How long should I stay at this job.

[HEyHEY]

Some of you must have seen my post about the late email. I also have two other friends in the inudstry making at least $5.00 an hour more than me with car allowances.

I like my job and this town, but the money isn't up to par by comparison. How long should I put in as a courtesy before I look for something else? Iwas thinking five months, then it'll take a couple to actually find something, what do you think?

[KG]

1. my last job i stayed at 2 months

thought i'd give 'em 3 months to make good on what said they would do, but after 2 mos. i could see that wasn't ever going to happen.

gave 'em a weeks notice.

[HEyHEY]

3. well I like these people

ANd they haven't lied to me, I just wish I WASN'T THE ONLY GUY AROUND HERE RIGHT NOW!

I don't want to leave them hi and dry. But I don't wanna make peanuts for the rest of my days either.

[JVS]

2. Till the day they put you in the cold ground!

Or whenever you feel like quitting. It's up to you.

[HEyHEY]

5. Stupid honour!

I almost wish they were pricks so I wouldn't feel bad about going anytime I wanted

[RebelOne]

4. Are you in the journalism field?

If you want to move to Atlanta, GA, there is a job opening at my company for a copyeditor, which is what I am also. Effective Jan. 9, one of the copyeditors is leaving, and so far the company has not found a replacement. Which means I and the other two copyeditors are going to have to take up the slack for a while. Pay sucks, but benefits are great.

[HEyHEY]

6. Yeah I'm a reporter

But I'm Canadian, so I doubt it'd be easy to get the papers together (green card etc...) Plus I just started two weeks ago.

[Mikimouse]

7. Build up your folio of columns

That shouldn't take too long, and then you will have a better chance to get what you want. As I say, it shouldn't take you very long to put together a goodly set of publications. Good luck!

[HEyHEY]

8. thanks

I really want this paper to get up and running again so I can do just that!

[gmoney]

9. By all means... jump around

Jumping from one job to the next REALLY impresses future potential employers, especially the ones with career positions to offer. Because the thing an employer is really looking for is someone he can spend weeks training to do a job, waiting for the employee to produce some results, who then quits and takes the training without ever contributing anything to the bottom line. It also makes the guy wonder what REALLY happened that prompted you to quit all those jobs. (Like maybe you were given the opportunity to resign...)

I'd say be grateful you have a job, don't compare your pay to others in the industry -- there are a LOT of reasons for differences in wages: personal performance, experience, time with the company, qualifications, the company's performance, margins, benefits, geography, which way the wind's blowing, and YES the job market.

Employers know that there are lots of people who will line up to do your job if you quit, and for less money. For some employers, this is an opportunity to exploit, for other smaller companies, it's the only way they have a fighting chance of competing and weathering the current economic climate.

Be grateful also that you have an employer who isn't going to shitcan you just so he can hire the first person who comes along who will work for $1 less an hour, or ship your job to India.

So, talk to your employer if it's a REAL problem, and he might work with you, or set a goal to meet to get a raise, or offer you other non-salary compensation (like extra time off, or a 4x10 workweek, or use of a company computer or whatever).

"Our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is over."

[HEyHEY]

10. Well I'm in Canada

But thanks, that's advice I'll have to think about.

[Nikia]

11. Stick with it for a while

Having a job that you like is a good thing. Since you are at the start of your career and realtively young, I think that you should work at least a year before you even think about looking for another job. If there is some kind of raise/evaluation time during that year or shortly after, you might want to ask your employer about a substantial raise if you have done a really good job.
I have heard that it is good to hold your first career level job for two years as far as looking good to potential employers. If you don't see great oppurtunities opening up, you may want to wait an extra year. More employers will take you seriously and probably give you a better starting salary with two full years of experience. Before then, some employers see you as "entry level". You are also more likely to get a better evaluation from your current employer.
Of course, if things start going really bad for you there or you are facing eviction from your apartment because you cannot afford rent, look for something else.
I know that I am impatient too to get a "good job", especially since I hate my current job, but you'll be working for the next thirty or fourty or more years. Two years isn't the rest of your life.