r/Career

I've been working at a small HSE training provider in for almost two years. I started at $400/month, and after nearly two years, I earn only $600/month, despite taking on a wide range of responsibilities.

I handle social media management, advertising, daily operations, and administrative work. Whenever something goes wrong or an urgent task needs to be completed, I'm usually the first person everyone in the office turns to. I hear my name from each person in the office 10 times a day.

I also speak two additional languages that the company needs, besides our native language, which makes me an important point of contact. On top of that, I'm responsible for managing the office's cash flow, although the accountant handles the company's formal accounting and financial reporting.

In practice, I wear several hats, and the company relies on me for a lot of things that go beyond my official role.

Recently, I expressed my dissatisfaction with my salary increase. I had received a $90 raise after 3 months as we deald before starting, and, followed by another $120 raise only 9 months after. It is been almost years, they dont pay any overtimes, for additional work and etc. I felt that this wasn't enough considering my responsibilities and workload.

My boss's response was that money shouldn't be the source of my motivation and that I should focus on the opportunities and chances the company provides me instead (we don't even have a basic coffee machine in the office).

What makes this even more frustrating is that my boss earns approximately 2.5 times my salary, despite struggling with basic computer tasks, such as using ChatGPT or deleting a column in Excel. Meanwhile, I'm expected to handle multiple responsibilities, solve problems independently, and take care of urgent tasks whenever they arise.

I understand that experience, seniority, and responsibility can justify differences in salary. I'm not expecting to earn as much as my boss simply because I work hard. However, I find it difficult to accept being told that money shouldn't motivate me when my responsibilities keep expanding but my compensation doesn't seem to reflect the value I bring to the company.

I also understand that a small company has financial limitations. However, if the company cannot afford to pay me more, I don't think it's fair to expect me to keep taking on additional responsibilities based on vague promises of future opportunities.

Should I negotiate more firmly, stop taking on responsibilities outside my role, or focus on finding another job?

Actually I'm already looking for other jobs, so leaving is not really the question. I'm more interested in how to handle situations like this in general.

hello everyone, I need some ideas for weird/niche jobs that aren't talked about enough. I don't have a degree but a lot of magic in me and I don't need good pay. My dad's colleague's daughter just started cleaning shark tanks at an aquarium (from the inside). I have a scuba diving license so that could work. I wouldn't mind being a cemetery gardener or a water slide tester. Any ideas?

I’m genuinely tired of asking for advice about opportunities and seeing the same response over and over again.
Someone asks how to get a job? “The job market is extremely competitive.”
Someone asks about internships? “Internships are ridiculously competitive nowadays.”
Someone asks about PhDs or academia? “You need an outstanding profile. It’s incredibly competitive.”
Volunteering? Competitive. Graduate schemes? Competitive. Entry-level positions? Somehow, even those are competitive.
So what the hell ISN’T competitive anymore?
Genuine question: what is someone supposed to do, then? Not everyone can have publications, prestigious internships, exceptional grades, years of experience, and a dozen extracurricular achievements before they’re even given a chance to start their career.
I understand that competition exists. I’m not expecting opportunities to be handed to me. But when the answer to practically every question is just “it’s too competitive,” that doesn’t actually help anyone.
Are there genuinely any fields, career paths, or opportunities where an ordinary person with a reasonable background can still get started without having to be in the top 1% of applicants?
I’m interested in anything: tech, trades, academia, public sector, volunteering, or completely different career paths. I’m not looking for a shortcut or an easy life. I want to know where realistic opportunities still exist.
If everything is competitive, then where are people supposed to begin?

Anyone else feel like this pay band is the hardest to break through? I’m in a MCOL city. I’ve searched for a year and a half now for better options and it is very difficult to find anything in corporate to improve upon from here unless I wait out another 5-7 years in hopes of huge promotions. I am currently figuring out ways to start my own business in the next 2-3 years max to leave corporate. Curious what others have done in this position.

I'm currently in a field that pays the bills and offers decent stability, but it's not where my true passion lies. I have a long-term goal for a completely different career that would require a significant pivot, more schooling, and likely a pay cut initially. The problem is, I'm finding it hard to openly pursue this ambition while still performing well in my current job. I've been networking quietly, taking online courses on the side, and even volunteering a bit in my desired field. But I feel like I'm living a double life. My current colleagues and manager see me as fully invested, and I'm worried that if I express my desire to switch, I'll be seen as less committed, or worse, get passed over for opportunities here. Has anyone else navigated this? How do you keep your current job happy and secure while secretly plotting your escape? Is it ethical to essentially 'hide' your true career path from your current employer until you're ready to make the leap? I don't want to burn bridges, but I also don't want to get stuck.

Hope we can connect? I want someone to guide me a bit , tbh with you I have completed my mca in this year applying for data jobs snd internships but my whole year went null with just 3 months internship I mean I don't know how people are even getting jobs at all.i need to become financially independent as soon as possible I am in my mid 20s and feeling stuck I mean people are doing freelancing, agencies, businesses, content creation, etc. i don't know I just started my IT career in data analytics domain like started building projects,skills etc then build resume and applied for jobs but got no internships or job it feels like I am totally dependent on job to earn money even if I can do things myself.

I want to start something and earn money not just for survival but more can you guide me what should I do in this situation?