Salary talk/advice

[DC_Stage_Manager]

Hello Control Booth,

just want to get some advice/talk about salary. I know that in this covid-19 era I should just be happy to have a job with benefits and all that jazz. But when I took this job about a year ago, the duties and what not was more focused on in-person events as all events/theatre/concerts are, now I am more of the livestream/video expert and mastermind behind the scenes.

My whole point is I will be at this company now for about a year in the coming months and I wanted to know if the conversation came up about a increase in my salary or job title what would a good starting point be. I am never good at judging work = wages type of thing as I just always just do my job to the best of my abilities and strive for greatness.

To help start this conversation I currently make 39k/year with full benefits my job was to be the production assistant in a way but now I know more of the livestream/video switch board/graphics operators.

I hope I was clear in the above just wanted to see what are people with similar jobs making/what would be fair/crazy to ask.

I also live in the DC metro area if that also helps.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

How many hours on average do you find yourself working in a week?

 

[egilson1]

How long have you been in the industry?
I would suggest that the topic of job title is irrelevant to wage. people get hyper focused on titles which in reality don't mean anything. Your value is based on your skill.

Ethan

 

[DC_Stage_Manager]

How many hours on average do you find yourself working in a week?

How long have you been in the industry?
I would suggest that the topic of job title is irrelevant to wage. people get hyper focused on titles which in reality don't mean anything. Your value is based on your skill.

Ethan

thanks for the questions. the average around 40 a week and then when leading up to a virtual event I it increases to 50+ easily.

I have been in industry professional for about 5 years now. I only brought up the job title thing in case they came back with the "well similar jobs are making..."

 

[TheaterEd]

Is this a year round position? 10 month?

 

[DC_Stage_Manager]

Is this a year round position? 10 month?

year round full benefits PTO and all.

 

[TheaterEd]

year round full benefits PTO and all.

Are you salaried at 39k? If so , at 40 hours per week that puts you at $18.75 per hour with no chance for overtime and every hour over 40 is unpaid. I would try to find a balance between being respectful of your opportunity/situation, and respectful of your own value.

In my opinion, your best strategy here is to point out that you are being paid well below your value, but you are respectful of the fact that this is a hard time for the arts. If you like the job, then take whatever raise they offer on the understanding that this is an open conversation and that when we get back to normal operations you expect to be compensated accordingly.

If you are good at this streaming thing, then you are worth whatever a company will pay you. There are a lot of groups that have no idea what they are doing. Put yourself out there and try for another job. If they pay more you can ask your current employer to match or turn in your 2-weeks notice.

 

[egilson1]

I know this is probably more than what you were looking for, but I will also mention the whole "Classification" issue related to exempt and non-exempt employment and salaries. I went through this myself with an employer. you should make sure that you are classified correctly, and if not you might be leaving a lot of money on the table, so to speak. and if you have been misclassified, you may be owed back wages. I'm not suggesting you are or are not classified correctly, just offering the info so you can be well educated on the subject.

A few resources:

Exempt vs Non-exempt defined

The Difference Between Exempt vs. Non-Exempt Employees

Learn everything you need to know about exempt and non-exempt employees, including the requirements of and common responsibilities for both.

www.indeed.com

A good explanation on how a non-exempt employee could be paid by a salary

Salaried Exempt Vs. Salaried Nonexempt

The primary difference between exempt and nonexempt salaried employees is that nonexempt employees receive overtime pay. The classification criteria for exempt and nonexempt workers are part of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which is the federal law governing minimum wage, overtime and working hours.

smallbusiness.chron.com

 

[Footer]

Legit right now I wouldn't poke the bear. You are one of the very very few that has a gig right now and you could easily be replaced. I'm wondering how many of us will be coming back to jobs with pay cuts. No arts organization has the money right now to be paying more for staff. I know of a few places with full time staff that just took a 20% pay cut. Try to stick to your 40hrs and just go from there. Stick around, you will be rewarded down the line hopefully as things come back online. Now... 39k in DC is pretty much a joke and I'm sure you are feeling that. But, its the salary you agreed to when things were good. They aren't now so just hang out and ride it out.

If you are in tight with your boss maybe ask to see if they can find a few bucks to chuck your way. But, don't get hung up on titles. Sounds like you adapted to your new job and have shown your org that you are a team player. Run with that. Be happy you still have a gig.