Feeling Underpaid? Strategies to Address Pay Discrepancies in Your Career

Feeling underpaid
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A Redditor has taken to the platform to seek advice about what to do about a job where they were feeling underpaid. The Redditor with username LemmeSeeEmTatas posted a story titled “How to Deal with Being Underpaid?” In their story, Original Poster (OP) shared how they discovered other people with their job descriptions and title got a higher salary. Other Redditors reacted to OP’s story and advised them on what to do. Get more details below.

Redditor Feeling Underpaid at Work

OP explained that they worked in business planning in a large tech company and earned about $110K per year with ~20K RSU. OP had five years of experience in their role. However, they were feeling underpaid because everyone else with the same title was making about $30K more than OP. The Redditor talked to their manager about this discrepancy and was told they needed to impress their leaders better to get a promotion and the same amount as everyone else. OP added:

“However I had a 1:1 with team director who told me it had been clear for 1.5 years that that no one in our team would get a raise / promotion no matter what. I feel like manager is totally misleading me and using vague phrases.”

OP concluded by asking:

“Advice on what to do? Please don’t be rude. I am trying to learn how to play the corporate game.”

Other Redditors Share Their Thoughts

Several Redditors read OP’s story about feeling underpaid and shared their thoughts. A Redditor with the username Kenzakan told OP their manager wasn’t really wrong. They said OP needed to impress their leaders so they could “justify a raise” because their manager wasn’t in charge of such decisions.

However, Kenzakan suggested that the team director might be wrong because companies promote the right people despite their poor finances. They also noted that the director’s words were a warning not to expect a raise.

Another Reddit, Spyder73, asked OP if they were young because age also played a factor in such situations. Spyder73 shared that a 10-year age difference might be why OP was paid less for the same job title, which was an “appropriate” situation. They advised OP to focus on their work experience and attitude while shelving the raise topic for a while. They concluded:

“Being money motivated is not a bad thing, reminding your manager that you are money motivated at every single intersection makes you exhausting to be around and manage. Truth is, if you want a 30k raise, you need to move jobs.”

A third Redditor with the username Healthy_Bet3360 echoed Spyder73’s sentiments. They said the OP might be unnecessarily feeling underpaid when they were not. Healthy_Bet3360 said job titles are not a metric for payment rates, and the others likely racked up experiences or impressed their leaders, making them earn higher. They advised the OP to do more to earn more. The Redditor also advised the OP to document their work and achievements if they felt they deserved more and keep them for when talks about a raise resumed.

Strategies to Address Pay Discrepancies in Your Career

You can start feeling underpaid at any point in your career. Pay discrepancies exist and can be devastating, especially when you believe your work mirrors that of others who earn significantly higher salaries while holding your job title. If you have encountered this issue, here are a few ways to address feeling underpaid professionally. First, find out why the pay discrepancy exists. Is it due to recognitions, years of experience, and awards others have? Or is it because of better negotiation during their interviews?

Next, arrange for a one-on-one meeting with a manager. During your session, be direct but diplomatic, professional, and courteous. Ask for an explanation of why you are paid less and mention your struggles. You should also try negotiating for higher pay and highlighting your achievements and contributions to the organization. Listen closely, and don’t be on the defensive. Meanwhile, don’t try to replace your request with other benefits if denied. Finally, give your best pending when you get a raise or leave.

#Clique, have you ever felt underpaid? How did you navigate the situation? Let us know in the comments.

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