r/personalfinance • u/ekampp • Jul 02 '19

I received an accidental mail with all salaries for everyone in the company Employment

Hey, first time posting here. Hope this post will be ok.

This is problematic in regards to personal information discretion, but my issue is:

I realized I'm being significantly underpaid in comparison to others who do the same work as me.

I feel frustrated and upset about that fact. Not sure how to approach from here.

How would you approach the situation?

EDIT 1: Thanks for all the answers. There are many good ones in-between!

There are also a few that clearly want to see the world burn 😅

I had never expected this many replies, so please don't hold it against me for not answering each one of you.

RESULT:

First off. Again, thank you to all of you, who pitched in with your personal experiences, hardships, concerns, and advice. I have read through most of all ~2000 of them 😅

I have chosen to simply delete and bury the faulty email, and I will add a bit about being careful to not forward email-chains in our security newsletter this month instead. This way it will benefit everyone in the company to be wary of forwarding email-chains. The WHOLE chain will be forwarded.

I had a sit-down with the boss-man, and he agreed to give me a raise, and a promotion.

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u/jlrol ​ Jul 02 '19

I should start applying, but my original lack of credentials is kind of still an issue for me and I think my current company knows this and knows it would be difficult for me to get a new job without any schooling to back me up. But I also won't know for sure until I try so I should probably stop making excuses and just push out of my comfort zone a little

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u/rargar ​ Jul 03 '19

No hurt to try.

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u/noisy_goose ​ Jul 03 '19

Then I would put out feelers just in case. Network. And bide your time until you have the experience on paper to get the next job.

The other thing I didn’t mention, and I’ve been on the receiving end of this as well as hiring with it in mind, is that sometimes the company is hiring you because you seem bright but are underqualified BECAUSE they don’t want to pay the market value.

It’s not your “fault” you didn’t negotiate a high salary, the circumstances are what they are, and you’re essentially paying a price to earn the experience you want because it looked like the most favorable move at the time.

I’ve done exactly the same thing, and I would say just don’t get too comfortable and make sure to keep your eyes on the market and the next move. This isn’t your worth it’s just a stepping stone.

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u/jlrol ​ Jul 03 '19

This is all really great advice, thank you for it I will definitely keep it in mind going forward, especially the last line.

And I do I have a feeling my company did this with me, there are tons of reviews on it's glassdoor account that say they purposely hire recent immigrants because they can get away with underpaying them (which is gross and and exploitative on a whole different level than what they possible did with me).

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u/noisy_goose ​ Jul 03 '19

Yikes. Make them pay by becoming indispensable then taking your talent elsewhere!

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u/[deleted] Jul 03 '19

[deleted]

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u/jlrol ​ Jul 03 '19

That’s a good guideline to keep in mind! Thanks for the advice and encouragement!

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u/Botelladeron Jul 03 '19

No offense intended, but if you would have trouble getting a job due to your schooling, you are most likely being paid exactly what you are worth.

Upgrade the schooling, get other offers. Good luck man!

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u/jlrol ​ Jul 03 '19

No offence taken, it’s a good point. I’m a gal, but I’ll still gratefully accept your luck..thanks for the different viewpoint!

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u/Outofmany ​ Jul 03 '19

As a manager, I always rate hunger above qualifications. You’ve proven you can do the job, boom. Now it might be hard to command the same salary but for sure someone is willing to pay you more. Then do that again until someone pays you what you’re worth.

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u/jlrol ​ Jul 03 '19

Thank you for the advice and motivation!

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u/ThroneTrader ​ Jul 03 '19

I don't know what industry your in but if you're excelling at the job without the education then you likely don't need it elsewhere doing the same job. On the job experience is invaluable and as long as you can sell it properly on your resume there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to land another job.

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u/jlrol ​ Jul 03 '19

I’m in software dev (SDET position), I’m lucky that there are almost endless online resources and communities that make self-teaching possible and fairly accepted in the industry although I do need to work on selling it and myself more haha., thank you for the direction to start reworking my resume, I think that’s a great place to start!

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u/GentleLion2Tigress Jul 03 '19

Can I suggest you might be short changing yourself? You are looking at the situation from your employer’s point of view, which is exactly what they want you to think.

How about looking at it from a potential employer’s point of view? Wow, look at the progression of promotions this person has achieved! Must have a natural talent with excellent results, has experience and would be a valuable employee here, let’s get them on board as we need good people working here!

I’ve had many positions that I would have had no chance being in if you only look at my education.

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u/jlrol ​ Jul 03 '19

Thank you so much for this. I will be saving your comment and coming back to it when I need to remind myself to look at things in a more positive way

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u/MrDude_1 ​ Jul 03 '19

I know this. I have a job that requires a doctorate degree, but I did not even go to college.

The key thing is that experience is often more important than education. After enough experience, it just counts in place of it.
That said, I found its vital how you present yourself. On your resume, focus on your career instead of filling half the thing with educational crap. I leave that section out entirely. I condense everything down to just show I started in this field down here, and worked upward over all these years to where I am now. Do that, polish it up as pretty as possible showing solid progression and experience. You can move out of it and into something that pays more appropriately.

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u/YouMirinBrah Jul 03 '19

You are absolutely justifying remaining in your comfort zone. In what way would education help or enhance your resume when you have actual experience?

You have the two things confused. You get an education in order to get the opportunity to get experience. Experience trumps education. Stop making excuses for being complacent, and get out there looking for a new job at the market rate.

Protip: Getting promoted from within almost always means you leave money on the table. It is vastly easier, and more probable to get fair market value by going to another company. You take the internal promotion to get the skillset you need to apply somewhere else to cash in on your experience.