Just to let you know, I am a newer college grad, I graduated in December 2023 and I have been working as an entry-level software engineer in a VHCOL area (Bay Area). Currently, I am making 90k a year with a 5k sign-on bonus. I know my compensation is very low for the area but I took the job because I felt like I had a lot of opportunity to grow in the Bay Area. Anyway, when negotiating my salary, I was told by the recruiter my salary was good especially since I had 100% of my medical/dental/vision paid for. This put me at ease and I decided not to negotiate my salary but instead ask for the aforementioned sign-on bonus. Fast forward two months of working here and they are now announcing that our benefits package is being downgraded and we now need to contribute to our medical/dental/vision package for 2025. They also lowered PTO from 25 days to 20 a year as well as removed yearly performance bonuses, this was a shock to me I didn't think this kind of change could be announced in a short "all hands meeting". This is a government contractor so they claim this is what the contract mandates.
I am wondering if it would be appropriate to ask for a pay increase. I was naive when I agreed to 90k but now that I am taking even more of a pay cut to contribute to my own benefits I know I will be even more financially stressed. I know many will suggest I look for work elsewhere but like I mentioned I am early in my career so I would like to stay with the company to build experience.
Submitted October 02, 2024 at 11:14PM by Loud-Opportunity-300 https://ift.tt/aXyP24A
