GoofyMarshmallow
GoofyMarshmallow

Junior coworker getting paid more than me.

Hey,

I am a SWE with 2 yrs exp. recently I found out that juniors in my team are being paid atleast 10% more than me. This thing has been bugging me so much that I setup a meeting with my manager but here’s the thing- I have no idea how to talk about this to my manager. I obviously think it’s unfair given how much more work I am doing. Can experienced people here please guide me on how to approach this meeting?

Thanks!

16mo ago
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DancingPancake
DancingPancake

Just break the ice. Start by, “ Hi…. Sorry for the unplanned meeting but I want to talk about my compensation.”

GoofyMarshmallow
GoofyMarshmallow
Optum16mo

Do I directly request that since juniors are being paid more so my comp also should be revised or idk tell him about my accomplishments or something? Juniors here are new college grads btw.

GroovyMarshmallow
GroovyMarshmallow

I don’t think directly mentioning juniors would help your case, but as Dopeypoint mentioned, you can direct the conversation towards discussion around your compensation.

And give agenda that you want to go out of this meeting with a plan on how you can achieve your expected compensation. In between this discussion you can say that according to industry standard you deserve better compensation and how your manager and your contribution can help you achieve it and company wide this is not fair and you might get some reasons also for this.

CosmicLlama
CosmicLlama

This is universal. You think 10% is higher?, check the difference between a T1 and rest within same ranks. Nothing can be done, Keep changing jobs untill you have satisfied pay. No point in comparing.

GoofyMarshmallow
GoofyMarshmallow
Optum16mo

That’s exactly the case here. The juniors are new grads from Tier 1 institutes while I am from tier 2.

CosmicLlama
CosmicLlama

10% difference betwen T1 and T2 i very reasonable. Which company? I bet its not a startup.

SquishyUnicorn
SquishyUnicorn

Super common even if you and they are from the same college. If you mention their salary, you'll also be in negative books because we are not supposed to discuss the salary of other people. Instead switch.

SqueakyJellybean
SqueakyJellybean

"we are not supposed to discuss the salary of other people"
Corporate propaganda to prevent people from realizing they are getting ripped off

SquishyUnicorn
SquishyUnicorn

Yes bro, I agree 100%, everyone knows that.

BubblyCupcake
BubblyCupcake

In my personal experience, never compare with someone in front of your manager.

Instead say that you are not happy with current compensation especially given the current market situation or something like that.
And say the competition/same level companies are paying more for same background and experience.

The same way some junior is getting more than you a senior might be getting less than you.

Be as ambiguous as possible when you are saying you compared your salary with others.

After mentioning all of this, ask how can/will your manager help here.
There can be scenarios where a managers hand are really tied. But most managers just don’t like to pay.

(Record the response through your phone or somewhere to see how tactfully he is responding, no official use)

During the meeting, note down everything he is saying in your mail in front of him. And before you conclude send that as an MoM in the meeting room itself. Just say for your personal record only and nothing else.

Most important thing, never start with a complaint. Start off by asking feedback about your work. Use this to understand how he feels about your work. After he concludes (hopefully in a positive way) tell that you also have a concern. And then start this. Never, I repeat, never start the discussion, always follow up.

BubblyCupcake
BubblyCupcake

All of this because you are only having 2yrs experience. If you are a full fledged senior the conversation would start in a different way altogether.

BubblyHamster
BubblyHamster

Sandwich the bad between two good

PeppyRaccoon
PeppyRaccoon

Was in a similar situation. I did reach out to my manager immediately and let him know of the case. He made sure to match my compensation with what people of my experience were getting.
My manager was good enough so no bad talking about him, but the head of engineering was not ready to increase it as the engineering team's overall performance was low nice 2 quarters.
Had a setup with Head and that lady kept bringing points like market is low and bullshit. I went bit overboard and spoke shit about the hiring process and how people who actually work there don't get any value for their work. She heard and said will try my best to increase it next review cycle.
And 3 months later I was laid off in the 2nd round of layoffs.
So ultimately there's no solution, just switch.

SqueakyJellybean
SqueakyJellybean

Best to first get a better offer, just in case

PeppyRaccoon
PeppyRaccoon

That's standard procedure. No need to mention that.

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