Raises? 1

[TDAA]

So, just a quick poll, How mny got raises this year, in this economic climate?

My company is not doing any raises for anyone, including me, of course? This goes for the people working for me.

Some are hapy to just have a job at this point, others want to see an increase that the profit (loss) does not seem to be able to support.

So, how about you?

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

KENAT,

Interesting link. I'd agree with 1 & 5 as real problems. 3 may be a problem, but all you would have to do is not disclose/fib about your salary and it wouldn't be an issue.

2 and 4 are idiotic.

 

[KENAT]

Yeah, I couldn't get my head around 2, especially the claim that you could end up worse off. While you may pay a higher percent of that extra money as tax, that tax wont take all of it as far as I know, however, I'm not that familiar with the tax code. I hear the same argument from people about overtime, all I know is that when I was lucky enough to get overtime for a short period in the UK I had a lot more money getting paid into the bank.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[HgTX]

#2 just means that you won't get as much of an increase as you might have thought, and one should consider the net increase as opposed to gross increase when judging whether the new salary is worth the new responsibilities, relocation, whatever. I suppose if you were at the very top of your bracket and you get bumped over the edge, the combination of a higher rate and possible loss of some other bonuses (like ability to deduct student loan interest) could mean a net loss in some situations. Worth thinking about, anyway.

#4 is silly. If the max is $200k, how is being stuck at $200k for 5 years worse than starting at $150k and working your way up to $200k over the next 5 years? Is the warm fuzzy feeling of "growth" worth the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars?

#5 isn't a backfire. If you're the type who will never be happy with your salary, you'll be no less unhappy with a larger salary than you were with a smaller salary.

I agree that #1 is a big backfire. But is it worth keeping one's salary deliberately low to avoid being a target? If the market is that dicey, maybe it's time to look into a change of career.

#3...as someone else said, the people hiring you don't necessarily have the right to your prior salary info, and if you won't take a pay cut, that's your problem. Goes back to #4--are you worse off working at $90k for a while and then having to go to $80k, or having been at $80k all along, just to avoid the icky feeling of "pay cut"?

"The ultimate freedom is the executive who says, 'Pay me $1 a year because my salary doesn't matter. I have all the money I need. I'm here because I want to make a contribution,'" Smith says in Zwell's book. "Based on the intangibles, he's making more than everyone else."

Oh, please. He's not making more than everyone else in intangibles; he *already* made more than everyone else in the past in very tangible tangibles, or else he couldn't afford to be an executive on a hobby basis. I doubt that hypothetical executive is living in a yurt on public land, subsisting on nuts and berries.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[KENAT]

Good point on the not so obvious tax breaks HgTX for #2.

Anyway this has veered a bit off topic, so appologies to the OP.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[HgTX]

Shredding some consultant's article is more fun than a salary survey...

I should have said in #2 that this issue is why rich people and corporations make large donations to charities as tax writeoffs. It can be worth it for someone on the cusp of two brackets.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[KENAT]

I appreciate that HgTX, I think part of the issue is I still don't automatically think 'American' tax system with its 100's of different tax bands and myriad of deductions etc. Back in the UK they only had about 3 bands, and for the average worker not as many deductions etc..

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

HgTX

On further thought you are right about point 5. I just read the first line and thought: "yeah, I agree with that". But just because it's true that money doesn't = happiness, that doesn't mean you're worse off than if you made less.

 

[sparky970]

My raise was 3.8%. Supposedly, this was for cost of living and performance review. Didn't get a breakdown of how much for each.

 

[SomptingGuy]

The whole US tax thing is hilarious.

People knowingly pay too much tax and then take short term high interest loans, secured by their refunded tax. Only in America...


- Steve

 

[titan11]

What should a junior engineer in his first year expect to receive after the first review?

 

[KENAT]

wid 3, I suggest a separate thread with a lot more information on the specific circumstances of said junior engineer.

What Sector, What geographic location, what size company, how long with the company, what degree, other relevant details such as EIT/FE/PE/CEng what was the rating from the review...

Once you've started a new thread I suggest you 'redflag' your above post and this one.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[Bribyk]

6.7%. Covers inflation and demand but nothing for merit/performance. Didn't really get a performance review, the raise was mainly for still being here.