Yes, I hate this job. Yes, I have lost respect for the agency I work for. Neither of these things is good and I know I should direct some of my resources to looking for a new job.
That said … I went to Border's at lunch today and overheard one of the retail staff saying he didn't want a promotion. It would mean a raise of $1/hour, and being in management just wasn't worth $9/hour. Assuming he works a 40-hour week (and that is by no means a safe assumption), that would mean that as a manager he'd be making less than $20,000 year.
I make 4x that.
Looked at through the prism of this agency, I am underpaid. I actually produce work that helps move our clients' business along. I work on weekends and evenings, for no pay, writing or researching. Even though I always promise myself I won't, I think about my job and my clients on my own time. Unlike most of my coworkers and bosses, I don't dismiss our client as a drag, too uncool to exist and fortunate to get the benefits of my hip, Michigan Avenue wisdom. And I don't make anywhere near as much as some of the flotsam and jetsam that drifts by my office.
But this agency is not the real world.
The guy I was listening to at Border's is undoubtedly on his feet most of the day. He has to smilingly field questions from the public, many of whom I guess are not that polite. He probably has to return misplaced stock and all kinds of other tasks that are invisible to us shoppers.
He may not have to deal with the deadline pressure that I have here, but I'm quite sure he has his own minefield of office politics to maneuver through.
That's why I'm not at all sure I work 4x harder than he does.
It's good for me to remember that every now and again.
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