I am a recent graduate of a 4 year University.

Anonymous

May 25,2023 at 5:30PM UTC

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I am a recent graduate of a 4 year University. I hold 2 other degrees.

I recently had a job interview and was offered a position in my field.

However - the company reduced the hours and pay rate, to a level that would be well below the national average for other entry level positions in this field.

It's not a living wage. I would be spending more $$$ to work for them than I would be grossing.

I would be commuting over 100 per day and creating original content.

They are unwilling to budge on pay rate and even made the comment that others starting in this position make the same pay rate, that they're grant funded and that's why the pay is so low .

I feel somewhat guilty for having to turn down this offer, and comments have been made that I am looking a gift horse in the mouth.

I have never turned down a job offer before, how do you cope with these feelings, and what do you say to family that isn't supportive of your choice?

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AnonymousMay 25,2023 at 6:13PM UTC
You made the perfect statement to sum up why you have to turn down the offer: "It's not a living wage". It wouldn't be worth working in a job that is not paying you enough to survive off of. Also, your level of education should offer a better wage even if it's entry level. Don't be hard on yourself, you are only doing what's logically best for your situation.
AnonymousMay 27,2023 at 1:43PM UTC
You did the right thing. You didn't get an education to not make a living wage. Your family just wants to ensure you'll be okay. They don't get it. Keep going. You'll land something great!!
AnonymousMay 28,2023 at 12:47PM UTC
Don’t work for a grant funded company. Those low paying,mission-driven jobs are for highly educated trust-fund kids who don’t need to worry about money. Pity there is a whole sector society runs on that would benefit from having dedicated people who can empathize with their audiences working there - but altruistic jobs are mostly (unless you want to be poor) for kids who can bankrolled by mom and dad while they “make a difference”. Your family prob doesn’t get that is how many of the grant funded companies work. You’ll also have trouble rising up cause you don’t have nepotistic connections on your side. Get a normal job in a for profit company.
GirlBossanova934974May 28,2023 at 12:56PM UTC
As you grow older, you will run into situations like this. Three things stand out. First, you did NOT get a good education from a quality institution to LOSE money on any given job. Second, there are always going to be some individuals at some companies who are going to be less than honest with you. They will try to convince you that they are doing you a big favor by offering a substandard job with lousy pay, a lousy management team, and poor career opportunities. Third, people and things change at companies. The great boss you hired in with, may leave. The company may go out and buy out a company and wreck both companies. The company's profits may take a dive for a million different reasons. You do not stick around for such scenarios hoping things will get better or you will escape a layoff notice.
Tanya CucciaMay 30,2023 at 2:34AM UTC
Don’t feel any guilt turning down a position or even quitting a job for another opportunity. At the end of the day, if cuts need to be made you could be one of them with little to no regard of what it would do to you financially.
Cheries SundriesMay 30,2023 at 12:41PM UTC
Just turn it down, walk away and be thankful you dodged that bullet. I had a company after 4 months come back and say "either everyone loses their jobs or you all take a cut in pay)--I was gone a month later. There is no excuse for under paying people like this.
AnonymousMay 30,2023 at 2:55PM UTC
If the offer isn't market rate, then it makes sense to look for something else. Reading between the lines about "family that isn't supportive" and "looking a gift horse in the mouth," do you have a job at all? Have you been looking for something, but your expectations don't align with reality of the industry or your level of experience? If you need to work to keep a roof over your head and food on the table, you should probably accept and keep looking for another role or a way to supplement that income. I'm unclear as to how you'd be spending more to work for this company than you'd be grossing (commuting costs?), so perhaps double-check your analysis before making that the deciding factor.
IntentionGirl299847May 30,2023 at 10:44PM UTC
Why are you even defending this? It is a sucker deal and being grant funded means they are pocketing money. I have been in grant funded programs where I made 72K a year and others made equivalent. This sounds shady. Not a gift horse more like a spitting camel! Family does not need to be supportive, it is your life and your health not theirs. Do what is right for you in the long run. Be happy and call good things into your life.