Hi Blind community. I'm new here; have been browsing a lot and am amazed to see such high TCs from people, which makes me feel like I've done something wrong with my life. I have 10 years of IT project/product mgmt experience, got my master's a couple of years ago and no matter where I go, jobs don't seem to pay up here. I am in mid 30s and my TC is in mid 80s and I can't seem to get out of these numbers here in mid-south. Recently applied for an IT Product Manager position at Amazon in Nashville (Nashville is 33% more expensive compared to where I live in west TN) and after the recruiter asked me to provide my expected range, I was surprised to see his next reply where he stated that the base salary for that position is less than what I'm making now. According to my years of experience I should at least be L5 there, and L5's base is well over $100k. I just feel like I'm leaving and have been leaving money on the table this whole time. I definitely feel like I'm doing something wrong with my career. I am not as shiny as a door handle by no means but I don't consider myself as some average Joe off the street either. I don't even know why I type all this honestly, I just don't have anyone else to ask... I'd appreciate any input. #salary #underpaid
Location and company matter. Its not even close to too late, many of the early levels arent where the big bucks are at anyways. Hone your interview skills, apply to bay, seattle, nyc based companies and run with it.
I'm trying to leverage the cost of living. The areas you listed may pay more but it is very expensive to be out there. My current home is about 1500sq ft and a house like that in those areas would be 500+k if not more.
Yeah, but theres lots of companies based in these areas with high TCs that allow full remote
I'm non tech mid 30s. Keep your head up for one. Sometimes it is trial and error. I did a couple things to get me over the TC hump 1. Took the low TC (80k) job in my late 20s actually I think I was 30. But it was a tech company. Got the name. I struggled financially but I only stayed a year 2. Hopped to another well known tech company. Offered more equity, better base, and a bonus. Plus ESPP. I did really well there and was promo'd . 3. Went to third company and jumped from the L4 spot I was in to L5. While at third company proved my worth over the year then internally moved to more of a product Ops type role. In those 4 years my TC went from 80 to 200+. Currently interviewing for roles that will put me ahead another 30k. In order to get here though I also had to do a few things besides move around 1. Figure out what I wanted to do. The first job was about just getting in. From there I catered my career to my skillsets 2. Pick up new skills and remain competitive. The marketplace changes. SQL wasn't all the rave years ago now it's listed everywhere 3. Look at job descriptions of roles you want on LinkedIn. Then look at the qualifications. If there's a bunch you don't have but you have ability to work on, do that. Interviews that I didn't pass I would really analyze where I went wrong (sometimes it was obvious) and I'd go back and work on that. 4. Fix your resume. Hire a graphic designer for the layout and make sure you have fine tuned the content. I get a lot of recruiters attention just because my resume stands out. And that's before they read it. 5. Network if that's your thing. I personally don't but I know this works for some ppl. LinkedIn is your friend here. Find people working in roles you want and strike up convos. 6. Never feel defeated and do your best not to compare yourself to others. I know it's hard. I do the same. But you're only racing against yourself. No one else. Hope this helps.
Awesome tips! For the resume part, how did you ensure your resume is ats friendly?
@bmo I think the ATS friendly thing is overblown. I have never had an issue. I've now been a hiring manager in tech a couple times and the recruiters legit read the resumes. Now there's times when a position will get let's say 300 applicants. If a candidate doesn't hear back until they get the rejection email, often that just means the HM or recruiter found 5 - 10 in that stack and stuck with those. I find this especially true in non tech that hiring managers are a lot more involved in actually reviewing applications and telling recruiters who they'd like to hear from. Sometimes they'll be your first contact. Results vary obviously. Tldr : forget ATS and make sure your resume is tailored to the position(s) you want. If a position says must have experience with strategy, advanced Excel and 3 years of people leadership - make sure that's on your resume.