I've been working for a start-up for about 14 months. I started as an unpaid intern because at the time I didn't know the languages they needed me for. So at first it was chill, I'm pretty sure I was getting the good end of that deal. Within about 3 months they started paying me 10/hr as a private contractor. Along the way they bumped me to 12, then 15 which is where I'm at currently. At this point I feel like I deserve more because I'm a lot more efficient and able. They're pretty cool so I don't feel weird about asking for a raise, but I just don't want to go in blind. I'm wondering what hourly rate would make sense:
Living in LA Startup iOS and web app Graduating with CS degree in about a year Private contractor, not employee
If any other info could help determine what makes sense please let me know. I really feel like I should be getting at least 20... But then again I don't know what the standard is really, nobody irl I can ask either... Thanks in advance brothers.
Yeah but what are the details of your situation, fellow roodypoo?
Logan Miller
fuckers give me career advice. im sure theres some website or some shit that helps you figure out what you shoul dbe getting paid. I just wanna know what makes sense. i know one of you bastards can help me
Camden Miller
just get a better offer then tell them you would leave - power is power and it's simple
Caleb Richardson
just work there until you graduate and don't fuck it up
also stop coming here for career advice
Jason Walker
you might be missing the point. I'm totally fine with 15/hr if that's what im worth right now. I just don't know how to gauge that. I do /feel/ like i should get paid more, but im just saying that's my gut and i want some concrete understanding of how to divine such information.
this is a good point though, and i actually am waiting to hear back from another place- but in all honesty, even if they offered me more I wouldn't leave my current job. I'd just see if my current people could match them.
The other thing to consider is that I don't know if it makes sense to factor in how much they actually make... I mean i figure the loss should be on their end since they own the business and are building it up, but eh I could see it being a case of "we don't make enough to pay you x amount"
Daniel Ross
You should making $25 to $30 per hour. Also, you should be making annual salary + paid vacation. So you're getting screwed all kind'a ways.
Jow Forums sucks ass even for general advice. at least i can expect some competent faggots on this board.
Parker Long
you really should be making at least 20 some dollars since it's LA
Angel Carter
ssshhheeeeeeeiiiitttt
I'm gonna tell them you said that desu
Lincoln Wright
>I'd just see if my current people could match them. Sure, do that.
And most importantly: Focus on learning. You have to find a spot where you feel like learning and hustling every day to get shit done - because that's where the learning is.
Pay is fucking irrelevant at this point. Just play the interview game to keep warm but focus on learning.
Nathan Reed
I totally agree... that's why I love my current job, I feel like i'm learning so much and the guy who pays me i look at as a mentor really.
I guess I should have also mentioned that until about a month or so ago, I was the only person working for the owners of the business- and its just 2 people. So only me and one other guy programming, while the new hire is for sales.
Blake Mitchell
Run the job until you complete school, you're in the "MUST HAVE 5 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN [12 Programming languages here]" hurdle of your career. Getting work experience on paper is more important than a dollar or two raise as you'll have a stronger bargaining position later on. Your three goals is building a social network and keeping in contact with them as your co-workers move to other jobs, building your personal skill set and worth ethics, and lastly building the paperwork around your skillset. You can be skilled at something but not have the paperwork stating as such and find yourself shit out of luck. Always check to see if your job will fund you building a certification bank. Those co-workers you keep in touch with will be far more valuable than sheer certs and awesome resume. A study I saw stated that having a person on the inside of a company makes you fifty times more competitive than a random applying for the job. There are many things you need to be working on more than just raw money right now.
Christian Collins
even if you will continue at this place until graduation, you should know you are getting fucked regardless. if you feel like it's "not that bad" and "i'm learning alot" like the other anons in this thread are suggesting, you will carry this feeling to your next place of employment, and are at risk of accepting a 50k job happily whilst feelings its a huge upgrade. if you are in software in california you should not be paid this little. no decent shop will pay someone this low, its embarrassing for the employer to pay people low wages, keep in mind if you are technically employed as a contractor you should be getting paid 200-250% the wage of a salaried employee since you aren't getting any benefits. you can stay if you don't mind and if you don't think you will be able to get a new job before you graduate, just don't be grateful and recognize you are getting fucked and that your employer is taking advantage of you
Xavier Rogers
>living in LA >iOS experience >CS senior You should be making 70k+. I strongly recommend applying to new companies right now instead of asking for a raise. Non-contractor positions only
Alexander Perez
This. I started out of community college with an associates degree making 25 an hour doing web dev in LA. A year later I’m making 50 an hour in the Bay Area.
Sebastian Myers
>independent contractor Reddest of flags. You're being taken advantage of.
Demand to be made an employee with a real fucking salary or find a new job elsewhere, because now you have the experience to land something legit. Good luck bro
Here in bongland contractors are basically short-term (3-12 month) professionals who provide a high level of service, and in return receive about triple the pay of their employed counterparts
t. contractor
Chase Morales
OP sure ain't getting triple the pay.
Bentley Cox
It's real simple my man. If you want more money, go look for more money.
Matthew Jackson
Man I really appreciate that the thread is getting some attention. Truth be told though, I'm feeling super conflicted now and am not entirely sure what to do. I feel like I should just ask for a raise but i dont think i'll be able to get 25+ so i'm almost thinking that I should commit to either being ok with toughing it out till i graduate, or start looking for another job right now lol
Parker Baker
The fuck? I literally started making 130k a year from a 3 month bootcamp.
How the fuck are you this dumb OP?
Oliver Howard
The biggest asshole I ever knew told me the best way to get a raise is to get a new job. I hated to hear that, but it's true.
Jack Moore
If the job is paying you enough to live comfortably and put some aside, and it's comfy, think carefully about going elsewhere. I moved from a comfy job making £3k/month to a much more difficult job making £5k/month, and tee bee aych if I could be given the choice again I would think twice about taking the 5k job.
Ayden Collins
Where generally do you live?
Daniel Howard
I'm so jealous of burgers starting salaries in tech. I'm looking to finish a bootcamp and make £35k if I'm lucky.
Ryder Williams
the work was remote. I quit 2.5 years later and now im a neet looking to get back into it.
Wish me luck lads
Liam Sanchez
Independent contractorship in the US is abused more often than not. It means there is no minimum wage, you don't have to give them benefits of any kind, etc.
Sure there are ICs who get a fuckload of money but when you're an entry level worker and/or wage slave it's a "Please Fuck Me In The Ass" contract.
Asher Gomez
Here's my story OP.
I was in your situation sorta. I wanted to do web dev. I had been practicing html and CSS for a few months. Went and applied for over 50 jobs and only 3 replied back to me and only 1 actually gave me a chance. It was a digital marketing start up that was own by a shady former car-sellsman.
I started off working for $8.25 an hour which was minimum wage. It was my idea to be paid that much because I just wanted a job. After a few months, the company never grew in employee count, we just got more work. It was me, my boss and his copy-writer. My boss would be doing sells fulltime, the copy-writer would be doing the 'digital marketing' portion of his business and I would be doing the 'development' part. I was basically building Wordpress sites with a WYSIWYG plug-in like Elementor and writing code for anything that broke. After 3 months my boss sits me down and has "the talk" with me. The talk was transitioning me from 'contractor' like you are to an employee. I was so fucking excited because I was also working a part-time job on the weekends that paid $10.50 a hour and I knew the company was making enough money to give me a decent pay raise. Well my boss offered me equity in the company which meant jack shit and $12.50 a hour. I told him I wanted $15 and he bascally said he couldn't do it. I didn't believe him so I gave him my 2 weeks notice a week later.
Well, after I gave my 2 weeks notice he came back to me and offered me $15 a hour but the pay would have to start 3 months from now. He wanted me to learn a bit more PHP. I agreed and busted my ass for 3 extra months making $12.50 a hour and staying up all night learning fucking PHP.
Hey OP, guess what happens a week before my 3 months is up and I get my $15 pay raise? My boss takes me out to lunch to tell me he has to shut the company down because his family is sick and he has to move back.. he promises me he will re-start the company and hire me back for more than $15.
continues n nxt post
Jaxson Gomez
After this, I fell into a depression that lasted 2 months. I eventually got another internship at a REAL company. After 3 months as a paid intern making $1500 every month (about what I was making at the start-up but I was around real devs now), I got promoted to junior engineer and was offered a $50k starting salary. 6 months later my boss did his 6-month evaluation of me and gave me a $4k pay raise so now I make $54k a year which equals out to about $26 an hour. All of this happened within the past YEAR AND A HALF.
Working for that startup was something I regretted but in hindsight, having that "stamp of approval" on my LinkedIn and resume meant other companies like the one I work for now would take a chance on me. OP, get yourself out of that company now that you have that 'stamp' and go apply to a real company. Even if it means starting off as a PAID INTERN you will be so much grateful for being in a real company with real senior developers who can mentor you which will only make you worth more.
Nathan Watson
>15/hr >private contractor Lmao
Yeah nigga, you're getting fucked
Elijah Morales
This, but only after you have your degree. Until you have that piece of paper you are an unskilled worker and therefore are only worth about minimum wage + pay bumps due to seniority.
Parker Powell
Not op, but thanks man. I'm gonna try and hustle my ass more to learn php myself. Even if I get a shitty job for a while, just getting my foot in the door is worth the trouble.
Joshua Peterson
>$15/hr >in tech lmao you could go dig holes all day for $20 an hour
Benjamin Reed
This.. I make about 45 an hour and i live in a pretty cheap area (mortgage is 670 a month) and 15 minutes from the Atlantic ocean.
Start applying for jobs. If you get a serious offer, come back to your current employer and tell them how much of an asset you are to the company and why you deserve a raise.
If your current employer offers half of the increase it sounds like a win to me but just know you will learn shit at another job as well.
Tldr; apply for jobs. Once you have a legit offer in writing you have all the power.
Isaiah Williams
i started as an unpaid intern before i started college at a company. They taught me ios and full stack web development. after a year they offered me an independent contractor position at 25/hr. basically doing the same as u op. imo ur getting scammed ask for 25 -30. start at 30 so you can get 25 if they r jews
Connor Adams
>competent >Jow Forums Choose one
Benjamin Williams
>dollar Euro
Landon Howard
yo thank you so much for sharing your story user. This is exactly what i needed, regardless of the details of how shit turned out i'm just grateful to get a glimpse into someone else's experience with this kind of shit. And I'm happy your story ended on a happy note.
I guess I should start focusing more on just getting as much out of my time at work and at home to really learn and absorb as much as i can, while keeping an eye out for other opportunities. The upside to my situation is that I'm very free to come and go as I please, work remotely, and just take a bunch of time off if i want. So although I need money, I'm thinking I'd better spend less time at work and more time applying to new jobs and honing my skills.
I haven't completed any personal projects which i know is a pretty bad look, but It's hard for me to learn on my own. So hopefully my current mentor/bossman would be willing to hold my hand through a couple of personal projects. (and yeah, i've tried and failed at a couple things as I'm sure is the norm for noobies).
I really think that if I told him I want to expand my horizons and learn more by doing some side shit, he'd be supportive. I know this is gonna sound rarted but i genuinely think he's a good guy even though I'm not really getting paid much.
