Web Designer Salary Questions

justwondering

Hi All

Just wondering if I could get some feedback on my salary. I am out of college 3 years now graduated with a BSc in Multimedia. I am now in my second job as a web designer. My skill set is photoshop, illustrator, quark(all round designer), flash, html, php, classic asp, asp.net, MY-SQL, xhtml/css layouts and fully profficient in WAI Accessibility Requirements/Standards.

At present the company I work in has just the one designer, me, and we are extremely busy. Infact there is enough work for another designer and a student to do maintenance alone. My boss doesn't see it that way so I am just buried, but coping (1/2 hr lunches and no breaks). I am currently on 29,500 per annum and would like to talk to him about an increase due to the fact that I am so snowed under the whole time and doing the work of two people...I just want to know where I stand on the pay scale and at what point are Web Designers salaries capped.

If I approach an increase what should I ask for?

Thanks in advance

Ph3n0m

It all depends - are you doing design and development work - then I think you should be up around the 34K mark

But if you are only doing just design or just development - then the money you are on is fairly average for someone of your experience

justwondering

Ph3n0m wrote:

It all depends - are you doing design and development work - then I think you should be up around the 34K mark

But if you are only doing just design or just development - then the money you are on is fairly average for someone of your experience

Yes, Design & Development.

I guess I want the rise because of the fact that he wont pay a second person. Is that fair?

Ph3n0m

justwondering wrote:

Yes, Design & Development.

I guess I want the rise because of the fact that he wont pay a second person. Is that fair?

Very bloody fair and in fact I would start building your case up that you are doing the work of X people, that you work X hourse (especially if you work late or weekends)

Plus there are certain places looking for people with your skills at the minute, so its not like you wouldnt have anywhere else to go

comer_97

great developers who are great designers are very marketable and quite rare.

Which do you see yourself as? A developer who designs or a designer who develops.

In search for better money be careful not to over estimate your development skills.

And about your salary it all really depends on how crucial to the company the web is. If it'sa company with brochure sites and the odd registration form you are being well paid... but if it is a company who sell online and have a marketing plan and are pushing the web aspect of their business you are being underpaid.

Ph3n0m

comer_97 wrote:

great developers who are great designers are very marketable and quite rare.

Which do you see yourself as? A developer who designs or a designer who develops.

In search for better money be careful not to over estimate your development skills.

And about your salary it all really depends on how crucial to the company the web is. If it'sa company with brochure sites and the odd registration form you are being well paid... but if it is a company who sell online and have a marketing plan and are pushing the web aspect of their business you are being underpaid.

That is quite true. Like the OP I have all those skills - but I wouldnt consider myself a designer

justwondering

comer_97 wrote:

great developers who are great designers are very marketable and quite rare.

Which do you see yourself as? A developer who designs or a designer who develops.

I am a designer first and foremost. I have a natural ability for develpment. I get a very big kick out of it. Where I work at present I take the job from the ideas stage right through to testing...without me there would be no sites, simple as.

The sites range from brochure sites right up to SQL driven reservation systems for hospitality industry, anything and everything really.

comer_97 wrote:

In search for better money be careful not to over estimate your development skills.

OK, just spent the last year dragging everyone in the company over to CSS layouts, the developers don't really get it :rolleyes: so I end up doing most of the other development too.

comer_97 wrote:

if it is a company who sell online and have a marketing plan and are pushing the web aspect of their business you are being underpaid.

The company provides this service for our clients, as i said its mainly hospitality industry with a good few of the major players.

Ph3n0m

Hold on if you are a developer aswell - what are the other guys developing in?

comer_97

i've working in many companies where the web developers and developers are completely seperate. Web Developers are often put in MIS or Marketing Departments.

If you are doing all that you are very much under paid!

Are you in large or small company. I'm asking because of things like pay scales and salary reviews, are things done properly where you work?

TempestSabre

Why not just move to a job with better hours, workload and salary?

Hellm0

Dude I would move out of that job ASAP, was in a similar position myself not too long ago and moved, best thing I ever did. Beleive me, its often not worth the hassle trying to change the company, they wont give you the same pay rise as if you move to a new company and your responsibilies probably wont change seeing as smallish companies are often hesitant to hire new staff when they have one guy working for half the wage of two people doing the same work.
There are a good few jobs out there for people with design/development experiance so your not by any means stuck where you are.
That said, from a career perspective do you really want to be in that kind of position? The money in IT comes with specialisation, if your doing development its best to stick to development, if your doing design stick with design. I wouldnt be a jack of all trades for long personally.

justwondering

Ph3n0m wrote:

Hold on if you are a developer aswell - what are the other guys developing in?

The other guys work in php, c#, J2EE, ect.

They work in the background adding things to the CRS, building upon and improving our OM solutions ect.

justwondering

comer_97 wrote:

If you are doing all that you are very much under paid!

Are you in large or small company. I'm asking because of things like pay scales and salary reviews, are things done properly where you work?

I thought so. Its a small company with very big ideas, in other words, it would be a large company if MD let go of purse strings but is too scared.

In terms of things been done right had an informal review last month where i was told that they couldn't function without me. I debated the cae for a new designer/developer but went ignored.

I am female and I cannot help but think that if i was male he'd be more obliging in money, and work load matters

comer_97

could very well be the case the your opinions are being ignored because you are female, but i wouldn't focus on that.

If you feel overworked and undervalued you should move on and find somewhere were you are, take your time and have a good look what's out there.

You will definitely go on to greater things

TempestSabre

Why not just move?