By | Pat Mastandrea | www.themuse.com
If you’ve ever felt like you were being taken advantage of at work, this is a career Q&A you can’t afford to miss.
I need serious guidance and I am hoping you can help me.
My boss and I started at another company; I was his intern until he eventually quit his job to work on his family’s business. He immediately hired me on his team. I have been with this company for over two years now straight out of college.
People are always envious because our work environment is very unconventional—pool table, flat screen TVs, a rock wall, funky furniture, the works. My job was always fun and I enjoyed going to work each day. I consider my team, including my boss, who is the CEO, all to be friends. I’ve attended his family’s Christmas parties, funerals, and even was a part of his sister’s wedding.
Being that we have less than 10 people on our team, I have to take on many roles. I am the IT department, the web developer, the graphic designer, the event coordinator, the writer, the sales department, and more. I constantly have to be five different people at once, which leaves me overwhelmed. Playing different roles isn’t necessarily a bad thing—it keeps things interesting and I am always learning new things—but the problem is that I am very underpaid. I graduated with a degree in computer science, yet I make $15 an hour, which doesn’t nearly cover my bills.