of touch. But maybe I've been reading too much Hacker News. My ยข0.02, grain of salt.
posted by oceanjesse at 7:32 AM on June 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by oceanjesse at 7:32 AM on June 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
Agreed with oceanjesse. Either they know Flash is on the way out and they're just using this as an excuse to pay you less or they actually think Flash is something still worth learning in 2013. Not sure which one is more concerning.
posted by the jam at 11:02 AM on June 22, 2013
posted by the jam at 11:02 AM on June 22, 2013
Response by poster: The casual comment of hey, just curious, do you have any plans to move over to html5? I've noticed flash seems to be on the way out. The answer was yes, it will be phased out, but not for a few years.
I guess the consensus is to walk if they don't pony up. They are in a bind time wise and this was the only applicant with the master skills they even looked at. They said everyone else's work was crap.
posted by MayNicholas at 11:37 AM on June 22, 2013
I guess the consensus is to walk if they don't pony up. They are in a bind time wise and this was the only applicant with the master skills they even looked at. They said everyone else's work was crap.
posted by MayNicholas at 11:37 AM on June 22, 2013
They are in a bind time wise and this was the only applicant with the master skills they even looked at. They said everyone else's work was crap.
The fuck? They actually told you this?
Then be a bit of a cocky asshole. Bring that right back up and say you aren't taking any kind of paycut because they themselves told you that time was an issue and you were the only qualified candidate. You have all the power here, twist their arm.
posted by emptythought at 11:47 AM on June 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
The fuck? They actually told you this?
Then be a bit of a cocky asshole. Bring that right back up and say you aren't taking any kind of paycut because they themselves told you that time was an issue and you were the only qualified candidate. You have all the power here, twist their arm.
posted by emptythought at 11:47 AM on June 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Flash is definitely on the way out. How long/expensive it is to train you depends on how well you know JavaScript and how complicated what they need done is. ActionScript is a cousin of JavaScript - if you know that you could be making simple applets pretty quickly with a couple good books and some time to practice. Something like making games or sophisticated CRUD applets would be harder. I'm guessing this is some kind of advertising or design company?
Very small company, less than 15ppl ... are in a bind time wise ... give[s] that as a reason for (insert too low salary range here) being the pay scale ... [to] the only applicant with the master skills they even looked at
I'm seeing warning flags here. They're asking you to pay for learning skills that won't be worth anything in a few years but that they need. If a few thousand dollars of training is a big enough budget issue to make them concerned, I would question the financial stability of the company or the capability of the owner to make wise business decisions. It's entirely possible that the reason they are in a time crunch is that they kept lowballing other applicants. Working for a penny pinching company with bad management can be really miserable. How badly do you need the job?
posted by Candleman at 2:36 PM on June 22, 2013
Very small company, less than 15ppl ... are in a bind time wise ... give[s] that as a reason for (insert too low salary range here) being the pay scale ... [to] the only applicant with the master skills they even looked at
I'm seeing warning flags here. They're asking you to pay for learning skills that won't be worth anything in a few years but that they need. If a few thousand dollars of training is a big enough budget issue to make them concerned, I would question the financial stability of the company or the capability of the owner to make wise business decisions. It's entirely possible that the reason they are in a time crunch is that they kept lowballing other applicants. Working for a penny pinching company with bad management can be really miserable. How badly do you need the job?
posted by Candleman at 2:36 PM on June 22, 2013
Also, remember that all of your subsequent raises and bonuses (there and elsewhere) would be based on this salary. If you need the job badly enough to consider it, you can counter with a normal salary but paying for the training out of pocket yourself.
posted by Candleman at 3:47 PM on June 22, 2013
posted by Candleman at 3:47 PM on June 22, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
Companies have budgets set up to pay for things like employee training, new computers, new office equipment etc....
Those 2 costs usually are coming out of separate budgets (at a big enough company anyway), so one shouldn't affect the other.
I would not accept a lower salary just because I would be getting training.
posted by eatcake at 6:02 AM on June 22, 2013