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Filed: AOS (pnd) Country: Philippines
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It's been a while since I logged back in here, since it's been really a struggle to start my life all over again here in the US.

I'm a gc holder now and already have a job in a private company. Of course, coming from other country I honestly don't have much of an idea how much is the average salary as a Contract Administrator. I've been in Contracts department for 8 years now, when I left Philippines I worked at one of the best IT company.

So now my work is in a different field not related to IT at all since it's manufacturing. In my interview HR asked me how much is the salary range I wanted to get paid. My husband has a blue collar job and it has a difference of course. I based my salary based on his but now that I'm currently employed I felt I got ripped.

Is there like a law here in the US that employers should at least level the salary on the par of the position you are applying for? I was checking online there's like a 10k-20k difference on the average compared to my salary. I feel really worn out at the end of the day and feels that I'm not being paid fair....probably coz I'm from a different country and doesn't know much about the salary range in my field?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I hate feeling this way feels I'm being discriminated at some point and taken advantage of.

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Filed: Country: Monaco
Timeline

It's been a while since I logged back in here, since it's been really a struggle to start my life all over again here in the US.

I'm a gc holder now and already have a job in a private company. Of course, coming from other country I honestly don't have much of an idea how much is the average salary as a Contract Administrator. I've been in Contracts department for 8 years now, when I left Philippines I worked at one of the best IT company.

So now my work is in a different field not related to IT at all since it's manufacturing. In my interview HR asked me how much is the salary range I wanted to get paid. My husband has a blue collar job and it has a difference of course. I based my salary based on his but now that I'm currently employed I felt I got ripped.

Is there like a law here in the US that employers should at least level the salary on the par of the position you are applying for? I was checking online there's like a 10k-20k difference on the average compared to my salary. I feel really worn out at the end of the day and feels that I'm not being paid fair....probably coz I'm from a different country and doesn't know much about the salary range in my field?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I hate feeling this way feels I'm being discriminated at some point and taken advantage of.

Unfortunately you are not being discriminated nor taken advantage of. You are being paid the salary you have agreed with your employer when you took the job. You can discuss the issue with you immediate supervisor and ask for a salary revision or you can look for another job, but whatever the outcome, it must be voluntary because neither you nor your employer acted in bad faith, when entering the contract of employment.

It is really nobody's fault and nobody is to blame.

Edited by Gegel

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Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
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It's been a while since I logged back in here, since it's been really a struggle to start my life all over again here in the US.

I'm a gc holder now and already have a job in a private company. Of course, coming from other country I honestly don't have much of an idea how much is the average salary as a Contract Administrator. I've been in Contracts department for 8 years now, when I left Philippines I worked at one of the best IT company.

So now my work is in a different field not related to IT at all since it's manufacturing. In my interview HR asked me how much is the salary range I wanted to get paid. My husband has a blue collar job and it has a difference of course. I based my salary based on his but now that I'm currently employed I felt I got ripped.

Is there like a law here in the US that employers should at least level the salary on the par of the position you are applying for? I was checking online there's like a 10k-20k difference on the average compared to my salary. I feel really worn out at the end of the day and feels that I'm not being paid fair....probably coz I'm from a different country and doesn't know much about the salary range in my field?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I hate feeling this way feels I'm being discriminated at some point and taken advantage of.

There is no law that requires salaries to meet any industry ranges.

Go in and talk with your boss/supervisor/HR department. Depending on the demand you may or may not have any leverage to get an increase. OR, do some interviewing and find a job offering a better salary.

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Is there like a law here in the US that employers should at least level the salary on the par of the position you are applying for? I was checking online there's like a 10k-20k difference on the average compared to my salary. I feel really worn out at the end of the day and feels that I'm not being paid fair....probably coz I'm from a different country and doesn't know much about the salary range in my field?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I hate feeling this way feels I'm being discriminated at some point and taken advantage of.

You should have done what you did above in bold before you agreed to the wages/salary. If you feel your not being paid fairly, take this new found information and make a change.

'PAU' both wife and daughter in the U.S. 08/25/2009

Daughter's' CRBA Manila Embassy 08/07/2008 dual citizenship

http://crbausembassy....wordpress.com/

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Filed: AOS (pnd) Country: Philippines
Timeline

Thanks everybody for the quick response, it's heart-warming and probably somebody also asked the same question before.

Before I tried browsing through the same positions most of the time they don't put the salary range and just now that I figured that www.salary.com existed.

Our company is medium-sized and as far as I see they're trying to make everybody flexible in doing other things. I was thinking of asking company of job description from HR, seemed not too much of a job when I checked it online before. I actually started my job hunt trying to go back to Fortune 500 company again I think it's way more clear with big companies as to what your description is, or maybe not. I'm just afraid staying with a company for 6 months will make my resume bad since in the Philippines you have to stay at least 2 years to build a good tenure. whistling.gifwhistling.gif

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Filed: IR-5 Country: Philippines
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Thanks everybody for the quick response, it's heart-warming and probably somebody also asked the same question before.

Before I tried browsing through the same positions most of the time they don't put the salary range and just now that I figured that www.salary.com existed.

Our company is medium-sized and as far as I see they're trying to make everybody flexible in doing other things. I was thinking of asking company of job description from HR, seemed not too much of a job when I checked it online before. I actually started my job hunt trying to go back to Fortune 500 company again I think it's way more clear with big companies as to what your description is, or maybe not. I'm just afraid staying with a company for 6 months will make my resume bad since in the Philippines you have to stay at least 2 years to build a good tenure. whistling.gifwhistling.gif

My first job here was also for a medium-sized company and I was flexible on my own. I did stuff that wasn't on my job description. I was working on automating testing in order to be more productive when my job description expects me to test software manually. That's how I got a promotion after 3 months in the company and another one after 9 months and several more after that.

I don't know about the manufacturing industry, but in the IT field, it's common for people to switch around. If you think you're underpaid, just switch to another company. Post you resume in dice.com. I get a call from headhunters often. They will tell you how much the salary is for the job before the interview. They would also ask you how much you're expecting so they'll know in advance if the company can afford you or not. That way the applicant and the employer don't waste time interviewing somebody they can't afford. I find those salaries from online sites as way off from the average. I usually ask people from my company how much they make so that I'll know whether I'm being underpaid or not. It could be that the company underpays everyone and not just you. I don't ask for the salaries of non-Asians though. It's considered to be a private matter and a rude question so I only ask Asian co-workers and I only get asked by Asian co-workers.

===========================

2008-08-16 Sent N-400

2008-08-18 Application Received

2008-08-19 Check Cashed

2008-09-18 Biometrics

2008-12-09 Interview

2009-01-XX Oath (Yay! I'm a citizen)

==========================

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Ukraine
Timeline

It's been a while since I logged back in here, since it's been really a struggle to start my life all over again here in the US.

I'm a gc holder now and already have a job in a private company. Of course, coming from other country I honestly don't have much of an idea how much is the average salary as a Contract Administrator. I've been in Contracts department for 8 years now, when I left Philippines I worked at one of the best IT company.

So now my work is in a different field not related to IT at all since it's manufacturing. In my interview HR asked me how much is the salary range I wanted to get paid. My husband has a blue collar job and it has a difference of course. I based my salary based on his but now that I'm currently employed I felt I got ripped.

Is there like a law here in the US that employers should at least level the salary on the par of the position you are applying for? I was checking online there's like a 10k-20k difference on the average compared to my salary. I feel really worn out at the end of the day and feels that I'm not being paid fair....probably coz I'm from a different country and doesn't know much about the salary range in my field?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I hate feeling this way feels I'm being discriminated at some point and taken advantage of.

YOUR employer cannot pay another person more money for the SAME position you have based on nationality. ANOTHER employer CAN pay someone more for the same job. The law prevents discrimnation by an employer against their own employees. It does NOT set wages for given positions at other employers. As long as the pay exceeds the minimum wage of the US or your state, then there is nothing that can be done UNLESS you can show that other people doing the SAME job at your company, and having the SAME experience and qualifications are getting paid more and the reason is because of your nationality.

While waiting for your green card it is a good idea to study what the position you seek pays in YOUR AREA, and negotiate that at the time of hiring. You can always re-negotiate it, ask for a raise, though there is no guarantee you will get it.

VERMONT! I Reject Your Reality...and Substitute My Own!

Gary And Alla

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I I would look at changing companies! I was shocked when I moved to California because in Europe we tend to keep the same job for a long time - even 2 years would be considered a short tenure. However, here in California (South Orange County) people change their jobs frequently - my husband has had more jobs than I've had hot dinners almost, and people think nothing of it (He also works in IT). A lot also has to do with your own negotiation skills. Know what you are worth - know how to best represent your skills in the market place. If you're worth it, most companies will pay you what you're worth if you're being realistic.

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Filed: IR-5 Country: Philippines
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YOUR employer cannot pay another person more money for the SAME position you have based on nationality. ANOTHER employer CAN pay someone more for the same job. The law prevents discrimnation by an employer against their own employees. It does NOT set wages for given positions at other employers. As long as the pay exceeds the minimum wage of the US or your state, then there is nothing that can be done UNLESS you can show that other people doing the SAME job at your company, and having the SAME experience and qualifications are getting paid more and the reason is because of your nationality.

While waiting for your green card it is a good idea to study what the position you seek pays in YOUR AREA, and negotiate that at the time of hiring. You can always re-negotiate it, ask for a raise, though there is no guarantee you will get it.

.

Excellent post! :thumbs: :thumbs:

Gary summarized it well. It's just hard to find out if you're being discriminated when you don't know how much people make in your company for the same position because as I've mentioned in my post, people don't like to tell and HR wouldn't give you a list either. :)

If somebody has ideas on how to find this out, I'd like to hear them. :)

===========================

2008-08-16 Sent N-400

2008-08-18 Application Received

2008-08-19 Check Cashed

2008-09-18 Biometrics

2008-12-09 Interview

2009-01-XX Oath (Yay! I'm a citizen)

==========================

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08/20 - Case received at NVC

08/23 - emailed DS-3022

08/25 - mailed AOS

08/27 - received AOS

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09/04 - Received confirmation of DS-3022

09/05 - Received IV invoice

09/05 - Pay IV bill

09/06 - IV showed as paid

09/06 - Send DS-230 packet

09/10 - Received DS-230 packet by NVC

09/17 - DS-230 Accepted/Case Complete

09/28 - Transfer to Manila Embassy

10/02 - Medical Exam at St. Luke's

10/08- 10/10 - Sputum Test

10/09 - Received by Manila Embassy

10/12 - Result of Sputum Test (Need to repeat)

10/16-10/18 - Repeat Sputum Test (Negative)

12/13 - Sputum Final Result (Negative)

12/21 - Interview at Embassy (Approved)

12/28 - Visa Picked Up from 2GO

12/28 - CFO

12/30 - POE (LAX)

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Filed: AOS (pnd) Country: Philippines
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my thoughts. More than likely you are being paid in the normal range. Your husband may be a Union employee with a set scale on pay so cant really compare. Salary for your field will range depending on job and region in the USA. Companies know employees will talk or learn of each others about salary even it is frowned upon. Tread lightly when discussing this to find out. You may discuss your salary with your manager and duties but careful not to push to hard or demand large raise because you could get squeezed out of a job. Discreetly start looking and applying for other jobs and you will see where you stand. Your Husband should have a good idea whats right for your pay and if your being "taken advantage of"

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Australia
Timeline

It's been a while since I logged back in here, since it's been really a struggle to start my life all over again here in the US.

I'm a gc holder now and already have a job in a private company. Of course, coming from other country I honestly don't have much of an idea how much is the average salary as a Contract Administrator. I've been in Contracts department for 8 years now, when I left Philippines I worked at one of the best IT company.

So now my work is in a different field not related to IT at all since it's manufacturing. In my interview HR asked me how much is the salary range I wanted to get paid. My husband has a blue collar job and it has a difference of course. I based my salary based on his but now that I'm currently employed I felt I got ripped.

Is there like a law here in the US that employers should at least level the salary on the par of the position you are applying for? I was checking online there's like a 10k-20k difference on the average compared to my salary. I feel really worn out at the end of the day and feels that I'm not being paid fair....probably coz I'm from a different country and doesn't know much about the salary range in my field?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I hate feeling this way feels I'm being discriminated at some point and taken advantage of.

What you would be better off doing is looking for vacancies for your kind of position in your area on a site such as www.indeed.com. This will show you whether what you're being paid is good for your area and position. Bearing in mind that people with degrees/qualifications are higher paid.

I get paid less than people in CA or NY doing in my same position, but I earn well for people in my area in the same position.

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Philippines
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Pay also depends on location and industry. Salary can vary vastly even across just one state. Pay differentials exist from say San Francisco to Bakersfield due to the cost of living. The other factor is the complexity of the industry you are in. With that said, if you and your employer agreed to a salary, and you are not happy, search for another position. Just make sure the entire pay package is considered. Ie.....benefits, vacation, bonus, incentive pay etc, etc.....good luck!

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Morocco
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Take this as a good learning experience and consider yourself lucky for having a job because there are many people who are unemployed. Update your resume and put it out there. Now you will know your salary expectations.

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Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Nigeria
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.

Excellent post! :thumbs: :thumbs:

Gary summarized it well. It's just hard to find out if you're being discriminated when you don't know how much people make in your company for the same position because as I've mentioned in my post, people don't like to tell and HR wouldn't give you a list either. :)

If somebody has ideas on how to find this out, I'd like to hear them. :)

Since I work in HR I can tell you no one in that department will not give you that information. It is not illegal to ask a co worker their wages however they probably wont share that. Also just because you have the same job title does not mean you will have the same pay. People in the same job can be paid different wages if there experience in the position is different. If this was OP's first job in the field then being paid less than others in the job that have been doing it longer is expected. You can check your company's job postings when they are hiring see what experience and education they are looking for and what they will be expected to do and see what the salary range is for the new hire. If you are a valued employee they will negotiate an increase with you. Word of advise if you are willing to come in a position for less then the company is offering the company will definately be happy to pay you what you are asking. When you are asked what salary range you are looking for turn it around and say I am open to negotiation and ask what is the range they are offering.

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