Are You Paid Fair?

by | May 31, 2012 | Career Help

Am I paid enough? It’s a question everyone occasionally asks, but what is a fair salary for your type of job in your city or region?

Figuring out compensation can be tricky as two people in the same positions could receive different compensation as they have different set of qualities, skills and experiences. The best way to accurately answer the compensation question is compile as much research from multiple scores and use them all together to create an average or typical compensation package.

The Internet is a good place to start your compensation search. AC People gives you salary information for a wide variety of positions, and also lists the top 10 paying jobs. SEEK gives you detailed information about a particular function’s wage, depending on years of experience, education, and additional criteria such as work/life balance, and perks. For the official government word on wages, check out Fair Work website where you can learn more about pay, check the average pay rate for your job and your pay rights.

In addition to reviewing salary reports, keep in mind to review job listings and notice the ones that post salary information. Use these as gauges as most likely starting point for wages for the certain position. You most likely will start noticing a trend in the salary amounts listed on job postings.

Association publications and trade journals are also valuable resources and often publish annual salary surveys but be aware that the figures provided may be too general. However, those salary surveys still give you a starting point in seeing what the industry typically provides. If you are a member of a work association, they often publish annual salary surveys for your particular work focus and can often help give you career advice and coaching by being a member.

Asking other professionals, and your colleagues may be intimating as discussing wages is often not done, but just by asking general salary advice or ranges will make it easily to discuss. Recruiters are also a good resource to use, as they most likely will be able to give you information for your geographical area and job function.

The last item to consider when determining if you are being paid fairly is reviewing the entire compensation package, meaning not just your wage but including the benefit of the additional items your company provides. Examples include free gym access, paid membership associations, free lunches, discounted tickets, etc as all of these items could significantly increase your overall wage.

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3 Comments

  1. Michael Belk

    We are always wondering if we get an equal pay, but the answer is normally no. You can ask for a raise but you run the risk of being fired.

    Reply
    • vlasta

      You should be able to find out your correct wage, through FWA. Asking for a raise is not an uncommon, you could get no, but hard to believe you would get fired. Employers in Australia, need to have a better reasons to fire an employee than just because they ask for a pay rise. Usually every year in Australia we have a federal wage increase and this year it is on the 1st of July. You should get a pay rise regardless.

      Reply
  2. Jill Watson

    Excellent post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am impressed!Extremely useful info specially the last part I care for such information a lot.I was looking for this particular info for a long time.Thank you and good luck.

    Reply

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