Regardless of your location, title, or even salary level, if you are a working person, it’s likely that you’ve asked yourself the question “Am I making enough money?”
How to Determine if You Are Making Enough Money
This is the kind of question that may arise during times of high stress or overwork, when you hear about another vacation taken by a colleague, or during a tough balancing of the books. It may even randomly cross your mind during work hours, as something you meant to check if only you could find the time.
While the question of whether you’re earning enough is timeless, it tends to come up more frequently during times of economic uncertainty. According to early forecasts: increased salary budgets in the U.S. by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), employers are cautious regarding salary budgets. Average wage increases are expected to remain at around 3% in the U.S. in 2019.
So how can you know whether you are truly earning what you deserve or if you are not making enough money? Consider the following signs:
Peer Salaries
The first sign that you might not be earning enough could come from your coworkers. If you’ve been in the same job for a long time, starting salaries may have risen, outpacing your annual increases. This is known as wage compression, meaning someone joining your team today might be earning the same salary as you or more. Strangely, people who move from job to job are less likely to experience wage compression than those who are most loyal and dedicated to a single company.
To ensure that your salary is still in line with your industry, job role, and experience, do some research. Look at job postings on your company’s website for clues about what someone hired today would earn, or check job boards to see the salary ranges for new employees in your industry.
Salary comparison sites like Salary.com and Payscale.com can give you insights into the ranges for your job title and/or job responsibilities. Glassdoor.com can even show you the salaries for job titles at your specific company or in its industry peers. If you are a senior member of your team but are earning at the lower end of the range, you can use those figures to build your case for a salary increase.
Your Value
Another way to determine if you are earning what you deserve is to know what you would charge if you were working independently. If you could charge an hourly fee for the work you do, what would your rate be?
Certainly, freelancers and consultants typically charge more for their work because they are responsible for their own overhead costs. But if you are earning $25 an hour for the work you do and the company charges $150 an hour to its clients for the same work, you might have a case for a salary increase.
If your earnings seem to be in line with your hourly rate, consider enhancing your skills through management training, an online course, or adult education. By adding new capabilities to your resume, you will strengthen your argument for a salary increase.
The Company
Workers who survived the downturn in 2008 know that salaries freeze during times of economic uncertainty. (These are times when simply being employed makes you feel like you are earning enough.) When companies are flush, compensation does not rebound as quickly as stock prices.
If
You had a feeling that your company is achieving real success, but your salary is still low economically, it’s time to do more research. Public companies must disclose quarterly and annual earnings, and it should be easy to find analysis on how the business is progressing.
If you work for a private company, you can rely on internal resources and reports. Have your group’s sales or revenues increased, or have costs been reduced, or have you received awards over the past two years? These are all achievements that may warrant a raise.
Job
While there’s nothing like a big salary number, there are some company benefits that might be worth a similar or greater amount than a salary increase. Consider things like vacation time, paid maternity and paternity leave, and sick leave when determining if you’re earning enough.
Flexible work time, remote work, healthcare, retirement, or generous 401(k) matching programs should also be factored in.
If you simply hate your job, no amount of money will be enough to make you love it. On the other hand, if you love it, you are very wealthy.
Was this page helpful? Thank you for your feedback! Let us know why! Last – Send
Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/do-you-get-paid-enough-money-2063405
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item img{
max-width: 100%;
height: auto;
object-fit: cover;
aspect-ratio: 1 / 1;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item.lwrp-empty-list-item{
background: initial !important;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-link .lwrp-list-link-title-text,
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-no-posts-message{
}@media screen and (max-width: 480px) {
.lwrp.link-whisper-related-posts{
}
.lwrp .lwrp-title{
}.lwrp .lwrp-description{
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-multi-container{
flex-direction: column;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-multi-container ul.lwrp-list{
margin-top: 0px;
margin-bottom: 0px;
padding-top: 0px;
padding-bottom: 0px;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-double,
.lwrp .lwrp-list-triple{
width: 100%;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-row-container{
justify-content: initial;
flex-direction: column;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-row-container .lwrp-list-item{
width: 100%;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item:not(.lwrp-no-posts-message-item){
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-link .lwrp-list-link-title-text,
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-no-posts-message{
};
}
Leave a Reply