how do you find out what people earn?

[Zoe Girl]

I work in a field that seems to have all these connections and overlaps and people moving jobs between organizations. I really do enjoy it, and I think I am in the lower range of pay. However with this type of work (out of school time programming) lots of us are lower paid. I really don't know what people earn around the different organizations and jobs, and I want to know as I make connections and choices over the next year. I have no idea how to do this, there are so many layers of secrecy and rules that I also cannot seem to get even ballpark figures. I know what 3 people earn (outside of the people in my job or that we supervise) because I have seen their jobs listed before they were hired. I did some internet searching and most jobs do not have a salary range listed for anyone above hourly type jobs.

Is there a secret to this? One reason (not just being nosy) is so if I am offered other jobs I know I am being offered a fair salary. Anyone could easily find out what I make since there are 20+ of us doing this same job. I am not interested in being stuck here earnings wise because I started at this. Honestly I think I am doing a great job and have in the past and have at least the skills of one level of supervisor above me if not 2 levels. If this type of work will never get to a very minimum level of income then I need to plan for changes to move to more sustanable income as the economy improves.

Long winded, sorry!

[try2bfrugal]

Payscale.com has lots of good salary reports by job and geographic region. I send those to my kids all of the time to guide them on their major / class choices for college.

[pinkytoe]

In my state, all public employee salaries are listed on a website for anyone to see. I also went to the head of our HR and had them figure out what percentile I am in by comparing my salary to all others in that title. I knew she wouldn't tell me exact salaries but that way I knew whether I was in line with others. It turned out my salary was in the top of the second quartile which further motivated me to do something about it.

[SteveinMN]

Other places to look:

- Monster.com, RobertHalf.com, or similar job sites;
- want ads on craigslist or in local newspapers;
- Federal publications describing the duties of different jobs and rough guidelines for wages;
- professional associations which may issue periodic reports on wages.

Oh, and I'd be careful about comparing your skill set to that of a supervisor. AFAIC they are very different jobs with very different skill sets, with supervision tied much more closely to organizational goals and working with people rather than actually generating products and services.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I think (speaking for private sector work anyway - mostly smaller companies) there's often a pretty big range at what you can get at a job depending on the company etc..

[Zoe Girl]

Thank you, I did check out payscale and it was very helpful. Other sites I have found route me into job ads and college websites that look like you cannot opt out of (you can skip those with some looking around). I found that many jobs in my field do pay better, and I was able to look at what skills I need to add in order to get there. I gave myself a 3 month break on job searching or thinking about learning additional skills to just focus on my current job and that is up at the end of October.

Steve, I have found I am doing much of the managerial and networking work just on a smaller scale. Some of the things I thought my supervisor was doing are not actually part of her work. I had just started this job when her job was posted so i did not try for it. It seemed there was a lot more involved in the process of getting grants when actually it seems others are getting the grants and even choosing the providers we hire. I would have things to learn however I think I could do the job.

[SteveinMN]

Steve, I have found I am doing much of the managerial and networking work just on a smaller scale. Some of the things I thought my supervisor was doing are not actually part of her work. I had just started this job when her job was posted so i did not try for it. It seemed there was a lot more involved in the process of getting grants when actually it seems others are getting the grants and even choosing the providers we hire. I would have things to learn however I think I could do the job.
Zoe, I'm guessing that, if you decided to go for a supervisory job, you'd do the work and qualify. :)

I was just saying that, while every organization is a bit different, in general, those supervising others (at any level) have to spend more time on human issues and moving an organization toward stated goals rather than being able to sit at your desk and fill in for you on any given day. I've also had the sad corporate experience (more than once) of seeing really good technical people given the only promotion they could get -- to supervision -- when they clearly were unprepared or unsuited for it and everyone suffered for that. Success at both levels requires somewhat different skills. Not that a person couldn't possess both sets -- or develop them -- but, in my experience, it's not innate.

[JaneV2.0]

I turned down opportunities for supervisory jobs repeatedly. The last thing in the world that appealed to me was wrangling employees while parroting the company line. It looked like a nightmare to me, and with a little overtime I could make nearly as much money with much less stress.

[Blackdog Lin]

Jane - my entire working career has been the same way. I turned down supervisory roles for 20+ years, knowing that I could make more money working with my hourly wage + overtime, than I could have made being a salaried supervisor with all the attendant headaches and paperwork and having to be available 24-7.

[try2bfrugal]

This is one of the payscale reports I send my kids - salaries by college major -
http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/degrees.asp

The job outlook handbook is another great source for general salary information and career prospects -
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/

[ApatheticNoMore]

I turned down opportunities for supervisory jobs repeatedly. The last thing in the world that appealed to me was wrangling employees while parroting the company line. It looked like a nightmare to me, and with a little overtime I could make nearly as much money with much less stress.

I've turned them down too. Although for the most part I've worked jobs where any overtime is unpaid, so overtime pay really didn't figure into it. But even jobs where the expectation was 50 hour weeks 10 of them unpaid, the expectations for management were many more hours than that. The thing is even though I'm a bit uncomfortable being anyones boss, I think in many ways I'd LIKE management (the problem solving big picture aspects of a supervisory role). But the no life bit that usually goes with it .... no thanks.

[Zoe Girl]

Thanks guys, I really did like the total front line work however even taking one step up (front line and supervisory mixed) meant i got a health insurance credit. That is huge and i try to figure that into the pay as well. I am finding that I do not like having to come down hard on people however I do like the training and developing staff quite a bit. That can be a more positive role and ease the necessary stuff of holding them accountable. Front line work in my field is under 40 hours and unpaid for school breaks so you are always scrambling for extra income. I love working with the kids but that is not a good deal.

All these sites are really helpful, and thanks for the encouragement Steve. I know it is a different job but there are some aspects I do like about it.

[rosarugosa]

Zoe Girl: Be the supervisor/manager you loved best, or always wished that you had, or some combination of these. I love managing people. I think I'm good at it, and more importantly, my manager and my employees think so. The tough stuff is indeed tough, but it gets a little easier with time. At some point, I realized that the most fulfilling moments are indeed the tough ones that worked out well in the end. I have dealt with some difficult situations in the past couple of years, and I've had my "problem children" say things like, "I know that as long as you have my back this will work out OK," and "I'm sorry that I'm causing you this extra effort so I'm going to make you proud," and "As long as you believe I'm worth the effort, I'm going to hang in there and turn this around." This is HUGE and MAGNIFICENT and A VERY WEIGHTY RESPONSIBILITY. As a manager/supervisor, you have an almost frightening power to impact the world of those who work for you. If you do it well, then you make your corner of the world a better place for sure. If you abuse your authority or otherwise suck, then you get a special corner in hell with a dunce cap :) I think you sound like you're up for the challenge if given the chance.

[Zoe Girl]

Thank you Rosa, I get a lot of great feedback on being a manager. I strive to keep being the one that both asks and listens when there is a problem rather than reacts, and the one they can count on to do my part of the job. I have seen sites I have managed start with the attitude "everything you have done since you started is bad" to giving me a hug when I moved on and saying sorry they were such work. And most of all this affects the children and families we work with. I have a manager who told me "the customer is always right". I will always listen to the customer however saying they are always right can through your staff under a bus at times.

Since many of the people I have supervised are younger I think of them as extra kids, I am hard on them and when I see them they want me to come back (i move around the organization often). I only have 3 staff now with about 4 outside providers I manage and it seems so small of a group.

Right now I think if I stay with the strengths of my personality and keep up on following through with everything I say I will do then I will be in good shape to move into better income areas. I always hope I get kid contact, I sat with a child and her dad for a long time yesterday and she showed me every page of her spiderwick field guide and talked about it, a lot of time in a busy day but that is what makes it the most fun.