The Inaugural Slick Deals Career Thoughts and Compensation Thread

How did you get your buisness started? What got you into it?

Quote from lildaver : Gender: Male Age: 28 Location: IA Occupation: Online cell phone business owner Education: BS Biology, MS Accounting half completed 2011 compensation: 130k Future salary: Up or down depending on level of motivation Benefits: n/a - Vacation is hard to take without upsetting lots of customers. Daily Life - Print and ship orders, answer stupid questions from people that don't like to read two paragraphs to find the answer, mundane work. Long lunches, short work day. Would I recommend this to someone else? I strongly recommend working for yourself, when your work directly pays you back it is a great feeling. Would I recommend doing something you don't love to do? Not at all. I planned on having employees to do the mundane work and website functioning on it's own, but automating a business is extremely difficult and probably not feasible for most businesses.

Update from about a year and a half ago

Gender: Male
Age: 28
Location: TX
Occupation: Nurse
Education: Bachelors in Nursing
2011 Compensation: $48,000 (graduated in June so this was 1/2 year of nurse pay)
2012 Projected: $80,000 with some overtime.
Future Salary Projection: Talking hourly, I went from $27 to $32. With the overall changes in healthcare, we are estimating an across the board 2% raise if all goes well. I got a good jump as we got raises that bumped us to regional across the board pay for our experience level.
Benefits: Full medical, dental, 6.15hrs of PTO per paycheck, decreased EIB/short term leave, 401K up to 5%.
What's the job like?
You take care of sick people... I work in an ICU so the people are VERY sick. It has its ups and downs. Helping people can be rewarding. You eventually go numb to death. I take care of people that had major surgery (open heart) to people on ventilators that wont breathe to people who had CPR. Each day is different, some days I can kick up my feet and manage to watch a couple movies, some days I literally dont have 3 minutes to pee because someone is circling the drain.

Would you recommend the career to others?
Its a great career and pays well. I am personally going to pursue a mid level degree and get out of the direct patient care. More writing orders than doing orders. The babyboomers are getting old and there will slowly be a need for more nurses but as of now there is no shortage no matter what you read in the news. The government is slowly killing healthcare so Im not sure how it will be for nurses.

Gender: Male

Age: 42

Location: MI (metro Detroit)

Occupation: Director of IT

Education: BS in MIS & MBA

2011 Compensation: $~120k base + 5-10% bonus

Future Salary Projection: 1-5% increase/yr, plus random larger bonuses. Largest so far was about $40k in stock options - sadly, that was a one time thing.

Benefits: Used to be a Cadliiac health plan (EVERYTHING covered for no out of pocket $$) but it's gone down in quality & up in price over the years since the recession hit. It's still not bad - I'm out of pocket about $80/mo for family medical, dental & vision coverage, plus life insurance (for me, spouse & kids), matching 401k and AD&D. Also 4 weeks of vacation, 5 days sick time & major holidays.

What's the job like? Very roller coaster. Some down periods, some crazy busy periods. You have to be an excellent multi-tasker, and must be able to reprioritize on the fly. At this point it's more about the politics & budget than about technology, although you're still involved in very high level decisions. Hopefully you paid attention in the accounting & finance classes you took, since they now come into play.

Would you recommend the career to others? If you have a good blend of technical AND people skills, then yes. I've been in IT for 20+ years & in leadership for about 1/2 of that. Biggest surprise for me was how much the focus shifted from technical to financial, so you must be familiar with depreciation, budgeting, forecasts, etc. For the technical side, surrounding yourself with good employees is the key to your success.

I really enjoy this topic. I figure I'll come out of hiding and contribute.

Gender: Male
Age: 22
Location: PA
Occupation: Website Support Contractor
Education: BS in Management of Infromation Systems
2012 Salary: $21/hr (~42k annual)
Future Salary Projection: I don't know.
Benefits: None. I can get them, but at prices so high I'm better off opting out.

Whats the job like: I work for a contractor who delegated me to a financial company. I take calls from internal and external customers who have issues with the company website. If it's something complex, I troubleshoot. But generally it's simple stuff (password reset, wrong url, etc). It's pretty low volume (about 20 calls per day), and my work days are only 7.5 hours.

Recommendation: It's a great first 'real' job, because it gets me valuable 'corporate experience' with fairly solid pay. It's routine and not very demanding - I tend to just go into autopilot. I use the ample down time to browse forums (like right now!).

Gender: Male
Age: 22
Location: AZ
Occupation: Business Analyst
Education: BS in Finance
2012 Salary: 50k
Future Salary Projection: I don't know.
Benefits: Medical/Dental, Pension, 401k match, 2 weeks vacation, work from home one day a week,
Whats the job like: I do entry level project management by building cost and schedule models for aerospace equipment.

Recommendation: Can't complain for my first real job out of college. The job is very laid back and I can pick up pet projects if I'm bored. It does get a bit mundane at times because there is a lot of repetition.

Gender: Male
Age: 24
Location: NJ
Occupation: Software/Systems Architect (most people at work call me a 'systems engineer')
Education: BS in Computer Information Systems, 2 years of help desk experience, 6-month co-op in IT for a large company
2011 Compensation: ~$60-70k including 10% bonus.. can be a little more or less depending on company performance. About 2 years of experience

Future Salary Projection: Lots of room for advancement/promotions, depending on how hard you work and how good you are at your job. About 2.5% annual raise, promotions give around 5% (probably averaging every 3 years or so for a promotion). A lot of older employees are retiring in the next 5 or 10, so the outlook is pretty good.

Benefits: Very good medical/dental, and very cheap.. deductible is kind of high, but that's better for a young, healthy person like me. 401k is matched up to about 5%, lots of time off - 18 days/year total, plus 'unlimited' sick days (although they 'target' 2 sick days per year). Working from home is generally encouraged after working for 2 years, assuming your performance is good.

What's the job like?

I talk to business people and read business requirement for technical features that someone wants to implement. My team does software for routers, so there's a lot of networking involved. I then design a solution to the business requirements, and write up a somewhat technical design document for the developers to use when developing the software.

Our projects are very long-term - they take anywhere from 3 months to a few years, averaging about a year I think. I generally have one or two projects each quarter, depending on how complex the projects are.

Would you recommend the career to others?

I would definitely recommend it to others if you're good at explaining technical concepts clearly, and if you have a lot of patience. The hardest part of the job is making sure everyone else understands your designs and being able to ask the right questions to get the information you need. If you're patient with explaining concepts and listening to people explain things, then the job is pretty good.

If you get frustrated easily, or you have a hard time dumbing things down for people, or if you don't like IT, software architecture is definitely not for you.

It pays well though and it's pretty low stress, so if you're looking for a good IT job, software design is where it's at.

I've barely posted on the forums at all over the last 6 years but thought I'd post on this.

Gender: Male
Age: 27
Location: RI
Occupation: Chemical Process Engineer
Education: BS in Chemical Engineering
2011 Compensation: 63K
2012 Compensation: 76K

Future Salary Projection: Staying just as a Engineer would lead to probably 120K in the foreseeable future, but can use the engineering degree and background to leap around to many different areas.

Benefits: Pay is now pretty good. The company had to give me a big boost after 3 slightly more senior engineers all left within 9 months of the same time because of the low pay. 401K matches 50 cents on the dollar of the first 5% (but need to be there for 5 years to keep it).

What's the job like?

I like the job but it has some very very crazy hours and requires some holiday coverage, etc. Since this is a manufacturing facility it is loud, extremely hot (+100 degrees in many areas), and dirty. I do enjoy what I do though and like the people I work with, but honestly I don't see myself doing this long term. I plan on going back to school and going for business (family wants me to try for medical school).

Would you recommend the career to others?

Process engineering is a pretty stable career with a pretty high demand, but sometimes those jobs are not in the parts of the country you wish to be. I receive calls regularly from locations in the Midwest and down South asking if I am interested in a new opportunity (nothing wrong with those areas, but I am not looking to move there at this time).

Many people think being an engineer is glamorous. I'm pretty much 50% QC, 50% production technician, and 50% maintenance. I know that is 150%, I'm just joking about how much can be expected of you. What is wrong with the equipment and when will be running, why is the product failing internal/customer spec, and how come production wasn't up to snuff last night?!

Quote from ziptree : Occupation: Associate dentist. Education: D.D.S. 2010 Compensation: $180,000. What's the job like? I fix teeth. What more is there? Would you recommend the career to others? Most definitely -- except if you live in California or New York. Great career, multiple opportunities for advancement if you're not afraid of assuming the role of owner of a dental office. Very little, if any, overtime depending on what you want out of life. I'm working as hard as I can now to build up liquid assets in order to acquire some rental property and to plan for the future. In a few years, I imagine I'll scale back my hours once I'm able to buy a dental practice for myself.

Dentists can enter a broad range of work depending on what they prefer. Just off the top of my head there are: Periodontists who are gum specialists and do implants, Pediatrics which is dentistry for kids, Geriatrics (dentistry for seniors - that's where I work), Oral Surgeons who work with the jaw and face and can do complicated extractions, Denturists who focus on making partials, dentures, and other prosthesis, Orthodontists who are dentists that do braces. Some dentists in CA have taken to doing the job of dental hygienists. Dr. H in San Mateo, CA had a dentist who was doing nothing but cleaning teeth each day.

Other dentists can become teachers in dental or hygiene schools or can join the speaking circuit and make money by offering CE courses at dental conventions. Other can become consultants to firms that make equipment for dental offices. So to say a dentist simply 'fixes teeth' is not really accurate for someone who is looking to enter the field.

Of course dentistry is different wherever one goes. Perhaps in Texas, all dentists do is fix teeth. I don't know because I've never been to Texas. I'm sure any Dentist here can also attest that if you own your own dental practice, your working hours will only increase, not decrease compared to being an 'associate dentist' where you don't have to worry about your lease, employee overhead, benefits, insurance, ordering supplies, and a host of other things.

Quote from zhelder : I'm the OP of this thread, and what you say is true, to a certain extent. I live in NJ, which is a very expensive state in terms of housing prices and property taxes, especially in the northern half, where I live. But since my salary is significantly higher than it would be in many other parts of the country (in some cases I make double or even triple what I'd make in other parts of the country), I still come out ahead in my expensive state. Aside from housing, property taxes, insurance, and a few other items, what I pay for items in NJ is the same as I'd pay in Louisiana, California, or Kansas. When I buy something from Amazon (and I buy a whole lot from Amazon), I pay the same amount that people in other parts of the country pay. Food and gas are actually CHEAPER in NJ than they are in most other parts of the country, believe it or not.

CA is really expensive and it's not the same as Louisiana or Kansas. You buy a monitor or a computer and you've got to pay for the Electronic Waste Recycling Fee which can be pretty stiff depending on what you are buying. A small bottle of water in CA has .05 or .10 cents tacked onto it (recycling fee) depending on the size of the bottle. I pay .13 cents/mo more because I still have a CA cell phone number for my smartphone. Unless you've lived in CA you don't understand how you have to pay for things people take for granted elsewhere. Bottom line: when you buy something from Amazon you're not paying the same price as someone in California. Maybe for some items, but when you look at the overall picture people in CA pay more.

Quote from stevenq : Dentists can enter a broad range of work depending on what they prefer. Just off the top of my head there are: Periodontists who are gum specialists and do implants, Pediatrics which is dentistry for kids, Geriatrics (dentistry for seniors - that's where I work), Oral Surgeons who work with the jaw and face and can do complicated extractions, Denturists who focus on making partials, dentures, and other prosthesis, Orthodontists who are dentists that do braces. Some dentists in CA have taken to doing the job of dental hygienists. Dr. H in San Mateo, CA had a dentist who was doing nothing but cleaning teeth each day. Other dentists can become teachers in dental or hygiene schools or can join the speaking circuit and make money by offering CE courses at dental conventions. Other can become consultants to firms that make equipment for dental offices. So to say a dentist simply 'fixes teeth' is not really accurate for someone who is looking to enter the field. Of course dentistry is different wherever one goes. Perhaps in Texas, all dentists do is fix teeth. I don't know because I've never been to Texas. I'm sure any Dentist here can also attest that if you own your own dental practice, your working hours will only increase, not decrease compared to being an 'associate dentist' where you don't have to worry about your lease, employee overhead, benefits, insurance, ordering supplies, and a host of other things.

The intent of my post wasn't to delve into what opportunities are available in my field. It answered the question -- "What's your job like?" And *MY* job is to fix teeth. I don't teach, I don't lecture, I'm not a consultant. *I* fix teeth.

With that said, since I've posted, I've acquired two dental practices and while the stress is comparable, the actual time I spend in my practices is a fraction of what I did while I was working for somebody. With the proper systems in place and an experienced management team that I trust, I'm free to do what I want most days without a nagging feeling of something having gone terribly wrong at the office.

Gender: Male
Age: 26
Location: DC
Occupation: Consulting - Fed
Education: MS Policy
2011 Compensation: 72k
2012 Compensation: 80k

Future Salary Projection: Increases are minimal, given the slow economy and being stuck at a relatively low performing team. Working on capturing an independent contracting/consulting role to at least double my salary.

Benefits: Pay is not too bad. It is a big name consulting, so exit opps are great. 15 PTOs, tutition reimbrusement, and you know... the standard stuff. 100% 401k vesting after 5 years is attractive.

What's the job like?

Stable hours vs. commercial consulting

Would you recommend the career to others?

Absolutely. You get to learn, learn and learn.

Quote from dokstarr : Many people think being an engineer is glamorous.

LOL, no. No one thinks that.

I've been on this forum since like forever, when I was still in school, and now been working for 4 years now. Don't post/reply much but this topic is pretty interesting so I thought I'd share some of mine.

Gender: Male
Age: 29
Location: SF Bay Area
Occupation: Software Engineer
Education: MS & BS combo in Computer Science
2011 Compensation: 100k base
2012 Compensation: 115k base

Future Salary Projection: Probably ~3-5%/year, will get a jump (10-15%) if get promoted again. Bonus is generous (projected 10-15% like any other tech company out there, maybe higher or lower depending on personal performance).

Benefits: Pay is not bad (but can definitely be better). One of the big name tech so my resume also gets pimped up if I ever want to jump ship. 15 PTO days first 3 years and get 5 more days if I stay longer (4-6 years I think), tuition reimbursement on job-related fields, and all the standard insurance (vision, dental, life, etc). 50% 401k matching, vest right away. Free gym & meals, several onsite convenient services (oil change, car wash, haircut, etc).

What's the job like?
Flexible hours, I normally get to work later (10-11am) to escape from the traffic, there's no fix working hour (can be 5 hours, or maybe 10 hours) and no one really checks as long as I complete the assigned tasks.

Would you recommend the career to others?

Definitely, but only you are into the coding (programming) and stuff. Gets pretty boring if you don't like to stare at the monitor all day.

11/2011 - 12/2012
Gender: Male

Age: 25

Location: FL

Occupation: Help Desk-Tech Support for Financial Advisors

Education: high school diploma

2012 Compensation: $34,000

Future Salary Projection: Found out in my last week my raise was ~11% ($37,500)

Benefits: 10 vacation days, 5 sick/personal days, 401k- dollar for dollar up to $500 then it's 50 cents for each dollar for the next $500 ($750 a year), Profit sharing and Stock options based on years of service. Medical/dental is $52 a month for pretty great coverage

What's the job like? Took 4 weeks of training to get on the password queue then 2 weeks to get on the main queue. I really enjoyed the job because of the people I worked with and how good I was at it. Didn't want to leave but opportunity knocked.

Would you recommend the career to others? Some people really wouldn't be able to handle it. It's a case by case basis. Hearing about the other call centers people have worked at I would not recommend it unless it was the company I worked in.


1/2013
Gender: Male

Age: 25 (26 in summer)

Location: FL (until summer a new facility is built and I move to Colorado)

Occupation: Computer Operator

Education: high school diploma

2013 Compensation: $42,000 (until Colorado then it's 51,000)

Future Salary Projection: I'm about 1 month in and will be the second most senior person moving to Colorado. I expect that'll be worth something.

Benefits: 10 vacation days, 5 sick/personal days, 401k- dollar for dollar up to $500 then it's 50 cents for each dollar for the next $500 ($750 a year), Profit sharing and Stock options based on years of service. Medical/dental is $52 a month for pretty great coverage

What's the job like? Still in training but learning TACL and BMC: Control-M is going to take months from what they tell me. The hours are 6pm-6am 3 days a week one week and then 4 days a week the next. Working on holidays won't be so bad.

Would you recommend the career to others? Too soon to tell. My brother did it for 3 years and left that type of work to become a Server Technician.

OP here again. Here's my 2012 information, for those who are interested:

Gender: Male

Age: 40

Location: Northern NJ

Occupation: Urban Educator (My fancy title for a teacher in a city of low socioeconomic standing)

Education: M.A., plus 33 additional credits

2012 Compensation: $100,600 (Base Pay, some extra pay for curriculum writing, and some retro pay due to a delayed new contract.) Base salary for the 2012-2013 school year is a whisker over $100,000. It would have been a couple grand more, but of course, since it was my year to hit the top of our guide (based on the old structure), they added steps to the new contract.

Future Salary Projection: Not too much further to go from here in my current position. Salary will go up about $1500 next year and perhaps $3000 the year after that. Then, it might go up $1700 or $1800 per year.

Benefits: Full medical, although teachers in NJ now have to pay a percentage of their salaries for their medical benefits. (It's currently based on a sliding scale, based on income, but no less than 1.5% of base salary.) We get modest dental, generous sick and personal time, a decent pension plan (at least if the state doesn't default on the benefits), tremendous job security once you achieve tenure (but virtually none before that, and even with tenure, you can still have the daylights menaced out of you. Also keep in mind that not all states offer tenure, in which case you can pretty much be fired at will no matter how much time you have in a particular district.) In almost all districts in NJ, you can accumulate sick time from year to year.

What's the job like?

Very difficult and getting more difficult by the year. Tremendously long hours, almost no down time during the school day (I don't take lunch very often), lots of work at home, deplorable working conditions, with some classrooms reaching temperatures of 90+ degrees and others below freezing. You will also most likely need to spend a decent amount of money on supplies for students because your school won't provide them, even though they insist on your using them. Very little respect and support from most supervisors, parents, and students, although I will admit that things seem to have gotten a hair better between teachers and administration in my district (overall, anyway).

Would you recommend the career to others?

Every year, it's become harder and harder for me to recommend teaching as a career. The public employee bashing in the U.S. is still pretty strong, with teachers still at the top of the "Bash List", although it seems to be subsiding a bit compared to what it was like the past two years. This is not an easy job. If you're doing it correctly, it's at least a 50-60 hour a week job, and it's 50-60 hours of grueling work. Teachers in urban districts in particular have taken a real beating. They are expected to be miracle workers, solving all of our society's ills. And, sadly, new workers are likely going to suffer the most. NJ has already cut pension benefits and increased retirement ages for newer workers, and, honestly, it wouldn't surprise me to see pensions eliminated for new employees as well as two or three different salary tiers for teachers based on their time of service in the near future.

This is not an easy job. If you think you can handle it, go for it, but keep in mind that it's going to be a tough road ahead for teachers for the foreseeable future.