I talked to my boss about a raise today.

KEYPOINTS from our meeting:

• He said (without even meaning to ) that he knows I am underpaid. BOOM.
• All he had as a reason not to give me a raise was that this last month i haven't been coming in on time. which is true. But he tried to say that thats how its been since i started! Which is absolutely untrue and I have pay stubs and hours logged to show that I was consistently working almost 40 hours a week for the 1st 5 months.He said "well when a person comes in late or not at all, i am supposed to fire them".. ok so fire me. You don't make threats about it just because you feel backed into a corner.
• He wants me to be more proactive - he wants me to be incharge of making lists of my tasks and prioritize them myself and he'll approve it
• I threw out a number. he didn't say no, he hasn't said yes. But he didn't flinch at the thought.
• He wants to talk to his WIFE about it first (We don't like each other UHG!) and tell me on Monday
• we agreed the way things are done are unorganized
• I told him I felt rushed and stressed at work
• We agreed on miscommunications

I will not...

• accept anything lower than what I asked for
• work without benefits

If I am turned down or offered something less I am leaving. I can find a better job that will pay me what I am worth and it will probably be a lot less stressful.

Any way this goes... I win and am optimistic about the future...

All Possible Scenerios: All Positive Results...

A - I get a raise and benefits = happy Jeni

B - I don't get a raise/benefits = I Quit = I get a part time job and go to school (paid by DOR) = Smart Jeni

C - I don't get a raise/benefits = I Quit = I can't find a job = I get social security benefits and go to school (paid by DOR) = Smart Jeni

D - I get fired = I get social secuirty benefits/unemployment and go to school (paid by DOR)= Satified Enough Jeni

E - He kills me = Dead Jeni :/

Either way its more money or less work and that sounds good to me.

More money = less stress

But Less work = more time for school/projects/clean house/ healthy diet/exercise

I'm so glad i talked to Tina and Anthony before that meeting. They REALLY helped me. Tina helped me realize i shouldn't show him my graphs and statistics on what I am worth and just go in and say "this is what i want. can i have it" pretty much. And Anthony put into perspective what I am worth and helped me see how a man thinks about his income. Which should be the same for women but unfortunately isn't. My boss found ME on craigslist. HE needed ME. I am what he wants for this job. I do more than i was originally hired for. I am rushed and stressed. I am talked down to. Anthony said to give him a specific number. before that i was just oing to walk in and wing it. He made me say a number and i could hardly get it out. And he said.. "i come into work and put in minimal effort. my job is easy and stressfree... i get X amount ($3 less than me)... why shouldn't you get Y amount??" And I was like.. dude.. you're right! No longer will i think like a woman about my future and income. Did you know men are 4 times as likely than women to negotiate salary. Thats nuts. And I would be too if I stayed at this job for less than I asked for.

Go Jeni. Today you rock.