DizzyLlama

Pay disparity in my startup.

I'm working as a Frontend developer (SDE-1) with 1.5yoe, I joined this startup 4 months back. Earlier I was getting paid 9lpa and later I was offered 12lpa without even asking for my previous compensation. I accepted because my earlier organisation was very toxic. Now coming to the point,

I came to know that for the same level and same role they're paying 16+lpa. And this is making me mad at them.

Within 3 months I'm handling 1 of their 2 products (customer facing) all alone. And I'm doing great work tbh (not boasting) but if they have 10 major features. I have developed 4 of them all alone, solved really critical down time bugs and improved the product.

Now I own this product and if any bugs come, I'm the person who's assigned the work.

I want to have a chat with the Founder but I'm not sure what to say and he's a guy who will try to save the money at all costs.

I'm really mad at this point of time and I'm planning to leave in a few months.

If I have a chat with him and he says something harsh, I will resign then and there I'm triggered to this level.

And there was no kind of appreciation from them, I'm taking most tickets during the sprints and delivering quality code, communicating well and thinking in terms of product, if there is anything which can be improved I ask from them.

How do I have a chat with him and what do I say? Current CTC - 12lpa Expected CTC - 16 - 20lpa YOE- 1.5 (planning to have the call around 3-4 months later), so I will be almost 2 yoe by then.

13mo ago

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MagicalQuokka

Stealth13mo

You are being paid 75% of what others are being paid at the same level.

Reduce your inputs by 75% to achieve fair parity (no. of tickets or work hours or whatever).

Use the saved time to prepare for your job switch.

DizzyLlama

Stealth13mo

You know if I reduce my work to 75% he will fire me.

I know and I feel bad that they're extracting work from me and I'm not happy at the moment when I see others getting paid more than me in the same company where I dedicate more time of my life and in return I get peanuts.

I want to confront him in the coming months, what do I tell him? And should I do this once I'm interviewing or have an offer or I can talk without these?

I'm so frustated that I want to leave this job today.

MagicalQuokka

Stealth13mo

Ideally, you should get atleast 1 offer first and ideally 1 offer that you can accept. Because if they're willing to fire you even now, they'll be more willing to fire you when you confront them.

You can share ypur concerns on being underpaid compared to others with the same role once you confront. You can suggest corrective measures - backfilling old comp + hikes

SnoozySushi

Scrut Automation13mo

Joined as FE(2 years exp now). 6 months in new company, 1000+ commits, refactored existing code -94k. Added new modules e2e on FE. +55k lines of code.
Adding quality code(Praised by ex Manager for code quality, readability etc), doing code review and maintain the same with FE team.
Pushed team for Security fixes, code quality, optimization.
Working on BE, AWS, developed features e2e. Fixing prod issues, did datafix on prod DB(1500 client records) No new bug. Still getting 40% lesser than peers. 🥺

DizzyLlama

Stealth13mo

Same bro same whatever you mentioned I do 80% of that work. I'm very pissed off for real now. Bro what do I ask my founder, I really want to have a chat with him? And should I do it once I'm in an interview process with others or how to proceed?

SnoozySushi

Scrut Automation13mo

Since you've less than 3 years of exp and seeing current market situation, I'd suggest to continue your work and maintain the pace for next 2-3 months. Once 6 months is completed, talk to the founder, explain the work and efforts you've put in, talk about the product, how the team can scale from here and what you have in your mind about the pay( in feel in a polite way) and ask for raise. That's the only way.

SqueakyWalrus

Stealth13mo

Like someone else said, put in the percentage of work w.r.t what you are being paid compared to your peers. They'll come back asking what happened. You can confront them about it, and maybe have another offer in hand JIC things get wild and you'll have to resign ASAP.

But hey, frontend dev here as well. 1YoE. Laid off 6 months ago. Still not getting a job bcz of companies that I interviewed for, literally ghosting in the end moment. So, I feel happy that you have a job that's keeping you financially stable, unlike me trying to make ends meet and on super savings mode since my layoff. Any suggestions that helped you land a job easily?

DizzyLlama

Stealth13mo

All the best bro, I didn't do anything exceptional. Just followed some js tutorials and also famous interview questions list of react. That's it. I wish you get a great job asap and then post about it so that I can come back and oat your back, that you finally made it. Stay strong and don't let your doubts win against your will.

SqueakyWalrus

Stealth13mo

Thanks a lot, bro. I wish there was a DM feature so that we could connect. Yes, I've started upskilling since last week. I'm exceptionally good at react and JS, because I've focused on being the best I could be with these. Despite that, I still got rejected and I felt lost, questioning my own skills. Learning NextJS now as I'm building a simple full stack app for personal use. Hoping to add it on my resume as a highlight. Oh btw, do projects on resume give a high boost to your profile?

TwirlyPretzel

Cred13mo

Can you email me on applyinstealth@gmail.com with your relevant work experience, we might have a job offer for you that matches your expectations :)

DizzyLlama

Stealth13mo

Hey, thanks a lot. I've sent an email to you. Kindly check whenever you have time.

ZippyBoba

Stealth13mo

What's the stack

DizzyNoodle

Stealth13mo

They are usually open to market correction once they know you perform well. Go to your manager and HR and speak to them. Highlight your work and let them know you're being paid 30% less would like a market correction in the appraisal cycle. Be firm on the work you do. Mostly they are willing to close the gap.
If that fails, look for a new job Also learn the lesson your way - you were offered 12 and you took it. Next time ask someone on the team before committing to the salary and negotiate your way higher.

DizzyLlama

Stealth13mo

Thank you, I learned the hard way. I will keep your advice in mind. Now I'm feeling betrayed and taken advantage of, so I will leave once the market provides an opportunity to me.

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