Are you underpaid?

Apr 15 2008 by Print This Article

Next to wanting respect from their bosses, it seems most employees want to earn a decent wag and too many don't think they are. In fact according to a study cited in the this piece on Monster.com, around four out of 10 employees believe they are earning less than the market rate for their job.

How can you be sure? Well, the first bit of advice is to seek out one of the many tools available to employees that help them calculate what they should be earning given their position. There are many of these online.

One of the best ways to find out what you are worth is to keep yourself constantly on the market. While it may not be prudent to let your boss know your resume is still out there, it may help you determine what you could be earning.

You can also become friendly with recruiters. These are people whose job it is to know what positions earn what salary. They can give you the information you need to track your own career.

If you can find the person who had your job before you, you may want to ask him or her about their salary and the work they did. Even if talking about your salary is a no-no at your company, you may still learn valuable information about your new position.

Think about when you were hired and what your situation was at the time. Did you take the first offer that came your way? If so, you may not have gotten the best deal out there.

Finally, determine if it's really your salary that's bothering you. It could be the company you work for, or that you are just in the wrong career. Don't be afraid to make a change.

Once you do a rundown of those suggestions, you can then determine if you need to make some kind of switch. If you still want the job you have, it may be time to sit down with your supervisor and have a talk about your salary.

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