How Much Are You Worth?

How Much Are You Worth?
by Beverly Terrill

I believe the ideal job for any of us would come with a 6 figure annual salary and a short responsibility list. Unfortunately, most come with the opposite. We usually feel like we need more money but even if we get it, more is added to our job description.

When you are searching for a job, any job, you have to keep in mind that generally the market dictates the salary. For instance, I was working for a nationally recognized home store. The starting salary was not much above minimum wage at the time. After working there for about 3 months, my wages were suddenly bumped up by $1.15 an hour. I didn't ask for a raise. It was an across the board hike. Large companies will normally structure a pay scale by either conducting a pay survey or using surveys published by the Chamber of Commerce or US Department of Labor. The pay survey gives them a range of how much is being paid for specific areas of expertise. If the company does this annually, and there have been rapid changes in the economy, it could cause a pay increase such as I experienced. Rarely will your pay decrease, but if the situation were reversed, your pay range may be lowered hence less of a raise at your next evaluation.

So why did I just go through all that? Well I am a certified Professional of Human Resources but that wasn't really the reason. I explain that to say this; you may think that since you are currently making $50,000 a year as a mechanic at the dealership, surely you could make $70,000 as a Winston Cup engine builder. But there are lots of factors to take into account. First of all, where do you live? Is the cost of living extremely high? If so, that means your same job in another city with a lower cost of living would be worth $40,000 and you would maintain the same lifestyle as you do today. The opposite would also be true.

When you decide to get into the racing industry, base your worth on what you know to be true. Don't look at a team and think, since they just won a million dollar bonus, I could make more money there than across the street. Because that isn't necessarily true. The winning team may have twice the employees and therefore pay smaller salaries. You should go on your job search loaded with information. You need to look at the cost of living, what your job would be worth in NC for example as opposed to Montana. It's the same situation for someone in public relations or a clerical position.

I found some very cool websites that give lots of helpful information on finding a job. You should just go to your favorite search engine and type in salary comparison. I did this on google.com, my favorite and I found careerbuilder.com. This site has a very cool script that allows you to choose your job and put in your zip code to find out what your range would be. This is an excellent resource for figuring out how much your worth.

As always, the more prepared you are when you apply for a job in the racing industry, the better you will be. Don't under value yourself nor take a large pay cut if you can't afford it. There should still be consideration given for certifications, experience etc. And remember, once you get into this business, if you're good at what you do, you won't have to worry about your salary.