New employment contract (graduate engineer)

cianoc07

Hello,

I have been offered a job in dublin but im not happy with the salary especially for the job being in dublin. I am a graduate engineer and have 6 months college placement experience so i know people are going to say oh you have no experience really. But I still think the salary is not great as there 10 hour days. I calculated with all my expenses id have 100 euro for each ""7 day week"" left over with after all my bills payed

Anyway I was thinking of just trying it anyway to see could i stick it out until a pay increase or better paying job turns up.


Essentially how legally binding is an employment contract??

I know there may be certain terms but lets just say its a permanent contract with Salary "X" and work hours "Y".

Peregrinus

You can always leave an employment contract by giving the stated notice period (usually one month or less). In practice, you can leave without giving the prescribed notice; this may lead to bad feeling which could come back to bite you later in your career, but there is unlikely to be any other repercussion.

In general, your chance of finding a new job is much higher if you are already in employment. And, if you are in employment when offered a new job, most prospective employers respect the fact that you need to give notice to your old employer, and will wait while you work out the notice period.

It's probably in your best interests to take this job, benefit as much as you can from the experience it offers, and use it as a springboard to look for another job.

psalbmb

If your not happy with the salary, don't take it. I'm sure they wouldn't be short of candidates, especially given the fact alot of people who are undertaking posts under the jobbridge scheme are only on 250 per week, some of which have not just degree's, but masters etc. so quit your moaning

cianoc07

Peregrinus wrote: »

You can always leave an employment contract by giving the stated notice period (usually one month or less). In practice, you can leave without giving the prescribed notice; this may lead to bad feeling which could come back to bite you later in your career, but there is unlikely to be any other repercussion.

In general, your chance of finding a new job is much higher if you are already in employment. And, if you are in employment when offered a new job, most prospective employers respect the fact that you need to give notice to your old employer, and will wait while you work out the notice period.

It's probably in your best interests to take this job, benefit as much as you can from the experience it offers, and use it as a springboard to look for another job.

Thanks for the advice, I see where you are coming from and I know experience is very important so i think il go ahead take it and keep an eye out for other jobs! thanks for the info regarding contract!

cianoc07

psalbmb wrote: »

If your not happy with the salary, don't take it. I'm sure they wouldn't be short of candidates, especially given the fact alot of people who are undertaking posts under the jobbridge scheme are only on 250 per week, some of which have not just degree's, but masters etc. so quit your moaning

Jesus you sound like the most miserable B ever. All i asked was a simple question. Thats there business if they want to be on jobbridge with 250 a week, Im the type of person who has set out goals for my life and i intend on reaching them. thanks for you invaluable advice though

TimeToShine

Just out of interest what are they offering you? I can't see a graduate engineer being offered any less than €23k and even then it would be cutting it. The maximum I can imagine is around €29k for a BE so you should be reasonably happy with anything in that range. I'd guess that €25-26k is the norm for a graduate engineer with a BE in todays market so if your salary falls in this range I'm afraid you either need to rent a bit farther out, sell the car (if any) or just not take the job.

psalbmb

cianoc07 wrote: »

Jesus you sound like the most miserable B ever. All i asked was a simple question. Thats there business if they want to be on jobbridge with 250 a week, Im the type of person who has set out goals for my life and i intend on reaching them. thanks for you invaluable advice though

No, I am far from being the "most miserable B ever", however I am being a realist. someone needs to get the head out of their a**e and come into the real world. Do you seriously think some people choose to be unemployed/jobless and as a result, have had to undertake the JB scheme...NO! Your nothing but a silly immature boy who one day will wake up and smell the coffee.

SHANAbert

psalbmb wrote: »

No, I am far from being the "most miserable B ever", however I am being a realist. someone needs to get the head out of their a**e and come into the real world. Do you seriously think some people choose to be unemployed/jobless and as a result, have had to undertake the JB scheme...NO! Your nothing but a silly immature boy who one day will wake up and smell the coffee.

Ridiculous attitude. I'm sure you'd be happy being overworked and underpaid.

Around 24K is probably fair with increments after set time periods. If you aren't happy with the offer then tell them so and negotiate upwards or at least that the rate will increase at 6/12 months.

Alternatively keep looking. You have a good degree.

TimeToShine

SHANAbert wrote: »

Ridiculous attitude. I'm sure you'd be happy being overworked and underpaid.

Around 24K is probably fair with increments after set time periods. If you aren't happy with the offer then tell them so and negotiate upwards or at least that the rate will increase at 6/12 months.

Alternatively keep looking. You have a good degree.

So do all the other Engineering graduates. At this stage most applications are closed and graduate roles are either in the process of or have already been filled.

He needs to think long and hard about whether the company are genuinely under-valuing him or if he just doesn't know how the real world works. Living in Dublin is not cheap, especially on a graduate salary, without making compromises such as sharing a house/relying on public transport.

Michael D Not Higgins

I'm an engineer and I was on 24k when I graduated. This is how much a graduate is worth as they have no experience, despite OP's 6 month placement where they are somewhat sheltered from the real aspects of work. After a year, you've got more experience and are more worthwhile to an employer and your salary will begin to reflect that.

Does the contract include training? I know some employers include training provided the employee stays for a minimum period otherwise there's a cost to repay for that training. OP, keep in mind that seeing out at least a year will stand to you better than jumping ship quickly.

SHANAbert

TimeToShine wrote: »

He needs to think long and hard about whether the company are genuinely under-valuing him or if he just doesn't know how the real world works.

As I said in my post 24k is about reasonable.

If his employer is offering 18k then he has every right to be unhappy with the contract.

Personally I would, and do value, the potential experience and a good work environment over a couple of grand extra at the beginning.

cianoc07

The salary is below 25k and not by 2k.
like i said ive really budgeted it out, and i wouldnt be a person drinking every saturday night far from it.

"psalbmb" - If i knew after 4 years of college and hard work id come out being undervalued like this then I would have just got a factory job where they train you in!! nothing against factory jobs.... im mentioning that as a few of my friends who are in factory jobs are doing better than i am! To be honest i think your in LA, LA land!

Do i really have leverage to negotiate???
Ive been told by some that i shouldnt ask for pay increase as this would be frowned upon by the company. Dont forget this is a large company dealing with contracts worth Millions.

Do i really have leverage to negotiate???

Rabbo

I know you might feel like you deserve a decent wage after working hard in college the past few years but the reality is a graduate is a liability to a company for at least the first few months while they are being trained in. You will be consuming other employees time while not being productive yourself.

Surely it's worth biting the bullet for a few months and see how it pans out. If you not happy, just give your notice, find a better job and go. Your prospectives would be a lot better with some real experience than if you were signed on to the dole.

cianoc07

Rabbo wrote: »

I know you might feel like you deserve a decent wage after working hard in college the past few years but the reality is a graduate is a liability to a company for at least the first few months while they are being trained in. You will be consuming other employees time while not being productive yourself.

Surely it's worth biting the bullet for a few months and see how it pans out. If you not happy, just give your notice, find a better job and go. Your prospectives would be a lot better with some real experience than if you were signed on to the dole.

Rabbo thats true. im just waiting for the contract then i weigh up my options! I think i wont even negotiate the salary because i think they might just say no altogether.

ted1

Graduate salaries go up fairly fast.

At the moment the position is what's important and how good the graduate program is. With the right program you'll find within 5 years your earning a good deal more the graduates who started in 30, as the probably didn't have a good program and were simply out to work.

As for your friends in factory jobs, there are pretty much in their current salary for life. Your on a fraction if your future salary

psalbmb

[QUOTE= "psalbmb" - If i knew after 4 years of college and hard work id come out being undervalued like this then I would have just got a factory job where they train you in!! nothing against factory jobs.... im mentioning that as a few of my friends who are in factory jobs are doing better than i am! To be honest i think your in LA, LA land![/QUOTE]

We are all in the same boat. I didn't go to college for 4 years to do an unpaid internship for 6 months in order to get a HR Job. I am now working within the industry from which I studied and having doing 6 months unpaid (not JobBridge, just unpaid), I am not on the correct payscale. a degree these days means little or nothing, its a masters that get's you a job. We all have to work from the bottom up so quit your moaning and either get on with it, or let them know so the next available candidate can get the job.

cianoc07

psalbmb wrote: »

We are all in the same boat. I didn't go to college for 4 years to do an unpaid internship for 6 months in order to get a HR Job. I am now working within the industry from which I studied and having doing 6 months unpaid (not JobBridge, just unpaid), I am not on the correct payscale. a degree these days means little or nothing, its a masters that get's you a job. We all have to work from the bottom up so quit your moaning and either get on with it, or let them know so the next available candidate can get the job.

To be honest i think what you wrote above sums you up entirely....
You lack ambition and clearly dont have a high standard set.

Anyway good news this morning another company rang today offering me a position at there company. So i must be doing something right!
At least now i can choose from which job will benifit me the most i.e Experience/Salary

psalbmb

cianoc07 wrote: »

To be honest i think what you wrote above sums you up entirely....
You lack ambition and clearly dont have a high standard set.

Anyway good news this morning another company rang today offering me a position at there company. So i must be doing something right!
At least now i can choose from which job will benifit me the most i.e Experience/Salary

Benefit**

TimeToShine

Lads there's no point in bickering over something so stupid. I'm sure you'll both be successful at whatever you do.