Posts
124
Joined
2/21/2021
Location
Indianapolis, IN, USA
I work for a fiber optic/telecommunication company, on the underground side. This is my 2nd time working for this company. I really like working here and doing what I do, it’s a chill environment and the people are really cool.
However...
The first time I worked there, I was interviewed by one of the higher ups in the company and was told “give me 90 good days as a laborer and show us you can run an excavator and we’ll bump you up.” I did that. Never missed a day, never said no, was digging regularly and never had any damages. When I inquired about it I was told no twice, that I wasn’t qualified. I quit shortly after.
I ended up coming back obviously. I’ll try to make a long story short here... basically they still have me in the system as a laborer, getting laborer pay while being a foreman running a crew. It’s been happening for about a month now.
Here’s my dilemma. Do I keep doing it and not bitch and just take what they give me, or do I go in and tell them I need to be paid accordingly to the position I’m filling? I’ve been pretty successful at running this crew and I’ve not heard a single word about being bumped up to foreman or even operator. I’m torn, I kinda feel like if I keep giving them a foreman for laborer pay... what is their incentive to ever give me anything more as long as I keep coming in and doing it everyday.
Thoughts?
However...
The first time I worked there, I was interviewed by one of the higher ups in the company and was told “give me 90 good days as a laborer and show us you can run an excavator and we’ll bump you up.” I did that. Never missed a day, never said no, was digging regularly and never had any damages. When I inquired about it I was told no twice, that I wasn’t qualified. I quit shortly after.
I ended up coming back obviously. I’ll try to make a long story short here... basically they still have me in the system as a laborer, getting laborer pay while being a foreman running a crew. It’s been happening for about a month now.
Here’s my dilemma. Do I keep doing it and not bitch and just take what they give me, or do I go in and tell them I need to be paid accordingly to the position I’m filling? I’ve been pretty successful at running this crew and I’ve not heard a single word about being bumped up to foreman or even operator. I’m torn, I kinda feel like if I keep giving them a foreman for laborer pay... what is their incentive to ever give me anything more as long as I keep coming in and doing it everyday.
Thoughts?
Especially in today's environment, good workers are hard to find. If you're as valuable as it sounds like you are I'm sure they'll do what they can to keep you around.
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Indiana is an 'at will' state, and as such, there are no protections for workers. You work 'at the will' of the employer.
They can off you any time for any reason and you have no recourse.
Before you do anything, ave a back-up job ready in case you need it.
Ask yourself at this point will friction benefit you in the long run? Or can it wait. Maybe take an indirect approach at promotion. Coming in at positively. Slowly injecting to the guy that hired you appreciate of the job, “I’m learning a lot daily. But there’s always room for more growth and to get better everyday.”
Little indirect compliments might flip a switch get you promoted faster with that guy than pressuring for it.
1) Showing up to work on time, not breaking shit and not bitching isn’t going to get you promoted. It’s a base requirement. Stop comparing yourself to your co-workers.
2) All of my promotions came from realizing that I needed to figure out what my boss worries about then I make those my worries and do my damndest to ensure those worries stay worries and don’t become realities. Make yourself so needed that they’ll cringe at the thought of you going elsewhere.
Once I saw work from their point of view it helped - a lot. And I sure as hell didn’t quit when I got passed over or told no even though I was promised something.
3) this should be obvious to you - why did they consider you unqualified for a supervisory role? What can you do to get qualified?
I would use your chain of command and let them know that you enjoy coming to work and love the company and the people. And ask them if you were to make a career out of it what could you do to make yourself more valuable to the company.
It’s too easy to go to an employer and say bump me up bump me up. All too easy to say no. What do you bring to the table?
Lastly, I’d say you’re trying to make this all happen too fast, you already have a strike against you(you quit once already). I’d suggest putting your head down and working your ass off and be as consistent in your behavior as possible.
Realize your company lays fiber optic cable - it’s probably awarded contracts on price and have this accounted for down to the cost per foot. Figure out how to save them money and that will most certainly help.
Good luck.
When you asked what can I do/why did they tell me I was unqualified, I’ll delve into that. Like I said we basically put pipe in the ground and rub fiber thru it. The primary ways of doing so is with a directional drill and excavator. I already knew the excavator well, and the same guy that promised me the raise and promotion told me that they’d train me on the drill.
It never happened. They booted me to put someone faster or more experienced on it which makes it impossible to learn.
And #2 they said I needed my class A CDL. So, I got my permit. Once you get a permit it shows initiative and they’ll enroll you in training a setup to test. I’ve now had it 7 months, had it so long it expired, they told me to renew it. I did, was setup to go to class yesterday the 7th, I contact them on the 6th to verify we’re still on. “Ahh yeah dang sorry but our trainer actually quit, but we will get back to you when we’re ready for you”... that’s what really pissed me off. I’ve done everything in my power to better myself and give them no reason to tell me no yet somehow there’s always a snag. I really began to wonder if it’s all BS and they just don’t want me getting it so they can still have a reason to deny my promotion.
And as far as the not tearing shit up, it is kinda a big deal when you’re digging with an excavator. Major utility strikes usually bring a $10k plus fine from the utility regulatory commission. I have zero. Zero at fault and also many close calls on unmarked utilities (honestly more luck than anything as far as the unmarked stuff)
With all that’s been said, I recognize I’ve been in kinda a foul mood over this and I don’t want to have this conversation with the boss when I’m in this headspace so I’m gonna keep doing what I been doing for a little while and see if things change. If not I’ll come up with a better plan to address it rather than doing so out of agitation.
Someone said can it wait, and truthfully yeah it can. I still make enough to live comfortably it was more so the principle. I actually enjoy going to work and been
Putting in a bunch of OT but that’s not always an option.
If there’s any major updates I’ll report back to let y’all know how it played out
why did you return for a second round if you felt you weren't getting what you're worth the first go?
how old are you?
This next comment isn't directed to you in any way but I'm seeing a lot of "younger" employees nowadays think they are worth what the guy next to them is who has been in the trenches for 30 years are. The fact is maybe they are and maybe they aren't but the company might not be able to afford to give you the same wage as him. 30 years from now the "younger" guy will think he should get the same as you and it repeats.
I’ve worked in underground utility/excavation since I got out of high school.
I think $ should go to profitable employees. I know plenty of guys with plenty of experience that are slow, do shitty quality work, have crappy attitudes or a combination of the 3. It’s like anything. Some kids throw a leg over a dirtbike and are skilled and excel right off the bat, some could ride/race for decades and never progress.
Once I was in the program, they
(The apprenticeship coordinator) told us we were apprentices and no longer needed to update our trainee cards with L&I. Five years later, I’m ready to take my journeyman’s test and find out I have just under 1500 hours instead of the 8000. I called the school and asked wtf basically. They said they would never tell us to do that. Bullshit. So myself and the 17 other guys from this shop who are in the same boat are liars?? Guess what? I had to grind out almost another five years to accumulate the hours to test. It took me over ten years to get what many get in less than five.
Rule number one. Don’t trust people when it comes to your money.
Employers look for ways to save money even if it means fucking a hard worker over. Profit over anything else at all costs.
I’m a foreman now at a different and, much better company. The road wasn’t easy getting here either. Just grind away making your money but, don’t ever be afraid to look into other places that have more to offer. Keep your options open and do not talk about it or bitch to other employees. They’ll rat you out trying to get in the good graces of that employer.
Good luck man
re-rate to the shops owner. At that point his rate increased and, matched his position.
Sometimes things work themselves out and, other times you just gotta see your way out.
There are a lot of good paying jobs out there and good workers are hard to find.
Ask your manager for a raise- make your case (why you deserve a raise) and tell him exactly how much you want (factor in you may need to negotiate down a little). If your a good worker (like you say) they will work with you.
If you need to leave I have two suggestion- Have a good resume and be prepared for an interview. You’d be amazed at how many folks can’t do either of those simple things. I can tell within the first 2 minutes of an interview if I will hire the person- it’s that easy.
I may not know if they will be the candidate ultimately selected, but I can pretty much know if they are going to be considered or not.
Most interviews now are behavioral based. Make sure that you follow the script when you are asked the questions. Stick to the STAR method and be very specific.
If someone begins their first answer without following this basic format, I am already leaning towards not hiring them.
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THE STAR METHOD
The STAR method is a structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based interview question by
discussing the specific situation, task, action, and result of the situation you are describing.
Situation: Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to accomplish. You
must describe a specific event or situation, not a generalized description of what you have done in
the past. Be sure to give enough detail for the interviewer to understand. This situation can be
from a previous job, from a volunteer experience, or any relevant event.
Task: What goal were you working toward?
Action: Describe the actions you took to address the situation with an appropriate amount of
detail and keep the focus on YOU. What specific steps did you take and what was your particular
contribution? Be careful that you don’t describe what the team or group did when talking about a
project, but what you actually did. Use the word “I,” not “we” when describing actions.
Result: Describe the outcome of your actions and don’t be shy about taking credit for your
behavior. What happened? How did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did you
learn? Make sure your answer contains multiple positive results.
Make sure that you follow all parts of the STAR method. Be as specific as possible at all times, without
rambling or including too much information. Oftentimes students have to be prompted to include their
results, so try to include that without being asked. Also, eliminate any examples that do not paint you in a
positive light. However, keep in mind that some examples that have a negative result (such as “lost the
game”) can highlight your strengths in the face of adversity.
SAMPLE STAR RESPONSE:
Situation (S): Advertising revenue was falling off for my college newspaper, The Review, and
large numbers of long-term advertisers were not renewing contracts.
Task (T): My goal was to generate new ideas, materials and incentives that would result in at
least a 15% increase in advertisers from the year before.
Action (A): I designed a new promotional packet to go with the rate sheet and compared the
benefits of The Review circulation with other ad media in the area. I also set-up a special training
session for the account executives with a School of Business Administration professor who
discussed competitive selling strategies.
Result (R): We signed contracts with 15 former advertisers for daily ads and five for special
supplements. We increased our new advertisers by 20 percent over the same period last year.
Pit Row
I’m glad they are giving me a trial period and time to learn how to run jobs instead of dumping it on me and saying “you’re the foreman, shouldn’t you know?” anytime I had an issue or questions.
Knowing how to dig and running a crew are 2 different things. I still feel I’m doing well and have been told so but by the time I’m official I wanna be able to handle things without having to be guided.
I feel the operator title/salary is due, and I’ll work on the foreman part.. good news also got my CDL training/testing rescheduled for next month
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