I apologize in advance for length.
First, some background. I have B.S. degrees in aerospace and mechanical engineering and upon completion of my thesis, I will have a M.S. in aerospace. Recently, I got engaged. Weddings are not cheap and my fiance (also a graduate student) has significant student loans, so we decided that I should get a second job.
At this time, I cannot relocate so my options were very limited. I originally applied for a full-time technical assistant position which required no more “technical expertise” than proficiency with Visio and Excel. The compensation was $12/hour, and I figured that was okay for the expectations. Upon seeing my resume, they decided to interview me for a mechanical engineering position (which they had not yet listed as available). A couple days later, they offered me a “mechanical engineering assistant” position, full-time, $12/hour. The description sounded like the original tech asst. job description. I was told this position would last 3 months, at which point they may or may not make an offer to hire me as an actual engineer. We need the money and I had no problem with that payment for those responsibilities in the first place, so I accepted. I figured either I just bombed the interview or their work load wasn’t quite yet big enough to justify hiring another engineer.
So my first day, I find they’ve placed me in the engineering department. My boss introduces me as an engineer. My duties include CAD, design of experiments, data analysis – the whole works. What’s more, it was clear they really need someone who has more knowledge of fluid flow and controls than most mechanical engineers. I spent some time in the lab today, and it seems they need someone who has had some experience in designing test schedules. And from the sound of it, they expect the person to fill all those niches to be me. I was talking to the woman in the cubicle next to me after clocking out and she asked me how I liked it there so far. I told her the work was interesting, but different from what I’d been told it would be. She said a new guy is starting tomorrow in the tech assistant position.
Now, I do find the work interesting and I think it will be rewarding. But it seems like they’ve hired me as an engineer for $12/hour with no benefits. I know engineering salaries aren’t what they used to be, but that seems low (equivalent to around $24k/year). Maybe that will change in 3 months, but at this point, I have no guarantee. Even if I did, I still don’t think it’s right to expect the performance that they are at that rate for any amount of time. Are my expectations unreasonable, or is this much lower compensation than normal? If it’s the latter, do I have any leverage or did I give that up when I was willing to accept that pay for the tech asst position?
Categorized | Affiliate Marketing 101
It’s No Secret Engineering Salaries Are Stagnant, But Is This Unreasonable?
Posted on November 12, 2010.
In this economy, stick it out for three months.
If they don’t offer to compensate you as a real engineer by then, you can tell them to shove it.
During these times, having your foot in the door at a company is pretty important, even if it means working at a lower salary.
3 months is nothing.
Good luck.
That sounds pretty low to me.
Maybe the person who hired you was from HR. They might not have realized (with no ill intent) the difference between the job you originally applied for and the engineering position that they suggested (especially if they weren’t fully prepared to interview you as an applicant for the engineering position).
Or maybe they don’t actually expect you to take on all of those responsibilities (maybe they just introduced you to everything to get you more familiar with the place)…?
Either way, its probably worth sticking with it for at least a few weeks to get an idea of what they really expect out of you, especially if you find it interesting.
$12/hr for an engineer is flat-out low. I would work there for the three month assignment as a temp at the agreed-upon price. That let’s the employer see how well you perform, turning you into a known entity. At the end of three months, I would discuss going permanent and negotiate a realistic wage and benefits package based upon comparisons with similar positions in other companies. If the employer won’t up the wage appropriately, I would consider continue settling for less but starting a search for employment elsewhere. The experience gained will look good on a resume. It is always better to search for new employment while employed, not while unemployed. Due to the current recession in the USA, career counselors are advising that the current trend is that employers with positions to fill are only interested in considering applicants who are already employed, since this is one easy way pare the large number of applications received for each position.
I wish you well.
If you want to boost your credentials, work toward registration as a professional engineer, such as say a mechanical engineer. You will need to meet an experience requirement, so you won’t be able to become registered right off, but ultimately registration will increase your options for financial gain (such as offering services to the public). Some types of engineering within a manufacturing company do not require registration so there is no added value in the eyes of the employer. (This paragraph applies to work in the USA.)
Here are three sites that explain how job agencies are compensated:http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4898813_sta…http://ask.metafilter.com/64740/How-much…http://www.ehow.com/how_2172263_paid-mor…
The company surely knows this is very funky; either there was a genuine misunderstanding and they will respect you for calmly and professionally standing up for yourself, or they are a nasty company to work for that did it deliberately.
I would sit down with your boss and calmly explain that there was a miscommunication and ask him what he can do to fix it. Delay doing the meeting until you can be very calm and reasonable, and practice your pitch beforehand. You are willing to work as the tech originally agreed or as the engineer slot at a reasonable temp rate. Take a copy of the job description into the meeting with you, and give it to him. Do not be emotional, or make threats. Do not accuse him of anything or be confrontational. Stay friendly and reasonable, but keep it professional.
I worked for a sleazy company, and they will vaguely promise lots of potential things, but won’t put anything in writing. No matter how the meeting comes out, do an excellent job, be cheerful, helpful, keep a good attitude. Don’t bad mouth the company, or complain to co-workers about how they treat you; this will just mark you as a problem employee. Come to work a little early and stay a little late. Tech’s are hourly, so don’t be real early or real late. In the meantime, start looking for a better job. Forget the future potential job offer. If they won’t fix it now, plan on leaving after the 3 months, but work hard to get a good recommendation.
If your boss is honorable, and working for a decent company, he will address the pay/benefit issues. If not, they are sleaze bags and likely treat you unfairly as long as you are there. If so, they plan to dump you when you are done, partly because you would always resent them for cheating you initially.
In either case, you have two options: either refuse engineer tasks until the pay is renegotiated, or do it for the three months and suck it up. Personally, I would refuse to do the engineer tasks until the pay came through. You agreed to work at specific tasks for a certain time period for a specified pay, and insisting on meeting the agreement is reasonable. Professionally standing up for yourself will cause them to respect you. You do run the risk they will dump you though. Most likely, they will threaten to let you go, since they hired another temp tech. Then, you can either stand tough, and will either be treated fairly or dumped. Or, you can fold, and suck it up for the three months. Make sure you get any agreement in writing (or the raise in cash!). They may make lots of vague promises to get you to work cheap, then back out later with any of a varieties of excuses.
Good luck. I have to say that it is very unlikely you have any future with the company unless you stand up for yourself and win.