While the best career for you will be in an area, practice, or line of work you’re passionate about, we can argue that remuneration is the sweetest part of the job. In essence, no one would feel comfortable in a job they feel they’re underpaid, let alone their efforts under-appreciated. Unless you’re in charity or volunteer work, a good career is mostly determined by the digits on the check at the end of the week, month, or contract, or job period. But depending on the industry you’re in, what you’re doing, and who you’re working for, pay rates will always vary and differ.
This is why in government recruitment ads; they often provide a salary range indicating the amounts one would expect to earn if they landed the job. And of course, several factors can determine your salary, from your qualifications to experience, expertise, and the number of duties. But one thing is for sure. Discovering that you’re not being fairly remunerated can be an eye-opener. It can motivate you to seek greener pastures or psyche you up to renegotiate your salary if not ask for a raise. So how exactly can you find out if you’re being underpaid?
Look Up Trusted Statistics Online
Average income, median income, and minimum income. These are terms used by many people who need to know how much they can, should, and would earn as career men in various fields or industries. While you’ll get lost information online on these topics, not all sources may provide you with accurate data that you can trust. This is why to find out whether or not you’re being underpaid, you may need to dig deeper and ensure you get up-to-date information from credible sources about how much similar professionals in your area should be paid for the duties you handle. A recent salary survey published on CBS Butler in June 2019 showed that salaries for engineers in Britain had gone up by a considerable margin despite Brexit’s political and economic uncertainties. Comprised of 1,568 respondents of the average age of 47.5 years, both male and female, the survey also revealed that female engineers also earned at least £9,000 less than their male counterparts on average. Some online tools also give you the convenience of cross checking by region, job, position, and company, just to mention a few common criteria.
What Are Your Colleagues in Similar Positions Earning?
If you’re a cleaner in company ABC, another cleaner in the same company could be earning more than you. This is because they could be more experienced, older in the company or industry, or perhaps they perform special tasks in addition to what you do. If your job descriptions tally, however, there’s a chance that you’re being underpaid. And you may not even have to poke your nose into their business or take them to lunch to find out the figures on their payslips. Sometimes a little bit of networking is all you need to propel your career forward and it can surely help in getting you such information.
Check If Your Pay Is Keeping Up with Inflation
A salary that sustained you 10 years ago may not be able to cover half your upkeep. You probably were a bachelor/bachelorette by then and all you needed to think about is your own needs. With time, however, your needs increased, not forgetting the high chance that the currency you’re paid in has lost a considerable degree of purchasing power over the years. But have your earnings kept up with these changes and the said inflation? This is another key factor in determining whether or not you’re being fairly remunerated.
Consult A Recruiter
Recruiters do a great job of finding the most suitable candidates for various job positions in the right companies. They are pros in identifying strengths, experience, and skill set in candidates that can best suit their clients. Most of them also have the best idea of what such candidates should be paid. This means that they can be a helpful tool for you if you want to find out if your current remuneration is what you should be getting, even if you’ve not yet decided that you’re ready to leave or seek greener pastures. To find out your true worth, you can get in touch with several recruitment agencies who’ve advertised a position you’re qualified for, and perhaps ask them in-person about your worth once you manage to secure an interview.
While discovering that you’re underpaid can be devastating, it can come with numerous perks. For instance, it can give you the motivation to ask for a salary bump or challenge you into seeking better opportunities. Simply put, it’s a win-win, situation provided you know how to go about it, and the above are just a few tips you can use to tell if you’re being compensated for your real worth (or not).
