# Employers who try to hire one person to do several jobs for dick pay. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 7, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-who-try-to-hire-one-person-to-do-several-jobs-for-dick-pay/338946 "2006-01-07T23:34:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-who-try-to-hire-one-person-to-do-several-jobs-for-dick-pay/338946/21 "2006-01-09T17:43:48Z")
It was probably described as “Office Manager” because whoever placed the ad, didn’t know what else to call it. And the duties described don’t seem too out of line to me - depending on how small, “small” is, of course. And you’re right about the pay those guys were offering; it’s pretty low for what they expect. We’re a “small” engineering/consulting firm and we don’t really have anyone here designated to fill any of those slots - in full, or only partially. Those duties are really just divided informally amongst the staff whose primary duties are something else entirely. For instance, I do some of the network admin stuff here; manage the CAD/GIS dept. (including assignment and QC of the daily production tasks of up to a dozen guys over two shifts at peak operations in 2004) including all maintenance, customization, troubleshooting and licensing for about 8 different applications of which we’re running multiple versions; take care of ordering some of the office supplies; answer the phones from time to time; sit in on interviews and sometimes have primary responsibility; _was_ a member of the compensation and recruiting committee at one time (I don’t do this anymore); and organize and maintain our document control and archive procedures. And all of this is outside my primary duties as an engineer/designer and project manager. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-who-try-to-hire-one-person-to-do-several-jobs-for-dick-pay/338946/22 "2006-01-09T18:06:50Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > For instance, I do some of the network admin stuff here; manage the CAD/GIS dept. (including assignment and QC of the daily production tasks of up to a dozen guys over two shifts at peak operations in 2004) including all maintenance, customization, troubleshooting and licensing for about 8 different applications of which we’re running multiple versions; take care of ordering some of the office supplies; answer the phones from time to time; sit in on interviews and sometimes have primary responsibility; _was_ a member of the compensation and recruiting committee at one time (I don’t do this anymore); and organize and maintain our document control and archive procedures. Huh. If you’d only make the coffee once in a while, you’d be a perfect employee! ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-who-try-to-hire-one-person-to-do-several-jobs-for-dick-pay/338946/23 "2006-01-09T18:24:29Z")
It happens in big companies too. I worked at one national retail chain as a part-time employee for four years, maxing out at $7.50/hr, averaging 35-40 hours a week. During that time, I was essentially a manager for about two years, at two different stores, because our customers and their organization were both so nasty that the managers they kept hiring, kept quitting. Eventually they realized that they didn’t need to hire managers because the poorly-paid part-timers had everything under control. I put up with it because I was young and stupid, felt important, and didn’t have time to find a new job what with all the working and going to school and everything. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-who-try-to-hire-one-person-to-do-several-jobs-for-dick-pay/338946/24 "2006-01-09T18:47:11Z")
Sorry for the complete hijack, but it seems I am totally out of touch with salaries these days. Is it common to be offered such a pittance of a salary for a job the requires a college degree? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-who-try-to-hire-one-person-to-do-several-jobs-for-dick-pay/338946/25 "2006-01-10T04:25:54Z")
See, the secret to working way above your salary level is to decide how much work your employer is paying for, and give them just that much. This is very low-risk - it’s not like you can’t get another crap job. But yeah, there does seem to be a lot of employee-advantage-taking going on these days. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-who-try-to-hire-one-person-to-do-several-jobs-for-dick-pay/338946/26 "2006-01-10T04:56:48Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Huh. If you’d only make the coffee once in a while, you’d be a perfect employee! And wear a low cut blouse, short skirt and some heels! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-who-try-to-hire-one-person-to-do-several-jobs-for-dick-pay/338946/27 "2006-01-11T00:50:39Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > See, the secret to working way above your salary level is to decide how much work your employer is paying for, and give them just that much. Heh. There was a saying in the former USSR: “they pretend to pay us and we pretend to work”. I once temped at a law office where the staff had been reduced from five legal secretaries to three, who weren’t being paid a dime more than before, even though they were each responsible for 2/3 more work. Well, of those three, one had already found a job elsewhere, a second was actively looking, and the third was thinking about it. And yes, the head of the firm was a colossal dick. I can only hope that he and his ilk ended up suffering a few summary judgments against their clients… ---
**Author:** ![UnwrittenNocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6de8d8/32.png) [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-who-try-to-hire-one-person-to-do-several-jobs-for-dick-pay/338946/28 "2006-01-11T02:46:48Z")
I once worked for a major corporation (the last time I will ever do so for a variety of reasons). Just simple helpdesk stuff. Until I was made responsible for planning and training the entire site (300 people) on some new technology - which went off without a hitch. Also responsible for training them on new systems - again without a hitch. When payrise time came around apparently I did not have enough company spirit to warrant anywhere near the maximum allowable. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-who-try-to-hire-one-person-to-do-several-jobs-for-dick-pay/338946/29 "2006-01-11T15:32:13Z")
> [@UnwrittenNocturne](#): > > \ > When payrise time came around apparently I did not have enough company spirit to warrant anywhere near the maximum allowable. Ha! That’s so typically crappy that it’s funny. Well, not when you’re in the situation, but later on, talking about the worst places you’ve worked at. Employers, man; can’t live with 'em, can’t bring in a semi-automatic and line them all up against the wall and spray them with large calibre rounds. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-who-try-to-hire-one-person-to-do-several-jobs-for-dick-pay/338946/30 "2006-01-11T15:39:19Z")
The last time I worked for a big firm, during the year preceding my next salary review I kept a list of various things I had done to warrant a good raise. I then, a couple weeks before review time, sent the list to all the people I worked with/for and asked them if they had anything to add/delete from my list, and if they agreed with it, to please send a good recommendation on to HR. And it worked really well – although the raise cap that year was 5% (which several of my friends were complaining about mightily), I nevertheless received a 14% raise. Well, they called the other 9% a “market adjustment,” but it was basically a good raise. I also have a seriously underpaid friend who had a meeting with her boss last week about a raise, and when he said 10% was the highest he could go, she told him she wouldn’t settle for less than 15%. And he agreed to it! So standing up for yourself, lobbying based on the good stuff you’ve done, etc., is often necessary to get what you deserve. Done right, it can produce great results. If you want a good raise, sometimes you have ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-who-try-to-hire-one-person-to-do-several-jobs-for-dick-pay/338946/31 "2006-01-11T17:40:26Z")
> [@UrbanChic](#): > > Sorry for the complete hijack, but it seems I am totally out of touch with salaries these days. Is it common to be offered such a pittance of a salary for a job the requires a college degree? Absolutely. I graduated college in 2000, and this was the kind of money I was making in NYC for awhile at full-time 40+ hrs jobs until I was able to claw my way up a little. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-who-try-to-hire-one-person-to-do-several-jobs-for-dick-pay/338946/32 "2006-01-11T18:22:42Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > Absolutely. I graduated college in 2000, and this was the kind of money I was making in NYC for awhile at full-time 40+ hrs jobs until I was able to claw my way up a little. Hey, thanks for replying to this. I was tempted to start a thread about it when I found the time. Wow, I really had no idea–especially in NYC, no less! ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-who-try-to-hire-one-person-to-do-several-jobs-for-dick-pay/338946/33 "2006-01-11T18:55:42Z")
> [@UrbanChic](#): > > Sorry for the complete hijack, but it seems I am totally out of touch with salaries these days. Is it common to be offered such a pittance of a salary for a job the requires a college degree? Well, in **Shagnasty** ’s job description it said “College Degree PREFERRED”, no required. That right there is a major difference. If you studied math, science, computers in college and you’re taking a job in one of those fields, it’s not going to be for 20,000. A teacher makes 35K nowadays in some places, no? People taking jobs as lab assistants and entry level programmers and “level one actuaries” or whatever they’re called make well over that. If you studied basket weaving and think you know I.T. because you figured out how to set-up Quake III on a LAN in college you should feel good about $20,000. > [@astro](#): > > but that the HR person or admin asst. writing the job spec has absolutely no clue what the real world skills and pay appropriate to the position are Yeah, but some employees also seem to misjudge the value of their skills, too. Getting a MSCE and thinking you’re a bargain at $30,000 because the commercial on the radio said, “make up to 70,000 per year” is at least as foolish as what some employers do. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-who-try-to-hire-one-person-to-do-several-jobs-for-dick-pay/338946/34 "2006-01-12T18:09:12Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Well, in **Shagnasty** ’s job description it said “College Degree PREFERRED”, no required. That right there is a major difference. > > If you studied math, science, computers in college and you’re taking a job in one of those fields, it’s not going to be for 20,000. Funny you should mention that. I didn’t exactly study basketweaving, nor did I study something “practical.” Getting my _first_ job was more difficult and less remunerative than the compsci or math folks. They certainly made more than me, but it really wasn’t all that much after you net it out. Measured over five years, the picture is very different. According to some people I know who studied hard sciences in school while I read Latin and Greek, I make more money, do more interesting work, and have more career mobility than they do. They are intelligent, hard-working, and we all graduated with good marks from a top 10 ivy league school. This isn’t meant to be a meaningful general comparison nor an example of my modest virtues. I’m no great shakes. I just find the idea that a technical degree guarantees a high-paying career to be rather facile. More importantly, all the classics majors I know personally are far happier than the engineers, and make _much_ more money in business or law. YMMV. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-who-try-to-hire-one-person-to-do-several-jobs-for-dick-pay/338946.md?page=1)