A challenging career situation

[SmoothnNerdy]

Let me add some more words of consolation. By no means am I putting down your achievements, but if someone is paying you thrice of what you are getting now my guess is that you are serving a very specific niche market which means one of few things.

1) it's dangerous - (e.g. sending you off to a war zone or a dangerous place like the middle east)
2) your options are limited if you move outside that thrice paying job
3) if you lose that job your wage will return to average market prices
4) very limited/difficult to fill position that rarely opens up (strike when the iron is hot or lose that opportunity forever type of jobs)

The market is quite efficient when it comes to wages. If it wasn't option #4 don't feel so bad about it. Lots of these super high paying jobs are short time gigs and if it were those, you really didn't have much to lose in the long run. My guess is that most likely saved yourself headaches.

It was a bit of a #4 situation and #2 would have probably been the case if I lost that job but in the end it would have gotten me out of my first company and probably into a higher bracket wherever I ended up. It sucks when a company that is heavily dependant on talented, flixible and dependable IT services starts looking at the department as an expense rather than investment. I'm thinking about how I can apply my skills to product development, but to be honest, those kinds of engineers arent nearly as fun to work with.

 

[Senzoi]

Hi Guys,
I'm in a challenging situation with my career that I hope some of you successful types could chime in on. Here's my story.

I'm a very capable specialist in IT who graduated with the highest honours in my program. Working that hard in school burned me out. I worked at a very successful technology company for my coop terms and have stayed with them past graduation. School burned me out so hard that going to work felt a like a bit of a break for me and while I produced really good technical results, I made a lot of mistakes politically and have learned a lot about how to carry myself in an office environment after 4 years of full time.

Now I'm in a position where I am possibly the best at what I do, and while I've moved on from my foolish behaviour and really stepped my game up the past couple years, I fear others will never see me for who I am today. In the past 2 years I've received many awards and lots of praise from my leadership but never awarded more than a 3% raise or a promotion of any kind since I was hired. Management above me has changed every year I've been here, so I don't think that has helped much either.

I am a master in my current specialization and have been offered salaries of over double what I currently make to work abroad. Unfortunately my current personal situation restricts me from moving, and while I'm stuck here, this is still the best place for me to further my skill set in a technical specialization that excites me.

I am so frustrated and confused about my position, it was so foolish for me to work so hard in school and yet let my guard down when entering my career. There's nothing I can do about the past now.

There are occasions when I'm asked to go above and beyond for the business, and I have done so with perfect execution many times over the past couple years. These events have been extremely high stress and exhausting but as well as I do, I don't think I've ever been rewarded accordingly. I'm starting to think its time for me to decline these requests as they don't seem to be appreciated... Should I take a stand, or is there a smarter way to deal with this?

Stay long enough to further your skillset (and uproot yourself from your 'personal situation') and then ditch the company - the right way - and go abroad to make your flow.

And, as always, stay ready to move at a moment's notice - physically, psychologically, emotionally, and financially.

 

[twentee]

watch out for tax ramifications abroad, but hell yes,GET that 100% more money. Get lots of it. then learn to invest it wisely. and never have to kiss ass or put up with politics or live anywhere you don't like or put up with any conditions that you dont like, ever again. Simply move.