Low Ball Job Offer and I probably have to accept. (employment, interviews)

[city living]

I'm in the medical field as well---requires a B.S., licensing exam, etc. We are generally pretty underpaid compared to other areas in the medical field that require the same amount of education/licensing.

When I was about to be let go, I managed to get a job that was $6 less/hour than I was making at my previous job. Another job offer came in and they wanted to offer me $8 less/hour. You need to do what you need to do when times are rough.

Took me awhile (and I was laid-off again) but now I'm back to where I was (practically) but I work nights for a little extra money. LOVE my job, the people I work with and I am picking up some amazing skills I wouldn't have been able to learn elsewhere. You never know how things will work out.

G/L! My hospital will usually hire from the per diem/part-timers first and post those jobs internally.

[Spaten_Drinker]

Originally Posted by charlygal

No one is lowballing you. It's not about YOU. They have a job and they have a certain budget.

If the pay they are offering doesn't meet your needs, don't take the job. If you need the money, take the job.

HOWEVER, if YOU take the job, you can't go in there mad and angry at YOUR choice to take the job. The salary is not a personal attack against you and no one is taking advantage of you.

Stop looking to blame someone else for a choice you will make.

In addtion, what are you offering that warrants a higher salary or better benefits? Do you possess extra skills or abilitities that no one else has that the employer NEEDS or WANTS ?

[jaypee]

"THere's not a lot of work in my field at the moment."

Supply and demand, dude, not lowball.

[Lsquallhart]

Lot's of things to reply to so let's take this one by one.

Originally Posted by charlygal

Stop looking to blame someone else for a choice you will make.

When did I blame anybody for anything? I've always said this is more my ego at play than anything. I've only blamed myself. I do feel that companies are taking advantage of workers these days by lowering wages and not investing in talent. I personally feel that's the truth. Otherwise I think this is a bad assessment of what I wrote. Thanks for the constructive input though.

Originally Posted by YaFace

Tell your friends who are suing the former employer good freaking luck. That is usually the first thing they look for on a background check.

The reason she is in court is a response to things she has done to the employees, and they are protecting themselves. She is in two court cases with former employees because of slander. She is (actually was, because that case is now over) in the third court proceedings with a former employee because she tried to say that this person was not laid off . . . when they 100% were. I had to act as a witness in this case. That case was ruled in favor of the employee.

It takes a special type of person to try and take away your unemployment benefits.

One of these people retired, and the other two are now employed again, one of them landed a job with a higher title.

So they do not need any luck, but thanks for the advice.

Originally Posted by Suncc49

Why did you have to cash out your retirement to live for a few months without a job??!

This assumes that I know I would only be unemployed for a "relatively" short time . . . I had no idea how long I would be out of the game. I also stated that I did not cash out the FULL AMOUNT of my retirement. I cashed out a partial amount, and I still have the rest, a pension, and come to think of it, I have another 401k from a previous job.

Right now I am left with 7,000 in the bank. I had to pay rent for a while and all expenses until my friend said I could crash at his place.

Originally Posted by War Beagle

Bingo. This particular job offer is the least of the poster's problems.

Lol. See above. Or, people can keep assuming I do not know how to handle money. I've had a retirement account since I was 19 years old. Can everyone say the same? The largest part of my problem was working in an emotionally violent environment. I've never had a job where I've had to work so hard to remain healthy in body and mind. I've worked in Trauma 1 hospitals for the majority of my career. I'm used to handling stress. This type of work environment even I could not handle . . . and obviously most of my peers could not as well.

So that was my "major problem". A retirement account meant nothing to me at that point of my life. I have no regrets.

Originally Posted by ieee488

Which is odd because she wrote that she had $20K in the bank.

Cash out 401K only if absolutely necessary = $0 in the bank. Not before.

I am a man.

I cashed out a partial amount because I had to. I do live in Boston which is very expensive. 20k may take you far in Phoenix Arizona (I used to live there), but it will go fast in other areas.

Originally Posted by goodlife36

$20,000 is not a lot of money when you do not have any money coming in.

Bingo.

Originally Posted by Smooth23

If you didn't want a pay cut, you shouldn't have quit.

Silly statement. This isn't about the pay cut. As I said, this is about the fact that I'm being low balled, because that's what they can get away with. They aren't investing in an employee. They're taking advantage. Money has VERY little to do with this.

If I was working a job that made 10 dollars an hour but I felt I was being paid fairly against my peers, then I would be happy with that wage. This is about principle.

But to say "you shouldn't have quit". Well I definitely should have. I ended up having to see a psychologist because of this job as I was suffering from a severe depression at the end of my career there. I was told that my depression was not due to a chemical imbalance, but due to failure to thrive in a hostile work environment. The suggestion I was given by my primary care physician and my therapist was to leave my position.

I could have used this information to apply for unemployment, leaving work due to health reasons. Why didn't I ? Look at the information I stated above. All those court cases . . . all that drama . . . and the biggest thing. I would have potentially lost some VERY VERY good references at a job I was at for 5 years, and I am fairly young. I had to make a choice. Apply for unemployment. Or do this on my own and keep a good reference. This hospital I worked for is one of the best in the WORLD . . . (yes world . . . not just the USA).

If we're thinking as far as investment, there was a reason I did the things that I did. Nothing in this world is black and white.

Originally Posted by jaypee

"THere's not a lot of work in my field at the moment."

Supply and demand, dude, not lowball.

Fair enough. Simple enough. However, I am in contact with two managers who are my references in the field (working at other hospitals obviously), and when I discussed with them what I should be expecting, they both said "Around 35 an hour" and they both stated they pay 33-37 an hour for techs. My own research on glass door shows 33.5-36.00 an hour.

So taking the research into consideration, and not just the assumption of supply and demand, but basing my salary requirements on market value . . .

I was lowballed.

Originally Posted by Spaten_Drinker

In addtion, what are you offering that warrants a higher salary or better benefits? Do you possess extra skills or abilitities that no one else has that the employer NEEDS or WANTS ?

Extremely good question, and I do have an answer for this. I didnt want to include this in my original post for fear that maybe employers read this board. I know, paranoia . . . but I mean the way things are these days. Anyway I work in a VERY niche field of medical imaging. There are probably only maybe . . . 150 people in the USA that do what I did as a career. (no I'm not talking about Cat Scan obviously).

I am a 3D Imaging Technologist. I have been for the past 6 years. I've taken a position in Cat Scan, because there are not many jobs in 3D. It's a pretty rare thing. That said, the position I interviewed for asked me if I could teach them how to do 3Ds so they can stop sending out their scans for reformats. I told them I would be more than willing to.

So now I'm working as a CT Tech, but I'm also starting to be somewhat of a consultant. They want me to teach their staff and their doctors how to do something they currently cannot do . . and something they SPEND MONEY ON. So if I teach them how to do things, they will be able to stop sending out scans, and they will be spending LESS money. A LOT less money.

When I wrote my counter offer, I said that I hoped this would be reflected in my pay.

It hasn't.

I've come to accept that.

"Do you possess extra skills or abilities that no one else has?"

Yes. Yes I do.

Thanks for the replies.

[ieee488]

Originally Posted by Lsquallhart

I am a man.

I cashed out a partial amount because I had to. I do live in Boston which is very expensive. 20k may take you far in Phoenix Arizona (I used to live there), but it will go fast in other areas.

You are speaking to someone who lives in NJ.
$20K would last me about 6-7 months. Speaking from experience.

You jumped the gun. Only take out of your 401K when your savings is about to run out not before.

And, we Bogleheads advise others to keep 6-9 months of expenses as an emergency fund in the bank earning 1%. When you do that, you would not need to have touch your 401K.

[Lsquallhart]

Originally Posted by ieee488

You are speaking to someone who lives in NJ.
$20K would last me about 6-7 months. Speaking from experience.

You jumped the gun. Only take out of your 401K when your savings is about to run out not before.

And, we Bogleheads advise others to keep 6-9 months of expenses as an emergency fund in the bank earning 1%. When you do that, you would not need to have touch your 401K.

This is hilarious to me. I do not care about Jack Bogle, and one piece of advice doesn't work for everyone. You say I jumped the gun . . . I'm looking at my bank account, and my retirement account, laughing, because I have way more in it than 90% of most Americans at any age, and I'm now employed with 7k left liquid, in addition to my 401ks and pension.

Seems like I was going to have to cash out a partial amount anyway, and it looks like 20k goes farther from you than it does for me.

The discussion seems to be more about how you feel your way of life or your advice is superior. That's fine. I did what was right for me at the time in my life. There's not a one size fits all when it comes to retirement.

Peace out.

[goodlife36]

Originally Posted by ieee488

You are speaking to someone who lives in NJ.
$20K would last me about 6-7 months. Speaking from experience.

You jumped the gun. Only take out of your 401K when your savings is about to run out not before.

And, we Bogleheads advise others to keep 6-9 months of expenses as an emergency fund in the bank earning 1%. When you do that, you would not need to have touch your 401K.

I do not think so. The OP is lucky that he got a job. There are a lot of people out here that have been unemployed for over 9 months. What should those folks do?

I think it is despicable that people on this thread seem to be more concerned about the OP's retirement fund than his well being.

[bobtn]

Originally Posted by charlygal

No one is lowballing you. It's not about YOU. They have a job and they have a certain budget.

If the pay they are offering doesn't meet your needs, don't take the job. If you need the money, take the job.

HOWEVER, if YOU take the job, you can't go in there mad and angry at YOUR choice to take the job. The salary is not a personal attack against you and no one is taking advantage of you.

Stop looking to blame someone else for a choice you will make.

Correct. The OP posted what he was paid, not industry averages. How are we to know if perhaps his ex employer paid ABOVE Fair Market Value? If they did, and this was at FMV, it isn't lowballing, the prior one highballed.

[Lsquallhart]

Originally Posted by bobtn

Correct. The OP posted what he was paid, not industry averages. How are we to know if perhaps his ex employer paid ABOVE Fair Market Value? If they did, and this was at FMV, it isn't lowballing, the prior one highballed.

33.5-36 from my own research and as I stated above, two managers gave me quotes of 33-37.

Average is 35ish.

Also, I responded that I have a unique set of abilities that the company seeks to profit off of and streamline their operations, giving me a skill set that the average tech does not have that they want.

Please remember that this is not a benefit position, and there is no premium for it (which, in my experience there usually is), so that's another part of my issue with the salary.

[bobtn]

Originally Posted by Lsquallhart

33.5-36 from my own research and as I stated above, two managers gave me quotes of 33-37.

Average is 35ish.

Also, I responded that I have a unique set of abilities that the company seeks to profit off of and streamline their operations, giving me a skill set that the average tech does not have that they want.

Please remember that this is not a benefit position, and there is no premium for it (which, in my experience there usually is), so that's another part of my issue with the salary.

The unique skill set might allow them to start you at the upper end of their budget range, but not beyond the budget rate.