Read This If You Think You Should Be Paid What You're Worth
This has come up a few times, recently, so I figured I should talk about it.
There is nothing wrong with believing in yourself.
There is nothing wrong with getting paid what you're worth.
But here's the issue I'm seeing:
Just because you have 10 years of experience and a master's degree doesn't mean that the business will need to pay you for it.
I know that's upsetting.
Here's what I mean:
If you have 10 years of sales training and then you want to be a news anchor, the news station can't pay you what you used to make in sales.
Why not?
Sales is a different industry that values a different skill set.
The news team has a budget for the position they're trying to fill that maps to the value that position provides the news station.
That means that even if you were a news anchor with 500 years of experience and a gazillion 5-star references, that news team has to decide how much the news anchor position is worth to the station.
You might be overqualified.
You might be underqualified.
Understand that this has nothing to do with your value as a human being. That's different.
What we're talking about is your monetary value to a company in a mostly capitalist economy.
In this case, the market decides what you're worth--not you!
This is pretty disorienting to some people because many of us were told that we'd be more marketable with an advanced degree, or that this particular certification would ensure we'd earn more.
That might be true in some cases or industries, but it's because that's what the business has chosen to value--not because you've earned a skill that the entire economy values.
Please do not conflate self-worth with your position's worth to your company.
2 Minute Action:
Instead of asking yourself "am I getting paid what I'm worth," ask yourself "how valuable is my position?"
If you're an entrepreneur, this is still true for you. You are still accountable for out-earning everyone else in your company.
You can answer this in 2 minutes. The answer is your salary.
If you don't think it's enough or aligned with your value to the company, it's time to talk to your supervisor.
Start with "I'd like to make $xx.xx. How might we make that happen in our company?"
The answer might be "that's not possible in your role," which is great news! You just found out that you need to change paths.
That's way better than spending 10 years in a position that's not valued.