And if those calls come, be ready to quote your consulting rate.
Definitely. It’s one thing if they also paid the OP one week per year of service, which sort of also implies that you should help them a bit with transition issues. But since that’s not the case, then consult charge away!
This is especially true for IT people in a company whose main business is something else. If you’re a programmer for Microsoft, then they at least have some interest in what you do, and maybe even managers who are qualified to evaluate it. If you’re a programmer for a bank or a casino or an oil company, they don’t really care what you do, they just want their main business to run smoothly, and if you go up a few levels, the guy making the decisions has no clue how to evaluate the quality of your work, he’s just wondering whether it will be more cost effective to outsource all the IT functions.
“We’re paying you so you don’t starve to death on the street. What more do you want?”
(My predicted response.)
“Well, I’m giving you my time and my effort to keep your company producing things and making money. It’s a two-way street, man.” That’s the part employers like to forget - they need us, and we need them. It’s symbiosis.
That’s so totally true. I long ago figured out that as a programmer, I need to work for software shops, not places that do <x> but have a bit of software work to do. The former can be great; the later is almost always miserable.
Basically, you get better treatment from your employer if they view you as a profit center and not a cost center.
Mine would be “We can hire four Indian guys for what we’re paying you. Be glad you have a job at all.”
The general rule is if you accept the counteroffer and go stay with the same job, they will be quickly looking to replace you since you have now shown yourself to be not content. Enjoy the new job and never look back.
sleestak, congratulations! Enjoy the new job - and remember, they already think you are awesome because they picked you! So ride the positive wave.
A friend of mine worked in a role that was the equivalent of my role, just for another region. (We’re a global company.) Every person who does this job in other regions, including mine, gets paid at a Level 4 (which is the highest level) – except this girl, who was hired as a 3 and remained a 3 for two years. She has asked several times to have her job releveled to a 4. They refused.
In the meantime, she interviewed and accepted another position that was at the higher level. They begged her to stay, promising to re-level the job within one year. She declined.
They just posted the role, and it’s (you guessed it) leveled as a 4.
Good luck on your new job. I’m sure it’ll go well for you.
One of my past employers had a very important network guy leave the company for a better offer. Almost the same situation that you were in: he was underpaid for his expertise and position in the industry, he didn’t get any decision making authority, etc. He was with the company forever, so I guess they felt they could take advantage of him.
Before he left, he tried to bring a couple of guys up to speed, but he just didn’t have the time to get them where they needed to be. So when he was finally gone, our company was left in a bit of a bind. The good news is (for this IT guys at least), is that we routinely hired him in as a contractor for weekend and after-hours work, and he charged us about three times what we were paying him when he was with the company. So leave the door open for some consultative work if possible.
Good going. I kinda wish you had given the boss the ‘this is why I am blowing off your shitty counteroffer’ speech but sadly that doesn’t happen in real life.
If you do get calls from your replacement, be sure to tell them upfront that your consulting rate is $150 per hour or fraction of hour and to get it in writing from the HR department before beginning the help them.
Yup, charge whatever you think you can get away with. That’ll larn 'em.
Hope you love your new gig, sleestak!
Thanks for the advice/encouragement.
Last night I had a little gathering with some of my now ex-coworkers. One of the guys is the boss of the application side of the house, a guy I’ll call M… It was pretty interesting. Apparently, my ex-boss freaked. He cleaned his office, put his keys on the desk and quit. The CIO had to talk him into staying.
Additionally, he said that my leaving caused him to push three major revenue producing projects back until November. M said that he had to explain the delay during a meeting with the directors and VPs. M said that they al started asking why I was not being kept on. There was, according to M, a bunch of very upset folks.
On top of that, M is jumping ship and basically said that he will hire me at his next gig. Also, he put me in touch with a lady who used to be a director on the application side. She now has a gig with a major player in town, think over 20 properties. She said that in 6 months or so she will have a position for me. If I want it, it’s mine.
M also said to expect some consulting work.
I know that everyone is replacable. That isn’t’t the point. The point is that it is stupid to lose good people because of a salary issue when consultants are going to cost more in the long run . Also, if there is a major problem having to run and schedule a consultant is a bit problematic.
Oh well. I start my new job on Monday. And now I expect to have another job in 6 months or so with another 15% raise.
Slee
Good for you!
And yes, it is amazing how short sighted some can be in a company.
All they really had to do was contact your boss and find out if your were worthy of a raise, do some quick research on what others are getting paid in this field (even here in Las Vegas) and they would have quickly matched your new salary.
In the workings of a casino, your job isn’t sexy or fun or cool to watch…thus the head honchos think it is unimportant.
They are the people who will wash and wax their cars every day, but see no need to do any of that un-fun stuff like check oil, add air to tires, top off fluids - that ain’t fun and shiny, so what is the point?
Oh well - they will learn the hard way. And you are right - nobody is irreplaceable, but they are going to pay through the nose to replace you - and they might not be able to fill the position quite as easily and quickly as they may have thought.
Move on, don’t look back and best wishes for the bigger and better and even higher paying job on the horizon! (And after you get that new, higher paying job, feel free to buy dinner for fellow Dopers who might also live in Las Vegas…hint, hint…)
For the next 10 minutes, I shall do nothing but dwell on the Greatness that is** Vinyl ****Turnip. **
Suggestion to OP - make sure you are the expert. Let them know that you are available for consulting / contract work at a reasonable hourly sum, which should be no less than double your hourly rate before.
And that’s all you should expect from them!
The only thing that could make me happier about this story is if your boss (and whoever else decided that they could string you along with empty promises for two years) gets fired.