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» babble   » walking the talk   » labour and consumption   » fair compensation vs. experience and learning

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Author Topic: fair compensation vs. experience and learning
Lima Bean
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3000

posted 21 July 2003 05:32 PM      Profile for Lima Bean   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Is it worth it to take a job at a rate of pay you know to be below scale if it represents a good learning experience?

How far below scale is reasonable?

How badly would you have to want the experience?

What if it were only for four months, and you knew you'd be able to go back to your original position at the end of it?


From: s | Registered: Aug 2002  |  IP: Logged
swirrlygrrl
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2170

posted 21 July 2003 05:59 PM      Profile for swirrlygrrl     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Good question! (shall I assume there is a specific opportunity in your life that has brought this to your focus Lima?)

As a young worker, I've taken positions that paid far less than they should have for the experience (try all my summer professional jobs). I've seen lots of people take internships or summer positions and such that pay peanuts for the experience, or to get a foot in the door and do some networking. In almost every case, I've thought of these things as exploitative, but that didn't stop me from doing the work for less than half what the permanent, full time person would make. In some cases this is because I know that the organization is doing the best it can, and a higher wage would mean they couldn't offer the position at all, but I've also seen organizations that know that there are enough people desperate for the experience that they'll do it because they can.

I don't think in most cases that I would make the same choices were I established (rarely were these jobs that were exactly what I wanted to be doing), but there are positions that I would sacrifice to do because I think they'd be an incredible experience. Of course, having said that, most workers in the non-profit sector end up getting paid less than they could be (and perhaps should be) in order to work in a sector they feel good about, rather than insurance or such.

Its a nasty issue, because it has often bothered me that those of us who needed to put economic considerations first got denied great opportunities, jobs we would be great at, or a chance to do something we would really enjoy. Being passionate doesn't pay the bills for a good number of us. Guess it'll depend on if you can take the opportnuity without jepordizing your financial security seriously, if you feel the organization is setting the scale so low maliciously or out of need (could be indicative of the amount of respect you'd get in that position, whether you'd be part of the team or expendable) and how much capital, both moral and economic, it would tkae to accept a position under conditions that you don't feel are fair.


From: the bushes outside your house | Registered: Feb 2002  |  IP: Logged
Gir Draxon
leftist-rightie and rightist-leftie
Babbler # 3804

posted 22 July 2003 12:59 AM      Profile for Gir Draxon     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Depends on what kind of time period you are talking about. If you are jsut getting into an industry, you often need experience to get any decent placements. For example, if I decide to go into research after finishing my science degrees (probably need masters to be more than a lab tech), I will probably end up taking just any old position anywhere I can get it. Once I get a year or so experience, then there will be some better opportunities...
From: Arkham Asylum | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
WingNut
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1292

posted 22 July 2003 01:02 AM      Profile for WingNut   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Is it worth it to take a job at a rate of pay you know to be below scale if it represents a good learning experience?

How far below scale is reasonable?



How far below scale and how good is the experience?

I think if you can determine the trade off you will have your answer.


From: Out There | Registered: Aug 2001  |  IP: Logged
Lima Bean
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3000

posted 22 July 2003 10:45 AM      Profile for Lima Bean   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
shall I assume there is a specific opportunity in your life that has brought this to your focus Lima?

You caught me.

The offer is for an interim position lasting four months, at the end of which I have a small chance of being hired on permanently (but they took great pains to tell me how small the chance is). It would probably be a very interesting job, but also very demanding, and with a much higher level of responsibility and accountability than I'm at now.

The salary they offered me is significantly lower than the bottom of the scale for the position, and nowhere near what they're paying the current employee (who's leaving, obviously), because she's near the top of the scale. So I don't think it's a matter of budget constraints.

It does feel terribly exploitative. It would seem that they don't actually believe I'm qualified at all, but that I'll do in a pinch - and they're definitely in a pinch.

At this point, though, the question is more hypothetical and general, because I've pretty much decided to decline the offer. I thought it might make for interesting babbling.


From: s | Registered: Aug 2002  |  IP: Logged

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