I want out of my current job so bad. Typical reasons, my boss is literally satan, we’re understaffed, I’ve been here for 12 months and am still working at an entry level rate despite being promised raises within 6-9 months of hire. I should be making at least $25/hr, I’m earning $20. They hired somebody a couple months ago at $27 or $28 despite him being utterly incompetent and unwilling to do much of our work. Raises are earned thru competency tests, I’ve been asking for mine with increasing forcefulness for months but always given an “I’ll see if I can get that organized” answer from my boss. One of my coworkers is getting his this week, and if he passes I’ll be the longest tenured employee while also having the lowest pay rate.
I would understand if it’s a competency thing, but it’s not. I trained (to some extent) all of my coworkers. I lead on every job we do. My coworkers call me with questions even when we’re not working together. I genuinely think they respect me and consider me more knowledgeable than my boss. There are so many of our jobs that can’t be done without me. I’m extremely efficient and always have my shit in order and finished when it’s supposed to be.
I have an interview with one of our competitors today for the same position. I don’t really want to work for them since driving to their office is 30 minutes further from my house. As much as I want to quit my current job I’m going back to school in January so I can make it a few more months if needed. I’m fairly certain I can get a job offer from them. They advertised $22-$25 in their listing. My job is extremely niche but very profitable for these companies. It takes months to train someone for my position, so the fact that I’m ready to lead immediately is very valuable. Very few people who are qualified to do my job want to do it, just because it’s a shitty job with long hours and lots of travel.
My plan is to get an offer from the new company and try to get my current one to match it. It probably sucks to work for them just as bad, so I’d rather stick with the devil I know. If my company won’t, I’ll take the new one. Im thinking of asking for $27/hr. Does that seem possible? Looking for any advice on how to negotiate this