Review! What are they thinking?

So I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I finally get my review and only get a 15% jump to place me in the upper <cough>30’s</cough>.

What in the world are they thinking! I save them over 10 Grand alone on printing cause I do more then what is expected. I manage the website and I’m currently reworking the thing from the ground up to be managed via PHP off a MySQL database.

I asked him how do you expect me to even pay my rent? I’m so upset right now that it’s not even funny. For real I have over 4 years experience working doing Graphic Design. I have a Degree, I have a family to support how in the world would you even have the nerve to offer me so little.

I do freelance and for freelance I charge 75 an hour and they pay. Why would I accept a measly 20 an hour for a place I come to everyday and I depend on it to provide for my family?

I’m so disillusioned. As soon as I get back from Vacation I’m none stop looking for work in NYC. But what bothers me is that who ever they get will come in at 50K + a year. I told my boss that no way I’m taking that. He’s reworking with management to get me a higher pay but if when I get back from Vacation everything is not up to standards I’m out of here.

I can’t even pay rent on that salary how can you justify working with a degree for the last 4 1/2 years and you still can’t pay your rent. WTF are people really this brain dead? I don’t care if it’s up 15 or 20%. I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care.

According to Aquents salary survey A Graphic/Web Designer with a senior position should be at the low end making 48K at the high end 60K. I’m not even at the low end you have to be kidding me.

So wish me a happy vacation cause sh!t just hit the fan.

[D-Zine]

Awweee benjo...I hope you have a great vacation and if all else fails...come down south where me and Joe are! Who knows...I may be in florida one day too :o) About the salary..I feel your pain totally! I mean I have 7 years experience and a BFA in GD...but I am making only 29k a year and that is AFTER the raise I JUST receieved. I know that somewhere else I could bring in a good bit more. I already had my rant and vent in someone elses thread :o( but Joe told me that I just have to decided WHEN is the right time for me to move on. So I am trying to figure that out. Just don't leave that job until you have another one ok! LOL! I wish you luck and hope that you find what you are looking for!

In the meantime...enjoy your vacation with your fmaily and do NOT think about work while you are gone Mr!!! :o)

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[DeleteYourself]

Enjoy the vacation, it will help you clear your head.

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[Drorain]

Damn I make 33k in customer service, HATE IT, WANT OUT, I'm willing to take a pay cut of a couple grand, but I'd stick a part time job in with that to help make ends meet

- Everyday, all the time, without fail!

[Keyare]

Be thankful for what you have. I work 100% freelance (you can call it that) and I wish i could just work for someone else so I didn't have to worry about taxes, shipping,recieving, supplier screw-ups, accounting, billing, recievables, stock, supplies, proofing, payables, equipment, and everything else that goes along with it...

At least you know you have money coming in every month. You can budget, you can count on it being there and you can always make extra money and buy your kids cool things by doing some freelance for $75 an hour on top of that.

Try fighting each and every day to make a living and you'll want to go back to $20/hr just to have some peace of mind.

Of course, when you save your SELF $10,000 it's great! Flex those freelance muscles Benjo and you won't have to worry about working for the man...









Post Edited (Keyare) : 5/17/2004 8:30:22 PM GMT

I've mayed my mind up and once I get back I'm going to go all out on the freelance. But I have to move on from here.

Keyare what bothers me the most is I can't even pay rent. I mean I don't make enough to support myself. What kind of man can't support his own family?

Not this one I'll tell you that.

[D-Zine]

Awweee Benjo you are too hard on yourself!!! We all struggle at times and it doesn't make you any less of a man AT ALL so don't think that way! You have a wife and a little girl...there is alot of responsibility there...you struggle but you will make it. Just remember that is will not always be like this :o)

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[Drorain]

I can understand benjo's frustration, it stresses a man out not to be able to pay bills, Hell I am nearly two months behind on everything, except rent. Sucks to deal with this, so I'm moving on to something that'll pay more.


A side note, one of my friends dad's gave me the speech that to many entry level designers low ball themselves on the starting pay. I said I applied for a job at 25k, he said thats to little, and perhaps this is one reason why I may not get hired, because people may not think I'm serious about the field.

In other news, I am about to go to the home depot for an interview to take on something until I get a full time job in design, But I did get a freelance Part time gig at a new studio, 12 per hour, not to bad. hope I work well with them and they take me on.

- Everyday, all the time, without fail!

[Big Perm-dizzle]

damn benjo.....move to florida....hell move to dallas thats the graphic design mecca.....

you should be getting more no doubt....especially in NYC....

go somewhere where they notice your hardwork and ability to learn new things.....

JUST LAUNCHED - www.hirethisdesigner.com (http://www.hirethisdesigner.com) - check it out

I had an interview about three months ago and they where going to pay me 60K but they said they wouldn't know if it's permanent until a few months. It was for an agency they were bidding for an account with Nortel Networks, I said I'm sorry I can't take the risk of being unemployed in two months, thank you.

So I pretty much 100% positive I'll get what I deserve. I sent the boss back to recalculate my raise. He knows I'm very serious and I told him I don't want to be put in a position where I have to look somewhere else cause I know they won't find a replacement very fast. I asked him how much would he pay someone who walked in the door now. He said 50K so I tell him 'and you think I shouldn't get that much?'

So I'm going to go on Vacation for 10 days and I will completely enjoy myself. If I get what I asked for I'll stay a year or two but if he even offers me 45K I'm going to accept it and look for a new job.

I know some of you think wow 45K that’s good. No it's not! Rent for a 2 Bedroom out here will run you 1200 on a good day most of the time it's above that. To get a house like the one D-Zine got I'd have to make like 80K just to afford my mortgage. I haven't seen a ranch for under 200K since September 2002.

Cost of living is relative. I'm still planning on moving to Orlando but for now my wife is going to start school so were going to stay out here for a year more or so.

I appreciate everyone’s advice and trust me it mean alot to me. My thing is that for you to get what you want in life you have to go get it. Nothing and I mean nothing is given freely so with that in mind I’m ready to play hard ball.

[defjoe]

All you do is draw pictures all day and surf the net. Why should you be getting more money?

/emoticons/turn.gif

'I will become the most powerful Jedi ever!'

[D-Zine]

Hahhaha isn't it great ...that is what ppl think. LOL @ Joe!

Yer right benjo...if you want something you have to go and get it, no one will hand it to you. I am with you on that - time for me to leap also!

Good luck! Happy vacationing! Where are you vacating this year?!?! LOL!

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Puerto Rico! Soy Boricua Pay! Y me voy a Gozar!!!

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[D-Zine]

I dunno what you said but YAY Puerto Rico! Awesome! Man I wanna go somewhere cool...phuk! I haven't even been outta the damn country before and I am 29 (almost) years old! You lucky S.O.B.'s!!!

:o)

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Who says doodling isn't constructive?!

I just said I'm Puerto Rican and I'm going to have fun. LOL!

Maybe you should go to Hawaii. The south has alot of nice places to visit you don't need to go far.

[D-Zine]

LOL @ U!!

Yeah..I have been all over the South tho benjo...been here all my life!! I wanna go somewhere COOL! LOL! Yeah Hawaii would be awesome! Soooo jealous of D-Frag right now...LOL! It is one place I was planning on going sometime in the kinda near future.

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[3howards]

benjo, geesh, 15%! my husband only got 3% and he saved his organization over 30k and made them 15k last year...15% would be nice.

[Magnus]

Few people in this industry can make the money they want. Things will brighten up benjo when you move.

- There is a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path.

[D-Zine]

Yeah Benjo, when you move......to the land of lard and grits....the SOUTH! ROFLMFAO! The Waffle House....LOL

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[Allen Harkleroad]

hmmm, puerto rico, my dream vacation. I hope to go there this summer for a couple of weeks, i might even take the wife if she complains about me going alone (LOL). hmmm waffle house, and don't forget the "choke and puke" (huddle house).iI call waffle houe the awful house, but still love to eat there and of course we must "eat more chikin" (Chic Fila)







Allen Harkleroad
"I see in 3D..."

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