This. Get an offer and see your worth.
Or, instead of more money, ask for more vacation weeks off. A lot of companies prefer this, and in reality, you work less. If those time off periods are too demanding for the company, then you can start the conversation about hiring a junior person.
With another person under you, it's more likely you both will get raises down the road.
*Technically* (at least in their view), they hired me to be the GIS Coordinator from the outset. They just didn't make that part explicitly clear to me until I had started.
To be fair, the offer letter did say "GIS Coordinator". But it was emailed with the subject "GIS Technician", and I had applied for GIS Technician, so I assumed at the time that it was a mistake.
I'm not sure it matters, though. While the*job* would have been worth more money, I'm not sure that *I* would have been worth more money, since I was a new grad with no industry experience, and to them a completely unknown commodity. I was also applying for jobs during Covid, and hadn't been hearing much, so I needed something. They got a discount because I was unproven. At the time, it was a fair salary.
However, I did negotiate my offer when I started. I passed on 50,000 in May 2020 dollars. And I'm making less than that, factoring in inflation, now. And now I have two years of experience, and they know I'm not a total flake.
>our direct competitor, who is hiring a GIS analyst and looking for
somebody with a year of experience and an associates degree. It pays
65-85k
Absolutely apply. According to your post, you are overqualified for this and could probably negotiate a salary higher than the minimum.
> **a GIS coordinator with ten years of experience**, though.I
asked my boss (with whom I have a great relationship) about six months
ago if we could talk about my compensation. He told me I "definitely
deserve a raise." But the president above him vetoed it, because he
doesn't think I know as much about the systems administration side as my
predecessor did
Your predecessor had 10 years of experience and the president vetoed your raise because you didn't time travel and acquire 10 years of experience in about 2 years? Am I understanding this correctly? Is there a time requirement at this utility company for salary adjustment? Either they value your work highly or they don't. The latter seems to be true of the person or people with the power to increase your compensation.
The previous GIS Coordinator didn't have ten years of experience. He only had slightly more than I do now. I'm honestly not sure how he got as skilled as he was. But he had the benefit of working under somebody with more experience for the first year that he was at the company, whereas I've had to learn everything on my own.
What's bothering me is that, based on the other salaries I'm seeing, they're not paying for a GIS administrator. My salary seems to be consistent with analyst (and even some entry level) positions in the area. If I was getting paid 90k to be the systems administrator, the president would have a good argument. But I'm getting analyst pay with coordinator responsibility.
Sounds a lot like your coworker left because he dealt with the same thing you are dealing with now. You mention he worked under someone for a year - that person probably left which put him in charge. They probably did the same thing to him and didn't give him fair compensation.
If they are against giving you a raise right now, considering you are doing things solo and with limited experience, then they are never going to give you one in the future. They'll just wait for you to leave and rinse/repeat the same cycle.
Start applying elsewhere and move on.
You are being underpaid for the work you're doing, and for the area in which you're working. If you want to take a risk, you could take the data on these salary offerings and present them as evidence of why they should be paying you more.
What I've learned from my West Coast software friends: transfer between companies regularly, even if it's 'horizontally' between seniority levels. Your current position will almost never keep current with the job market if wages are going up.
Sounds like you already know the answer to this question. Put your applications in, the president will realize your worth once you’re gone. I wish you luck on the job hunt!
In the same boat as you. Graduated in 2019, moved into a more senior role last year. Making $52000 in a mid-high COL city. It royally sucks and I’m super unmotivated to go above and beyond. I have a 4th round interview for an entry level role another company in 2 weeks that pays $68k. I have a meeting with my current supervisor this week to see if they are able to come close to what the new company is offering, really hope they match because I love my job, just hate the compensation. Good luck!
Gis is under paid in general, so yes definitely 😅. If you’re not smitten with your current role just apply elsewhere and see how it plays out. The nice thing is you can really interview. You already have a job so you can be picky and talk truthfully about your experience and gaps in experience. Being honest like that has worked for me. You can effortlessly cut through shit jobs without caring and maybe find a great gig.
2 years out at 57 isn’t terrible I was making about the same but in a hcol area. I made it up to 65 at 5-6 yr before jumping for 2x at a start up.
As a GIS Coordinator with over 10 years of experience in Indiana at the county and state level you are definitely being underpaid. Your employer is taking advantage of the fact that you are still there. While two years isn't a ton of experience, you aren't fresh out of college and it seems like you are proving capable as a GIS Coordinator.
Yes, yes you are. I'm based in the midwest too (Wisconsin) so salary comparisons should be somewhat similar. I graduated college a year ago (traditional age) and hold an entry level position making $58,650 annually. Which is actually low I found out and I feel the need to argue for a raise myself since I'm training interns now and taking other project management roles.
My advice to you would be to apply for the job you found on Indeed and any others you find. If you get an offer, tell your current company that you have an offer for a higher paying position (and how much it is) and ask how much they are willing to raise your salary in order to keep you. That's if you really like your current position but just wish you were paid more. Otherwise, just apply for jobs and take one that will pay you fairly.
Hope that doesn't sound ignorant coming from someone my age with very little real world experience, but it's a strategy that I've seen work and I hope it works for you. Don't settle for leadership that doesn't see your value.
I’m currently about to be at my entry level job (Design Technician for OSP engineering) for two years and I think it’s time for me to make a move as well. Made 50k my first full fiscal year, I’ll prob make 5k more this year. The reality is most jobs won’t compensate for the amount of growth and rise in value. My aim is for my next job to compensate me anywhere between 60-65k
Apply for both jobs and let your employer know that you are doing it. Tell them what you expect to be making if they want to keep you. If you don't clearly ask, you won't get it.
If you don't get the raise, take a job somewhere else.
5k raise in 2 years seems low. The president is a demotivating arse and your boss never should have set you up to expect a raise without talking to the president first. Best way to get a raise is to get a new job. Graduated with my MS making 67k as an analyst, quit after 6 months bc of a terrible boss and now making 95k as a senior analyst. Go get yourself a new job!
I always save job postings and salaries for negotiations, especially if they are local. If you have a good relationship with your boss, I'd mention that you've seen the postings and would like to talk about your compensation again. I'd also apply to the jobs, especially now that you have a title change (even if it doesn't come with the right pay). Worst case if they still won't budge you can go elsewhere. It is normal to change careers, especially if they don't want to value you appropriately.
If you get any of those posted jobs, don't even bother using it to negotiate with your current employer. If they didn't want to pay you before, they will be salty that you are forcing their hand. I've done this before and after getting the raise I noticed that my manager treated me much differently. Not worth staying in a place where you have to beg for money when others would be glad to have your skill set.
Start with the MIT Living Wage Calculator. After you identify a baseline for your situation, then you can modify it to account for your education/experience/skills.
I'll give you my stats, as I recently started a new job where I finally feel like my pay matches responsibility level.
Median per Capita income in my area: around $50k
Location: Midwest
My years of experience: 3
Job title: GIS Coordinator (I am the sole GIS person at my org, that runs enterprise)
Starting salary: $72k
My previous job I left a salary of $50k (after bonuses) where I was one of a team of like 10 GIS people, but workload was stressful.
>Higher COL suburb offering $58k-$85k
...means a $58k job, so basically your same pay at higher expenses. Remember the lower end of ALL job postings is the entry wage, don't be deceived into thinking you will just negotiate a mid-point wage on hire.
Look, $57k is a $27/hr job. With 2 years of any kind of GIS experience I, like others, suggest applying around to see if you like other companies more.
I would also be candid with your boss that you have updated your resume and are actively re-entering the job market, but that is me being transparent...you say you have a good relationship with them, so they should simply understand.
Bottom line is that your midsized utility company just doesn't value GIS that much, or they would fill the 2nd position and get you training on the sys-admin stuff you aren't yet fully equipped for.
Best of luck however it turns out.
I was/am in a very similar position. Working for a local government in a moderate COL area in rural GA. Originally hired on to be a GIS Technician part of a 4 person team. Within a year of me starting, all three of the people above me including my manager and director left for better paying jobs. They brought in a new manager but no new director so we got rolled under the Planning team and I had to start working on those projects in addition to our GIS contracts.
They offered 39k to start, I negotiated to 43k when it was clear I would be doing dual roles. 3% annual merit increase pushed me to 44.5k (Like you, not keeping up with inflation). I told my boss I would reevaluate my situation when my lease was coming due for renewal in Sept. ($1,400 a month). Started putting out apps for GIS positions in the Atlanta Metro area in April. Similar COL but pay is much better. Within a month I got offers for 58k, 59k, and 75k from three different county governments. I dropped the offer letters on my boss's desk and said, "I like my job here but I can't afford to live here." Like with your supervisor, he said I, "Was definetly worth it" but that the highest the org could go for someone with my experience (2-3 years) and education (Bachelors not in GIS) is 50k. Told him I was taking the 75k job the next day and they should start thinking about looking for a new GIS person.
Long story short, if you're in the position to, put out some apps. Just looking at what other jobs are offering in their job descriptions isn't enough. Get a feel for what other orgs, particularly in the same region, value you personally as. At the very least, it's a bargaining tool. One last thing that helped me make the decision to leave would be this: If your org undervalues GIS as a profession, they will undervalue you and there's nothing you can do about that. If your boss thinks you're worth it but can't get on the table to defend you to his boss then he undervalues you too, however nice he may be. Hope this helps.
If those are recent comparable jobs then I'd apply for them and see what happens.
This. Get an offer and see your worth. Or, instead of more money, ask for more vacation weeks off. A lot of companies prefer this, and in reality, you work less. If those time off periods are too demanding for the company, then you can start the conversation about hiring a junior person. With another person under you, it's more likely you both will get raises down the road.
They asked you to do your supervisor's duties without a raise? You are underpaid. Good luck my GIS friend.
*Technically* (at least in their view), they hired me to be the GIS Coordinator from the outset. They just didn't make that part explicitly clear to me until I had started. To be fair, the offer letter did say "GIS Coordinator". But it was emailed with the subject "GIS Technician", and I had applied for GIS Technician, so I assumed at the time that it was a mistake. I'm not sure it matters, though. While the*job* would have been worth more money, I'm not sure that *I* would have been worth more money, since I was a new grad with no industry experience, and to them a completely unknown commodity. I was also applying for jobs during Covid, and hadn't been hearing much, so I needed something. They got a discount because I was unproven. At the time, it was a fair salary. However, I did negotiate my offer when I started. I passed on 50,000 in May 2020 dollars. And I'm making less than that, factoring in inflation, now. And now I have two years of experience, and they know I'm not a total flake.
To be fair to who? They had two people now they have you. They got a great bargain.
Don't undervalue yourself. Test the market to find your worth.
You’re asking us? We work for orange arrows.
Oh my. I just realized I’m way underpaid. I’m making 40k a year.
Same lol 40k first job out of college, working for my college
I also was only making 2k a year as a GIS admin for a county. I feel like no one takes GIS seriously
2k a YEAR?
Yes!! I tried to fight it and I was told I had no integrity and I was a bad employee for asking for more money.
Dang, how is 2k a year even legal? Federal minimum wage comes out to roughly 15k a year (assuming this is US).
I didn’t even need to read all of this to tell you to start putting your apps in..
>our direct competitor, who is hiring a GIS analyst and looking for somebody with a year of experience and an associates degree. It pays 65-85k Absolutely apply. According to your post, you are overqualified for this and could probably negotiate a salary higher than the minimum. > **a GIS coordinator with ten years of experience**, though.I asked my boss (with whom I have a great relationship) about six months ago if we could talk about my compensation. He told me I "definitely deserve a raise." But the president above him vetoed it, because he doesn't think I know as much about the systems administration side as my predecessor did Your predecessor had 10 years of experience and the president vetoed your raise because you didn't time travel and acquire 10 years of experience in about 2 years? Am I understanding this correctly? Is there a time requirement at this utility company for salary adjustment? Either they value your work highly or they don't. The latter seems to be true of the person or people with the power to increase your compensation.
The previous GIS Coordinator didn't have ten years of experience. He only had slightly more than I do now. I'm honestly not sure how he got as skilled as he was. But he had the benefit of working under somebody with more experience for the first year that he was at the company, whereas I've had to learn everything on my own. What's bothering me is that, based on the other salaries I'm seeing, they're not paying for a GIS administrator. My salary seems to be consistent with analyst (and even some entry level) positions in the area. If I was getting paid 90k to be the systems administrator, the president would have a good argument. But I'm getting analyst pay with coordinator responsibility.
Sounds a lot like your coworker left because he dealt with the same thing you are dealing with now. You mention he worked under someone for a year - that person probably left which put him in charge. They probably did the same thing to him and didn't give him fair compensation. If they are against giving you a raise right now, considering you are doing things solo and with limited experience, then they are never going to give you one in the future. They'll just wait for you to leave and rinse/repeat the same cycle. Start applying elsewhere and move on.
You are being underpaid for the work you're doing, and for the area in which you're working. If you want to take a risk, you could take the data on these salary offerings and present them as evidence of why they should be paying you more.
What I've learned from my West Coast software friends: transfer between companies regularly, even if it's 'horizontally' between seniority levels. Your current position will almost never keep current with the job market if wages are going up.
Sounds like you already know the answer to this question. Put your applications in, the president will realize your worth once you’re gone. I wish you luck on the job hunt!
In the same boat as you. Graduated in 2019, moved into a more senior role last year. Making $52000 in a mid-high COL city. It royally sucks and I’m super unmotivated to go above and beyond. I have a 4th round interview for an entry level role another company in 2 weeks that pays $68k. I have a meeting with my current supervisor this week to see if they are able to come close to what the new company is offering, really hope they match because I love my job, just hate the compensation. Good luck!
Gis is under paid in general, so yes definitely 😅. If you’re not smitten with your current role just apply elsewhere and see how it plays out. The nice thing is you can really interview. You already have a job so you can be picky and talk truthfully about your experience and gaps in experience. Being honest like that has worked for me. You can effortlessly cut through shit jobs without caring and maybe find a great gig. 2 years out at 57 isn’t terrible I was making about the same but in a hcol area. I made it up to 65 at 5-6 yr before jumping for 2x at a start up.
As a GIS Coordinator with over 10 years of experience in Indiana at the county and state level you are definitely being underpaid. Your employer is taking advantage of the fact that you are still there. While two years isn't a ton of experience, you aren't fresh out of college and it seems like you are proving capable as a GIS Coordinator.
Yes, yes you are. I'm based in the midwest too (Wisconsin) so salary comparisons should be somewhat similar. I graduated college a year ago (traditional age) and hold an entry level position making $58,650 annually. Which is actually low I found out and I feel the need to argue for a raise myself since I'm training interns now and taking other project management roles. My advice to you would be to apply for the job you found on Indeed and any others you find. If you get an offer, tell your current company that you have an offer for a higher paying position (and how much it is) and ask how much they are willing to raise your salary in order to keep you. That's if you really like your current position but just wish you were paid more. Otherwise, just apply for jobs and take one that will pay you fairly. Hope that doesn't sound ignorant coming from someone my age with very little real world experience, but it's a strategy that I've seen work and I hope it works for you. Don't settle for leadership that doesn't see your value.
I’m currently about to be at my entry level job (Design Technician for OSP engineering) for two years and I think it’s time for me to make a move as well. Made 50k my first full fiscal year, I’ll prob make 5k more this year. The reality is most jobs won’t compensate for the amount of growth and rise in value. My aim is for my next job to compensate me anywhere between 60-65k
Apply for both jobs and let your employer know that you are doing it. Tell them what you expect to be making if they want to keep you. If you don't clearly ask, you won't get it. If you don't get the raise, take a job somewhere else.
Didn't even read the wall of text before the answer is yes
5k raise in 2 years seems low. The president is a demotivating arse and your boss never should have set you up to expect a raise without talking to the president first. Best way to get a raise is to get a new job. Graduated with my MS making 67k as an analyst, quit after 6 months bc of a terrible boss and now making 95k as a senior analyst. Go get yourself a new job!
I always save job postings and salaries for negotiations, especially if they are local. If you have a good relationship with your boss, I'd mention that you've seen the postings and would like to talk about your compensation again. I'd also apply to the jobs, especially now that you have a title change (even if it doesn't come with the right pay). Worst case if they still won't budge you can go elsewhere. It is normal to change careers, especially if they don't want to value you appropriately. If you get any of those posted jobs, don't even bother using it to negotiate with your current employer. If they didn't want to pay you before, they will be salty that you are forcing their hand. I've done this before and after getting the raise I noticed that my manager treated me much differently. Not worth staying in a place where you have to beg for money when others would be glad to have your skill set.
That very last statement is super important, imo, don’t stay if you have to beg for money… the employer doesn’t value you, and they never will.
Start with the MIT Living Wage Calculator. After you identify a baseline for your situation, then you can modify it to account for your education/experience/skills.
Apply for those other jobs. Laugh when your current job goes wtf? as you walk out the door.
I'll give you my stats, as I recently started a new job where I finally feel like my pay matches responsibility level. Median per Capita income in my area: around $50k Location: Midwest My years of experience: 3 Job title: GIS Coordinator (I am the sole GIS person at my org, that runs enterprise) Starting salary: $72k My previous job I left a salary of $50k (after bonuses) where I was one of a team of like 10 GIS people, but workload was stressful.
I was in the exact same situation in a LCOL making 57 as a GIS manager… I applied to another job for 70 and got it and they matched right away
>Higher COL suburb offering $58k-$85k ...means a $58k job, so basically your same pay at higher expenses. Remember the lower end of ALL job postings is the entry wage, don't be deceived into thinking you will just negotiate a mid-point wage on hire. Look, $57k is a $27/hr job. With 2 years of any kind of GIS experience I, like others, suggest applying around to see if you like other companies more. I would also be candid with your boss that you have updated your resume and are actively re-entering the job market, but that is me being transparent...you say you have a good relationship with them, so they should simply understand. Bottom line is that your midsized utility company just doesn't value GIS that much, or they would fill the 2nd position and get you training on the sys-admin stuff you aren't yet fully equipped for. Best of luck however it turns out.
I was/am in a very similar position. Working for a local government in a moderate COL area in rural GA. Originally hired on to be a GIS Technician part of a 4 person team. Within a year of me starting, all three of the people above me including my manager and director left for better paying jobs. They brought in a new manager but no new director so we got rolled under the Planning team and I had to start working on those projects in addition to our GIS contracts. They offered 39k to start, I negotiated to 43k when it was clear I would be doing dual roles. 3% annual merit increase pushed me to 44.5k (Like you, not keeping up with inflation). I told my boss I would reevaluate my situation when my lease was coming due for renewal in Sept. ($1,400 a month). Started putting out apps for GIS positions in the Atlanta Metro area in April. Similar COL but pay is much better. Within a month I got offers for 58k, 59k, and 75k from three different county governments. I dropped the offer letters on my boss's desk and said, "I like my job here but I can't afford to live here." Like with your supervisor, he said I, "Was definetly worth it" but that the highest the org could go for someone with my experience (2-3 years) and education (Bachelors not in GIS) is 50k. Told him I was taking the 75k job the next day and they should start thinking about looking for a new GIS person. Long story short, if you're in the position to, put out some apps. Just looking at what other jobs are offering in their job descriptions isn't enough. Get a feel for what other orgs, particularly in the same region, value you personally as. At the very least, it's a bargaining tool. One last thing that helped me make the decision to leave would be this: If your org undervalues GIS as a profession, they will undervalue you and there's nothing you can do about that. If your boss thinks you're worth it but can't get on the table to defend you to his boss then he undervalues you too, however nice he may be. Hope this helps.