For context I (26m) work for a temp agency as a carpenter. I have been assigned to work with the same builder for almost a year now. When work got slow, most of the other temps got laid off, but the builder liked me and wanted to keep me around, so they've been using me where they can. I am also new to carpentry and don't have much experience. I currently make $20/hr in the upper midwest of the US. I feel like I'm barely scraping by as it is, living paycheck to paycheck, and my cost of rent is set to double in two months when my roommates leave, even though I'll be downgrading to a much smaller living space (I'm currently splitting rent 4 ways and utilities 3 ways). A living wage in my area is *allegedly* ~$24/hr. Every coworker I've seen get fired and most who've been laid off were getting paid significantly more than me. Just saw a guy get fired who was making $26/hr and doing less work than me.
I talked to my foreman at lunch yesterday about actually being hired on by the builder and asked for his advice given my situation, and he said that the builder doesn't like to hire its own employees anymore because they got fraudulently sued a couple times, then recommended that I talk to the temp agency and ask for a raise. He said it's not impossible to get hired on directly, but they just don't do it very often anymore unless you've been with them for awhile, (which he did note that I have been).
I talked to the temp agency after work and asked for $26/hr because that's what the builder was paying for a much worse employee. They said that was crazy and the biggest raise they've ever seen one of their employees get was $1.50, not $6, but told me they'd talk to some of my superiors at the builder and see what they could do for me. They also told me that there are carpenters with 10 years of experience who are making $26/hr.
Am I being unreasonable asking for a $6 raise? Even a $2 raise would not cover inflation. The domestic buying power of the US dollar went down over 9% last year alone, so I would need $22/hr just to make the same as the $20/hr I made two years ago. Is it really going to take 5+ more years before I can make a living wage in carpentry? Should I just give up and change industries? I know a guy who's working corrections (which I've done before in the past) who's trying to get me to come work with him. Starting pay in the high $30s/hr. The main reason I'm hesitating is because I know my quality of life will go down if I do it though, and I'll be more stressed and less healthy. I would have significant amounts of mandatory overtime in corrections. Should I embrace the grind and go into corrections again and say goodbye to my personal life for the rest of my 20s?
TLDR: Both the temp agency and the builder I work for like me and want to keep me around, but don't want to pay a living wage. I have an alternative career choice that would pay almost double but would leave me with almost no life outside of work. What do?