Off Sick Today...Got Me Thinking...

[Provost Harrison]

You know, thinking can sometimes be a dangerous thing, but this was quite an important consideration.

I was talking to our beloved Dauphin down the boozer on Saturday. about trying to get more money out of my company - I have worked there for coming up to two years and I have a pretty important role, I am the lead analyst for testing AZT...basically all the AZT in the world passes through us. With the AIDS epidemic in Africa our workload has approximately doubled and we have had to do the analysis without any higher staffing levels.

On top of this I have had other validation projects, instrument maintenance, etc, etc, I have had to take care of. I really deserve quite some pay rise and promotion for the backbreaking work I do, often, working most sundays and often up to 12 hours a day. But you know how bureaucratic big companies can be and how their system fails to acknowledge talent and ability. Our team has some fantastically talented people who they have only retained because they haven't got round to finding another job. One of them is still a temp after nearly 18 months, and this guy has a 1st from KCL. And they treat us like crap, constantly clamping down. They count errors against us, which is definitely against the spirit of GMP (the rules laid out by the regulatory authorities for the pharmaceutical industry, in a nutshell) and I feel that we are doing well despite the company and the management, not because of them.

Well on Monday I learnt that one of my colleagues has got another job (the site seems to be losing experienced staff like an exodus at the moment), basically as a manager in a compliance department with about 14 people reporting to her. She's a great lass, but she is younger and less experienced than I am - I have to take care of far more stuff in my job. And best of luck to her, but it get's you thinking...

This isn't the first time members of our department have had jobs thrown at them with their previous experience. Usually they are snapped up with the company they worked for and got a significantly better deal out of it, and by that token, I could be able to get a sizeable jump in pay. It was sizeable when I changed to this job, but if they aren't going to keep me happy and give me what I am worth, then I am going to have to be mercenary and jump ship. I am eagerly waiting the results of my review for last year but I am not optimistic due to the bureaucracy, but I hate the prospect of job hunting (although it should prove to be considerably easier than last time going by other people's experience).

So what do you reckon?

[Japher]

you don't get what you don't ask for

I asked for my last promotion, and it was after 2 years of work.

[Provost Harrison]

Thankyou Japher, you're quite handy kicking around here working in the same sector. Hell yeah, if they try to fob me off with no upgrade and an inflationary increase in pay I won't be best pleased...

[C0ckney]

i think that taking sick days is not the way to promotion

[Provost Harrison]

Ah shut it you...I have been off sick for genuine reasons

[Flubber]

My experience is that a truly great employee will get the pay raises but they may need to ask for them-- If you want to get a sense of what is out there, why not

1. push your employer on pay-- do your research and present your case

2. Start applying for other jobs-- The offers you get ( or don't get) will give you a better sense of your marketability and your worth -- You may find you are badly underpaid-- heck you may find that your rep isn't as good as you think-- But either way you will know better what your options are-- I don't think it hurts you for your employer to find out you have been getting offers

[Japher]

health care sector usually has unlimited sick time

besides, since PH is "salary", it don't really matter what he does as long as the work he is responsible for is getting done

I was 2 years as a Process Engineer I and I told the boss that I thought I deserved to be a PEII and that all the items that were on my job description as an entry level engineer were now done with ease and professionally. Boss agreed.

At that time I asked for a time frame on when to expect my next promotion and what I would need to do in order to earn it. It took him a couple of months working with HR to get such a list. Still, you need to manage your own career and not let your company do it. Biotech and Pharma companies are good pretty good at advancing people and writing job descriptions, but they aren't very good at performing the recognition only because our HR departments suck.

[Provost Harrison]

Yeah, I am not limited on sick unless it becomes conspicuous. And I am not salaried, it does mean I claw in quite a bit of overtime for the stuff I do. But it is because of that and shift allowance that makes my job pay, otherwise the pay would be pretty crap.

[Arrian]

ALL HR departments suck. It's one of the basic laws of business.

-Arrian

[Japher]

I generally don't mind HR being stupid... as long as they are hot

[Provost Harrison]

Oh ain't that a fact.

Another interesting bugbear is that I had the opportunity to join a project which was the computerisation of a lot of a QA labs work (ie, collection of balance weights and data from various system into a validated system, saving on checking and writing up - the really boring and tedious stuff). The person heading the project was desperate to get me on the project with my IT skills but it was blocked by my manager because they needed me in the lab. My worry is whether I have made myself too invaluable so they are not willing to relinquish their hold on me for a good career opportunity.

[Japher]

Now you sound like Asher

That can happen.

[Provost Harrison]

I have noticed, much to my chagrin.

[DanS]

When discussing salary with your current employer, it will help your confidence in your worth to be in the job market and have something available otherwise. This is at no cost to you, and there is only upside, if you play your cards close to your vest.

[Provost Harrison]

Yes, I am going to start working on my CV (that's resume to N. America) again and start applying...I am going to wait until the full 2 years is up and they give me the results of the review before I act too hastily...