I haven’t had a proper pay raise process (eg performance review etc) before as I was always a contract staff since I started work in 2018. It was only last year Dec when I was officially converted into a permanent staff after entering a new job for about 9 months. This job has been amazing so far although I feel like I low-balled myself when I started as I had to reveal my previous salary and did not ask for a huge increment to match whatever I feel is the market rate. In hindsight, lots of regret but I believe in time to come, I can still ask for pay raises although it might be tough.
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First job as a contract employee and getting my second job
Previously, being a contract staff, renewals of the new contract period doesn’t guarantee a pay raise and it definitely was a little difficult to negotiate as it was an entry-level role and budget was already set aside for it. Of course, being my first job which I worked at for about 3 years meant that I had really low increments over the 3 years and it was to be honest tough, having to worry if I will be extended every time my contract ends.
After about 3 years, which was great as I learned so much and people at my previous company was amazing. I made some of the best connections there as I entered as a fresh graduate and connected with so many different people there. I decided to leave as I wanted somewhere that could pay me more and we know that nowadays loyalty doesn’t guarantee it. Armed with my knowledge and skills, I went through numerous interviews and it was difficult handling rejections especially when it got frequent.
Read more: Millennials want to leave their job by age 50 | You will have to save at least 50% of your income
However I managed to find a similar position in a tech company (not the huge tech company with great snacks and pantries that I can post TikToks of) although still a contract role, the manager did assure me that they were expanding and if I performed well, converting to a perm role would be no issue. I took it as I just felt that it was a chance considering that I did fail many interviews before that. I didn’t really negotiate for a good pay as I felt ‘paiseh’ then which I regret right now.
To make me feel better, when I switched, I had about a 14% increment and then another 14% when I was converted which was within the same year. I do feel that I am still slightly underpaid compared to my fellow colleagues as my starting pay was pretty low and increments were very small in amount during my first 3 years.
Just most recently, I had a 11% increment, I would say this is a unique amount of increment as there is more workload coming my way and so my manager did also say compared to the normal increment, this is a one-time higher increment provided. I am happy with the amount as more is always better but grateful for the increment. Greed is there and I will always feel that I can or should get more when comparing but just happy to get an increment and still hold a job at this time.
Trouble with getting an out of the usual increment
My manager did mention that normally a lower increment is given so this was an acknowledgement of my work so far and of course, more work to come. I am very appreciative of this double digit percentage increment but having an out of usual increment does make me wonder if I am underpaid compared to my peers.
It’s crazy how the mind works as I just keep wanting more. No matter what I am grateful to have an increment and in spite how the market and world is, I am still having a job which is of utmost importance at the moment. There is a lot to learn in terms of furthering your career or how communications with your superior should go. There is a lot of learning up ahead for me and definitely hoping to be able to put myself out there to learn and connect with others.
Read more: Your Career Is Just One-Eighth of Your Life | Why I need to explore and find hobbies outside of work
We shall see how things go and I do find the need to be learning and doing more as I don’t see myself at the current role in my 30s and 40s. Hoping to be able to go into a managerial role or some thing more communicative where the skills will not be taken over by a robot or be automated in the future. In the meantime, investing as much as I can and saving while enjoying life in Singapore where I have taken so many things for granted. Year end is here soon so how are your increments and bonuses looking?
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I tripled my pay by moving to the U.S. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, and for more context, I am a software engineer working in the finance industry, at the age of 27, making more than 400k SGD per annum.
ReplyDeleteAnd the thing about money, as I realised it, is that I don't need a lot, simply because there are just not that many things to buy. Earning a big paycheck, to be honest, is merely a validation on my abilities, and a status symbol that I am somewhat in the top 1%, but on a day-to-day basis a higher salary doesn't really improve my quality of life, beyond providing me an even better sense of financial security. Guess that's why rich people buy Rolex or fancy cars, because other than those stuff, daily necessities just don't cost that much in modern societies.
ReplyDeleteAnd fret not, even though I work on wall street, well, not quite literally but close enough (I work in FiDi), I am not a banker who enjoys hypocrisy or manipulation. I am a software engineer, working very hard for a more fair and efficient market, and I believe one day, one day I will do something more straightforwardly good for the society, you know, like building more houses for everyone or handing out scholarships etc. We shall see.
ReplyDeleteBut the ultimate goal, shall I say, is to advance human civilisation, to see the best version of what we, collectively as a species, can achieve and become.
ReplyDelete