LegendKiller

So, I pass the CFA lvl1, I create the first default curves this company has EVER seen. I solidify processes and create automated reporting queries. I was able to streamline 50% of the processes and probably save the company a few million per year through the curves, and what do I get? 5% raise, but wait, I get the 3.5% "merit" raise in 3 months. OOOHHHH BOY!!! Good ole CEO is going to get ANOTHER 10 MILLION dollar raise, but I get 8.6%.

Sigh.


LK

gear02

yeah, i don't understand why CEOs get such extravagant raises...sucks ass.

Merlin

Sounds like some good points and accomplishments to put on a resume The market right now is pretty good maybe time to take advantage.

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Jeffbx

Hey, don't knock it. 8.6% is pretty respectable in this economy. I haven't gotten more than 4%/yr since 2001.

Once you make it to the C level you can reap the same benefits as the current guy... it takes a long time to get there, tho!

cheapie

pull a ray and go on vacation. tell them that if they don't have an offer you think reflects your value when you return you're gonna bounce. it worked for him. try it. you don't have a house or kid so now's the time to be gutsy. not so much for me.

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70% of the world is covered by water. The rest is covered by Bob Sanders

ray

I know that GE/NBC Universal and Capitol Records pretty much cap out annual (also called 'merit') raises at 3%. Neither company has bonus pools for anybody below a VP level. The only way to really get what you want is to show them you're willing to just walk.

If you really feel like you're an invaluable part of their team, I would first approach your supervisor and lay out what you have done for them and if you can, show them how much money you have saved them. If the supervisor still won't try to make a push for you, then I would start looking for new jobs.

cheapie

raises usually suck. promotions are the only way to increase your income quickly.

IrishSS

Wow... no offense, but I'd kill for a 8.6% raise. Our annual COL raises are hovering right around 2%. I'm sure you're fairly well off to begin with, so I'm guessing 8.6% is a fairly hefty chunk of cash.

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Spigs, you MFR#1N!

verve247

Actually, isnt that a 3.5% raise of your salary after the 5% raise? That's 8.675%. Hot Damn I'd say. Never forget the 0.075%.

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Vegetarian - Old indian word meaning poor hunter.

LegendKiller

The 3.5 is after my initial 5%.


The biggest problem I have with this was that I put more than 400 hours into studying for the lvl1 CFA, and I passed convincingly. Furthermore, I work A LOT, I do 12 hour days all of the time. I fixed MANY things that they have been doing wrong, I have fixed/found data errors of MASSIVE proportions. My work has set the way the company reserves for bad debt, and how the company is funded from now on considering securitizations.

More or less, my work has brought this company from a f*ckhole backwater Arkansas timeshare company to a more mainline financial institution. And I haven't even really gotten started yet.

I had one person why it took me almost a full year to get the curves done, I asked him if he knew how messed up our systems were, he had no clue. I have done something that NOBODY in this company has been able to do, I ahve made sense out of our numbers.

This will save us millions, and all I get is 5%? And that 5% increase isn't dick really.

I can't fault my boss since he is shackled by HR and their BS programs. All I can do is learn more, expand my automated reporting so I can expand my duties and make more money.

Sigh...I should be getting so much more.

LPMiller

Welcome to the corporate world. What you got is actually above industry average. Enjoy!!!

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lpmiller
Chief News Editor
Nobel Prize Nominee
Reverend in the Universal Life Church
Once Shot A Man For Snoring Too Loud
Way Too Lazy To Change His Signature

"The strength to change what I can, the inability to accept what I can't, and the incapacity to tell the difference." - Calvin and Hobbes

OC

I'm getting out soon, and I hope to never be part of it again.

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But what is adulthood except a delayed end-run around our parents' better judgment?
-- Peter Egan

*cough*

LegendKiller

Depends on what industry you are in. In my industry, 5% after passing a CFA level isn't jack.

Markel

Well, my salary got "raised" back to the 2001 level earlier this year.

Sales last month were 143% of the same month last year. Average this year is about 130% of last year. So if there is not some unusually generous increase by the end of this year, I predict an exodus of talent.

Two good signs: they are replacing the current president, and the human resources director is leaving in a week.

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stay low... keep moving...

LPMiller

No, it doesn't. The Corporate world is a magic place where if someone gets 5 percent, that means someone else has to get 2 percent, because you are forced to average 3 percent for your team. If you actually want a real raise, you have to raise a stink, threaten to quit, or sleep with the boss. Sometimes all three. Most people won't do this, so those that do - as long as they aren't jerkoffs they are just looking for a reason to ****can anyway (which is always beautiful to see when the person who does it is someone you hate) - tend to get the money then. This is true of any industry that has a CEO and no unions. Yes, it is also true in banking, as my best friends dad, and my mother know all too well.

Those with unions have to go on strike first. Then they can get the 5 percent, but lose 1 benny to be named later. Say, healthcare. Or 401k matching funds. That sort of thing.

The raw percentage might change, but companies only give ***real*** raises if A)forced into it or b) through promotions. Companies don't like people who don't want to climb the ladder, and see no reason to reward people who are both good at their job, and happy in it. In fact, from HR down, they cannot even begin to comprehend why you wouldn't climb the ladder. So you have to be ruthless and cunning and climb, or they will never reward you. Don't play the game, enjoy the 5 percent raise and layoff 5 years later.

Seen it way too many times. In IT, in Marketing, in Banking, in the Hotel industry, hell even in fast food. Success isn't what is rewarded, so just forget about all that you have done. It's drive that gets rewarded. Go to your boss, and don't whine, don't bitch, but show drive. And be ready to walk. Or just swallow and don't bitch, cause those are really the only two choices.

verve247

Don't forget all those great underappreciated things you do at your company can go on your resume. In some industries you got to jump ship to see the rise in salary.