If you want to know how much a "designer-who-programs" should make, then
what you are looking for is a "hybrid job report". Salary. com will do them
as part of their paid package, but it's just as easy to do it yourself using
the free salary data they provide. Or use any other data you can find.
Basically you want to start with your current job description and salary -
for conservative numbers, you might get farther through a discussion if you
use the starting salary for your position instead of adding in any raises
you've earned along the way. Now take that description and figure out what
percentage of your time is spent doing that. If you have access to past time
records and you logged programming time separately from design time that
helps with justification of the percentage. Now go to salary.com (or
wherever) and find a job that matches your programming
duties/responsibilities. take that description and figure out what percetage
of your duties are spent doing that. Repeat for any other specific duty sets
you perform. Now take your percentages and apply that to the salaries and
add them up. That's the salary you should be making.
For example (using round numbers), you spend 75% of your time designing and
25% programming. A desginer in your firm starts at $50K. Programmer at your
level makes $100K. 0.75*50,000 = $37,500; 0.25*100,000 = $25,000
$37,500 + $25,000 = $62,500
With a well laid out hybrid report, you stand a much better chance of
getting an increase based on the additional duties than without it. A good
report includes relevent documentation and justification for the salaries.
If you aready have a programmer" type position in your firm, I'd suggest
using that. Anther advantage of the hybrid report is that the company
doesn't need to create whole new positions and titles everytime someone
steps outside their basic role. (You might remain "CAD Operator" but perhaps
have the informal addition of "CAD/Systems Operator".) Often this can be the
thing holding up any change in salary structure.
If you've received any bonuses specifically based on the results of you
programs, they may see this as the "adequate compensation" and that a raise
is not necessary or warranted. They may also see the programs you've written
as "one-shot-deals", meaning they don't mean to utilize that skill set on a
regular basis. Based on your posts, however, it seems they are continuing to
use you in this capacity - whether they realize it or not.
HTH
wrote in message news:5454415@discussion.autodesk.com...
Years ago as I sat in an Avatech training facility working on a lesson, I
watched the instructor begin to build a macro for one of there customers. I
said to myself.wow I got learn how to do that!! Since then I have taken it
upon myself to learn as much as I could. I originally came up with macro
driven masters for my company. The result over the last two years has been
in excess of 2.6 million dollars generated from the macro's (and yes the
macro logs each user, job valu
e and qty into an access database just for this purpose).
For two consecutive years I ask for such increases that will put me into the
range of salary as shown here: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151031.htm
. My employer informs me that I am not an "Application Engineer". That would
be someone who sells Autodesk software. Is this true? I believe there must
be some middle ground for a designer who writes his/her own macros for the
benefit of the company. In answer to
your questions:
How much of that are you asked by your employer to do?
None.they clueless as to how to automate drawings or BOM's.
And when you were hired (or anywhere along the way with this employer) was
there any reference given to this type situation? As in - If you see this
type of need, are you able to help us fulfill it?
Only as of late are they starting to see the light, and asking, "Can you do
this?"
I am grateful for the overt
ime they let me work, however if I made more $$ per hr, perhaps I could work
less. Also Application Engineer sounds better than Cad operator. I guess in
short I'm looking for money and recognition. Am I nuts or what??