Advice Please

[chvchk]

Greetings!!
I'm hoping to get some advice on how to handle a situation with my employer and empty promises. I read these forums all the time and always get my questions answered but now I have one that's a little more specific to me. This is going to be a bit long so please bear with me.

I took the position of Network Administrator at the company I work for after I was just out of college with my 2 year degree and next to no hands-on experience. The admin of 8 years was resigning. They knew my limitations as I made sure my lack of experience was known.

I've now been the only IT person here for a little over a year. 3 months prior to taking the position a year ago I had received a decent merit raise $3k/year as the supervisor of the stockroom. My manager (who is the same manager I had when I was the stockroom supervisor) told me that after 90 days of being in the position and proving myself I would see a raise equivalent to or in excess of my previous merit raise of $3k/year. 90 days came and went...I received my review with all high marks and received $1k. Equivalent to 50 cents an hour for a much more demanding and business critical position. I asked about his previous comment for a raise and was told not now, when we make more money. It's been 9 months of very good revenue of asking about this promised raise and being told a different story each time.

My manager has had nothing but praise for me and compares me to the last admin as "night and day". I've been told that I'm much more pleasant to deal with than he was. Where he always answered questions with "No", I usually can figure out a way to meet the user's needs and they're very appreciative.

When my manager realized it was time for my annual review, he told me he was writing it up and was going to try to give me a little extra.

Well, I just received my annual review with all high marks again and nothing but praise in the implementation of many improvements to the infrastructure but again, no raise. When I asked about it this time he said the company president was out of town and thus he couldn't get the authorization to give me a raise.

After expressing the desire to further my education/career by either MCSE or bachelor's degree, they've agreed to pay for my education. But during my annual review when told he couldn't authorize a raise, he told me that they're waiting for me to further that education before I can get another raise. This is the first mention of continuing education being a factor in my salary increase.

I'm getting very frustrated with feeling like I'm being lead on. I would like to secure the raise they keep promising me in conversation but never follow through with.
I've decided to pursue an MCSE first and am going to write up a proposal to take to my manager. I would like to request a raise after each successful passing of the 6 exams, but I'm not sure if this is reasonable or if I'm asking too much. I feel I'm very fortunate to have been given this opportunity with such little experience but I feel that I've proved myself over the past year and it should be reflected in my salary.

I need advice please!!

TIA

Heather

 

[sleipnir214]

Your first step seems pretty simple to me. You must get in writing a discrete, concrete set of steps you can take to get your pay increased. Without that information, I don't think you can rationally plan your career with your current employer.

I'm not going to say that your company is messing around with you or has any intent to screw you, but if they did for 8 years to your predecessor what they are doing to you right now, it might explain his attitude.



Want the best answers? Ask the best questions! TANSTAAFL!

 

[paterson]

I think Sleipnir is correct in what was said. There are a few other things to consider though.

If you are getting anything in writing in respect to your wage or potential wage increases, make sure that your employer also stipulates exactly what your job responsibilities are. Sometimes employers will pay you extra money, but expect extra duties as well. In my mind, that is not a raise.

Also, don't accept a title or extra responibilities in-lieu of an increase in pay.

Not many companies are willing to pay for education. BUT, watch out! Make sure that there are no strings attached such as guaranteed term of service or repayment of education costs if you leave. Try and get in writing items like what you can expect for a raise when done, reasonable time set aside for study (yes, during work hours!) per week/month, etc.

There are quite a few RED FLAGS in my mind with some of the things you mentioned. I think that either the company or your manager is trying to get more value out of you than the value being paid to you. I see it all the time with new/inexperienced employees because they are desperate for work and experience (happened to me too!). They will talk a great talk to you about your performance, but they don't walk the walk.

You also may want to consider looking into what other people in similar jobs in similar sized companies are making in YOUR LOCATION. With your lack of experience, don't expect to be at the top of the scale. By doing this, you will be better able to negogiate what is appropriate. I wouldn't necessarily let your manager know right away what you found out, but if things are not going in the right direction, you always have the option.

Above all, always keep a professional, polite attitude in your dealing with the bosses even if you decide to leave.

Good Luck!



**************************************
My Biggest problem is that I almost always believe what I tell myself.

 

[chvchk]

Thank you both for the advice.

sleipner, I've been suspecting the same about the previous admin more recently. I'm trying not to have the same attitude although it does get frustrating. If all else fails and I don't see a decent increase, I am gaining very valuable experience and will come out with more knowledge and certifications to pave the way for a higher paying position with a better company.

paterson, I've had the same red flags you speak of. At one point I decided that if they want to pay me $34k, fine. I'll do $34k worth of work. That didn't last long as I'm a high acheiver and can't sit by when there are a lot of improvements that need to be made.

I've looked at salary.com and the state I live in (Oregon) has a website that has a pay scale tool as well. The only problem with these sites is that they don't reflect salaries of people with my limited experience. The median salary for my area is $57k a year but this is for someone with a BS, several years of experience and certifications so I'm not shooting for that salary, yet. I would just be happy to be given what I was told I would receive.

 

[LadySlinger]

Yes I agree with paterson & sleipner. Get things in writing, even if you have to start the writing process itself. If your manager comes back and voices his response instead of emailing or writing a letter back, either request it in writing, or if he doesn't do this, keep a documented log. I.e. "In response to my letter regarding my education plan, managerX responded verbally to this by saying..."

Actually the red flags that paterson spoke of happened to me with my last job. Just like you, it's the one I had just right out of school. I was originally hired in as a the only local systems support. I worked there for 3 years. The first 1.5 years was fine. Then they started worring about revenue, so to make me "more valuable" they began to hand me extra admin stuff (like faxing information to customers for sales reps, being a sales manager's right hand woman, etc). Like you I was promised $2 more per hour. Never saw it. I was sick of it. What did it for me was when I was given a gift on Secretary's Day and my boss acknowledged that because it was secretary's day and I do some admin work for them...well you can figure out the rest...in short I thanked him for making my B.S. look like BS. In the end I finally left for a better frontier.

You're right not to reflect too much on Salary.com. You have to take into account those that have bachelors, work in small offices versus big corporations, and years of experience. The same site tells me in MI I should be making $10K more. With our economy that's a joke. I just subtract about $5 and started negotiating that. Its a little backwards, I know, but as long as I get a min. 10% at each future job, I'm happy.

 

[LFI]

chvchk,

From my experience, if something's bothering you about what's going on, then there is something amiss, even if you can't put your finger on it. They're either stringing you along, outright lying to you, trying to appease you without the actual authority to do it, etc.

While you're working on getting something in writing, you might also turn an eye to your network or the classifieds. Don't forget that if you do leave, however, your current employer will be a good reference for you. Make sure you keep copies of your excellent reviews and don't burn any bridges.

Good luck!

Dave


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
O Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience!

 

[BocaBurger]

Definately keep the good reviews, just in case they get upset that you would leave them. BTW, I have no degree, no certs. I did a great job from day one and have been advancing ever since. Started in the IT / IS field in 1981. Ran a small company using VersaBusiness on a Commodore 64 when it became available.


BocaBurger
<===========================||////////////////|0
The pen is mightier than the sword, but the sword hurts more!

 

[chvchk]

Thank you. All great suggestions.

Yes, there is more amiss as there have been employees that have worked at this company for 10 years with nothing more than a 50 cent increase. It's not acceptable to me and if it were happening to me, I would've been long gone. We're a manufacturing company and our employees are very loyal. The only benefits we have is medical, normal sick leave and normal vacation time so there isn't even a very attractive benefit package. No cafeteria plan, bonus package, or 401k, etc. However, it is a pleasant work environment and the managers are nice and understanding even if they are a bit cheap. We do have a new operations manager who is trying to make some changes but until I see the changes materialize, talk is still just talk.

I've had 2 job offers for other companies, but I haven't been so frustrated that I've pursued them. I say thank you and keep the bridge open but explain that I've started a big project with this network and I'm not finished yet. When I came into this position, there was absolutely no documentation. I had no clue which client was plugged into which port on the patch panels, there were cat5 cables strung that weren't connected to any hardware on either end. The software was scattered in the room, etc. So I made it my priority to clean it up and I'm almost there. I want to feel confident that someone can come in behind me and know exactly what server handles what, our client configurations/locations, etc.

I've been looking at the local classfieds to get a feel for what qualifications are needed for the jobs out there which is leading me to pursue my certifications first before my B.S. It's a small area so there aren't a lot of IT jobs advertised. I think most of the good jobs come by word of mouth.

As the Network Admin I'm also responsible for our old Toshiba StrataDK phone system and I usually am requested to design any databases that are needed for internal data gathering. We are a small company, single site, single subnet, 50 clients so I'm able to take on the extra responsibilities and be a jack of all trades but the extra responsibilities do add to the frustration brought on by the unfilled promises.

 

[BocaBurger]

Just a suggestion. Take a look at some of the non-profits in your area. They can usually use a jack of many trades, have decent pay and benefits and can give you a good title. Probably room for advancement too, and the job can be very satifying, since most non-profits are into helping people (or pets).
Learn LINUX. It can save them a lot of money and you can become a star.



BocaBurger
<===========================||////////////////|0
The pen is mightier than the sword, but the sword hurts more!

 

[aarenot]

If they are offering to pay for education, take everything you can get as quickly as you can get it. Push it to the limit of what they will give you. Do what you do very well, set your priorities like cleaning up the software, documantation, all IT stuff before any non IT things they ask you to do. Document all offers from your boss, follow up on verbals with Email verifications. This puts it in writing to a large degree.
If they are offering education, that is substantial, do not mistake this. It will increase your earning potential, and is a raise of sorts, if you take them up on it.
Call your predecessor, if you can, and get his advice. He may have some insight he or she would share. If you have a PDA that will record audio, set it to record when the promises are coming verbaly.
Also, until you have everything the way you want it organised, documented, etc. within the IT function, work at that, before doing non-IT work.
On a seperate note: Since there are few IT jobs, and few IT people in your area, do side jobs for local small businesses. It builds your experience, raises income, and gives you a parachute to use as a stop gap for income loss were you to leave your current firm.


Finaly, if you are being made verbal promises, these are contracts legaly. Inform the person who makes the promises that you expect them to come through with them, or do not make them. No excuses, no amendments, no yeah but, no breach of contract. You will consider it as such, and report them to their superior. Do not report, what you cannot document. Document everything!
Also, I would not deal with the p[erson any longer who does not fulfill their commitments, go to HR, owner, president, etc. Know this will cause you some friction with your manager, but since you already have that now, what difference does it make?
P.S. get your education paid for before you go over his head, if they are gonna pay for it.


You do not always get what you pay for, but you never get what you do not pay for.