My current job pays ~$19/hr it’s a nose pickers job that I took out of desperation. It’s a joint partnership between two companies where one of the companies is the sole customer. Management has been screwing us by making us work a ton of overtime because production is ramping back up. I’m supposed to go back to a regular 40 hr week “soon.” They laid off 30% of their staff a year ago. I’ve been there 5 months and trained 3 different people as they are hiring an entire 3rd shift at the moment.
I generally enjoy my coworkers as they are almost all foreigners from many different places and older. Management is generally nice enough, their hands are tied due to the parent company.
The benefits are 5% 401k company match, 160 hrs of PTO/ yr, good insurance for me and one child is $100/mo similar instance is $1k on the marketplace.
Job I’m looking at is offering close to $25/hr, is a small global company, same 8hr shift 2 weeks of vacation a year, high deductible plan for ~$400/mo which would cost me $600 on the open market, a discretionary 401k company contribution currently at 6%. I would also have more opportunities for advancement at this place and the work would be more engaging to me and likely more opportunities to improve my career as my current job is a major step back for me.
Commute is identical as they are directly across the street from each other. I would also have at least an additional $175 in medical expenses every month as I see a doctor once a month for a chronic condition. If I place a value on my time off based on my current pay rate and subtract my additional costs I figure I would only be making an extra $300/mo and that’s if I don’t have any other medical expenses. It’s also possible that I’d be walking into a more toxic working environment.
Current or offered pay is a strong bargaining chip for negotiations.
I’d apply to the higher paying one - if you get an offer, check in with current job to see if they’ll counter. If not take the higher paying job.
Then immediately start applying to similar jobs with better benefits, and negotiate pay up what you’re making.
Also if they’re not jobs you -really- care about, exaggerate your current pay when asking for a match. Photoshop pay stubs if you need to. If they catch you in a lie, oh well, try again with another until it works.
And if you get a job that matched an inflated salary, once you have three pay stubs from it, start applying to other places and have them match the new pay. Now there’s no risk of them ‘finding out’ and firing you.
DO NOT do this for any state or federal positions, as that can land you in jail.
Anywho, employers aren’t your friend. They’ll fuck you as hard and as often as you let them, so don’t be afraid to play dirty, cuz they already are.
Loyalty to a company and relying on the quality of your work for deserved raises will literally ruin your life.