Mid-Career Status

I know you’re joking, but I think I’m at the point where I just need to get the charter. It won’t do anything for me after I get it.

It sort of sucks knowing that you’re that much underpaid though. I’ve brought it up with my manager before and he took it up with HR. Supposedly, HR believes my compensation reflects market rates. I don’t think the needle is going to drastically move unless there’s another offer on the table, which I’m working on.

I’m not sure what to think of my future prospects other than getting better at my job and getting more years behind my belt. Right now, I’m doing the exact same work as the senior analysts in my group and have the same amount of responsibilities. Our work loads are similar and we cover the same number of issuers. The only difference I know of is that the senior analysts are making 100% more than I am. And I’m completely ok with them making a ton more because they have 10-plus years of experience on me. I just wish the gap was only 67%.

Hi, spunboy. Here’s a serious response for once. I think I know what company you work for, and from what I hear, the compensation there, like in many big companies, is just formula based. There are different corporate ranks, and even year levels between those ranks. For instance, there is VP1, VP2, VP3, even if no one but HR sees this. Your possible base compensation is stated as some range, $X to $Y. Your bonus is determined as some target percentage of your base compensation.

In general, when HR in a large company says you are paid “market rate”, they basically mean that you are being paid according to the formula, and since they are just a bunch of monkeys with no real decision making ability, they cannot break you out of that formula. Your boss also has limited flexibility around this policy. I believe you mentioned somewhere that you have only been in this role for about 2 years. Your compensation probably reflects that you have not been with the company for very long. Plain and simple - more years is just a prerequisite for higher compensation.

Your way out is either to get promoted (in corporate rank, not necessarily in number of subordinates or responsibility), and to stay at the company longer so you have time to climb the ladder. Depending on how your business works, good performance could expedite the promotions, although not as much as in a smaller and more flexible company.

The good news is that if all goes well, your compensation will go up in a predictable way, and in a way that is somewhat independent of your performance. In other words, if a 6 year person on your desk is making twice as much as you, that is a good benchmark for your future compensation. The bad news is that if you are a truly outstanding employee, your upside is capped. Not sure how useful this is for you practically, but hopefully, it helps to see how others view the issue.