Salary.com.......accurate?

onewhippedpuppy · 12-16-2008, 10:14 AM

Can anyone comment? Or better yet, look yourself up.

I'm working on negotiating a raise, I'd like a reality check before I use it to support my asking price. I know for my current position it's spot on, but the next grade increase average wage is higher than what I hear my company pays. I'm trying to determine if the website is too high or if my company is cheap.

Before anyone comments, yes it adjusts for location.

crustychief · crustychief's Garage

I am looking for a job and used salary.com It appears to be pretty close to recent trends. I looked at an Inspections supervisor job and it was right on the "money?"

mgatepi · 12-16-2008, 10:24 AM

Bad time to negotitate for a raise!!

peppy · 12-16-2008, 10:24 AM

I did myself and my wife. They were about 10K higher than they should be.

IROC · IROC's Garage

I am extremely overpaid evidently. I'm about $30k above the mean.

onewhippedpuppy · 12-16-2008, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgatepi

Bad time to negotitate for a raise!!

My industry is still looking for help. More positions than there are people available to fill them, and the problem will only get worse. Which is good for me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IROC

I am extremely overpaid evidently. I'm about $30k above the mean.

Are you hiring?

JeremyD · JeremyD's Garage

I have found salary.com NOT to be representative -

onewhippedpuppy · 12-16-2008, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyD

I have found salary.com NOT to be representative -

High or low?

BGCarrera32 · 12-16-2008, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

My industry is still looking for help. More positions than there are people available to fill them, and the problem will only get worse.

What industry and position are you in?

JeremyD · JeremyD's Garage

High -

onewhippedpuppy · 12-16-2008, 10:45 AM

Aerospace industry. I'm technically an aero engineer, but have been working as a project engineer for the last year. Despite a reduction in aircraft orders, every company in town is still hiring engineers. There's just not enough to fill the need, especially with the large number of upcoming retirees.

Porsche_monkey · 12-16-2008, 10:57 AM

Your local engineering society should be a source of actual salaries. My local group does a very in depth salary report every year.

onewhippedpuppy · 12-16-2008, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Porsche_monkey

Your local engineering society should be a source of actual salaries. My local group does a very in depth salary report every year.

We have no such group that I know of.

fxeditor · fxeditor's Garage

I hate to say it but salary .com is WAAAYY low (over 100k) for the kind of work I do in the area I do it!

pavulon · 12-16-2008, 01:44 PM

salary.com=poor representation of my compensation and responsibilities

MotoSook · 03:25 PM

It doesn't matter if Salary.com is high or low. It can be used in your favor...or never mentioned in negotiations. It's just one of many things you should have at the ready when negotiating. Salary.com is not specific enough for any one industry, IMO.

It's important for you to know what competiting companies are paying their employees. When I say competiting, I mean what similar jobs in the same industry are paying. This is best learned by looking in the job ads across the nation. Talking to recruiters may give you good insight. Make adjustments for cost of living based on location.

Time of service is usually a big factor. I've never been a big fan of time of service as a major factor in hiring or salary adjustments. I have seen engineers with very low number of years out perform engineers with 20+ yrs of experience.

You just graduated recently, right?

Even if you interned with your company and then got hired on, it's going to be tough for you to negotiate Project Manager pay with your number of years. I've seen project engineers perform PM work, and it's usually very tough to negotiate that pay. As a young engineer (or one with low number of years) your best bet to advance in pay is to move on. Companies very rarely give you 10-20% pay hike unless you are very critical to the role you are in or will be in. Moving on to a new company will almost guarantee that you get that level of pay raise. Keep in mind that you may have a hard time finding a PM job with limited years of service too. Stay or go? Research..even interview if you think there is potential.

Obviously you don't want to be a hop-around going after pay only, but if you have learned as much as you can and you do not feel there is technical or financial advancement, then you should start looking elsewhere.

I hate that young engineers who are smart and have great potential have to leave a company in order to be recognized (with promotions or pay increases) for their talent. HR in years past weren't so worried about this as there wasn't the baby boomer time bomb ticking away like it is today. HR is learning. Be careful you don't push too hard. Keep in mind that you are negotiating to stay with the company. Be prepared to list your achievements and show loyalty. You don't want your super to bitterly give in.

onewhippedpuppy · 12-16-2008, 05:22 PM

Souk, thanks for the advice. I've only been out of school since May, but have been working for the company full time for over two years. I've been working as a project engineer for one year and have always received stellar reviews. Some of the certification documents that I prepared (my first try) were lauded as being "the best I've seen in a long time" and are now used as an example for training purposes.

As a new grad, I'm currently our lowest engineer grade. I only expect to be bumped up to the next position (Engineer 2). The job I'm doing typically starts at Engineer 4, but I know I have to "pay my dues", despite the fact that I have the same expectations and responsibilities as the experienced PEs. I have always approached these conversations with an emphasis on appreciating the opportunity and wishing to stay with the company, and only wanting to be paid fairly. I don't think what I'm asking for is unreasonable, and my manager has agreed that a promotion is a "no brainer". I have a good grasp on what others in the local industry make, but salary.com is something tangible that I can print out and bring to the table.

I agree with the frustration with HR. I've always been of the belief that you should be paid based on the work you do, as that establishes your worth to the company. Sadly, most companies seem content to pay as little as possible. I have no desire to be a job hopper, but will make a change if I feel I am being treated unfairly.

VaSteve · 12-16-2008, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

As a new grad, I'm currently our lowest engineer grade. I only expect to be bumped up to the next position (Engineer 2). The job I'm doing typically starts at Engineer 4, but I know I have to "pay my dues", despite the fact that I have the same expectations and responsibilities as the experienced PEs. I have always approached these conversations with an emphasis on appreciating the opportunity and wishing to stay with the company, and only wanting to be paid fairly. I don't think what I'm asking for is unreasonable, and my manager has agreed that a promotion is a "no brainer". I have a good grasp on what others in the local industry make, but salary.com is something tangible that I can print out and bring to the table.

That's a ***** isn't it? I have 8 people that work for me. One is in an "entry-level slot. He tells me his work is as good as the others in the professional band. He's right...problem is they aren't working to their full potential. I old him to worry about himself and not what they are doing. In the long run, it will come out for him if he sticks with it.

When I would negotiate raises and such, I would always have something like that in your back pocket. See if you can get the boss to fight for you a bit. Problem is, in many cases, their hands are tied. They have to keep some sort of "compression" or model in check. I got a raise once at a job, but only because the guy above me got a raise otherwise I'd out earn him.

When I worked for a partnership, they gave me a raise since I directly brought in revenue....it's expensive as hell to retrain a person.

fintstone · fintstone's Garage

You would likely make between $65K and $75K here. Want to move to Albuquerque and work for me?

onewhippedpuppy · 12-17-2008, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fintstone

You would likely make between $65K and $75K here. Want to move to Albuquerque and work for me?

Were I single, I'd probably accept. But I have a wife that wants to stay near to her large family (2 hrs right now), and two kids that I would like to stay near to their grandparents. Thanks but I'll have to pass.

Out of curiousity, who do you work for? Do you need help liquidating Eclipse?