Rate Dive
Just the other day, I was going through a journal that I’ve kept intermittently over the years. I saw an interesting entry back in 2004. It had to do with the rate I was being paid back then.
Now, I had a private trial practice for 7 years before I started contract work. I began working for a firm in a contract position in 2001, and by the time I had made this entry in 2004 I was still at the same firm and I was complaining that I was still getting paid at the same level I had been paid for a couple of years.
Here’s the sad part…
In 2007, I was going through the journal. I saw the entry and wrote a note under it that while I had made higher rates in the interim, I was now being paid in 2007 the same rate I was earning in 2004.
Now the punch line…
When I saw these notes the other day, I had to add another note under the entry. I wrote that I now get paid at a rate that is 10% less than what I was earning in 2004.
This is in total dollars. If you add in the fact that dollars today are worth at least 10% less than dollars in 2004, I’ve taken a 22% pay cut since 2004. Just a thought…