Comments on: Are your peers making more than you are?

Are your peers making more than you are?

allkindsoftime — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:04:18 -0800

Glassdoor: an inside look at companies from those who know them best.

By: tkolar

tkolar — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:10:03 -0800

I would never post to such a site. (Do you hear that Mr. HR-person-sniffing-my-traffic?)

By: SweetJesus

SweetJesus — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:28:30 -0800

Hasn't vault.com been doing this for years...

By: jdfan

jdfan — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:31:20 -0800

I have nothing to add other than a very old friend had a big hand in this.

By: cmonkey

cmonkey — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:32:26 -0800

How do they verify that someone really works where they claim they do? Emailing a contributor at a work address is not likely to be popular, so what's to prevent me from signing up claiming to work for a competitor and then talking about how the toilets are always clogged in the mens room and all of the offices smell like mildew?

By: johnjreiser

johnjreiser — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:48:17 -0800

Knowing what your coworkers make is old hat if you're a public employee. The Asbury Park Press has been publishing salary information for NJ State Employees for about two years now. They now have school teachers (NJ & PA), faculty at NJ higher ed institutions, federal employees, and civil services retirees & their pensions. It lacks the ability to post reviews and comments, but for public servants, it's probably the most honest assessment of how well or poorly compensated your coworkers are.

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:52:10 -0800

I chose the wrong lifetime to give up working for the man, apparently.

By: jedicus

jedicus — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:52:42 -0800

How do they verify that someone really works where they claim they do? They don't. From the FAQ:

We make it clear reviews and salaries must be posted by a current employee or someone who was employed by the company within the last three years. Since our service is anonymous, we require our users certify that they actually work at the employer when they submit their review or salary. We trust our users to be honest about their employment, and we also happen to believe that it's easier to tell the truth than it is to make up lies.

I think they could easily and safely verify the status of current employees. When a user registers, they would be told to look out for an email from a randomly generated "Firstname.Lastname@gmail.com" or similar. The email itself would be an innocuous personal email. Easy-peasy.

By: mkb

mkb — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:08:23 -0800

Knowing what your coworkers make is old hat if you're a public employee. Hell, the Boston Herald regularly exposes the salaries of public employees, supposedly in order to highlight waste (even when the salary is really quite low)

By: deadmessenger

deadmessenger — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:11:56 -0800

FYI - you have to register and submit a report of 100 words or more to actually be able to see anything useful.

By: quin

quin — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:13:17 -0800

It seems like you have to either sign up or write a review of your own before it lets you get down into the nitty gritty stuff. I'll just stick to picking the locks and rifling through my co-workers desks. It's worked great thus far.

By: The Power Nap

The Power Nap — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:26:53 -0800

Ah, I love the reviews of my company. "Beats unemployment" F*ck

By: allkindsoftime

allkindsoftime — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:40:03 -0800

FYI - you have to register and submit a report of 100 words or more to actually be able to see anything useful. I had to register and give a little info, but no report of 100 words was necessary to see what my colleagues are making.

By: phliar

phliar — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:52:06 -0800

quin: why is posting a review of your work environment akin to picking locks and rifling through co-workers' desks?

By: strangeleftydoublethink

strangeleftydoublethink — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:55:55 -0800

"Ample opportunity for one to achieve self-directed success while participating in a world-changing company...." — Cashier in Dallas, TX (from Whole Foods) Nice way to earn a $10 gift certificate from HR. Just copy from the brochure and hit post!

By: dersins

dersins — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:57:07 -0800

"Beats unemployment" Are you kidding me? That's an incredibly positive review. Have you ever been on unemployment? It fucking RULES.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:00:52 -0800

A friend of mine found a site like this when she was looking for work, but it was a bit more web-1.0. What was interesting was reading reviews from people who worked for companies like backwater and Halliburton. I read a post from one young woman talking about how the sexual harrassment wasn't as big of a problem as people said, how she had a six figure bank account after working a year (since she had no expenses, nothing to buy, and a huge salary) and that the sporadic mortar fire kept things interesting.

By: quin

quin — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:05:41 -0800

It's not the review aspect so much, phliar, as it is the see how your salary stacks up against your peers thing. It's the idea of being able to compare anonymously with others, something that most people won't discuss face to face in the office. And really, the lock-picking part is nothing more than a hobby. I hardly ever get good information out of it, though it is a handy time to plant evidence implicating them in all sorts of nefarious plots against the government.

By: hincandenza

hincandenza — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:29:04 -0800

So can someone post a login for those of us who don't feel like creating an account?

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:00:10 -0800

hincandenza: "So can someone post a login for those of us who don't feel like creating an account?" Username: not2bugme Password: dontbugme

By: backseatpilot

backseatpilot — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:11:06 -0800

People reviewing my company say the pay is low. I'm making 15% more here than I was at my old job. What does that say about my previous employer?

By: dersins

dersins — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:11:52 -0800

Maybe it's you, backseatpilot....

By: backseatpilot

backseatpilot — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:13:34 -0800

Come on, it's gotta be worth something that I could stick so many pencils in the ceiling tiles.

By: ninjew

ninjew — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:16:39 -0800

Are you kidding me? That's an incredibly positive review. Have you ever been on unemployment? It fucking RULES. I've run out the maximum benefit period. twice.

By: hal9k

hal9k — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:10:44 -0800

...and that the sporadic mortar fire kept things interesting. You just pray Ballmer will retire or find a hobby.

By: loquacious

loquacious — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:20:51 -0800

The number one reason to be able to pick desk locks is FREE CANDY. I don't care how much you make. I don't want your stapler. I just want your candy. Look, just hand over those butterscotch disks and whatever chocolate or mocklate you have hidden back behind the hanging file drawer and I won't read your email. Much.