I work in higher education, which as a field is notoriously underpaid unless you have a cushy administrator position. I work as an advisor for a university in New Mexico.
I currently make $37,088. This is a raise from $36,900 effective this last February. The math on this raise is a 0.05% increase which is laughable, especially considering inflation rose 8% in 2021.
I've been getting many compliments on my job performance from my boss, coworkers, and other staff at the university. So I penned a raise request letter: I illustrated my merits, and also the math, and the state average salary for my position which is $44, 328. Considering my job location and our funding, I asked for substantially less than that, but as I commute 30 minutes everyday when gas prices are INSANE I want to make sure I can afford to even come to work.
My boss spoke to her boss today about the letter, and what she came back with was confusing. She said that if it were up to her, her staff would make $40k (which still is laughably low for a position that recommends a Master's degree) but then she was pointing at the merit items I had listed and saying “Well these are things that are part of your job,” which was not the point of me including them. I was including them because I had excelled at them to the point where the President of the university was telling me how well I did.
Then she went into this discussion about how there's a possibility of a raise in a few weeks, and then the possibility of another raise in July which still won't be substantial.
She was also hyper fixated on the average salary for the position within the state, thinking that was the salary I was asking for. It was not. I asked for substantially lower, but still what I deserve to make.
Then she let slip that a employee who retired last year didn't even make $42,000. Then in the same breath she was telling me longevity was rewarded. The employee who retired had been here 12 years.
Unrelated to this job, I recently saw a job listing that made me foam at the mouth, because it had a hard requirement of a Master's degree but only paid $13 an hour.
I just feel like I'm going crazy lol