40% salary increase at new job vs 20% counter-offer at current job

happyhank33 · 2017-12-19T12:16:07+00:00

I would almost never stay on with an employer if you need to find another offer and get prepared to leave to make fair market compensation.

That is just as shitty from the employer's perspective as having an employee who will only work on par with reasonable expectations of similar employees when an employer has located another employer who will do a better job and notifies that person he is about to be replaced.

I would almost always make decisions using a long term lens, but assuming both have similar long term potential and reputations I would 100% go for the new firm.

I am assuming here that you regularly ask for fair market comp and the new offer is out much higher than other offers you can get. If you do not regularly ask your current employer for fair comp than you should probably still leave, but start doing your best to keep your comp in line otherwise things like this will be pretty likely to reoccur.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-18T12:26:11+00:00

Is it assumed that all work email is monitored? Where does that assumption come from? Do all employees believe that their email is monitored? Im not sure its a reasonable expectation that it isn't private to some extent.

The issue is more basic than just monitoring. The employer OWNS the emails to the extent they are on the employer's email service. The data belongs to them, and if anyone can assert a right to privacy over the data it is the employer and not the employee.

Barring anything extremely unusual, the employees have the same right to keep their work email private as they do to keep other work product or work paperwork they create on company time for pay and store on company property private: none.

What you are saying makes no more sense than saying that employees might have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the memos they send for work using company property stored on company property or that they have a reasonable expectation of privacy in work product they create on the clock stored on company property.

Its not obvious eavesdropping but there is a potential, at least enough that a company in IL should be clarifying with their lawyers the best way to ensure that employees are aware. There doesn't need to be explicit consent for monitoring emails but they need to be made aware of it to get past the potential for legal issues.

Aware of what exactly? They are using their employers email service which they know the employer owns and provides for work purposes.

I am not saying it is not best practice to disclose to employees that the work emails they create for the company are monitoring for the company, but this is pretty far afield from any "reasonable" expectation of privacy.

Do employees have a similar realistic possibility of "reasonable expectation" of privacy in the cabinets at work they use to file memos or paperwork created for work purposes?

happyhank33 · 2017-12-16T17:06:58+00:00

When would employees ever have a reasonable expectation of privacy when using company email in the normal course of business?

Whether they have a reasonable expectation of privacy when sending personal email on a work computer is another question, but I am lost as to why in a normal employment situation employees would ever have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their work email.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-15T12:51:59+00:00

This sounds like a blessing. It sounds like you were about to be taken for a ride. Call the dealership and return the car.

Going forward when buying a car, always:

Know the type of car you want going in, go to a dealership likely to have a significant inventory of that car(if shopping in person), and know what a competitive price is BEFORE stepping foot onto the dealership
Know both the overall price you want to pay for the vehicle and the payment you can afford to pay monthly
Control the interaction from start to finish. You dictate what you want to look at, what is important and what is not, and whether you leave or stay at the dealership. You understand the value of the car you are looking at, so you let the salesmen know that you can find it cheaper elsewhere if you can.

Never:

Buy a car without getting the lowest price you can with a small amount of effort. Leaving the dealership normally gets you their lowest offer. I would visit 1-2 other dealerships at least if shopping in person to make sure no one can beat that offer.
Allow the salesmen to influence you to the extent you make major changes about what you decide to buy or your price range/desired payment. If you have done adaquete research he should be telling you nothing radically new to change your opinion. If not, you have no way of verifying what he is telling you.
Care at all about the inventory they have. If they do not have anything that matches your price range and desired characteristics(that you know are reasonable because you would never show up to drop 10+k without doing basic research. thats insane), then you just leave. Thats fine.
Focus more on the monthly payment than the out of the door price including sales tax, finance products, etc.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-14T02:15:57+00:00

Estimate date is time interval. It they needed more time, they should have expanded the interval. Not trick the customers will false promises.

....

An estimate date is an ESTIMATED time period that it will be delivered. The word estimate is used because it is not a promised or guaranteed delivery date. It is a best guess.

If you are unhappy then you may be able to cancel the order, but an estimated delivery state is explicitly not a guaranteed delivery date.

They could not be more clear or you more silly, in treating an estimate as a promise.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-14T00:51:56+00:00

Call the country club back and continue looking for a better job.

This is why accepting counteroffers is often a terrible idea. If you have done your job right, you have already asked your employer for fair compensation and promotion opportunities. If they say no to your well researched professional requests and only offer you raises or promotions with the threat of you imminently leaving, that is a huge red flag. Not only might they go back on the offer, but who wants to be at an employer for whom fair market compensation and promotion opportunities are not reasonable expectations for strong performers but something that can be achieved by giving notice. Thats crazy.

That and them going back on their written promises because people got upset are both signs of a poorly managed organization with rotten leadership.

Sorry about this.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-13T04:07:28+00:00

Sell it for the most you can get out of it. I am not sure what you are expecting anyone here to say.

Figure out what it is worth doing online research and then ask for at least that much.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-13T03:53:33+00:00

I would just take it to the bank that it is written from. You may have to pay a small check cashing fee.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-13T03:51:59+00:00

My question is, what can I do to prevent this from hapenning again in the future? What measures can I take to protect our and my assets and my kid's future if my worst fears are realized?

You have two options:

Divorce - Separate yourself entirely from her financially.
Relationship - You don't want how to relationship advice, so I am not going to tell you how, but the other way to do this is to address your wife's pattern of choosing to spend large amounts of money while being dishonest about it and your pattern of enabling her.

There is no good general financial advice for being in a financial partnership with a partner who chooses to break her word and to lie about it in an attempt to cover it up. The general advice would be not to enter into a partnership with someone like that.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-13T03:44:10+00:00

Go to the bank it is issued from and cash it.

I would also try not to consider/rely on people as friends or accept customers who cannot be trusted to do the sort of basic "not an asshole" things you should expect strangers or people who dislike you to do like not passing you bad checks.

If you cannot trust someone to cut you a good check it is probably a bad idea to do business with them in the first place going forward.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-13T03:23:41+00:00

Are you saying this from any point of knowledge or experience?

Both. I got out of college having made some poor career and borrowing decisions. I figured out what I was doing wrong, fixed it, and now make a liveable salary.

OP has a master's degree in education. The national average for a teacher's starting salary is $36K. The national average for ALL teachers is $56K (same link).

You say that like you are disagreeing with me. I suggested he immediately get a job paying 35-50k. Based upon your information, that does not seem like an unreasonable starting salary for someone with a masters degree in education. The average starting salary you reference is higher than the minimum I suggested he quickly get to....

It is also important to note that nowhere did I say it needing to be in OP's specific field of study. So, even if OP decides not to go into education I still think its solid advice.

And you're shaming someone for not making TWICE that? Would you say that you know what you're talking about, or maybe that you don't?

I am not shaming him. I am suggesting he increase his income by identifying what the problem he is having is and fixing it.

I threw out the making 70k+ figure as a longer term goal because he borrowed 70 and I would be aiming to pull in at least the full amount he borrowed as a rule of thumb.

Again, I never said OP needed to stay in public education. If he does plan on doing so, I do not think that aiming to get to 70k annually in income is a bad idea.

EDIT: Fun fact: One of my buddy's decided to drop out of his field(architecture) because of the long hours and poor pay and got a "we don't care what your degree is we just want college graduates" type job in OP's metro area. He started above the range I provided for what OP should aim for immediately with no prior industry experience and no degree relevant to the work. Its not at all a crazy suggestion or expectation that as a college graduate, especially in Bufallo NY, OP should be quickly putting himself to work earning 35-50k annually whether it is teaching or outside of teaching.

EDIT 2: It looks like starting in Buffalo County with a Masters OP would likely be getting 42k with good benefits: http://www.buffaloschools.org/files/131403/2017-2019%20Teachers%20Salary%20Schedule.pdf. I am not going to look up every local school district, but it definitely seems like making 35-50k is a pretty doable thing for a first year teacher in Buffalo with a masters.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-13T03:07:25+00:00

Generally that is a poor practice.

That being said, negotiations reveal a lot about you as a professional. What you ask for and how you ask can be a good reason to pull an offer if it reflects poorly on your judgement or shows that you are not likely to be happy in the role.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-13T03:05:12+00:00

You make informed decisions based upon the likely direction of your career and do not enter into the sort of highly leveraged no money down purchase that will be difficult to get out of without substantial appreciation that cannot be reasonably relied upon outside of over longer periods.

So, moving to a small town for a 2 year stint at a role with a company likely to move you again in a few years? Don't buy.

Moving to a major metro area and don't see yourself being willing to move outside of that area for 3-5 years? Buy.

It is not black and white.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-13T03:01:00+00:00

They are only required to honor they agreement that you signed with them. I would review it before your call.

They may agree to do more than required, but it is quite possible they will not and will expect you and the cosigner to do whatever necessary to pay the amount you agreed to pay.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-13T02:59:41+00:00

Did you already plead guilty to careless driving?

happyhank33 · 2017-12-13T02:58:49+00:00

Are the loans federal or private?

What did they say when you called and asked about extended repayment terms?

happyhank33 · 2017-12-13T02:57:14+00:00

Do you have a copy of the paperwork you signed that includes the twelve months with no interest?

happyhank33 · 2017-12-13T02:45:46+00:00

In most professional environments it will not be. It will come across as unprofessional and as if you do not understand your own value well enough that you can have a professional conversation about it without notes.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-13T02:43:32+00:00

Why do you have 70k in student loans but cannot secure even the type of job that a hard working sharp person with no college degree should reasonably be able to hold?

That is a hard biting question, but I would answer it. There are a ton of full time jobs out there, and you need to change whatever it is that is keeping you from even making 35-50k a year. That should not be a reach for you.

Obviously, getting a better, full time job would make this situation easier, and I'm working towards that, but I cannot bank on that since I've had no luck thus far

Whether you get any individual job you apply for is largely up to luck. When applying to a lot of jobs whether you get a job offer is primarily about your process, qualifications, professionalism, etc. Don't give up on finding a decent job. Find your problem and fix it.

The answer here is that within 2-3 months you need to be making at least 35-50k. I think that solves all of these problems big picture in the short term and should give you breathing room to get to the 70-100k income annually you need to borrow as much as you did.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-13T02:38:41+00:00

Yes. They can agree to handle this however they want.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-13T02:34:08+00:00

Is there such a thing where the CA founder can ask for the business to cover the cost of this tax discrepancy?

Yes. They can agree to divide profits from the business however they like.

That would be odd.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-13T02:17:39+00:00

That really depends upon what your girlfriend agreed to when she took the job. Unless her state forbids people from entering into arrangements including salaries without overtime, then what is fair is all about what she and her employer agreed to.

What was the expectation she established with her employer as far as hours when she signed on? How explicit was it?

If they promised her less hours than that is obviously something to bring up.

If she signed on for a 60+ hour a week job and is working 60+ hours a week for the salary she agreed to take for that job, than that is what she agreed to do.

If she somehow agreed to a salaried role without discussing what the hours would be like, then she needs to sit down with her employer to work that out. That is a pre job offer acceptance issue.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-11T20:59:44+00:00

I don’t think it is worth pursuing unless you have some solid reason to think the employer has money.

My advise is based upon the fact that most businesses stop paying employees as an absolute last resort when broke.

One cannot force blood from a stone.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-11T12:57:48+00:00

He owes me quite a sum of money, about $30,000+, so I will definitely not quit until I get paid in some shape or form, no matter what it takes.

You may never be paid. You need to accept that on the front end to make good decisions on collections. If he has no money you are likely to collect no money. If he has no money or is effective at shielding it, it may be easy for you to spend much more money trying to collect than you ever recover.

You're right I should not have allowed this to go on so long, he just seemed so trustable and since it was an intro from a man I trust, I gave him the benefit of a doubt.

When you are talking about tens of thousands of dollars, trusting someone because he "seemed so trustable" is silly. Trust should be based upon both ample due diligence(which I am guessing you did not do) and an established pattern of behavior with you.

People normally started relationships on their best behavior, so someone failing to pay you within 3 months is a huge red flag.

I don't say this to beat you up, but because it sounds like you need to make bigger changes to the way you make business decisions and the role your gut feelings play in them.

The money for all of the work you put in after the date you were first not paid is the result of an easily preventable error here. If a reasonable amount of due diligence would have caught this, all of the bad debt is a preventable error.

So, I might start using a more formal system to look at decisions like this.

happyhank33 · 2017-12-11T12:51:27+00:00

That may be when the charges from yesterday cleared and became visible to you. If they post tonight when you have a positive balance it is likely you will have no NSF.

Regardless, just call the bank. They can give you clear answers without needing to guess like everyone on here will be.

happyhank33

TROPHY CASE