Salary Entitlement
by Miki Saxon
Northern California startup land is once again the Golden State for new grads—especially those with a strong sense of entitlement.
And I do mean golden.
Lattice Engines, a small San Mateo startup, where she makes “near the top” of the company’s $80,000 to $130,000 range for an entry level product manager, plus equity.
Notice that the young woman is not a techie, so her salary isn’t pay for (supposedly) hard to find programming skills.
Granted I’m no longer in the front lines of hiring, but I’m still going to stick my neck out and say that no new grad is worth that kind of money—not even programmers.
Why?
Because there is so much more to working than what was learned in class. Stuff like
- you may not know as much as you think, let alone everything;
- experience matters;
- understanding that while screwing up your own work is bad it can wreck the project and damage not just your team, but even the company;
- not only being present, but also productive five days a week, 12 months a year;
- being engaged every day all day—no cramming just before evaluations;
- no spring or winter break or summer vacation (it’s a different rhythm); and
- many other mundane things
In other words, it’s a different world, with different rules and different measures.
Further, new research is showing that entitlement kills innovation and for a new grad to believe they are worth a six figure salary plus equity compensation package is definitely entitlement.
I’m not saying that they aren’t assets or that they won’t contribute significantly, just that it wouldn’t hurt if they proved themselves first.
Can you imagine the impact on their productivity and creativity if their annual raise is meager, let alone justifying that salary if they change jobs?
There is a world of difference in the skills of someone with one year of experience, let alone five or more.
The problem is that by the time that truth is learned they are no longer entry level.
Flickr image credit: Jeff Wilcox
