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I guess it is fairly common knowledge that non-profits tend to pay less than for-profit organizations, given the same job title, but what are some other differences? I am only interested in comparing large non-profits and large for-profits. It would be especially interesting to get input from people who have worked in both sectors.
Let's say Joe was offered a job at Geico corporate and also at a large non-profit health system, for example, Sutter Health for the role of systems administrator.
- How much less would he make a year working at the large non-profit healthcare organization?
- Would he have to work more or less hours? If so, what is the differential?
- Which option would be less stressful?
- Differences in advancement opportunities?
Anything else worth considering?
Would the analysis change if the role was buyer, accountant, or some other job title that is common in both sectors?
I work for a large non profit and have worked most of my career in private industry. I will say my non profit is extremely large and is run like a for - profit, with the main difference being how cheap they are when it comes to lower level employees. They squeeze hours out of you and provide very little in terms of tools for success, maintaining they are a non-profit and have to be concious of spending. Yet, executives make outrageous salaries and they spend like like crazy on nonsense because, well....they can’t show a profit. Turnover is notoriously high in non-profits, at least in mine, as there is such a lack of work-life balance and no checks and balances when it comes to HR. I would definitely go back to private in a heartbeat.
I work for a large non profit and have worked most of my career in private industry. I will say my non profit is extremely large and is run like a for - profit, with the main difference being how cheap they are when it comes to lower level employees. They squeeze hours out of you and provide very little in terms of tools for success, maintaining they are a non-profit and have to be concious of spending. Yet, executives make outrageous salaries and they spend like like crazy on nonsense because, well....they can’t show a profit. Turnover is notoriously high in non-profits, at least in mine, as there is such a lack of work-life balance and no checks and balances when it comes to HR. I would definitely go back to private in a heartbeat.
Thank you for your comment. That is quite discouraging to hear. What sector is your non-profit in? Do you think that applies to the corporate offices of major healthcare systems?
They are all different. I worked for two non-profits, one was a well oiled machine that treated their employees very well. Another was a complete mess and didn't know which way was up.
It's just like the private sector. Some are great, some aren't.
In the ‘90s I worked for a non-profit (cancer research center) then went to work doing sort of the same thing in ‘industry’ (big Swiss pharmaceutical company). Industry was half the stress and three times the pay. I guess ultimately the cost is lack of job stability in the pharmaceutical industry. The cancer center is still there and getting bigger actually while the pharmaceutical I worked at merged and morphed and laid off thousands of people and while I can still find work, the job market ain’t what it used to be.
The way the cancer center worked was that a lot of our salaries were cobbled together from whatever the pharmas would pay the center to do clinical trials, so they had their expectations but then the doctors and services we worked for had their expectations and pet projects, which were actually more fun, so there was always that juggling going on. Getting a promotion just piled administrative stuff on top of what I was doing before, so there wasn’t any relief there and the stress just made me miserable. Pharmaceutical companies are more stovepiped so the duties are a bit more straightforward. There are still huge dollops of stress but it’s more deadline-based and there’s always some relief at the end. The stress at the cancer center was constant.
I guess it is fairly common knowledge that non-profits tend to pay less than for-profit organizations, given the same job title, but what are some other differences?
I would say that your initial assumption is not always accurate. I worked for a large non-profit organization in the academic space (not as a lawyer -- in case you're looking at my username). It was the most I've ever made in the private or public sector prior to moving into law. The thing is that if the non-profit is not a charity (where money is saved for the cause) it is often used to reward employees. Since the company cannot show any profit at all, the money is used to attract good talent that can contribute to the cause (where money is not the solution to the cause, like a charity).
I would say that your initial assumption is not always accurate. I worked for a large non-profit organization in the academic space (not as a lawyer -- in case you're looking at my username). It was the most I've ever made in the private or public sector prior to moving into law. The thing is that if the non-profit is not a charity (where money is saved for the cause) it is often used to reward employees. Since the company cannot show any profit at all, the money is used to attract good talent that can contribute to the cause (where money is not the solution to the cause, like a charity).
Not necessarily.
I work for a large, non-profit, healthcare org. Technically, we're not supposed to make money and reward that back to employees in the form of bonuses and such. Execs get it. People below director level usually don't.
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