+55 votes
by (780 points)
Hi everyone!  job crisis here.Hi everyone! job crisis here. (forgive me if this is against the rules) but i need some advice about my current job. I love my job. I love my coworkers. i hate how i live in NY and make $15 an hour. 35 hrs a week. How would you go about not making much money? Talk to HR? Speak with my boss? New job? My bills are starting to add up (unforseen medical problems) and i have been applying to extra part time jobs. I don’t want to leave my job but i feel like i’m going to have to with current life finances
Hi everyone!  job crisis here.(forgive me if this is against the rules) but i need some advice about

17 Answers

+29 votes
by (7.3k points)
What do you do? How long have you been there?  
0 votes
by (6.1k points)
$15 isn’t a livable wage. I’d find a new job!  
by (1.6k points)
@stroller66879 she said Tucson
by (1.6k points)
And everything depends on how you like to live! I have 3 kids and I’m always looking the best neighborhood for us. My husband is a truck driver so I have an idea of how much money monthly I need to live well! I know $15 and just working 35 hours at week is less than 2000 that is just for rent water and electricity if is a good month. that is if you don’t have car, insurance and bills . and I forgot you also have to eat.  
by (1.1k points)
@solvolysis30 it was 28, 000 when I was there.  
by (1.4k points)
@cantankerous I am saying exactly that. Pay then SO much more
by (17.9k points)
@fragonard9 big difference down there from up here  
+27 votes
by (5.6k points)
What is it you do? Is it the kind of place you can negotiate?  
+39 votes
by (780 points)
I work at a Law Firm in the default services department. I’ve only been here since June but since then i’ve taken on a lot of extra work—my boss always tells me how valuable i am (and i love my boss, she’s the best) I accepted this job because it was higher paying than the job before (i was making 12. 75 LOL) And yes, in NY $15 an hour just doesn’t cut it  
by (1.4k points)
I asked for a review too. Hoping it comes through. Small raises add up!  
by (780 points)
@siskind Rochester!  
by (5.2k points)
@situation3770 You should definitely ask for a raise or maybe get a part time job on the side. I think that should be a little better. I’m the in same boat with you I make $15 an hour. I’m able to pick up extra shifts and then at the same time I can’t because daycares and extremely expensive. I finally got my 4year old in a free program at this private school. It could be super tight and being in NY they definitely need a raise. It may come along with raising housing cost if they don’t have rent control.  
by (220 points)
@situation3770 are you a paralegal? I live in New York and do loan modifications for lawyers and do refinance closings for banks as an independent contractor. I do mystery shopping as well.  
by (190 points)
@situation3770 I’m in Hornell
+50 votes
by (9.4k points)
Have you done research to see what the average pay is for your current position and experience?  
+52 votes
by (7.9k points)
You can ask for a raise. The worst your boss can say is no. What does that position pay with other companies?  
+53 votes
by (2.4k points)
Ask to meet with your boss and ask for a raise presenting your more than 7 months with the company, taking on extra work, her praise, etc. I’d also ask to work 40 hours/week.  
+18 votes
by (460 points)
It’s so hard in NY  everything is so fricking expensive here! I see some people talking about their mortgages and it costs the same amount as my rent! I would say ask for a raise and begin looking for higher paying jobs, just in case
+44 votes
by (1.3k points)
You live in NYC, make $15 an hour, and work 35 hours a week. I feel you. When I first moved to Chicago, I made $12 an hour, and that isn't livable in a major city. I got a job bartending one night on the weekends, and I started pulling in $1, 000 cash. Now, I had experience, and I was working in the most popular club in the city, so that isn't standard, but you could definitely get a job working in the food service industry for one day a week and make good extra money. One of my former students is an actor in NYC, and he works 2 days a week at Le Pain Quotidien in the Financial District, and he makes about $800.  
+12 votes
by (4.2k points)
I think it depends where you are in NY in terms of comparable salaries. Upstate - maybe you can swing one if you're in a "city" like Albany, buffalo or in Westchester/White plains area. If it's a college town or Podunk. Doubtful. If you're in NYC, any of the other boroughs or on long island. I'd say go for it and DEFINITELY ask for a raise. My best friends mom owns her own law firm and pays her receptionist $18/hour and she just started there (and we're on LI and this girl is like. brand new, In college, working part time and had no real experience) Before I left my receptionist job for a surgical practice to be a SAHM I was making $20/hour and that was 3 years ago. I started at $16/hour and got a raise every year or so. Like someone else mentioned above - worse your boss can say is "no" OR at least tell you "we have a pay raise schedule - you'll get an increase at x amount of months" There's no harm in putting it out there. New York is HARD girl. I feel this so hard.  
+4 votes
by (1.5k points)
Can you give more insight into your bills?  
by (1.8k points)
We don’t even need insight into her bills to know that she can’t survive in NY on 15. 00 an hour. An apartment the size of a closet is $2, 000. If you find an apartment that’s has a solid one bedroom and you get a roommate, you can reduce your rent to $1, 800. Add in utilities, food, taxes, transportation, etc, it’s not enough to live.  
by (1.5k points)
@graniah6720 there is no need to attack me. I am trying to understand her entire financial situation before I open my mouth and give someone advise. Yes 15/ hour is not enough in New York. It’s especially not enough if you eat out every day.  
by (1.8k points)
It was not an attack on you at all. It was support for the OP and expressing how appalling the cost of living is in NY and in other parts of the country. I have a huge issue with the current status of some of our major cities.  
+22 votes
by (1.5k points)
Discuss with your boss and be real. I changed careers and am starting at my lowest hourly wage as an adult. I went in in January and discussed growth options, bonuses, and a raise. And they all start for me next month. Sometimes you just have to buck up and ask.  
+26 votes
by (8.1k points)
If I loved my job I’d speak to my boss about a raise. If that was a no go, then I’d look at maybe just getting a side job. Now if I hated my job lol I’d be gone  
+31 votes
by (430 points)
My husband makes $24 and will soon be making $28 an hr come June. (IBEW Electrician) We are in MS and this pay is actually considered above normal. I am looking into becoming an RBT which makes $15 an hr and is very doable in my area. Most people here can live off almost $15 an hr. Granted our cost of living is cheap and we are one of the lowest poverty states. But if it’s unlivable where you are I would look into another job or possibly talk and see what else could be done. Maybe a raise or another position with more money or even more hrs.  
+46 votes
by (1.4k points)
I live in NY (upstate) too and it sucks! When was the last time you got a raise? Can you work more hours?  
+46 votes
by (430 points)
First question is do u live in NYC or NY (upstate)? Two very diff costs of living lol
by (780 points)
@gar3 upstate, however, $15 an hour still doesn’t seem enough for most of us
by (430 points)
@situation3770 of course, I don't believe it would be enough for anyone to support a household. If you were in NYC i would have said just look for a better opportunity that pays more as there is plenty of work available. But being that ur upstate I would imagine not as many opportunities available so I would definitely compile a list of things you have done to improve your company and ask for a raise so long as you can back it up
by (780 points)
@gar3 NY as a whole drives me nuts. wish i could move
by (430 points)
@situation3770 yes its crazy. I grew up in nyc all of my life and moved to new jersey 2 years ago. Not super cheap but not as expensive as nyc and quality of life is just so much better, i dread going to ny now if i have to visit my mom or go to family events lol.  
+3 votes
by (6k points)
I’m assuming the cost of living at $15 in NY isn’t really doable. Can you look for another job with better pay? Sometimes if you gain experience you can look for another job and get better pay. For ex: I was working at a job in Accounting and was moving (half hour from where I lived), but needed a new job due to commuting. The new employer had no idea how much I was making and they have no way to verify that. So I lied and told them I was making more than what I actually was and ended up with at $10k raise that year because I made myself worth more. If you can hang on there for at least a year and then look elsewhere, I would try that. If you really need to start looking now, get out there and oversell yourself.  
by (6k points)
@roti thank you! Companies undervalue people all too often.  
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