The situation is this: I’m working full time at a position that the company higher ups don’t really value, but is still very needed and necessary (data analysis and office app development). On TOP of that I’m doing full stack development work, mostly on my own time. For some projects I’ve had to work nights and weekends non-stop for months. The results of my hard work are usually only utilized by a section of the company, so none of the partners know about ALL of the development work I’m doing. They only know about the parts I do for their team/projects.
I feel I’m extremely under paid for the work I’m doing, as illustrated by the fact that clients for whom I’ve done freelance jobs in the past, are now coming back offering me full-time positions for 30-45K more than what I’m making.
However, I think that IF I were to move to a full time developer position at my current company, I’d be able to play a bigger part in the company overall, rather than being a developer cog in a larger software company working my way from the bottom (well almost the bottom).
So I’m going to ask my boss to setup a meeting with the partners. I want to speak to them about the possibilities of moving our various platforms forward with my help, unencumbered by my current position, and with a salary appropriate to the new one. The problem is that my boss doesn’t want me to leave his team. He’s fought tooth an nail for the current setup, where he dictates my schedule and “allows” me time to do development work - which results in me having no time for development work during business hours.
Right now especially, just before another big project involving everything from data modeling to server side application development, to front end engineering, to UI design - is about to land on my desk, I want to make it clear to him that this is the way forward for me and that the current arrangement is NOT acceptable.
I thought maybe mentioning the current offers I’m being made might be a good idea, but then again, maybe it would backfire.
The only advice I have is that only mention other offers if you’re prepared to accept them. If it’s just a bluff you could end up losing what you have other wise go for it.
I’m a bit confused. You are working hard in a software development job AND beyond this you are working on your own time to complete other projects for the same company …but no one really knows you are doing all this work. Or is this extra work on your own time for other companies and you are paid separately for these jobs?
What Oredigger77 said, with, in my opinion, the additional leverage: ask your boss for the raise, tell him that there are other places that would pay that much more, and then, if your boss says no, quit.
Don’t just bring it up and then give in. If you bring it up at all, make it stick.
Your boss might ask you not to quit and offer you the money.
But if he doesn’t, you’ve shown yourself to be a doormat, and he will continue to take unfair advantage of you.
(Frankly, if they’re treating you that badly, you should just quit and take the other job anyway.)
Get your offers in writing. Like others have said, don’t talk to the boss unless you’re prepared to quit. If you go ahead and do the talk, show him the written offer and tell him what it will take to keep you.
Odds are decent, if he’s your typical asshole manager, he’ll fire you on the spot just for being aggressive enough to push him about the issue. I’d say it’s maybe 70/30 against the deal you want, but either way you should come out ahead in the long run.
I agree with the rest. You can’t negotiate from strength unless you’re prepared to walk away. Prepared both in terms of mentally knowing it might happen, and having your backup plan locked in.
It’s not the kind of thing you sound ready to open with. If you mention the other offers at all it would be if the conversation turned in that direction already, and you wouldn’t use specific numbers. If they are offering you a promotion and you are then haggling over an associated raise you might bring it up then.
You don’t really need to do any more than somehow allude to other jobs at more money, and a good way to do it is to be dismissive of the idea that you’d leave the company just for a little more money. Don’t use any specific numbers. What would backfire is any mention of 30-45K more at other jobs. Either they won’t believe you, or think you’d just leave for more money before long if you did stay.
My main position doesn’t involve much development aside from office apps and maintenance on existing ones. That’s fulltime. On top of that I’ve also taken on incredibly important web application/software applications projects that team leaders usually ask my boss about. My immediate boss sure as hell knows about this. Not all the partners appear to be aware outside of the projects involving their own teams. The main issue of course is that I’m never given the time to work on these projects during business hours. I’m am beholden to deadlines that I can only meet by working every night and weekend. Like an idiot, I’ve been doing this because I’ve been led to believe that it will lead to a better position/salary. That hasn’t been true for years now.
Now, whenever there’s a lull and I have a little bit of time I take on freelance jobs with other companies, on my own time. It’s from these companies that I’m now getting offers - but they have nothing to do with my regular job.
Yeah, this is what I’m mostly realizing now. The outcome will essentially be I either get the full time developer position and a matching salary, or I don’t and I take another position elsewhere. So I’m not sure it matters if bring it up and it backfires.
I believe the odds are against you, but I believe you should do it anyway. But I want to reiterate this point – do NOT go into that meeting without a rock solid offer from the other company. And that means an offer in writing, not some vague undocumented offer during a phone call.
Set up a meeting with your boss and these partners and show them all your proposal. Remind them all what you’ve already done. Sell it hard.
Candidly, I’d skip Step 2 and just take one of the outside offers. Your boss is blocking you. It’s not clear you’ll ever escape your “rep” at your current place of employment. Go elsewhere.
It’s my understanding that competent programming development work is paid quite handsomely by most software companies and you are effectively giving away huge chunks of your time and uncompensated overtime work for … the satisfaction… future opportunity… foot in the door… the lols? It’s also my understanding that most programmers putting in those hours and doing that kind of work for large software companies are cashing 6 figure paychecks.
Your master plan to get a big raise and promotion by doing a bunch of largely unrecognized, uncompensated (important) work on your own time then springing your pitch on the upper echelon as a kinda, sorta surprise and implied threat of your potential loss bundled into one sounds a bit risky and not really the best way to achieve your goals. Unlike 5 year olds management usually doesn’t like surprises. Most people who want to advance network like crazy and make sure everyone down to the janitor knows how invaluable they are.
Promotion by compartmented stealth is not really a plan that works all that well in most scenarios.
Yeah, this is a major problem on my end, one that I need to work on. It’s hard for me to branch out and engage people outside my friend’s circle. It’s likely the main cause of my hard work going unnoticed*.
Damn it.
Well, not unnoticed. I’m sure the fact that my development work has helped keep multi million dollar clients hasn’t gone unnoticed, just not appreciated.
Maybe it is (was) different in academia. When I got an ouside offer I always showed it to my chair. He always got me a raise over it. Even though on one of those occasions I told him I had no intention of taking it. As far as he was concerned an important part of his job was getting as well paid as possible.
Since your immediate supervisor is aware of all the extra you are doing, I would take any outside offer to him and let him/her deal with it. It is up to him/her to explain the extra work to the bosses. If they fire you over it, well you had no future in that company anyway.
Well that’s a little different. It is about money. I recommend you check out the other offers carefully first, then go for the raise and promotion, for more than the other offers. If your self assessment is reasonable I don’t know why you’re still there, or why you would want to stay after your work hasn’t been recognized.
Are you kidding!! If appears you’re essentially working two jobs, the primary one seems boring and of mediocre pay, and your putting in time on your own to do a second job that you like. In other words your doing 2 jobs for 1X pay. And you can do 1 job you like for (I’m guessing) 1.5X pay. What’s the question?
Apparently your present employer doesn’t know, doesn’t appreciate, or can’t/won’t pay for what you do. Get one of the offers solidified, then…maybe…when you’re reporting to the new job on Monday…ask if they could match it. If they do match it, take a weeks vacation “to think about it” while you start work and check out the new gig.
I like this scheme, but there may be some ethical or legal issues with it. Are you taking some kind of risk working for 2 computer competitors at the same time? Like a lawsuit from one claiming you’re an industrial spy for the other? Or some other oddball permutation that might crop up over time.
The more traditional approach is to get the new offer, meet immediately with the current boss and lay out what they need to do to keep you, and take the other job if your demands aren’t met.
I would not mention the other offers at all. It labels you as a mercenary, ready to jump ship for more money at any time. Even if you get it at your current job, it will leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. (This is why at my company we never match an offer if someone threatens to leave. Come to me and tell me why you deserve more, and we can talk. Threaten me with a higher offer, and the relationship is soured no matter what.)
If you like the current company, then you should definitely lobby for a job and role more in line with your abilities and what you are currently doing, and with a salary to match. Just don’t use the other offers as leverage; let your demonstrated achievements stand on their own. I don’t have a lot of hope they’ll go for it; your boss sounds much more interested in himself than your career. But it’s worth a shot before you jump ship.
In reading all the responses and your answers you have seriously dropped the ball on your own self marketing and internal promotion. This has made a lot of the over and above stealth work you have done (effectively for free) almost worthless as a negotiating lever. This is 100% on you.
Unless you have a some upper mgt type in your corner who recognizes your true worth you’re just going to be another worker with delusions of grandeur to them. Once you tell your story your immediate boss will probably get yelled at for not corralling your workload properly, but your fantasy of coming on like a secret developer superhero they must hold onto is unlikely to pan out, and you will quite possibly be seen as some desperate workerbee who can be easily manipulated.
I mean think about it, who does all that work for free … in secret? Lot’s of up and comers are over achieving and putting in extra hours like you, but they are damn sure making sure every department head knows it.
Make your pitch to management but I think you may need to consider they are probably not going to clutch their pearls and be awed at your work. Some may even think you are something of a sucker. Honestly, you need to be thinking seriously about another job where you can get paid decently and stop fantasizing that where you are is going to level you way up.
If you want to stay at your current company, come up with a pitch about how valuable you are to them, how much you save them, how much more efficient they are thanks to you, etc., etc., and ask for the appropriate raise.
Don’t bring up the other offers, but have them in writing.
If they agree to give you a raise you can relax and not be seen as disloyal. If they don’t, you can walk. When they say “we didn’t mean it, we’ll give you your raise,” you can tell them, nicely, that they had their chance.
They either see your value or they don’t. If they don’t then you should move to a place that does.