what benefits do you get? by Alison Green on August 10, 2017 A couple of years ago, in an effort to take some of the mystery out of salaries, I ran a post asking people to share how much money they make, their job, and their geographic region. It ended up being one of the most popular posts on the site, and we did it again early this year. Now let’s do the same thing for benefits. If you’re willing to play, here are the rules: 1. Put your job title in the “user name” field, which will make it appear in bold, which will be easier for people to scan. 2. List the following info: your job (the more descriptive the better, since job titles don’t always explain level of responsibility or scope of work) your geographic area your years of experience a description of your benefits — how much vacation and sick leave you get, retirement matching, what portion of your health insurance premium your employer pays for you, and any other interesting benefits you might get (If you want to be anonymous, don’t put your email address in the email field if you don’t want it linked to your Gravatar, if you have one.) You may also like:how much money do you make?how much should years of service matter when setting salaries?my friend was horrified that I asked an interviewer what the job pays { 1,002 comments }
ceiswyn* August 10, 2017 at 11:05 am Senior Technical Writer UK 15-20 years’ experience 25 days of vacation base, plus 1 per year of service to a maximum of 30 Private health insurance (which I’ve never used, because this is the UK) through a scheme that also provides other perks such as reduced price gym memberships (which I have used a lot!) Salary sacrifice pension scheme, with company matching up to 5%
Library director* August 10, 2017 at 11:06 am I run a public library serving a quarter million people in the suburbs of a large Midwestern city. I’ve been doing this for two years and have a total of fourteen years in the industry. I earn four weeks’ vacation per year plus three floating holidays and three personal leave days. It’s a government agency, so I pay into a pension fund, and my employer pays something like 12 percent of my salary into it. I think I pay about 4 percent – not certain. I earn twelve sick days per year.
Library Director* August 10, 2017 at 12:02 pm Mine are similar. 90,000+ people. Southern gulf state. 20 vacation days 12 sick days 3 personal days 9 paid holidays State retirement system with 6% paid in by the library, I pay in 4% We have to buy small business health insurance and cover 85% of premiums for employees I don’t use the health insurance so I started receiving a bonus to cover supplemental–my suggestion since it’s cheaper for us I have 10 years at this library
Another Library Director* August 10, 2017 at 12:22 pm I’m also a public library director for a smallish system in the southeast US. I’ve been in this position for 3 years and in the profession for about 10. My salary is mediocre, but the benefits are relatively good. Annually, I earn 12 days of vacation (which increases with years of service – at 5 years, I’ll get 15 days.) I also get 11 paid holiday days and 12 sick days annually. I’m exempt, but I accumulate comp time if I work more than my standard 37.5 hour workweek. We also have paid bereavement leave, paid time off if closed for severe weather and a very small amount (4 hours!) available for community service related activities. Employer pays 100% for my basic insurance plan, but there are options to pay extra for premium plans. Dental, vision, etc are extra. About 7% of my pay goes into a pension fund, which my county matches. Also, random benefits for government employees like cell phone and gym discounts, credit union access, etc.
Chief Strategy Officer* August 10, 2017 at 3:46 pm 1. I am a senior executive overseeing all marketing and new business functions for a 50+ person professional service firm. All marketing strategies and programs run through my approval and with the support of my department. We also handle all inbound sales efforts. I’m additionally overseeing outbound sales on an interim basis. I spend a lot of time managing my team, writing public-facing materials, networking, attending pitches and thinking of new revenue-generating business lines. 2. NYC adjacent 3. 15 years professional experience; 8.5 in management positions; 5 in senior management 4. Unlimited PTO and sick days, and unlimited remote work with flexible work hours – basically, as long as the work gets done, I can do it from wherever I want, whenever I want. I don’t use my company’s benefits but we pay 75% of health insurance premiums and have absorbed all increases over the past decade. No 401k match but generous commission plan and revenue sharing on new business lines.
Academic Library Director* August 10, 2017 at 4:33 pm I run a small academic library at a community college in the Midwest. This is my 6th year in the position but I have over 14 years in the profession. As an administrator I receive 2 vacation days a month, 12 sick days a year and one personal day per year. We will have 11 paid holiday days this year. Health insurance is fully covered by the institution for myself and my family. I pay for vision and dental. 401K is matched, up to 8.5%. It’s a great gig and pretty amazing benefits, considering we were paying 1/2 of the health insurance with my husband’s company to the tune of $1,600 a month prior to accepting this position in 2011.
Librarian* August 11, 2017 at 12:10 pm Librarian (cataloger) in a public library Part-time (20 hr) Chicago suburbs 20 days vacation (will start earning 21 days as I’ve just crossed 15 years here) 10 holidays 3 personal days sick days accrue at 1 day/month Dental insurance No health insurance No longer have vision (when they redid our health insurance a few years ago they couldn’t decouple it from vision, so us part-timers lost our vision insurance) Access to EAP benefits IMRF pension (municipal workers’ fund)
Corporate library director* August 12, 2017 at 2:10 am Thought I’d add some international perspective for fun! I manage a corporately owned library in South Korea. It’s part of our company’s brand efforts so my background is actually in marketing, about 8 years. Leave: 20 PTO days a year Insurance and pension: Both are nationalized, company pays 50% (this is standard nationwide). Both are less than USD 250 a month. Other: 3 months paid maternity leave, 1 year unpaid childcare leave, various other paid leaves for bereavement, health, significant family birthdays (like parents’ 70th) etc., vacation and monetary stipends for family events (marriages, births, anniversaries, deaths), access to free corporately owned daycares around the city, flex hours if you’re working at the corporate headquarters, etc.
Project Manager / Editor (Academic Publishing)* August 10, 2017 at 11:07 am 1. Job: Project Manager / Editor: work on manuscript revisions and oversee production lifecycle of digital projects (LMS, quiz platforms, ebooks, etc.) 2. Boston, MA 3. 7 years in the industry, 9 years overall work experience 4. Time Off: 3 weeks vacation, 1 week PTO, 1 week extra and “unofficial” comp time after our busy period, 3 floating holidays, 1 week sick time Retirement: 4% and my 401K vested immediately Health Insurance: Company pays 80% of premium for PPO, but for dental we get $2,500 maximum covered, which is a lot Other benefits: Summer is our busy period, but in September – May, everyone regularly works 10 – 4 and takes two hour lunches because there’s nothing to do. I can set my own schedule, so I usually work 10:30 – 6:00 during a busy period, but other people leave as early as 2 PM. It’s one of those “don’t care when you come in as long as you get work done” environments.
Project Manager / Editor (Academic Publishing)* August 10, 2017 at 11:50 am I wonder! Was it in Copley?
Johr* August 10, 2017 at 1:51 pm If this is where I think it is, I interviewed there when I was a new grad hoping to become a proofreader. They told me they wanted to hire me for that position but would I interview with this other team because of my Quark experience? I did, and never heard back from anyone ever again!
crazycatlady* August 11, 2017 at 5:17 pm Ha! I think I used to work there too, or for your competitor in the same area. I was hired on a rolling six-month contract, and was let go at the two-year mark, the point where I would have otherwise transitioned to permanent, because there was a hiring freeze. It’s a very sketchy policy. Nevertheless, being let go was the best thing that ever happened to me. I work in fundraising now and absolutely love it.
Recent ed tech grad* August 10, 2017 at 11:54 am This is so interesting! I’m a recent ed school grad (from an ed tech program you’re probably familiar with in the area) and I’m interested in this type of work. I know it’s a little OT, but would you mind sharing a little about your skills/training? Or any tips about making yourself competitive for these sort of positions?
Project Manager / Editor (Academic Publishing)* August 10, 2017 at 2:32 pm I work for one of the Big 4 academic publishers and I actually wouldn’t recommend it. Profits are so low (and getting lower each year) that there have been massive layoffs each year I’ve worked in the industry, and so much is being shipped overseas. I used to be able to work with authors on manuscripts, and now I mostly receive the manuscript and send it right to India for proofreading. I used to create digital projects myself, now I just cut a purchase order and send it to a vendor. At this point, it’s all about quantity and not about quality. The tech is about five years behind (if not more) than the smaller edtech companies or vendors, and is constantly buggy. I’ve been looking to switch industries and everyone I know is as well. It’s something that’s going to continue going downhill for the foreseeable future, so it’s not a stable industry and turnover in lower level jobs is high due to lack of opportunities. That said, if you are still interested, I have a BA and MA in English. Your degree might help you better if you’re looking at the tech side, but most departments care about experience. With a BA and MA and no relevant experience (or even with just internships), you’ll have a good chance starting as an assistant or proofreader. Knowing the relevant tech the company uses would help, especially if it’s a product that company created. Basic understanding of websites, CMS or LMS platforms, and project management tools. Experience talking with customers and clients, or experience participating in Skype calls and talking someone through a project (whether it’s revisions on a manuscript/paper or troubleshooting a digital project). For editorial, any experience writing and editing helps. I got my first job with just a BA in English, but I was a writing tutor in college and applied for an English Comp editorial assistant position that published a lot of the books I used as a tutor. So I was able to talk myself into a position based on my knowledge as a tutor editing papers, freelance editing experience, and knowledge of the titles the company published. The hard part is that in my company, and the previous two I worked at (also big 4 academic houses), a lot of the entry level jobs were cut or are being sent to vendors. So you really need to network with people or add anything I mentioned above to your resume to even get considered. I’ve had it easy because each time I’ve moved jobs, I came from a competitor, and most of the big 4 companies snatch up anyone from a competitor. It’s a small, incestuous industry.
Recent ed tech grad* August 11, 2017 at 2:26 pm Thanks so much for sharing all of this! People from my program often get generic advice to apply for jobs at publishing companies, Big 4 and local ones, but I wasn’t sure if it was the right fit for me. It sounds like it’s a really tough market, and I had been hoping this career change would position me in something with more growth. (And actually just today I got a job offer for something in higher education, so I’m very excited!) Good luck with your search!
Information Security Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 12:40 pm That is a lot for dental. Ours only goes up to $1500, and insurance only pays 50% costs. We have great benefits overall, but the dental needs improvement.
Red Reader* August 10, 2017 at 1:53 pm Dental insurance in general is kind of a racket for anything above basic cleanings, she said through her $26,000 (out of pocket, even with ‘excellent’ dental insurance) teeth. :P
Information Security Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 2:09 pm Yeah in all the health care debates raging on, dental tends to get overlooked.
Ego Chamber* August 10, 2017 at 7:40 pm Which is really short-sighted, with all the studies showing minor dental infections increasing risk of damn near everything (because the immune system is busy dealing with your teeth and can’t clear other infections as easily as when it’s not preoccupied). There’s also the part about how dental work is more costly for lower income workers, who don’t have spare cash to go to regular appointments and will only go in emergency situations when things are intolerable—ask me how much of my credit card debt is due to a broken tooth/crown and getting things pulled that I should have handled as a kid/teen but didn’t because I grew up poor. :(
Project Manager / Editor (Academic Publishing)* August 10, 2017 at 2:35 pm Mine covers 90% of basic and preventative care (so, fillings, root canals, wisdom tooth extraction, etc.), which was nice because my root canal only cost $200 out of pocket. Major or cosmetic care like crowns are 50% covered, which sucks because crowns are expensive (and I don’t think they should be covered under cosmetic anyway)
Ego Chamber* August 10, 2017 at 7:45 pm Serious question: What happens if you get a root canal but no crown? That wasn’t even offered to me as an option, it was just “root canal and a crown, or we can pull the tooth and you’ll have no tooth there”—and I already have an effed-up tooth on top from the shifting after they pulled the tooth on the bottom (I don’t care because it doesn’t hurt and it’s not visible, but that would be a problem if it was somewhere I could see).
Project Manager / Editor (Academic Publishing)* August 11, 2017 at 12:06 am The root canal basically kills the tooth, so a tooth that doesn’t have a crown after a root canal is more likely to break, and then it either needs to be pulled or you have to get a bridge or implants, and bridges/implants are waaaaaay more expensive than a crown.
sunny-dee* August 10, 2017 at 11:07 am * Content marketing writer / strategist, software company * Dallas, Texas * 13 years (technical writing + marketing writing) * Benefits –> No split between vacation and sick leave. I get 21 days PTO per year, based on years of service (I’m in the 5-9 years tranche) –> 9 paid holidays, plus paid shutdown for the week between Christmas and New Year’s –> 3% retirement matching and a 401(k) –> 75% premium payment –> $2000 / year tuition reimbursement –> employee stock program and stock awards for years of service
Human Resources Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:07 am Job description: Handle all Human Resources for a manufacturing company in Northeast Ohio. This includes benefits administration, compensation, employee relations, etc. I have 25 years of experience. Vacation – 20 days Sick/personal days – 5 days Paid holidays – 10 days (New Year’s, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve) 401k match is 25% up to 4%, plus profit sharing Company pays 80% of health insurance premiums. The coverage itself is poor though (high deductible). The company pays 100% of our dental plan. Other: Full onsite gym, tuition reimbursement, bereavement leave
Administrative Assistant (at a 6-12 private school)* August 10, 2017 at 11:08 am Job duties: answer phone calls/emails from parents & teachers, keep the calendar/schedule for the principal, create the master calendar of events for the school, assign rooms to teachers, process tuition checks, admin work for the extra-curricular programs (scheduling, creating flyers, etc), send out school-wide communications to parents with weekly newsletter, deal with office supplies and maintenance requests Geographic area: Boston, MA Years of experience: 6 Benefits: 4 weeks vacation (but must be taken at specific times when students are not in school), 10 sick days, employer pays 75% of health insurance premium for a great health insurance plan, free lunch during the school year, 401(k) plan if we want but no matching for lower level admins (so I don’t participate)
Administrative Support Supervisor (Higher Ed)* August 10, 2017 at 12:32 pm Job duties: Assist academic department head with calendar management, travel, reports, and budgets. Supervise front office desk staff (currently one direct report at the Admin Specialist II level). He does all the faculty and doctoral students’ travel, catering orders, etc. Geographic area: NW Arkansas Years of experience: 15 Benefits: – 12 hours/month vacation accrual (3.6 weeks/year) – 12 sick days – 12 paid holidays and we’re closed from before Christmas Eve until after New Year’s Day. – Employer 100% matches 401K contributions up to 10% I am on the pension plan, which closed for new enrollment 2 years ago. I contribute 5%, the university contributes 5%, and payout at retirement is based on a calculation of length of service and highest 3 years’ salary. – 50% tuition discount for spouse and children. 90% tuition discount for self – Payroll deduction for purchases of $200 or more at the computer/bookstore with no interest. I bought my daughter’s college laptop on 8 or 12 installments (I don’t remember which). – Employee Assistance Program – Medical, dental, and vision insurance. The university pays 72% of the premiums. – Flexible spending accounts for healthcare or dependent care
Administrative Analyst in Higher Education* August 10, 2017 at 2:05 pm We likely work at the same place.
Administrative Support Supervisor (Higher Ed)* August 10, 2017 at 6:07 pm Yes, I read your post and I think we do. I’m always wondering if there are any AAM readers around here.
Administrative Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 12:46 pm Process payroll, administer contracts, purchasing, all admin tasks in small office of medium sized govt agency in a mid-Atlantic state. I have 40 years experience, last 5 are here. I pay 6% of my salary for a defined benefit pension (10 year vesting) plus put 12% into a 457 account. I get 19 vacation days, 11 sick days, 11 holidays per year, vacay and sick roll over and accumulate to very high numbers. We pay 3% of our gross for health insurance. FEED YOUR PENSION! The fact that your employer doesn’t care about your future means you have more need to. And for every 2% raise you get, add 1% to your contribution.
Administrative Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 2:16 pm Admin Assistant at a mid-sized PR firm, support one of the Founders/Partners and only support person for a small satellite office including some remote workers (was posted as an EA, but ‘demoted’ to an AA when I started :oP) Geographic Area: San Francisco satellite office, the company HQ is in a mid-sized midwest city. Years of Experience: 19 years PTO: 15 days combined PTO, accruing at 5 hrs per pay period (increases by 2 days for every 2 years of service) Paid holidays: 8 per year Summer Hours: Allowed to take half days on Fridays 2x/month in the summer, except you still have to work a minimum of 40 hours/wk and be on call on Fridays if anything comes up. 95% of staff are exempt, and bill extra hours each week anyway, but for those of us that are non-exempt, this doesn’t feel like much of a benefit, because i have to work 9 hours days the rest of the week. Flexibility/Telework: Again: 95% of the staff are exempt, so they get a lot of flexibility, but they also often work very long hours, and have a billable goal. I am one of the few non-exempt, so my hours are more set 8:30 – 5, and I’m usually not expected to work more than that, and I don’t have a billable goal. Much of the staff work from home at least a few times per month. I am allowed to work from home once in a while, and often take advantage of that when I have appointments, so that I don’t have to take as much PTO. It is also nice that I don’t have standard reception duties, so I have a little more flexibility than standard Admin positions, if I’m running late or need to go run an errand, no one minds. Health Ins: Company technically pays 100% but it’s a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with a $3,000 deductible, so if you need to actually USE the insurance (which I do because yay health issues) it really costs me $3,000 per year. So, in reality I pay $250/month by the end of the year. Not exactly a cheap premium. (it is also $0 premium for family if you have one, but $6,000 deductible for a family) HSA and FSA are also included, Employer contribution is $20/month. I couldn’t justify the energy to get this set up this year, so I’m not doing it this year. Dental: $14/month, Vision: $3.90/month, those are actually decent coverage with very low deductibles and low copays. (Dental $42/month for a family; Vision $13/month for a family) The company is an ESOP, so they are very braggy about the retirement benefit and the 401(k) profit sharing plan. They are a little higher than standard, but the ESOP starts vesting at 20% at 2 years, and doesn’t fully vest until year 6. To me, if I balance that out with my high health insurance costs, it doesn’t feel like that great of a deal. Much of the staff is young and healthy, and get paid significantly more than I do, so putting aside $3,000 for health costs isn’t a hardship. Other: Bonus (they guarantee a bonus every year), Paid Short/Long term Disability coverage, Paid life insurance ($150,000 coverage + options for Supplemental life) Happy hours/snacks/budget for employee relations, Cash gifts for years of service and employee appreciation program. Our satellite office is in a co-work space, so we also have additional perks that come with that space: free beer taps, ping pong tables, weekly free events often include free food or drinks, discounted massages, etc . Honestly, I feel like our benefits are pretty crappy, and my pay isn’t great either, but it’s stable and people are nice, so I’m not in a rush to leave. But I will start looking more as soon as I have the bandwidth.
Data Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 11:09 am I am the data manager of a Healthcare facility. I mainly build reports, help managers understand their data and how to interact with it, and I’m responsible for the integrity of our data. Midwest- large city 6 Years Experience I have earned 4 weeks of PTO and I have the option to cash out unused PTO My employer matches 5% of my 401K contribution…BUT…they put in 200% for that 5%. So it’s really a double match. I get to work from home one day a week and I get $4K per year for educational assistance. And my employer encourages me to attend conferences (some are very pricey!) to stay up to date with trends and technology.
Creative Lead* August 10, 2017 at 11:09 am Job: As a creative lead at a small-medium tech company, I wear all the hats. Brand, events, web/email, presentations. Basically a senior graphic designer and art director rolled into one. Geographic area: GTA in Ontario, Canada Years of experience: 10 Bennies: 15 days vacation, unlimited sick days. No retirement matching. We have drug and dental benefits with copays that range 50-0%. Bear in mind that as a Canadian, you don’t have to pay for your doctor visits or many medical procedures, so the kinds of thing you copay are like, 0-20% on prescriptions, 50% of a dental crown, etc. In addition to the drug/dental coverage, we also get $500 that you can use on whatever you like: contact lenses, massages, whatever floats your boat. For other random benefits, we get free lunch one day a week, flex hours, and the ability to work from home as needed.
Senior graphic designer* August 10, 2017 at 9:23 pm 7-10 years experience Dallas, texas Mid side architecture firm. I wear all the hats-ads, events, pr, business delevopment, brand, lresentations, internal initiatives We get 20 days sick/pto combined, rollover up to 6 days, and comp time on my team. 4% retirement matching. 100% covered preventative medical and dental care, $30 copays otherwise. Life insurance, ad&d, 2k tuition reimbursement and 50% (i think) reimbursement on state registration costs. Floater cars free to reserve for work use, gym discounts. Subsidized parking based on title/level, but 100% covered transportation costs if you use public transit. Cell phonw plan allowance credit starting at $80/month and increasing as titles increase (not everyone is eligible for this). Yearly bonuses. Plus free unlimited soda if you are into that.
Senior Financial Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 11:09 am I work in financial planning and analysis at a F500 in New York City. About 3.5 years of experience. Benefits: – 3 weeks of paid vacation with no real tracking system – 5 sick days, but my department permits unlimited use as needed – 2% 401k contribution for all qualifying employees and a 3.5% match for those who contribute 6% or more (2 year vesting, 50% after 1 year) – Free car service home after 8:30 PM – Free lunches once a week – Unlimited fresh fruit for snacks – Perks at Work program – 12 weeks paid parental leave for primary caregiver/3 weeks paid for secondary (gender irrelevant) – Some form of health/dental coverage but my husband’s job pays our premiums in full so I’m not sure what it is here
Controller for high tech manufacturer* August 10, 2017 at 11:09 am your job title – private industry controller for a manufacturing company with approx 75 worldwide employees (I have my CPA license) your job description – more like a CFO. I also manage all the HR and benefits for the company – I have 1.5 staff (I share one person with another department) your geographic area – southwest virginia your years of experience – in the industry, about ten. outside the industry about 20. (I took a detour mid stream into entrepreneurship) a description of your benefits — first year in job salary is 80k, get 15 vacation days, 7 sick days and 10 holidays, 100% 401k match of up to 6% salary after one year, 100% employee health care paid including dental but not vision, YMCA rebate if used 3 times a week, Flex medical card available, paid STD and life insurance policy up to 50k, LTD available at discounted rates
Controller for high tech manufacturer* August 10, 2017 at 12:10 pm oops forget – entire company gets profit sharing bonuses at xmas equal to 10% total of company net profits
Assistant Account Executive* August 10, 2017 at 11:09 am Scope: I help plan and execute public relations strategies at an agency. I’m a junior employee so I also handle more of the admin work on accounts, too. Location: Large city in the mid-Atlantic region of the US Salary: 44k Experience: 2 years Benefits: – 15 days vacation – 5 sick days – Health insurance cover 85% of in-network services, 65% of out of network services – Dental – Vision – We have a 401k but I’d have to look up the match rate
Operations Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 11:09 am I work for an enterprise level team in a large corporation. My team works on providing kpi’s for operations and I do some data viz work to display the information and data validation work. I also work on researching causes for trends. I’m in the midwest I’ve been with this company for 15 years, in this position for 1 year. 401k gets matched at 6%. 23 days of vacation and 8 days of sick time. There’s a wide variety of health insurance options. Maternity and paternity leave available at 100% pay for 12 weeks. Huge discount on the product made by our company, which saves me about $1500-$1800 a year.
HRIS Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 11:10 am My Job: Manage data integrity and system configuration in our HRIS system (Workday). Geographic area: Denver, CO, USA Years of Experience: 1 in this position, 2 1/2 at the company Benefits: 120 hrs of PTO per year (bumps up to 160 at 5-year mark), 401k match up to 3%, and employer pays about 2/3 of total medical premium
Senior Editor* August 10, 2017 at 11:10 am I run a news department for a magazine with circulation ~100,000, the flagship publication for a scholarly nonprofit. Washington DC area 11 years experience Paid time off per year: 20 days vacation (with generous rollover), 10 sick days (no rollover), plus a handful of personal days (floating holidays) and bonus days. Retirement: Employer contributes an amount equal to 10% of my base salary no matter what I contribute myself. Contributions start after 1 years and are vested immediately. Health insurance: Employer pays most of it, 75-ish percent I think. Other: Life insurance in the amount of twice my annual salary, tuition reimbursement, onsite fitness room, and probably some other things I’m forgetting because I’ve never used them.
Additional Suggeated Info* August 10, 2017 at 11:10 am PSA: it would be useful to know if your employer covers dependents and whether you work for government or not, and if you have a large “smokers charge” or non-smoking discount. My employer stopped covering spouses unless they have no coverage of their own, and then it is really expensive to add them. And the “smoking penalty” is substantial and requires a nicotine-free test to get out of.
Additional Suggeated Info* August 10, 2017 at 11:11 am Suggested. Somehow I always miss the s on my phone….
Anon a Bonbon* August 10, 2017 at 11:25 am We started the smoking and spouse surcharges. My husband didn’t have his own insurance so I didn’t get hit too hard. But now he is starting a new job and I’m really considering fudging and saying he still isn’t eligible for insurance so I can take the financial break for one more year. I know, it’s terrible.
ENFP in Texas* August 10, 2017 at 11:52 am Many health insurers will run a dependent audit and penalize heavily if they find you are claiming folks who don’t qualify. Just a heads up.
JollyGeepers* August 10, 2017 at 1:14 pm Watch out if you do this. If he needs coverage it’s not at all unlikely that they’d verify his eligibility and, if he’s not eligible, simply deny the claims and leave you with the bills. It may also be a crime. Insurance fraud is no joke, even if the industry is pretty unfair.
Customer Service - Digital Specialist* August 10, 2017 at 12:22 pm Yes, we have both smoking and spousal surcharges for health insurance, if your spouse is able to get their own coverage and chooses not to. But I can cover my spouse on dental and vision for no extra charge (well, beyond the premium).
Benefits Admin* August 10, 2017 at 12:31 pm We get asked all the time: “Why is it so expensive to cover my spouse??” Our health plans (medical, dental, vision) are self-insured, meaning the company pays ALL claims and we use the insurance company for administration. So we see all the claims data for employees covered under our plans. When we can see that the spouses are running up higher claims because of all the medical conditions that come with age, it makes more sense to have the employee pay more of the cost for the extra adult who doesn’t work for us.
Executive Secretary* August 10, 2017 at 12:47 pm My company recently added a $100 per month surcharge for spouses who do not work for the company. I think there’s a $50/month surcharge for smokers or people who do not complete the health screening requirements.
Red Reader* August 10, 2017 at 2:03 pm I can only add a spouse to get my insurance as primary coverage if the spouse’s employer doesn’t offer them group insurance that meets all mandatory requirements and pay 50% of the premiums. I can add them to get my insurance as secondary coverage under any circumstances, but it costs the same to add them whether I’m adding them primary or secondary.
Public Radio Reporter* August 10, 2017 at 3:53 pm The smoking surcharge is $50/month for our high deductible plan — it’s actually more expensive than the monthly premium, which is $35 for an individual.
Salesforce Admin* August 10, 2017 at 11:10 am I work as a Salesforce Admin for a smallish company in Wisconsin. I’m a fairly recently certified Admin- I’ve been working within Salesforce for a couple of years, but this is my first Admin position. I get 10 days of vacation, with unlimited sick time. My company does offer retirement matching (I can’t remember the exact amount, maybe matching up to 3%?). A cool side benefit- Every couple of weeks, my company will pay for a food truck to come by and make everyone lunch. You’ll receive a ticket to receive an entree/side/drink, or they might not cap how much food you receive. I haven’t been at the company long enough to attest to this, but everyone tells me that the company Christmas parties are pretty awesome- lots of food, drinks, activities, with a change in location every year. I’d definitely receive more benefits and pay elsewhere, but I’m so glad to be at a company that values my professional development. They’ve paid for me taking certification exams, and it’s amazing to not have hotel costs scrutinized.
Systems Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 11:11 am Systems Analyst. Boston, MA. 10 years in job, 14 years at company. 36 days annual PTO (combined vacation & sick days) + 11 holidays. Employer pays 80% of health insurance premium. 80% tuition reimbursement up to annual IRS cap of $5,250. 50% 401K match up to a low annual cap (can’t remember exactly what, maybe $4,000). 75% public transportation subsidy with no cap (though it counts as taxable income after some point per IRS rules). Good travel discounts if traveling with company (we’re an international tour operator).
Systems Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 11:13 am Forgot to add, 1 month contiguous paid time off every 5 years in addition to regular time off (they call this a sabbatical). 2 months paid maternity leave. 2 weeks paid paternity leave.
LawBee* August 10, 2017 at 11:40 am I always wonder with the maternity/paternity leave difference – what do they do for gay couples? If Dad A works for your company, and Dad B doesn’t, can Dad A take the two months? fwiw I don’t know what my company does. Kids aren’t a thing in my future, so I’ve never paid attention.
Spreadsheets and Books* August 10, 2017 at 11:48 am At my company, it’s based on a somewhat arbitrary denotation of primary versus secondary caregiver. Usually mom is primary, but it depends on a partner’s available benefits and personal plans. One of our IT guys is taking the 12 weeks we give for primary caregivers because his wife only gets two weeks. If she got a few months, however, he’d only be eligible to take the 3 weeks we give to secondaries. If one parent doesn’t work, we automatically treat the other parent as secondary.
Stone Satellite* August 10, 2017 at 12:28 pm For us it’s 12 weeks for every parent (if you are the non-bearing partner, adopting, etc.), plus 3 months additional medical recovery time for those giving birth, so birth mothers are usually out about 6 months fully paid, other parents for 12 weeks fully paid.
Police Officer with National Force* August 10, 2017 at 12:23 pm In Canada, it is maternity leave if you give birth for one month and 11 months parental leave which can be split any way you want. There is a current push to change it to 12 months parental leave in cases of adoption to keep it in the spirit of the law. If you give birth but don’t take the child home (either due to death or adoption), I think you only qualify for the 1 month maternal leave (but don’t quote me).
Hélène* August 11, 2017 at 9:34 pm It`s actually 17 weeks `maternity` leave available only for the gestating parent. The remaining 35 weeks are parental leave which can be split in any way you wish between the 2 parents.
Senior Design Engineer* August 10, 2017 at 12:19 pm I wish my company offered sabbaticals. I like my annual travel-somewhere-exotic vacations, plus obligatory trips to see family etc, so I don’t tend to hoard up and roll over vacation time like some of my colleagues. But I’d really like a nice chunk of time off, and right now, the only way I can get that is if I find a new job and negotiate a start date 4-6 weeks out from my end end. (Which is common in my field and totally financially feasible for me). I don’t want to leave my job, but I also desperately want time to do some projects around the house, hang out with friends whose schedules are incompatible with mine, take an art class at the local community college, etc.
cookie monster* August 10, 2017 at 1:21 pm Could you discuss this with your company? maybe they would make a quiet exception to let you take an unpaid month. I have worked for both an absolutely huge international fortune 50 and an absolutely tiny company and have seen this type of exception made in both places for good employees.
Paula, with Two Kids* August 10, 2017 at 8:30 pm Yes, I have seen a lot of large companies with no sabbatical policy still let employees do this, as long as it fits in with their management’s timelines. They aren’t usually interested in codifying a sabbatical system, but it is still an option.
AMT* August 10, 2017 at 11:11 am Psychiatric social worker (LMSW). NYC. Union. 4 years out of grad school. 20 days of vacation, 12 sick, full medical/dental/vision with no co-pays or deductible, tuition reimbursement, unmatched 403(b), TransitChek, HSA.
Psychiatric Social Worker* August 10, 2017 at 11:27 am Sorry, forgot to put the title in the username field! Also forgot to mention: free continuing education (required for my license), credit union, various childcare-related stuff that I have no idea about because I’m not a parent, free burial plot.
Anne of Green Gables* August 10, 2017 at 11:49 am I’m sorry, free burial plot? I read that like 6 times to make sure I read it correctly. How does that work? Is it a benefit you only get if you die while employed by the company? Now I’m reading up-thread and realize this is a Union position, so is this a benefit for everyone in the Union? Is this something fairly normal and I just have never heard of it? I am very intrigued by this.
AMT* August 10, 2017 at 11:54 am Yes, that’s exactly how it works. Fun fact: you can get either a free burial plot with permanent care OR a $75 payment to your beneficiary. Because those are totally equivalent.
Paula, with Two Kids* August 10, 2017 at 8:32 pm Woah, that’s nuts. Strangest benefit ever. I’m guessing the plot is not a choose your own, but something they already own, otherwise the pricing would be outrageous for a plot with permanent maintenance.
Clinical Social Worker/Therapist/Counselor* August 10, 2017 at 1:34 pm By free do you mean the CEUs are provided to you through the hospital or do they pay for training anywhere?
AMT* August 10, 2017 at 2:06 pm Both. It’s a union benefit. The union holds educational seminars and we also get up to $800 reimbursed for outside training.
Media Buyer* August 10, 2017 at 11:11 am Job description: I do both media buying and planning for a number of clients across all mediums (TV, Print, Digital, Radio) Location: Southeast US 4 years experience, 2.5 at this current company Benefits: currently 14 days PTO (that includes sick time if I need to use it), but will go up to 19 days when I hit the three year mark in a few months. No retirement matching set, but if we have a good year we get end of year bonuses and a contribution to our retirement account. Both have happened years I have been here. Not currently on the health care, but I know that once you hit a certain point on the deductible they cover beyond that. Other benefits: we have the ability to work from home if needed and I have the flexibility to work through lunch, come in early or stay late, etc. to be able to leave early or leave for appts. without using PTO.
Data Analyst / Software Engineer* August 10, 2017 at 11:11 am I do R&D on air transportation initiatives for the federal government. My organization has a weird hybrid structure that I don’t want to get into here, other than to say I’m neither a fed nor a contractor. My org is a non-profit, that is heavily dominated by technical types — a majority of us hold an MS or PhD. My title is oddly company specific, but it’s enough to say that I work with a lot of data (think SQL and even hadoop), and write a lot of code. I use BI tools from time to time. Location: Metro Wash DC Experience: 8 years Benefits: 4 weeks combined PTO, 10% 403B match. My employer pays a large % of my health insurance, but I don’t pay that much attention. We can work from home as necessary without much trouble, which is helpful. I’ll note that I think that one should talk about pay and benefits as a combination, because good benefits are almost pointless if the pay sucks. I’m just over the six figure mark.
Research Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 12:08 pm Similar to above, but mostly SQL work collecting, cleaning, validating, and analyzing data for government. Pacific Northwest. 7 years experience. I get 10 hours of vacation and 8 hours of sick leave per month, plus 3 personal business days each year and paid holidays. My employer pays out unused vacation when anyone leaves. We have a retirement system that the employer and employee both contribute a fixed % of salary to, plus a pension based on final salary and years of service that the employee doesn’t pay into, and a variety of other retirement savings options that are not matched by the employer. Employer pays 99% of my heath insurance and dental premium for a good plan that doesn’t cost much more to cover dependents. There is a smoking premium but I don’t know how much, and lots of free quitting tools/supports. There’s also a small payment made to everyone who participates in a wellness survey and activities each year.
Canadian Government - Language Assessor* August 10, 2017 at 11:11 am I’ve been with the Canadian federal government for 8 years, so I get 4 weeks vacation (up from 3 weeks for the first 7 years) I make…. well once Phoenix is sorted out, and the pat increase from the new collective agreement, it should be around $77000 canadian. I get 15 sick days, 5 family related days, a volunteer day and a personal day. dental insurance, health insurance is included but I can’t remember the specifics, other than $250 Canadian every 2 years for eye care. there is a pension plan but again I don’t remember specifics
Canadian Government - Language Assessor* August 10, 2017 at 11:25 am that is such a polite way to put it :/ ive been underpaid for the last 14 months.
Another Government of Canada employee* August 10, 2017 at 11:33 am Some of the specifics you don’t remember: – Dental is a 10% copay (with a small (two-digit) deductible). Specifics can be found by googling “Public Service Dental Care Plan” – Prescriptions are a 20% copay (with a larger two-digit deductible). Specifics can be found by googling “Public Service Health Care Plan”. It also covers things other than prescriptions and eye care, but I haven’t used those myself. – The pension is (roughly speaking) [number of years of service x2]% of your salary, to a maximum of 70% of your salary after 35 years of service. However, after the age of 65, it is reduced by their calculation of what you should be receiving from the Canada Pension Plan (which in most, but not 100% of, cases corresponds with what you actually end up receiving from CPP if you start collecting it at 65). Details can be found by googling “Public Service Superannuation Act”. – There is also probably some kind of maternity leave and parental leave top-up, bringing the amount you receive to ~90% of your salary (up from the 55% provided by Employment Insurance). I don’t know the details because I haven’t used it myself. This would be set out in the collective agreement for the specific occupation, which can be found by googling Canada public service collective agreements
Canadian Government - Language Assessor* August 10, 2017 at 11:38 am thank you for filling in the gaps!
Yet another Canadian government employee* August 10, 2017 at 12:11 pm Yes, there is a maternity/parental leave top up on top of the EI provision, I believe it brings you up to 94% of your salary. Full medical and dental benefits while you are on leave, deductions are not taken while you are on leave but double deductions are taken for a year after you return to work. You have to agree to return to work for the equivalent time that you were on leave (i.e. for a year) or pay certain things back (I didn’t pay much attention to the details, as I was fully intending to return to work after my leave).
Canadian feds everywhere! (Policy analyst here)* August 10, 2017 at 8:32 pm More info: – vacation increases over time to top out at 6 weeks/year after 29 years of service. Some of the vacation can be carried over (anything over the maximum carry-over is cashed out annually). – sick leave is fully bankable. Not uncommon for someone to retire with over a year of sick leave banked. – pension: we pay approx 10% gross, and it’s matched fully. Also, once you retire, the pension is indexed to inflation. New government employees have slightly different rates and conditions. – bereavement leave: 7 calendar days (plus 3 travel days if required) for death of close family. – life insurance: 2 years salary to your estate/named beneficiary, plus survivor benefits for spouse and dependent children. – disability insurance: no short term disability (see sick leave, above), long term disability at 70% pay. – bilingualism bonus: $800/year if job requires use of both French and English. Also, if your job requires special certifications, etc., most contracts have provisions requiring the employer to pay membership fees and continuing education fees (think lawyers, nurses, etc.). This is not necessarily universal, and the position must require said professional membership. You can usually negotiate some training costs regardless of position. As for the question about job description: I’m a policy analyst. I coordinate strategic policy, planning, and performance measurement for various corporate initiatives and reports. It’s even more boring than it sounds.
Geillis D.* August 10, 2017 at 12:10 pm Can I butt in and ask about your job? Offspring is planning to study linguistics and I’m trying to scout out as many career directions as I can find.
Canadian Government - Language Assessor* August 10, 2017 at 12:37 pm yeah of course! I started as an ESL teacher but a lot of people from other fields are also assessors, but a background knowledge of the English language is certainly beneficial. mostly the job is deciphering how well a person can communicate – mistakes don’t matter if they don’t interfere with the clarity of the message. (we listen for fluency, pronunciation, vocsbulary, frammar and comprehension) It also requires a really empathetic personality, as people can be extremely stressed when they come in. I have a degree in linguistics – I was going to study speech language pathology but ended up teaching.
FDCA In Canada* August 10, 2017 at 2:26 pm This has nothing to do with anything other than being a funny coincidence, but just last week I assisted with a mock interview for a guy who was going to be interviewing for a position as a CDN gov language assessor, except his interview was going to be a mock interview of another person, so…we had to wrap our heads around pretending to interview a guy who was pretend-interviewing us.
Canadian Government - Language Assessor* August 10, 2017 at 4:44 pm oh the TACI! (test of ability to conduct interviews) yes that’s a weird test… but necessary to determine manner, ability to sequence questions so the conversation flows (so it doesn’t feel too test like and helps the interviewee relax), patience, ability to get people to talk… but it can be awkward feeling definitely
Student Services* August 10, 2017 at 11:12 am Job – just started running a masters program (administratively) at a large, prestigious private university DC area New to this job and university, four years of previous student services experience, 7-8 total years of professional experience Benefits: 21 days of combined PTO (would only be 16 if I didn’t have a PhD) Health, dental, and vision, but I’d have to pay a high level of the premiums, so we’ll go through my husband’s work instead Some discounts at local businesses Flex savings accounts available If you contribute 3% of your annual salary to a retirement program, the university will contribute 10% of your salary! This is the first place I’ve worked with retirement contribution matching, so that’s great. On the other hand, both the other university I’ve worked at and a nonprofit where I was before had better benefits overall. Notably: West Coast public uni 15 days paid vacation, 12 paid sick days, no cap on sick days accrual Get a pension if you work there 5 years Much higher percentage of insurance premiums paid (I paid no premium at all towards dental or vision) Nonprofit in DC area 20 days paid vacation, 10 paid sick days, 2 paid personal days 100% of health, vision, and dental premiums paid for me *and* spouse!
Student Services* August 10, 2017 at 11:35 am I forgot to mention that this university offers tuition benefits! After you work here a year, they’ll pay 100% of your tuition at the university — but you have to be pursuing an actual degree or certificate, not just taking random courses that interest you. And after *three* years, they’ll pay your tuition at a *different* university! Additionally, they’ll pay part of the tuition for your child to get their undergrad degree at this university.
Student services, big 10 uni* August 10, 2017 at 1:57 pm Associate Director for a recruitment program at the graduate level. Midwest US 8 yrs student services and affairs experience 24 days PTO each year plus 9 paid holidays. Uni puts 10% of my salary into a retirement plan, regardless of what I do. They pay the lion’s share of health insurance. After the tobacco affidavit, we pay about $100 a month for our family. It’s a high deductible plan but they also pay into an HSA. Tuition remission available that extends to dependents
Senior Consultant* August 10, 2017 at 11:13 am 1. Job: Instructional Systems Designer 2. Washington, DC 3. 1 week in this gig, 2 years in the contracting industry, 9 years overall work experience 4. Time Off: 10 hours PTO every month, and federal holidays Retirement: Up to 6% matching, and my 401K vested after 1 year Health Insurance: Company pays 80% of premium for PPO, but for dental we get $2,500 maximum covered, which is a lot Other Insurance: Group Accident Insurance, Group Life Insurance 5. Other benefits: I work in a secure environment, but in my current position I can come in at 10 a.m., and wear jeans on Friday. (Pretty big for me.) Company has various agreements with companies such as Verizon, Nationwide Pet Insurance, and InfoArmor for discounts on things like cellphone bills, insurance, and identity theft monitoring. (All things I’ve signed up for.)
Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 11:13 am Title: Senior Assistant 5 years experience Washington, D.C. Nonprofit industry -3 weeks paid vacation + 5 sick days if we need them -3% match 403B -medical, dental, vision insurance with fairly good coverage -transit benefits (so that we can pay with pre-tax dollars) -a gym on-site for employees to use
Research Scientist* August 10, 2017 at 11:13 am My job: I work at a university in a long-term STEM research support role. Not a professor, I just help professors with their projects. Geographic area: Northeast US in a major city. Years of experience: 1 year out from my PhD, 8 years of research experience total. Benefits: You guys, I won the benefits jackpot. I get five weeks of vacation (!!), four weeks of sick leave, something like 8% retirement matching, and my employer pays 100% of my health care, dental, and optical premiums. And I can pay for my public transit card with pretax earnings. AND everyone gets an automatic cost of living raise every year. I never want to leave this job. (Also because I like it, but you know.)
Batshua* August 10, 2017 at 3:59 pm I am so wondering where you work because I feel like I should send my science friends your way, but for all I know, you’re working in a very different field than they are…
Dmr* August 10, 2017 at 5:13 pm This sounds very similar to my husband’s benefits in research for an elite university. They are far more generous than at the very good but less prestigious university he was previously working at.
another researcher* August 11, 2017 at 4:40 am Do you mind me asking if you have your PhD? I have my M.Sc., and it seems like STEM support roles are disappearing. I’d love to be a lab manager, for example, but have noticed in the last 5-7 years or so that these types of positions are fewer are far between. And often want a PhD…even though I have 10+ years of lab experience, and no desire to be a PI (which, in my experience, most PhDs want)
another researcher* August 11, 2017 at 4:42 am Gah, just re-read that you are 1 year out from your PhD, sorry for the irrelevant question…
Program Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 11:14 am Program Assistant in Higher Education Chicago, IL 5 years direct experience, 8 years overall work experience Time Off: 3 weeks vacation, 3 Personal Days, 3 weeks Sick time, standard holidays including full week between Christmas and new Years Retirement: 5% automatically, in addition to matching up to 5%, fully vested Lots of discounts at companies and organizations in the community 75% off the cost of tuition up to a certain number of courses per year
Hospital Social Worker* August 10, 2017 at 11:14 am I’m a hospital social worker in Seattle, performing a somewhat specialized role related to substance use. I have three years experience. I get 13 days vacation per year (Starts out as 12, and you earn a day per year), 12 sick days per year, and paid holidays off. I pay around 7 percent of my income to a pension fund, and I’m in a union. We had a number of health insurance options, and I picked a fairly standard one, and I pay about $110 a month. We get an annual budget of $400 to attend trainings.
Red Reader* August 10, 2017 at 2:09 pm Based on your days-off package and its level of increase, I might have worked at your hospital in Seattle before I moved out of Washington :)
Archivist* August 10, 2017 at 11:14 am Processing archivist for paper records Washington DC area 7-ish years experience Benefits- standard federal benefits (accrue 4 hours sick leave and 4 hours personal leave per 2 weeks), TSP (agency matches up to 5%), agency matches 50% (I think?) of health/dental/vision, life insurance something or other, pension (for now), occasional paid time for conferences, public transit subsidy Industry specific benefits- reciprocal/free entry to museums and historical sites with ID (public historian solidarity!)
Christy* August 10, 2017 at 11:25 am I think the government pays ~75% of the premium for our health and 0% for vision and dental.
Federal Librarian* August 10, 2017 at 12:03 pm I, too, am a federal archivist. Some clarification: > Annual leave accrual increases with service length: 4 hours/pay period for up to 3 years of service; 6 hours for 3-15 years of service, 8 hours for 15+ years of service. I am nearly at the 3 year mark and I’m salivating for more leave. > TSP is our 401(k) style plan. Super low fees. The gov’t will put in 1% automatically, and then will match up to a max of 5% of your salary. > We also have a pension plan, FERS, to which we contribute 4.4% of our salary. The gov’t puts in some, but I don’t know how much. Some people have a different pension plan, CSRS, and no TSP (older people – this was phased out a while back). > My really nice health insurance costs me $173.59/pay period for self + family coverage. The gov’t covers a huge portion of the premium. > I never get paid time for conferences. It differs by agency. > I get public transit subsidy, a HUGE perk in D.C. > There’s a cafeteria and a gym in my building. Gym use is free for employees. My husband works for a military agency and gets 3 paid hours/week to work out in his building’s gyms as part of “readiness.” I used to have that benefit at a different agency and LOVED it. I miss it, but not that agency. > BUT, when the government shuts down, we don’t get paid. We might get paid back later (this has happened every time so far, but is never guaranteed and has to be passed as a separate bill through Congress), but the uncertainty eats at me. I have been desperately padding our household emergency fund since my husband and I both got federal jobs, because if it shuts down then so does ALL our household income. > Also, we get all kinds of ire all the time from family because obviously we’re just low-life do-nothing government employees who get rich on THEIR taxes. Which sucks, because I work super hard (I’m writing this on my lunch break, fyi) for public causes.
International Affairs Specialist* August 10, 2017 at 12:24 pm Another Fed here. Very amused at your family’s attitude. I work for a military service, get the three hours for working out each week. My family is very proud that I work for the government. We’re all immigrants from a country where civil service is a very prestigious job. I still think it is. I love the mission of my agency and I am proud to work here.
Another Federal Archivist* August 10, 2017 at 12:52 pm I also am an archivist working in a Federal library’s archive in DC. I have 20 years as a Fed. Benefits include: – Leave: 26 days of annual leave (8 hours per two week pay period, we can carry over up to 240 hours per year which I do), 13 days of sick leave (4 hours per pay period. Sick leave can be carried over from year to year so I have 100s of hours saved), all Federal holidays. – pension into which I pay .08% of my pay and the Fed contributes an amount equal to 13% of my pay; TSP (Federal 401k) with match up to 5%; health, vision, dental, and life insurance (we keep our health insurance into retirement if we retire from the Fed). I pay about 33% of the premium for my health insurance and my employer pays the rest. – If you die while still working, your beneficiary receives a one time payout equal to a half of a year’s pay, and spouses and minor children receive a monthly annuity. – At my agency we also have the ability to telework, flex schedules, wellness programs, and more. – a leave bank which you can “pay” into with one pay period’s worth of annual leave and then be entitled to up to 12 weeks worth of sick leave if you have a medical emergency and have exhausted your earned annual and sick leave.
Attorney - small law* August 10, 2017 at 11:15 am Civil Litigation Northeast 8 years but benefits have stayed the same Everyone negotiates their own benefits at hire. I have 4 weeks vacation but they don’t want me using all of it. I have family across the world so this is basically in case of emergency time. They don’t have an issue if I take 3 weeks though. I took 4 with no emergency last year and no one complained though. I’ve never taken more than 2 weeks at once. I’m sick when I’m sick and as far as I know that doesn’t come out of my vacation time. My time does not roll over year to year. I get a health insurance stipend to cover the cost of me being on my husband’s insurance. Our firm has a high deductible plan that I wasn’t interested in. I get 3% of my income (salary and bonus) automatically in my 401k. I have an FSA. I’ve always had long term disability insurance and life insurance but we didn’t have short term disability until very recently. I pay a small premium for the long term disability. Life insurance and short term disability are paid for by the firm. I get an ipad. I pay for my own phone and plan. I have a sit / stand desk. I can occasionally work from home but not all the time or just because. As needed.
Academic Reference Librarian* August 10, 2017 at 11:15 am Academic Reference Librarian Community College Large Texas City I earn 12 vacation days a year and 12 sick days a year (accruing @ 4 hrs. each pay period). Two days personal leave a year. Retirement is 7.7% of salary into a state run account – this is mandatory. We also get life insurance and disability through our institution. I’m still temporary, so I don’t know what I would have to pay for medical. Dental is included, vision is a supplement with a fee.
Accounting Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:15 am Job Description : Similar to an Assistant Controller, handle all the daily/monthly responsibilities for the accounting department; supervise all Staff Accountants, A/P, A/R, & Payroll; GL & Financial Statements Geographic Area : Boston, MA Years of Experience : 9 Benefits : 3 Weeks Vacation, 5 Sick Days, 4 Floating Holidays, Employer pays 80% of Health Insurance Premium (excellent plan), 401k with no match (boo!), 7am-4:30pm work schedule, early release Fridays year round at 3pm.
Marketing Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 11:16 am Marketing Coordinator – I launched and manage their website, do their email marketing, social media, collateral creation, event management, etc. Southwest US 6ish I get three weeks of vacation (standard at this company for 2 years of service, it goes to four weeks at 3 years), terrible retirement matching (they take how much you contributed last year and do a 2% deposit of that in your account six months into the next year, and only starts a year into working there – I just stopped using my 401k), PPO plan where I only pay $36 for the month – that’s a huge perk, but their partner/family without kids package is terrible. A handful of paid holidays, and every week we get to pay $3 to wear jeans on a Friday.
Administrative Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 11:16 am My job title is Administrative Assistant, but I am basically the Office Manager Minneapolis 16 years PTO, 1 paid day off to volunteer, 3% 401k match plus my employer puts a percentage into pension for me (it’s 9% now, will go up if I stay with the company) that isn’t taken out pre-tax, 5 days paid bereavement for immediate family members
Legal Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 11:17 am I am the litigation assistant to a partner and 3 associates at the biggest law firm in a town of about 50,000 people. Southwestern Ontario, Canada 9 years experience (8 at large international law firms in the second biggest city in Canada, 1 at this small firm) Benefits: 3 weeks vacation, health insurance (3 levels, I chose the mid-level with a monthly premium), dental, massage, 5 paid sick days, vision (every other year), no pension, no RSP matching or contributions
Jr Legal Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 1:21 pm Piggybacking as also an LAA and also in Canada. ◾your job (the more descriptive the better, since job titles don’t always explain level of responsibility or scope of work) – I am a Legal Administrative Assistant with 2 years experience. I spent 1.5 years in a big city at a big firm doing very specialized solicitor work, and now I am 5 months into a much more general solicitor assistance role in a medium city in a small to medium sized firm. ◾your geographic area – British Columbia ◾your years of experience – as above, also I got into this field after completing a 2-semester Legal Administration course at a community college. I also have a BSc in an unrelated field (that didn’t really pan out for me) ◾a description of your benefits — 3 weeks vacation, will ramp up to 5 weeks after 6+ years employment with the same organization. No retirement matching/RRSP. I get extended health and dental for my family – 80% dental and 80% Rx and 100% to “paramedical” (RMT, physiotherapy, psychologist, speech therapy, etc etc… naturopaths and chiros also included) however only $300 per paramedical service and $1000 total within paramedical. I also get AD&D insurance paid through work, payout is around my annual salary if not a bit less. They do not pay my MSP. I get unlimited sick days but we are expected to be adults and mature about whether we need to take them and to not abuse the policy. My old job in Big City and Big Firm matches RRSP contributions after 2 years so that’s something I gave up right before qualifying, but it was worth it for quality of life and improved COL in new medium city.
Receptionist T* August 10, 2017 at 11:17 am I’m a receptionist at a hip hedge fund in midtown NYC. (Includes officer manager lite duties, like ordering supplies and generally taking care of the space–though we have full custodial staff.) Generally considered the lowest rung on the admin team. I’ve been in the position a few months, though I temped around the larger org for a year. Have had admin experience off and on for 11 years, but took several years off from that for unrelated freelance work. Benefits per year: -Health (various options), dental, vision, life insurance -7 paid sick days (same for everyone) -15 paid vacation days (12 for me cuz I wasn’t here all year; 20 after 5 years; more for execs and longer-term employees) -2 paid personal days (same for everyone) -Additional week of paid leave for marriage or bereavement (marriage leave one-time only) -9ish paid holidays -401(k) with 50% matching up to 5K/year -Pre-tax transportation debit card (works for mass transit and parking) Health insurance premiums are a little higher than I’d like but not bad considering salaries here are good.
Midge* August 10, 2017 at 12:05 pm I’ve never heard of a company offering marriage leave, but I just went on my honeymoon this summer and an extra week of paid time off would have been awesome!
Marketing Communications Specialist* August 10, 2017 at 11:17 am -I am a web/graphic designer. I create marketing material, create email campaigns and manage our websites. I do not do strategy. -I am in Cleveland, Ohio – 3 – 5 years experience Our vacation/sick time is TERRIBLE. You cannot negotiate at my company. Everyone gets 2 weeks vacation, and 2 personal days. After 7 years you get 3 weeks. After 15 you get 4 weeks. You always only get 2 sick days. We have 401(k) match of 2% if you contribute 4% or more. I’m not sure on what portion my company pays for health insurance, but they do pay for some of it. Some people at my company can work from home but that’s maybe only 1%. Flex time is really discouraged by upper management, but some people get some flexibility. Our bonuses are great though, and we get profit sharing. We have parties every 5 years or so that are very nice.
Quality Improvement Project Manager/Consultant* August 10, 2017 at 11:17 am Job- Quality improvement consultant in healthcare to improve systems and identifying inefficiencies in patient care (basically someone identifies a problem or a way to improve things and I step in to manage that project) 14 year of experience in healthcare and 6 years in QI 28 days of combined time off (includes vacation and sick although we do get short-term disability), for maternity – after using the first 6 weeks via short-term disability, the company provides another 10 weeks under FMLA so you can take a total of 16 weeks off for maternity leave (compared to the usual 12 weeks). Company matches retirement after 5%. Employer pays 75%ish of the health care premium.
kris* August 10, 2017 at 11:35 am I hope you don’t mind me asking, was your healthcare experience clinical (before starting QI project management)? I’ve been in healthcare on the admin side for 10+ years and trying to break into project management.
Quality Improvement Project Manager/Consultant* August 11, 2017 at 7:51 am It wasn’t (unless you count clinical research – which I assume you don’t). This position actually does recommend having an RN or similar but I had a lot of project management and QI experience so it’s why I got the job. I think you do need to have some experience managing projects. Another plus for me is having the PMP certification.
AnonForThis* August 10, 2017 at 11:17 am *Job Description: Oversee international payment processing department, manage area staff, involved in various dept projects unrelated to international payments. * 5 years experience (5 additional in unrelated field) * Midsize midwestern city * 12 sicks days a year * 13 vacation days per year * Company pays all health insurance premiums for personal plans (family plans require much higher pay in) * Company matches I think 3% in to 401k * available short term disability, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment for reasonable prices * Year end bonus * Other considerations: no flex scheduling as we work off of strict processing schedules, can be difficult to advance due to very flat management structure, success and growth of business does not have (in my experience) impact on raises and bonuses.
SQL / Database Nerd* August 10, 2017 at 11:18 am Business Intelligence Development mainly SQL server and SSIS also some dash boarding and reporting. UK 5 years application support – 2 years BI Development 25 Days holiday (Most of which I can take at the same time) + Public Holidays Virtually unlimited sick time Bonus Scheme Life Insurance Matched Pension Contributions (5%) Subsidised Canteen Onsite Gym Fee cinema tickets Conference Expenses Technical Training Long Service Awards Talent Knows Talent Payroll Giving – This scheme gives you the opportunity Sabbaticals for voluntary work Free Shuttle Bus – Cycle to Work salary sacrifice scheme by securing tax-free cycling equipment. Childcare vouchers salary sacrifice scheme Season Ticket Loan Monthly Employee raffle (Top prize £3,000 with 15 or so smaller prizes)
Tau* August 10, 2017 at 2:27 pm I never managed to get any use out of it when I had it myself :/ there were strange restrictions regarding what shops you could buy from, upper limits on the amount of money you could spend where you weren’t allowed to add your own on top, an odd setup where the company bought the bike and you leased it from them, and similar weirdnesses that made me just throw my hands up in the air and buy my stuff without the benefit. It didn’t help that tax relief isn’t nearly as useful when you’re in the lowest tax band.
Senior BI analyst/data reporter* August 10, 2017 at 1:59 pm Another person in BI here. I’m in the southeastern US, working for a public 4-year university with about 7 years of experience in this role. Benefits include: Discounted health insurance in a good plan (premium <$300 for me + 2) Discounted dental (under $35 for me + 2) Free tuition for employees for any degree program, 50% discount for spouse/children in undergraduate programs 5% match for 403(b) State pension plan Free group life insurance, basically 125% of salary Free long-term disability after 90-day wait Discounted voluntary life insurance FSA and HSA offered 23 PTO days 10 sick days In our department, we're also very flexible about hours (there are generally people in the office between 6.30 am and 7 pm, but not the same people!) , working from home and running errands/odd hours off during the day.
data analyst* August 11, 2017 at 7:02 pm so many of these things i don’t even think about as benefits. cycle to work? of course i have that. childcare vouchers? of course. season ticket loan? who doesn’t? but you’re absolutely right to point them out. (signed, another londoner)
Embedded Software Engineer* August 10, 2017 at 11:18 am I write C (and some C++) code compiled for small to mid sized microprocessors for safety systems. United States midwest (town ~200k people) 25 years of experience (5 as a mechanical engineer, 20 as embedded software engineer) At this job for 3 years in December Vacation: 3 weeks (negotiated from standard new hire of 2 weeks) Sick: it seems to be unlimited, there’s no HR documentation about it. I’ve not used more than 3 in a year so far. Retirement: 401k, 3% automatic company contribution, 1/2 match of first 6% of your contribution. (If I put in 6%, they’ll put in 6%.) Health Insurance: They pay all premiums, 80/20 PPO, one hospital is a preferred plus 100% pay (except ER copay). Walk in health clinic one day a week at our location. Prescription plan is not that great. Gym: Have free membership at a gym close to the office, I don’t use it, about 15 miles from my house. Used to have a matching gift program for charity, ended last year. Used to have a volunteer payout (employee volunteers for charity, foundation pays $250 for each 10 hours up to $1000/year to the charity) that ended last year. Company has a competitive scholarship program for employee’s children each year. (One company in the 90s had an automatic $1000/child per year scholarship.)
Embedded Software Engineer* August 10, 2017 at 11:22 am Company pays 100% health insurance premium for individual or family. Spouse is covered as a secondary insurance if they have insurance available. My husband has OK insurance, but my insurance picks up any excess his doesn’t pay.
Bend & Snap* August 10, 2017 at 11:18 am 1. PR Manager: individual contributor running PR programs for b2b tech products 2. Greater Boston 3. 18 years of experience 4. We are a Fortune 200 so I literally can’t list all the benefits. Here are the big ones: 4 weeks of vacation, 5 sick/personal days, 6 public holidays, matching for 401(k), pension, full health/prescription, vision and dental (I can’t remember what portion the company pays but it’s substantial, free teladoc services, all kinds of insurance, EAP, legal assistance, adoption assistance, gender reassignment assistance, remote work, child care on site and childcare discounts elsewhere, a long list of health services and incentives, tuition reimbursement, subsidized food on site, subsidized massages on site, employee discount program for all kinds of things including cars, employee purchase program for our products + our stock, personal travel assistance, emergency dependent backup care…
Assistant Professor* August 10, 2017 at 11:18 am I’m an assistant professor in the social sciences at a private university (R2). I live in the Mountain West, 1 year of experience (but all the benefits related to my job are the same for everyone in my position, you don’t get more with seniority). Benefits: –unlimited PTO, provided you are making sure your classes are covered (i.e. a three-week vacation mid-semester would not be acceptable; going to a conference would be okay if you just canceled one class or found coverage). Generally your presence/absence at work is not tracked by anyone as long as you’re showing up to teach and to occasional meetings, and otherwise getting your work done. –retirement match = double match up to 4%/8% (i.e. you put in 4%, they match it with 8%) –heath insurance is very confusing, depending on which plan you choose, the university covers between 50ish% to 100% of the premium, less if it’s a plan covering spouse/kids. Vision and dental are available and pretty cheap. –also, I’m not sure if this is technically a benefit or not, but we are paid a 9-month salary spread out over 12 months, meaning that if you choose to teach (or take on certain other major projects) in the summer, you get an additional summer salary. Or you can just not teach during those months with no pressure. –tuition reimbursement for kids and spouse –10 weeks full pay for parental leave
Program Director at a Nonprofit* August 10, 2017 at 11:18 am I manage a statewide program at a nonprofit agency. My agency has about 110 staff, which is not very big in the grand scheme but very large for our industry South Carolina 12 years experience 7 holidays +1 floating holiday, 23 days PTO 3% 401K match up to 100% Health insurance premiums paid for employee all but $15, but we have to pay a LOT for dependents. Free or discounted services provided by the organization They are very generous with professional development and pay professional association dues, both of which are extremely rare for our industry.
Program Director at a Nonprofit* August 10, 2017 at 11:20 am Forgot to say, we also have vision, dental, short & long-term disability, and Aflac all for a few dollars per period
Also a Director at a Nonprofit* August 10, 2017 at 12:53 pm I have been with this organization and in the nonprofit world for 5 years. Over 20 years work experience total. All with small organizations, so the benefits at this organization are generous by comparison. Vacation: I am at four weeks per year, though employees who have been here may get two or three weeks, depending on length of service. Because we are in California, vacation time accrues, but our organization has a cap at which point you stop accruing. No one ever reaches that cap without taking time off. Sick Leave: Seven days per year, which also accrues to a cap. Holidays: 12 per year. Medical Insurance: We have several plan options, including two with a high deductible. Employees on the high deductible plans receive generous deposits into a health savings account (HSA) (basically, they get the premium savings back). Coverage on the plans is very good and with the HSA contribution, medical costs end up being pretty low. (I am actually building a good amount of money in my HSA and will use it to pay medical expenses in retirement.) Employer pays 80% of employee premiums and a lower % for dependents. Dental and Vision: One plan for each; premium payment the same as for medical. Life Insurance, Long-term Disability, Short-term Disability: 100% paid by employer. Long Term Care Insurance: group rates and underwriting; employer contributes $25/month toward premium. FSA- dependent, health, and limited plans are available. Retirement: Simple IRA with up to 3% match and 100% vested.
Director of Programs at small nonprofit* August 10, 2017 at 4:51 pm Director of Programs at a small nonprofit in the California Bay Area. We have fewer than 20 employees and an operating budget <2 million. 10 years experience at this organization. 16 holidays, 25 days vacation (staff who have been here less time have fewer days), 7 sick days Health insurance premiums paid for employee through Kaiser. We pay for dependents and spouse, but it's an acceptable amount, in my opinion ($400 a month for three additional people in my family). We also have vision and dental insurance but have to pay some out of pocket for each visit. No matching on retirement accounts.
Non-profit Program Manager* August 10, 2017 at 5:27 pm Boston area. 75% coverage of health insurance premiums + automatic reimbursement of deductible after a certain point (turned our $1250 per person & $2500 family deductible into $500 each and $1000 for the family). Premiums are about $6000 for a family. Same coverage for dental plan, which works out to be about $260/year for the family. 2% 403(b) match 4 weeks vacation to start for salaried employees, increases to 5 weeks at 2 or 5 years (I forget). Use it or lose it policy 2.5 – 3 weeks sick days (again, I forget specifics). Can accrue indefinitely. 11 paid holidays, plus a handful of 1/2 days. Health care and dependant care FSAs. Long term disability paid by organization, short term disability available (costs me about $1000 per year). And generally a great culture, though for both this non-profit and the other one I worked for, you love it or hate it.
Development and Marketing Officer* August 13, 2017 at 3:58 pm Fundraiser at a fairly good sized local non profit. (40 employees) We start with 10 hr vacation in the first year, 12 after the first year with 2 day bumps at 5 years and again 10 years. The vacation accrues, but caps at about 300 hours. We have people who have stopped accruing because they won’t take time off and are accruing at 14 hours a month. We get 12 paid holiday days and 1 floating holiday. We all get 8 hours of sick a month, even part time – prorated (this is CA, I think sick time is mandatory) Sick accrues, no cap, but there is no payout when you separate. Insurance, we have 3 plans to chose from, it’s an 80/20 org/employee split, with that happening for dependents as well. We have a 5% cap as well, so if you are a low wage earner with a big family to insure, you’ll never pay more than 5% of your salary for medical benefits. Vision and dental are covered by the company, as are accident death and dismemberment and we get long term health care – which is portable when you separate. We have a small match to the 403b of about $1000, but the org pays all the fees for it. Also, employee of the quarter gets one additional vacation day. We get breakfast once a month at our all staff meeting. This is a really generous package for our area (Central CA coast)
Therapist, Community MH* August 10, 2017 at 11:19 am I’m a therapist in community mental health. I see between 25-40 clients a week and provide case management, run groups etc. Seattle Area. 4 years of experience We get a week of sick leave a year and 2 weeks vacation, but also 4 floating holidays. You continue to get more vacation as you are with my org longer- I believe folks who have been with the agency for over 10 year get about 4 weeks + the floating holidays. You also can convert sick leave to vacation if you use no sick leave in a quarter. As to retirement, they put some money in our account yearly, but it is not matching or at all predictable. Generally, you can’t count on it. I see it as a bonus. For health insurance, when I started, the benefits were great- company payed all the premium and my copay was low. Then they made us pay our own premium. Then they switch us all to an HSA plan that doesn’t work well for those with chronic conditions. They put $1000 in our account yearly, we have to cover most everything else. It is so bad that everyone who can switched to their spouse’s insurance. A benefit that was touted to me in my interview was a flexible schedule, but we have this only in the sense that you are free to work as much unpaid overtime as you want. Generally we can’t use all our vacation anyways, as the work has to get done and getting someone to cover you is hard. Managers, however, take their full time off, meaning line staff often don’t get supervision we need for licensure, another benefit that is touted to us. We do get training money yearly, but since you have to take time off to take trainings, it doesn’t happen often. A ‘benefit’ is also you get exposed to a wide range of clients and have to learn a lot quickly. Your skills as a therapist grow at first and it can make you valuable when you move on. Yes, I am burning out on this job. I love the field and I love my clients, but agency work is HARD.
Therapist, Community MH* August 10, 2017 at 11:21 am Oh, and paid maternity leave does not exist. If you want it paid, you better have sick and vacation banked. And vacation expires at the end of the year, so….. We also work with kids and families. The hypocrisy is stunning.
Anonomyzing myself to reply here!* August 10, 2017 at 1:34 pm And yet people so often wonder how on earth it’s possible that there could ever be a shortage of therapists who take insurance, wonder why places have waiting lists, etc… possibly because despite our desire to help everyone we can, we burn out *and* aren’t compensated for the work we do… despite needing advanced degrees/licenses and ongoing continuing education (which is expensive if your organization doesn’t pay for it)? How dare we therapists want to have balanced lives or be able to feed ourselves, right? Sometimes moving to private practice (even part-time) is an act of self-preservation for some of us, in order to prevent burn-out and feel like we can provide better service over the long run (I’m considering it at the moment). Sigh.
Obi-wan's wife* August 10, 2017 at 11:59 pm +1000 my husband could’ve written these comments. Community Mental Health counselors are expected to save the world all while getting treated very poorly. Our society’s priorities are messed up. And yes, we’ve moved to private practice this year.
Human Resources Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 11:20 am your job: HR Analyst for quantitative trading firm with 90 employees. One of two HR people (the other is my boss, who is also head of business development/recruiting). your geographic area: New York City (Manhattan) your years of experience: about 2.5 years of total experience, 1.5 years of HR, May 2015 grad a description of your benefits: ow much vacation and sick leave you get: 5 days’ sick leave, 15 vacation days, no specific personal days but can use either sick or vacation time as a personal day retirement matching: 2% salary but doesn’t vest until 3 year mark what portion of your health insurance premium your employer pays for you: 100% for individual employee health insurance, 100% of dental insurance, vision insurance is $10/month. Families pay the difference, but I have no dependents. Other interesting benefits you might get: $15 towards discounted gym membership monthly; free lunch every day from Seamless ($15 limit); small life insurance policy; fully covered LTD, STD, and AD&D insurance (basic); commuter benefits (pre-tax dollars); free FSA plan My benefits are good but pretty standard for finance in NYC. The free lunch is a great perk. We are a fairly small company so maybe could not offer the same benefits if we were a lot larger because $$$.
Human Resources Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 11:23 am Forgot to mention we also have free OneMedical (same-day clinic), Health Advocate (claims assistance), and Teladoc subscriptions.
Business Development Consultant/HR* August 10, 2017 at 11:20 am My title is a catch all for a lot of hyphenates that fall into my purview, such as HR, strategic business planning, client communications, web designer, graphic designer, de facto office manager, PR, marketing director, etc. Small CPA firm, so most employees wear several hats. Benefits – 3wks PTO, 6 standard paid holidays, 2 flex holidays, 100% of health (BCBS Platinum plan), dental (highest level BCBS plan), and vision ins premiums covered for the employee, 401k with 100% match up to 3% and additional 50% match up to 5% (so employer contributes 4% if you put in 5%), and flex time (which is the best perk, for most employees – set your own schedule, take off when you need, work from home when you need).
Anon for this* August 10, 2017 at 11:20 am Job: Application administrator (i.e. a manage the overall usage of a piece of software for our company) Location: Toronto, Canada Experience: almost 1 in this particular job, though I’ve been in the workforce for 12 years Vacation: I negotiated 3 weeks to start, but 2 is the default. You go up to 3 weeks after 2 years, then get an additional day for every year after 5, and there’s a maximum at some point but I can’t remember what it is. Sick leave: we get 8 sick days max, but in the past it’s been frowned upon if you use all of them; this number was reduced from 10 days last year as well as a budget issue. Retirement matching: we don’t get matching, but they do offer a lump sum once a year as a contribution to the workplace group retirement fund. The amount is about 2% of my gross salary. Health stuff: I’m in Canada so it’s a bit different in terms of things you might go see your GP for (i.e. provincial health care covers this stuff). We get 80% of regular dental covered, 50% of orthodontics. We also get up to $500 on each of things like physiotherapy, massage, etc. No optical, which I miss; Old Job gave us $200 every two years. Other: we’re in the cultural sector so we have what’s called a reciprocal agreement with other organizations where we can get deals on admissions (e.g. free for you and a guest, free for just you, 50% off theatre tickets, etc.). This always seems like an amazing benefit but I never use it as much as I should. That’s about it. We’re a non-profit so I don’t necessarily expect a lot else, to be honest.
Application Administrator* August 10, 2017 at 11:39 am Whoops, also failed the “put the job title as your name” thing!
Compliance* August 10, 2017 at 11:20 am Compliance in Finance, NYC/Tristate Area, <5 years – 15 vacation days + 3 personal days (so basically, 18 vacation days) with the ability to roll over up to five days from the previous year. I think once you hit 10 years, you're bumped up to 20 vacation days (+3 personal). – Unlimited sick days (I find myself taking less sick days than when I had a job with a set amount of sick days) – 401k matching… I think it's at like, 3% or less during the year… not a huge amount but something. If you're an employee on 12/31 you get 10% of your total salary (including bonus/overtime) contributed to your 401k which is an excellent bonus) – Medical and dental – I pay $32 a month ($16 per paycheck), I don't know what the company picks up. Prescriptions are $10/$30/$50. There's an additional vision plan that I didn't sign up for. They also offered pet insurance and one of those legal fee insurance things, which I also didn't sign up for – FSA account – we're given $1k a year (free money) with the option to contribute pretax dollars – Profit sharing – equal across the board (partners get the same as admins, for example) – We have a gym on site – They buy us lunch every day
EA POLITICS/Gov't* August 10, 2017 at 11:21 am Executive Assistant (gov’t, I am the only assistant to the elected officials) SE United States – mid size municipality 3 years here, appx. 10 years in this you’re of work * based on full time status: 3 weeks of vacation; paid day off for annual physical; paid personal day; little over 100 hours of sick leave a year; we also get a pretty good price on health insurance especially if you take part in the wellness discount, I think I pay about $30/mth, dental and vision is just a few bucks a month as well. I honestly couldn’t say what the retirement breakdown is. They also pay for a year salary of life insurance.
Revenue Accountant (similar to staff accountant position)* August 10, 2017 at 11:21 am -reconcile and maintain deferred revenue GL accounts for specific global lines of business within the company, as well as support a lot of project work (because pretty much every new initiative affects revenue)- basic accounting stuff, plus a lot of project support -Texas -about 4 years accounting/finance experience, in this particular role a little over a year -I work for pretty much the largest company in the world, and our benefits are definitely above average. New hires start with 12 sick days and 12 vacation days, and vacation goes up with years of service (I’m at 15 currently). 401K matching is also on a sliding scale, starting at 50% matching and eventually increasing to 100% matching up to 6%. We also have a stock purchase program to purchase stock at a discount. Health insurance is mostly paid for and very good compared to most, I pay ~$340/month for my whole family for the premium plan. Our maternity and paternity leave kicks butt by U.S. standards, and other benefits include paying for fertility treatments/IVF, tuition reimbursement, and matching charitable contributions. We also have a full medical facility and gym on site. We’re spoiled in the benefits arena!
Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 11:21 am ◾ Analyst ◾ UK – North East ◾ 3 years in this role 1 at my current level 2 at a lower level analysis position – 17 years for the company ◾ 33 days leave with an option to buy an extra 5 plus 8 bank holidays, also flex time. ◾ Sick pay is 6 months full pay, 6 months half pay for serious health issues – it’s effectively unlimited for less serious issues but the UK system means they can’t be taken as personal days etc as too many incidents will trigger a absences review. ◾ No health insurance ◾ 14% contribution to company pension by employer – employer contribution depends on salary – I think mine is 8% ◾ Full onsite gym, 75% tuition reimbursement with a 2 year commitment to stay after the course has finished is available but on a limited basis if approved by management and hr. t, retirement matching, what portion of your health insurance premium your employer pays for you, and any other interesting benefits you might get
Research Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:21 am Public Health Research Manager at a medium-sized Midwestern Research University 3.5 years in position (5 years total work experience with 2 Master Degrees). 8 Paid Holidays, 22 Vacation Days & Sick time accrual maxes out at 120 days (you accrue about 1 day per month- any sick time can be applied towards paying out FMLA) No official Maternity/paternity leave- you utilize FMLA and use Sick & vacation time to pay out, only really able to pay a full 3 month leave if you’ve been with university for several years 7% 403(b) match after 2 years High Deductible insurance plan premiums $16/month for individual & $1500 annual deductible. Basic Dental & Vision included. University contributes $400 to HSA at beginning of each year for High deductible plan users. After 7 years of employment, dependents are eligible for 100% tuition at the university (they must get in first- very competitive) or 60% of university’s tuition at another institution.
Academic staff* August 10, 2017 at 11:21 am Director of a research center in Midwest with over 20 years experience 24 days vacation (can rollover up to 48 total), 12 days sick leave (more is available if necessary through a process I don’t understand) Employer contributes to pension 7.5% of salary (I contribute 8%); I have access to both a 403b and a 457 with no matching Health insurance percentage is a complicated formula involving salary, plan chosen, and other factors but it’s around 80% 50% tuition waiver for kids
Manufacturing Software Consultant* August 10, 2017 at 11:22 am Job- – Working for an End-User implementing a Manufacturing software system UK – Midlands Experience – 18 Years in Software Consultancy Benefits – Working four days a week (two at home, 2 in office), 22 days holiday, 8 public holidays. No sick pay/leave, Mileage allowance, state pension contribution. Full free health insurance with spouse’s company.
KatieKate* August 10, 2017 at 11:22 am Volunteer Coordinator in Chicago 3 years experience 10 days vacation and 8 days sick plus flextime. Employer pays 90% of health insurance premium. Vision and dental. No 403b match but access to really great low cost fund and a pension that I am vested in after 5 years. Lots of paid holidays.
Library Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 11:22 am I am the “desk girl” at the library in a medical school. I don’t have a Librarian degree, and I don’t do “real Librarian” work, but I do all the things most people THINK a Librarian does, like check books in/out, order interlibrary loans, update the shelves, and troubleshoot our website. I live in the Northeast United States and have 2 years of experience at this specific job. I have about 10 years of experience doing academic-type jobs. The job started with 2 weeks of vacation & 7 sick days, then in the next calendar year it bumped to 3 weeks vacation. It will bump up again to 4 weeks at 5 years. We don’t have summers off here, but we do get the week between X-Mas and New Year’s off. I get a 2% COLA every year, retirement matching at 6%, and I have no idea how much my school pays in to my insurance because I only care about things like $10 office visits and $20 specialist visits. Birth control is 100% covered, I consider that a nice perk. Another benefit is that, as a medical school, we’re located across the street from a hospital and the school itself is full of medical professionals, so people take sick time seriously and are compassionate about illness.
Another library assistant* August 10, 2017 at 4:32 pm Library/archives assistant a small private university in midwest: a little bit of everything mostly focusing on processing, collection management, and administrative stuff. Hourly, non- exempt. 3 years experience, no MLIS (library degree) 10 vacation days, 10 sick days (accrued 3.99 hrs/pay period) and 2 personal days a year. Between 10 and 15 paid holidays depending on when Christmas falls– campus is closed between Christmas and New Years. Benefits: choice moderately subsidized health plans, I pay ~$50/month for single person HDHP plus contribute to a HSA. Reasonable vision, dental for a bit more. After 2 years, automatic 5% university contribution to 403(b) with 0% employee contribution, up to a 9% university contribution with 4% employee contribution. Can pay for transit pass using pretax salary. I can use most of the university facilities (gym, library) for free but it’s a tech school, so campus events and library resources are pretty niche and not really of interest to me. Notably, NOT a lot of day to day perks like coffee, occasional free food, staff celebrations, break room, etc. I’m also too lowly for professional development funds or tuition remission.
A third Library Assistant* August 11, 2017 at 12:26 am * Job: In addition to checking things in/out and helping patrons, I coordinate our student worker program, manage proctoring service, and perform behind-the-scenes circulation functions (holds, reserves, shelving, tracking down missing materials, etc.). I am at a liberal arts college with about 2,000 students. * Geographic area: Upper Midwest, medium-sized city * Experience: I’ve only been in this position for a few months. This was my first FT library job, but I have three years of related PT work. I have a BS, but no Masters . * Benefits: 12 vacation days, 13 sick days, and 10-13 holidays per year. I contribute 4% to my 401k, and the college matches that amount. Time off and retirement match go up a little after 5 and 10 years of service. Health insurance premiums are based on your salary: the employee pays 4% of their salary for single coverage or 6.5% for family (why an entire family premium costs less than what two single premiums would be is beyond me, but I suppose it would be nice if I had a spouse and kids…). I have no idea how much the plans cost the college, but single coverage has a $1,000 deductible and family has $2,000. The employee pays the entire dental premium ($50/month). There are some other perks like free tickets to art and athletic events on campus, free use of the rec center, and after 4 years of employment, staff, their spouse, and kids can get a 90% discount on tuition.
Program Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 11:22 am 1) Job: Program Coordinator for international programs at a large professional medical membership organization. (non-profit) 2) Northern Virginia 3) 5 years work experience 4) Unlimited vacation time. Encouraged to take at least 15 unplugged days a year at minimum to make sure people actually take time off. Flexible work schedule and working from home is allowed. The culture is to be in the office for weekly one-on-ones with your supervisor and for biweekly staff meetings. Other than that, as long as you get your work done it doesn’t matter where you are working. Health Insurance: health, dental, and vision are offered. This is my first job with insurance, so I’m not sure how it compares with other places, but it’s been plenty sufficient for my needs. Retirement: 9% of my salary into my 401k, with 1/4 vested a year. Fully vested after 4 years. Disability insurance covered by the company. Education benefits: up to $5,000 a semester offered to help with continuing education Grants available (up to $1000) for staff to do something they’re passionate about, as long as they take pictures and write an essay for how they used the money Free toastmasters club on site Strong internal mentoring program designed to grow staff talent Transit benefits- free parking or $165 metro subsidy Employee Assistance Program (EAP) available- 24/7 call line for counseling and other assistance Flexible Spending Account Workman’s compensation available if injured/sick on the job Various discounts through offered for pet insurance/homeowners insurance/verizon/travel agents/hotels Wellness rooms are available- primarily for nursing mothers. They’re private, quiet rooms with comfy chairs, a fridge, and an attached bathroom
Public Accounting Clerk (Small Firm)* August 10, 2017 at 11:23 am My Job: Bookkeeping for clients, payroll processing, personal and corporate tax returns, preparing year-end financial statements, assisting CPA Area: Northern Ontario, Canada Experience: 3 years Benefits: – 40 hours of sick leave (non-cumulative, can be used in small portions for appointments) – 2 weeks cumulative vacation – no overtime required
Senior Business Partner* August 10, 2017 at 11:23 am Job: I work for a F100 major retailer, at the company headquarters. My role is essentially project management/process management/field support for company initiatives. Geography: Minneapolis Years of Experience: Almost 3yrs in role; 5yrs at company; total 11yrs working since grad school Benefits: -3wks of vacation standard, increasing with years of experience. Leaders have a flex PTO policy where they can take as much time as they would like. -No true sick time bucket, you simply stay home when you’re sick. -All new parents (male and female) receive 2wks of parental leave for either birth or adoption of child at 100% pay -Maternity leave is covered for either 6wks or 8wks at 100% pay -Short term disability insurance is paid by the company -401k match up to 5% (must work 1000 hrs to be eligible for 401k plan) -Medical/dental/vision coverage at about 2/3 cost of premium -Fitness classes available at HQ locations -Store discount w/ additional discount for buying healthy foods/fresh produce/work out gear -EAP assistance -Legal assistance for things like wills, power of attorney, etc. -Tuition reimbursement -Company discounts on daycare, museums, etc. -Ability to participate in things like test tastes for owned brand food items, wear tests for apparel & accessories, etc. I’ve gotten some cool free swag over the years like clothing, shoes, bags, etc.
Senior Accountant* August 10, 2017 at 11:23 am Bank accountant in Houston, TX. I pay the bills, produce the financial reports, send regulatory reports, help with payroll, and generally make sure that the numbers are right. My bank has under 30 employees. I have been an accountant for 25 years, and at this company for 5 years. We get 20 days of PTO, to use for vacation, sick time, and days off. After 10 years it goes to 25 days. We are required to take two weeks vacation at one time, to comply with regulations. Retirement match is up to 4.5%. There is a separate non-matching contribution that starts at 3% and goes up to 5% after 10 years. Health insurance is covered 75%, plus a spending account of $3,000 to $5,000 depending on if you have dependents. The Christmas party is always at a fancy restaurant, where the bill typically comes to at least $200 per person.
Church Music Director* August 10, 2017 at 11:24 am Job description: Music director at a church Geographic area: Houston, USA Years of experience: 18 years in church music, including 9 years in a leadership role (only past 2 years were full-time) Benefits: 7 weeks’ vacation, including up to 7 Sundays (important distinction in my field). Very flexible schedule. $1000/yr. continuing education. No health, no retirement. Permission to use church facilities freely for side work if desired. There are other weird unofficial (and not guaranteed) “perks” that often come with working at a church; people tend to offer to do things for free for me (although I’ve stopped accepting some of these over the years as I don’t want to exploit) — I’ve had a ton of free food, but also help moving, free haircuts, free consultations with medical and legal professionals, even free housing for a couple months when I was in a bind many years back.
Engineering Project Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:24 am Engineering Project Manager – $50,000-$10,000,000 = project budget I am responsible for; projects are traditional engineering or development for utility capital projects (I work for a consulting engineering & construction firm) Geographic Area – Midwest US Years Exp – 17 (17 industry, 12 company, 3 in position) Benefits: Vacation & Sick – 5 weeks PTO 401k Match – 100% match of what I contribute up to 6% (I currently get the full 6% match) Profit Sharing – Typically ranges 3%-4% of my salary per year Health Insurance – They pay $288/wk for fam of 4 for an HSA plan, vision, and dental. They contribute $1,000/yr to my HSA. (Annually, $16k them, $3k me) My benefits are pretty good, IMO, and at this point the retirement + insurance is worth $28k/yr for me. The PTO is worth about $12k, too. We used to get a gym reimbursement and more fun perks (location wide MLB game for the whole family, BBQ day). Now we have too many people to do stuff like that, but I try to keep in mind the standard benefit package and not get too crabby about things.
Quality Assurance Assistant Manager (food manufacturing)* August 10, 2017 at 11:24 am – Job: Managing a group of 15-20 employees with 4 direct reports in a food manufacturing environment. I am responsible for maintaining and managing a food safety and quality program, employee training, incident (nonconforming materials, mechanical failure, people messing up, etc.) investigations, customer complaint investigations and regulatory liaison. At times things far out of this scope as well. -Geographic area: PWN (Oregon) -Years of experience: 7 (<1 year with this company) -Description of your benefits – Vacation/sick PTO: Year 1 to 4: 80 hours total for both. 40 of which can be used for sick. (note this is one of the worst vacation/sick leave policy's I have seen/heard of in my industry and area) – Profit Sharing Quarterly: Eligible after the first year – Medical/Dental/Vision: 80% coverage – Accident insurance: They have it but I didn't sign up for it – 401k: Matching up to 5% I will say that this company has the same benefits for salary and non-exempt employees. Which is nice. But the benefits are not the best from what I have seen. I was also unable to negotiate additional time off when I joined.
Bank Secrecy Act Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:24 am BSA Manager (not the BSA Officer…yet!) >Manage the BSA compliance program and BSA/AML software application; assist with the overall BSA risk management program and provide guidance or assistance for all business lines within the Bank; monitor the customer identification program, customer due diligence, and enhanced due diligence requirements; responsible for creating and delivering awareness training and support >New England, close to a large city in a mostly affluent county; it’s a community bank, >30 branches >14 years experience managing BSA >I’m an officer of the bank, so I get 4 weeks vacation, 10 PTO days to be used for any reason, plus paid bank holidays, can’t carry any of this time; ESOP plan (shares granted annually based on salary; stock options; 100% vested after 5 years I believe); 401k, which is matched 100% up to 3%; lots of employee events throughout the year (wellness seminars; free massage, reflexology, and health screenings a few times a year; farmer’s market comes to us a few times a year; employee appreciation week (gifts, food, events); lots of other stuff); educational assistance, which is reimbursed up to 75% depending on grade earned and if it’s job-related (includes Masters); work from home as necessary; annual bonus, which is a percentage of salary based on your performance review (I’ve averaged 15% for the last couple years); onsite gym
Bank Secrecy Act Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:45 am Totally forgot to include health insurance. I’m in the HSA so the bank contributes 1,200.00 to the deductible every year. Not sure what percentage they pay on the premiums for any of the plans, though.
Contractor working as Admin. Ass't* August 10, 2017 at 11:24 am ◾Admin. Assistant type work for a department in a pipeline company as well as whatever else is thrown at me, including lower lever technical writer, SME for an internal database and training people in new, internal software programs ◾geographic area: Calgary, AB, Canada ◾years of experience: this company – 4.5, as an A.A. = 15 ◾benefits: whatever is legally required by Alberta employment law. My vacation pay is equivalent to 2 weeks (rises to 3 after 5 years with the same agency but I am only in year 2 with current agency as I was traded to them when company switched agencies) which is prorated and added to each pay cheque. This means I have to save for my time off. I do get paid stat. holidays (though they don’t always align with my coworkers’ as they are covered by federal regulations). I get no paid sick leave or short term disability. If I needed it, my long term disability would be covered by Employment Insurance, which I didn’t have coverage for when I was a self-employed contractor. My boss has no qualms with me taking 3 weeks of vacation throughout the year (and I am paid enough to save to do so) and any sick time I need to take off. I love my boss for this. I pay for my own extended healthcare (no provincial healthcare premiums at the moment) but, when I negotiated my salary, I took the cost of this, lack of sick leave and other types of benefits into account. In fact, they are paying me only $1 less an hour than they did when they paid me as an independent contractor (which was double what I would have asked for as regular employee with full benefits in order to make up for my costs). So, I have no reason to be bitter. My boss also authorizes a COL raise every year without my having to ask (which I never had happen before as a contractor) If I ever got on staff, there would be full extended healthcare coverage (which would be better than what I currently pay for), short and long term disability, a defined contributions pension plan (it may even be defined benefits, but I don’t know), performance bonuses and a stock buying plan. Oh, and job security.
Blue Bird* August 10, 2017 at 11:25 am Market researcher Germany <1 years’ experience 26 days of vacation + compenatory time off (overtime) 5 personal days off + days off for special occasions (should they arise) Unlimited PTO Full coverage health insurance (not sure how that breaks down between my employer, the state, and me). Same for pension scheme.
LawBee* August 10, 2017 at 11:48 am Question: What does Unlimited PTO mean at your company? Looking at it with American eyes, it looks like you actually have limits on your paid time off – 26 vacation days, 5 personal days.
Blue Bird* August 10, 2017 at 12:43 pm Whoops, sorry! I totally misunderstood that. I thought PTO related to health days (of which I have, theoretically, an unlimted amount). I don’t have unlimted time off in general, haha. That would be amazing.
Reference Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 11:25 am Job: I am more or less a librarian (sans-Master’s) at a mid-sized historical archive. I monitor the patrons using our materials, answer research questions, retrieve and shelve materials, and handle interlibrary loans and remote research requests. Area: Upper Midwest Experience: Over a year at this job, plus 3-ish years in various library-related internships. I also have a certification in Museum studies, which is a plus at this kind of archive. Benefits: I work for a university system so my benefits are generous for my experience level (though they are not really negotiable and my pay is probably below market value). I get 8 hours per month of vacation time, which does roll over. When you’ve been here 5 years, you get 16 hours per month. Some coworkers with term-limited positions and positions tied to grants get more vacation than I do. I used to work here part-time and got 4 hours per month during that period. We get about 3 weeks sick time, all in a chunk, per year. Using more than 7-8 days is frowned on, though. You can also use sick time for family care. We also have some long-term paid sick coverage, but what you get is highly dependent on your department. I think I have 6 weeks long-term sick time, though my unit’s business manager would have to approve it. We get free dental (two cleanings and x-ray per year) or you can pay $11 a month for more inclusive dental. Vision is $8 per month (one exam + one pair of glasses at the university-run eye clinic per year), but the plan kinda sucks. We have a huge range of health plans to choose from. The one I have is $45 per month for me, no deductible, and $25 doctor visits for almost any specialty as long as you stay in-network. The university has a huge health system so even services like surgery are very cheap as long as you get your care here. Plans for people who want to use doctors outside of this immediate area are more expensive. The percentage of the premium you pay is tied to salary–mine is low because my salary is low. People who make over 45k have to pay more of the premium, and then it goes up again at 100k, etc. We have 403bs, not 401ks. The maximum employee contribution is 5%. After one year of service, the university starts matching your contribution 2-for-1 (their contribution goes in a 401a). You can also choose to put more away in supplemental 403b or a 457b but you have to pay some of the fees associated with those. We also get some fun benefits like free city busing–which I love because I don’t have a car–and discounts at local businesses. We get access to the university library, discounted gym membership, and some free computer software. We have a GREAT employee wellness program too. There are various “challenges” you can complete (everything from quitting smoking to exploring local nature trails to eating a variety of colors of fruits and vegetables) and for each challenge you complete you get $50, up to $100 per year, and I’ve heard that might go up. It’s very low-stress and there’s something for everyone. There is employee childcare, but I’ve heard it’s pretty expensive. The one thing I really wish we got was free gym membership or free membership to the city rec centers, which is a benefit some other nearby universities get and we don’t.
Reference Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 11:54 am Oh, we also theoretically get some number of classes per year. I’d LOVE to use that benefit, but the money is taken out of the unit budget and since my unit is so small and non-revenue-generating, realistically it’s never going to happen.
Receptionist T* August 10, 2017 at 11:26 am I was in the top two for an Exec Assistant job I didn’t get and they showed me the comp package. The pay was way less than what I make now but the benefits were really good: -Health insurance 100% paid by employer -MetroCard 100% paid by employer -20 paid vacation days -Paid day off for your birthday -Later start time I don’t remember other details (I’m sure there were paid sick days but I don’t remember how many).
Receptionist T* August 10, 2017 at 11:28 am Sorry that’s NYC again. Sole assistant to head of American fundraising arm of a European non-profit. Tiny operation with a lot of responsibility but the woman I would’ve been assisting was AWESOME. I was heartbroken when I didn’t get it (just as well now because the salary was really low).
Program Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 11:26 am 1. Program assistant at mid-size political non-profit 2. D.C. 3. 2 years experience (closer to 3.5 years if you count internships) 4. – 20 days PTO that rolls over from year to year, 15 federal holidays (it’s this many because of things like day before Thanksgiving off, etc.), and office is closed for paid holidays on Fridays for one slow month in the summer – 10 sick days. Opportunity for ad-hoc telework (so if I’m sick, recovering from a medical issue, etc. I can work from home, although higher-level employees can have regular one day a week telework). Paid family and medical leave paid at 2/3 of salary if you’ve been employed for a year. – Flexible spending account for health care expenses, dependent care expenses, and transportation (I use for transportation) – Used to be no retirement matching, but now 3% of salary – Good health insurance and okay dental. The percent of your premium that’s paid for is dependent on how much you make, so as a lower-paid employee I only pay 8% of my premium (a bit more than $60 per month) – I get paid overtime, and am generally able to choose whether I’d like to take comp time in the same week or get paid the overtime. – Not actually a benefit but feels like one: hours at 9 to 5:30 with an hour lunch
Program Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 11:28 am Adding (forgot about this benefit because I never use it – whoops!): free access to a very nice gym in our building
AvonLady Barksdale* August 10, 2017 at 11:27 am Research consultant in a niche area of media, southeast US (medium-sized city): – 12 years of experience in media and this type of consulting, less than a year in this specific area; 17 years overall work experience with one year off for graduate school – Time off: 10 days PTO in my first year, 15 in my second, 20 days after 3 years. I know there’s a rollover maximum but it’s generous. Flexible sick time. In my role, I don’t have to use PTO for appointments or occasional leaving early. Standard national holidays plus the week off between Christmas and New Year’s (office is completely closed and clients are told we’re closed, which is a shift from my last place where we were supposed to hide our closure from clients). I don’t have to take PTO for religious holidays. We get two days off per year to volunteer, but I haven’t taken advantage of that yet. – Non-executive staff gets one WFH day/week, which I don’t have, but I can WFH if necessary. – Insurance: 100% employer paid, medical and dental. Supplemental insurance available. We have a moderately high-deductible plan with an HSA, but my company contributes a nominal amount to that every month. Company-paid life insurance, short-term and long-term disability, long-term care. I love our insurance package. – 401(k): I believe we get 4% match, but I have to wait a full year for eligibility. That kind of blows, but I get it. – One week bereavement leave for most relatives, which I think is a generous standard. They’re extremely flexible and compassionate about family care here. – Best benefit, IMO: our company isn’t big enough to require FMLA, but we have it anyway. About half of the employees and executives here (maybe more than half) have been at this company for 10 years or more. For such a small place, that says tons to me and is one of the reasons I was so eager to come here.
Contract Administrator* August 10, 2017 at 11:28 am your job: Review contracts ranging from small potatoes up to potentially millions of dollars. Draft amendments, negotiate changes. I’m senior enough I can sign some of the small potatoes contracts, I take the larger contracts to my boss or to the C-levels for execution. I also assist with processing contracts in our internal software. Our industry is in a particular commodity, we buy it in large quantities from the people that create it and then resell bits and pieces to our end-use customers. your geographic area: Florida, not in a major metropolitan area your years of experience: 6+ a description of your benefits: 2 weeks paid vacation effective after the first 90 days of employment, 3 weeks of vacation based on seniority (years 0-5 gets you 2 weeks per year). 401k matching is 100% for the first 4%, then 50% of the next 2%, so a lot of people contribute 6% of their net salary to their 401k to essentially get 5% matched. I pay zero for my monthly health insurance on a high deductible HSA plan, but then regular doctor visits are $25 and specialist visits can be as much as $90 if I haven’t hit my deductible for the year yet. Dental is free up to a certain amount. There is a gym on campus and a full time personal trainer we can schedule time with for free, he also organizes classes and annual events on campus (walking program, biggest loser competition, etc.). I get to have a flexible-ish schedule – I work from 7 to 4 most days and if I occasionally leave a little early or come in a little late it’s okay. I can periodically work from home with my boss’s prior blessing but that’s just once every few months as a way to make up missed time elsewhere. I happen to be under a larger department that does a monthly breakfast thing on Mondays as a sort of pick me up for working in a call center (I don’t do call center stuff myself, I just happen to report to the same grand-boss).
Contract Administrator* August 10, 2017 at 12:03 pm Forgot to add vision insurance is something like $6-7/month, adding a spouse to my health insurance is ~$390/month and adding a child is ~$350/month. Prescriptions aren’t covered under my plan until the deductible is met and since it’s a high deductible plan it effectively means my prescriptions are never covered. There is also a “paid plan” for health care that is $150/month but offers prescription coverage from day 1 so some people opt for that depending on their circumstances. Tuition is partially reimbursed and I think you have to stay working here for 12 months after graduation from whatever you were reimbursed for.
Office Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:28 am Manage 5 people at corporate office. Oversee all accounting. Midwest 20 yrs exp. 7 years in current position 3 weeks vacation, 4 PTO days Quarterly bonuses 401(k) match $250.00/yr Employer pays 50% insurance, but I pay still $141.00 a week for my family with a $5,000 family deductible. Vision insurance is free for the employee only.
Market Research Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:28 am 1. I (and a peer) design, field and analyze all primary research initiatives with externally-facing audiences for a large health insurance company in the Midwest. Contrary to the title, I don’t actually manage anyone. 2. Larger Midwest City 3. 2 years of industry experience, plus 6+ years of research experience during Ph.D. program 4. Benefits: short-term disability, 20 days of PTO (vacation/sick time-increases after 5 years with the company), some paid holidays, 4% retirement match, educational assistance/student loan repayment (I think it’s $10,000/year in tuition reimbursement and $5000/year in student loan repayment), performance bonuses, free on-site gym. Despite being a health insurance company, the insurance isn’t great- not bad, just not great- it’s an 85/15 cost share. Dental and vision insurance available and subsidized at the same rate. I think there’s also some sort of pension in addition to the retirement match.
Corporate Event Planner* August 10, 2017 at 11:28 am I work for a professional services firm in NYC and plan corporate events and meetings from our C-Suite executives and their direct reports. These can range from small local dinners to large multiday international events with social and professional components. I have about 10 years of experience overall, but only 2 in this particular firm. Most of my experience is not in corporate event planning, but in non-profit and academic events. Benefits: -15 vacation days, 3 floating holidays, 2 personal days, 9 paid holidays, and 10 sick days -Our insurance is pretty standard. Company covers 80% of premium for PPO, and my monthly contribution is about $240 each month with a reasonable deductible. This amount could be lowered by $50 by participating in a biometric screening, which I forgot to do for 2017 but have done for 2018. -Retirement: 6% match once you are a vested employee (after 1 year) -I also qualify for overtime pay, which is nearly unheard of for an event planner
Development Associate (Nonprofit arts)* August 10, 2017 at 11:28 am * Primarily, I write grants. I’m in charge of all relations/communications with our institutional partners, and since it’s nonprofit, I also have been found working special events, working with individual donors, and even doing housekeeping… * NYC/Metro area * I’ve been at this job 1.5 years and I’ve been working for a total of 2.5 years (recent grad) * This is nonprofit, y’all. There’s about 25 full-time staff. I get benefits (dental and health), with a $2,500 medical debit card because we have a high deductible. We don’t get raises, but I’ve noticed people get internal promotions often which comes with a different job title and higher pay. There’s also an optional retirement plan, but I don’t know the specifics on that. PTO: Sick time is as needed. first year – 5 vacation days. second – fourth year – 10 vacation days. sixth year and beyond – 15 vacation days. They expire at the end of every summer. But who is really going to stay at this place for more than five years? Very rare when people do. I also notice the PTO changes person to person. We never had a maternity/paternity leave protocol until someone got pregnant. Which I think is kinda normal in nonprofit arts? Correct me if I’m wrong. Also everyone here generally takes a long lunch (up to two hours) and we have summer hours working 30 hours/week between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend. I’m lucky that with my manager she’ll let me take time off whenever I need it, and I wouldn’t be penalized if I come into work 2 hours late because of a doctor’s appointment. Our department also worked out a system where some of our overtime hours translate into extra PTO. The only issue I have about everything I listed above is that NOTHING IS WRITTEN DOWN! It’s kinda like, “If I like you, this policy works for you. But if I don’t like you, I’ll whip out this exception to the rule I neglected to tell you before.” Frustrating when a higher-up dislikes you, which I’ve observed. We’re also part of the state’s arts alliance which helps us get free tickets to any partnering company’s shows — which is actually a lot!
Development Associate (Nonprofit arts)* August 10, 2017 at 11:29 am Adding on to the health benefits — first year I paid 50%, and after that my employer covers it 100%.
Another Development Associate* August 10, 2017 at 11:33 am -I support our development department, which is just two people so I wear a lot of hats. My primary duties are gift entry, maintaining our donor database, tracking our grants calendar, creating email blasts, creating print material for events, contributing to grant writing, etc. -Chicago area -2 years experience -We get 20 days PTO (combined vacation, sick, and personal), 6 paid holidays. There is decent standard medical, dental, and vision insurance. I don’t know the percentage, but I pay about $45 a month total for it and dependents can be added for a reasonable cost. They offer a Simple IRA that they contribute to, I put nothing in it myself (honestly don’t know what they put it..I should look into that). There is an educational reimbursement program too. We are part of a Professional Employer Organization that provides additional benefits including a great discount program on everything from cell phones to vacations to grocery coupons. Last but not least there is a nice little holiday bonus check each year.
Basically Another Development Associate* August 10, 2017 at 5:22 pm I also work for a nonprofit in their development department. I’m largely responsible for making sure all incoming donations are recorded correctly. It’s a lot more structured than my last position, which I appreciate. For benefits, we get one combined bank of time off to be used as PTO or sick time. I think it totals about 20-21 days. We also get about 10 holidays, if I remember correctly. Health benefits are tiered, which is interesting and the first time I’ve experienced this at a job. There does seem to be room for growth with this employer, which is nice and not something I found with other employers.
Registered Nurse* August 10, 2017 at 11:29 am I work in the Operating Rooms so I do everything from scrubbing to circulating to setting up the OR rooms for surgery. We also take turns running the OR desk which involes managing the nurses and cases. Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada 10 years experience We start with 20 vacation days, 20 sick days, 12 stat holidays. We can take 20 leave days a year without affecting our pension. We have a municipal pension plan which we pay into. Private medical insurance covers medical and dental and other service. Copays can be 50 to 100% but it varries a lot and we have a website that explains it all. Our immediate family are on our plans. Other things just have a yearly cap like 300ish for cimpreason srocking. For instance registered massage visits are covered 80% up to 1000 dollars and then 100% after that.
Development Associate* August 10, 2017 at 11:29 am Nonprofit. Essentially administrative duties, assisting VP and Director of Department. I run reports, manage data, minor event planning, manage schedules, prospect research. New England 2 year of experience This year 13 days of vacation. Next year 17/18, and every year thereafter 20 days. Can carry-over 10 days. Though new hires have a different scale (10 for the first year, 12.5 for years 2-5, I think, then 15 for years 5-8/10, I don’t remember, and they don’t reach 20 days until after 10 years I believe). 12 sick days | 3 Personal Days | 3 floating Holidays | 8 fixed holidays | 1 volunteer day | 3 bereavement days Though there is no family/maternity leave. Retirement: After 1 year the company contributes the value of 10% of your salary to a retirement account. There is also an optional 403b plan that employees may contribute to (no matching). Health Insurance: I’m not on my company’s health insurance yet. But I know they offer two plans, a more-regular plan and one with an HSA option. If you choose the HSA option they will contribute $750 into that account each year. If you chose the other option, they may pay $750 towards a surgery (I believe, I haven’t paid that much attention to the other plan).
Sanfranfran* August 10, 2017 at 11:29 am Executive Assistant to a nonprofit CEO (1,000 employees statewide)- Also functions as the assistant for 15 seat volunteer board of directors. US, Southern US 12 years of experience 37.5 hour a week work days. 24 PTO days a year that can be banked up/carried over continuously up to 280 hours, 6 personal days that expire annually, No matching or 403b available, Employer managed revenue sharing plan with annual contributions invested at a 60/40 split approved by the BD, payout based on % of salary + years vested v. money available in investment account – Vested 100% at 7 years , employer pays 50% premiums for employee only plans (3 tiered options available) and 25% for employee +family plans, Free extremely and often times hard to use basic dental plan for employee and $15 for employee +family, free life insurance/burial insurance at $10,000 per employee. Every employee gets their own office with doors that shut and most of us have windows and generally all get the same view. $10 – 15 minutes massage once a month. 2 week paid shut down for the winter holidays. Attached preschool that has some slots available for employees usually (sometimes not though). $5 discounted preschool weekly rate for employees.
Clinical social worker* August 10, 2017 at 11:30 am I’m a therapist in a mid size city. I’m a contractor, so no benefits whatsoever. The major upside is that I control my schedule.
Manager of Market Research* August 10, 2017 at 11:30 am 1. Job: Manager of Market Research for a midsize corporation, in charge of all primary research and all syndicated & market specific secondary research. 2. South Florida 3. 15 years of experience, making six figure salary 4. 168 hours of PTO per year (40 hours roll over), 8 company holidays (including the day after Thanksgiving), 4% match to 401K immediately vested, Company Paid health insurance for employee 5. Other benefits include: annual bonus plan pay out of up to 15% of salary, work from home when needed, no dress code (wear anything you want literally, jeans, shorts, flip flops etc.), company recognition program with the chance to win a vacation, on-site massages and fitness center, on-site cafeteria, company discounts on tech equipment etc., $10,000 tuition reimbursement per year for a qualified program, on-site continuing education and development courses, industry conference attendance, unfettered upward advancement opportunities… After seeing a few of the comments here already I am appreciating my company more than ever!
Contracts/Compliance Manager (federal contracts)* August 10, 2017 at 11:31 am 1. In my current position I provide contract/compliance/procurement services to support federal agencies (basically they don’t have the line item to direct hire people so they issue institutional support contracts to companies to provide staff as contractors). In my career generally though I have provided contract/compliance management on technical projects being implemented by consulting firms to further the mission of a federal agency (making sure that we as the implementer are following all the rules and getting all the right approvals). 2. Washington DC metro area 3. 15+ years 4. I am new to my current company so I get 15 days of PTO plus 10 holidays per year until I hit 36 months of tenure then it goes up to 18 days of PTO (I know, not great). I have a choice between a traditional and Roth 401(k) and they match the first 3% and half of the next 2% – so if I contribute 5% or more I get 4% match. (I am able to have both 401(k) types but the match has to do into the traditional 401(k)). This is also a safe harbor plan so I am 100% vested on day 1. As required by employers with more than X employees in the DC region, I have SmartBenefits – pre-tax transit deduction that can go to either transit or Parking. There is a medical FSA and a dependent care FSA available. They offer a TriCare supplement to those who are on that insurance. There are discounts on Life Lock identity protection services. Also pet insurance. $5000/year education benefit. Probably a gym discount. They offer a PPO and an HNO (not exactly sure how it is different than an HMO but it is) and I have the PPO. Our benefit year is Oct 1 – Sep 30 so for the year that is about to end here is the breakdown as a single person: – Dental per month: me $6.92 company $29.54 – Vision per month: me $6.12 company $0 – Accidental Death per month: me $0 company $1.72 (based on salary) – Basic Life Insurance per month: me $0 company $6.90 (based on salary) – Long term disability per month: me $79.54 company $0 (based on salary) – Short term disability per month: me $0 company $29.19 (based on salary) – Single Person PPO $500 deductible, $2000 annual out of pocket max per month: me $139.68 company $395.54
Contracts/Compliance Manager (federal contracts)* August 10, 2017 at 11:39 am Forgot to mention: – I can telework 1 day/week (this is not an official company benefit but is approved on a contract by contract basis – ie if the client is okay with it, everyone working on the contract can do it but it has to be a set schedule such as Rob on Mondays, Sue on Tuesdays, Trevor on Wednesdays, etc so that there is a certain minimum of onsite coverage every day as most but not all contract are onsite with an agency) – I get paid for the hours I work. So if pay period Aug 1-15 has 88 hours and I work 90 because I stay late a few times, I get paid for 90 (straight, not time and a half). However, most of our contracts are based on Level of Effort so if we burn through the LOE, the contract ends sooner and we are out of a job.
Strategic Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 11:31 am DC Area. Work in BD, looking for, researching, helping secure new business opportunities 5 years experience, 1 at current job. PTO: 18 days vacation, 7 sick Health Benefit options: HDHP, two levels of PPO; for HDHP small contribution to HSA. Can’t find the % employer pays, but it is high (~80% ?), and only half is paid for spouse (~40%?). Spouse is excluded if he/she has other insurance from employer. Dental and vision offered. 401K marching -50% of a capped% of employee contribution, vestinf over 5 years Tuition reimbursement but only for degree program. Ammount varies by level of degree (grad, BA, AA). Short term disability (incl maternity) – 1 week “elimination period” -Adoption benefits -employee stock purchase plan
Research Investigator* August 10, 2017 at 11:31 am – I work in analytical chemistry group at a large chemical corporation. I have a PhD and do mostly project and data management, report writing, putting out fires, and I supervise one associate chemist. – Delaware, USA – 2 years of experience ~ 15 vacation days with the option to buy up to 5 more; I can roll over 5 days, but only if I sell back days I purchased ~ 10 holidays ~ 2 personal days ~ Unlimited sick days (because I’m exempt), but strict policy about getting on short-term disability if you’re out for 3+ working days in a row ~ 401k: 100% fully vested company match up to 6% employee contribution, with an additional automatic 3% contribution fully vested after 3 years of service (in lieu of a pension) ~ High Deductible Health Insurance, Dental, and Vision (I can’t find any info on company share of payments) ~ Company contribution to HSA (I get $600/year for my single person plan) ~ Flexible working schedule ~ EAP
Credentialing Specialist (Healthcare Staffing)* August 10, 2017 at 11:31 am I work for a staffing company, and we specialize in the Healthcare industry only. We primarily staff RNs, LPNs, and CNAs, although we do staff some respiratory therapists, nurse practitioners, and others. My job duties involve onboarding new staff and verifying they have a licensure in good standing in the state they’re working in, and ensuring they turn in the correct and appropriate credentials prior to their start date. We also maintain credentials and ensure our clinicians keep everything up to date. We are not part of the HR department but our duties sound similar because of the nature of them. Location: South Louisiana, United States (urban area) Years of experience: 3 Time off: 3 weeks of PTO, but our PTO must be used for holidays. So really more like 2 weeks of PTO. We don’t get it all at the beginning of the year-we accrue it with hours worked. PTO can roll over from year to year. There is no separate sick time-it all comes out of your PTO bank. You can sometimes have the option to not use PTO. I have regular doctor’s appointments right now and can just take the time off unpaid instead of using some hours of PTO. Benefits: Health, dental, vision, short and long term disability, life insurance are all offered. I don’t know how much the employer contribution is, but I know the employee contribution is high compared to what you get. I am covered under my spouse’s health insurance because we get more for what we pay for. Retirement: No options at this time. We used to have a 401K (you had to be employed for at least 1 year to opt in) but that was done away with right before I could start contributing-not enough people used it for it to be worth the money according to my company. They have said they are looking into alternative retirement plan options but no details yet.
Executive Assistant, South Loosiana* August 11, 2017 at 10:52 am I was starting to think that I was the only one to pull benefits short straw, but maybe it’s a Louisiana thing. Location: South Louisiana Years of Experience: 26 Time off: 2 weeks PTO, accrued, with one-two years rollover. No separate sick pay. 8 paid holidays, but forced to use vacation if holiday falls on a Thursday or Tuesday and company wants to close the office for a long weekend. Benefits: Health company pays 75% employees and 35% dependents, life insurance.
Data Analyst II* August 10, 2017 at 11:31 am Data Quality Analyst, less than 1 year in this position, over 15 years with the company overall NY Tri-state area 29 PTO days, sick/vacation combined Multiple healthy plans available, I have the HSA PPO plan because I don’t like dealing with referrals 401K available, company matches first 6% Company has on-site child care, emergency child care available. I don’t know the rates as my kids are adults. On site gym (free for employees) Cafeteria with reasonably priced (under $10 for almost all meals) food On site health care and lab drawing (blood work sent out to third party lab) 10 paid holidays a year Options to work from home for most employees FMLA available, unpaid by company, covered by state disability for 2/3s of salary up to certain level
Associate Attorney* August 10, 2017 at 11:32 am Junior attorney at a small, three attorney firm. Responsible for my own cases under supervision. South Mississippi 1 year experience 2 weeks paid vacation, 5 sick days (but my boss is flexible on this). No insurance but receive $250 per month allowance for insurance. No 401k or matching.
An Inspector of Gadgets* August 10, 2017 at 11:32 am I wish everyone was including maternity/paternity leave!
nnn* August 10, 2017 at 11:47 am I don’t know if that’s your username or job title, but I love it either way!
Theme Park Technical Writer* August 10, 2017 at 11:32 am -Florida -6.5 years in the company. This is important when you read the below benefits; most employees are part-time and leave before the 5 year mark, and full-time and 5+ years is when the good stuff kicks in. -Three weeks vacation, 1 hour PTO/40 hours worked (this is also what we use as sick leave, but we can use it in small chunks or full days), 2 floating holidays, all federal holidays off and paid. -I don’t know what percentage of my health insurance my employer pays for, but my monthly premium is $80 for just myself, and I have $20 copays for usual visits (or anything that my primary doctor refers me to), $45 for specialists, and $55 for urgent care. Meds are pretty cheap but I don’t take anything regularly so I don’t know the exact discount percentage. Dental and vision are ~$12/month. -I think retirement matches up to 2% but I am admittedly not as familiar with retirement things as I should be. -Free theme park admission for myself, a large number of tickets that I can use on my friends and family, discounts on everything in the park (higher discounts at the holidays), and a lot of discounts with participating businesses in the area. -8 weeks paid parental leave (4 if you’re the secondary parent, which would only apply if both people work here), and adoption/foster assistance (amount determined on a per-case basis) -75% tuition reimbursement up to a certain dollar amount (I’m in grad school so it’s up to $1000 per class, which includes books) -Charitable donations to a charity of the employee’s choice when the employee volunteers at least 52 hours (more money donated if they volunteer 104 hours). The tradeoff for these awesome benefits is that theme parks are notoriously low-paying, and I remember reading in the salary thread that other technical writers with my years of experience made $15k more than I did. I still don’t think I’ll leave my company with all these benefits!
Junior Advisor* August 10, 2017 at 11:32 am My job is essentially project managing all kinds of compliance and implementation of services for expatriate business assignments for our clients (plus a variety of miscellaneous projects in various sectors). Boston, MA I came into this job with zero industry experience, but about 3 years experience at different international companies. 401k matching (I think up to 4%?) Unlimited PTO (includes both vacation and sick days – in practice it works out to about 15 days a year) 10 US holidays They pay for at least 50% of my health insurance, and it’s very good insurance for the US Life insurance up to twice my annual salary Flexible spending account for pre-tax deductions for commuting costs
Administrative & Marketing Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 11:33 am – Basically Admin. Assistant, so a lot of admin tasks and answering the phone (small family business). I also handle the company’s email marketing and Facebook presence (only one-two FB updates a month so it’s mostly just the email, once a month or two). 8-5 M-F, and I love that I never have to take anything home, or work overtime. – Midwest (SW Ohio) – 5 years experience – 12 days (96 hours) PTO/year, including sick/personal time, in addition to major holidays being paid – 401k with 4% company match -Health, vision & dental, partially subsidized (I don’t know how subsidized, it’s still quite expensive for us, especially for my PPO plan, the priciest)
Attorney (State Government)* August 10, 2017 at 11:33 am My job: Provide advice and counsel on a broad range of issues. Draft policy (e.g., draft legislation). My geographic area: California My years of experience: 6 years, 8 months as a licensed attorney A description of my benefits: – 5 hours annual leave/month; – 13 official holidays and 1 floating holiday; – Insurance: employer pays 85% of health insurance premium (health insurance overall is very low since the state can negotiate good rates), I pay a reasonable premium for good dental benefits (PPO), employer covers vision insurance premium; – Defined pension plan (both employer and employee must contribute, my contributions just went up and I think are at 9% now); – Access to both a 401(k) and 457 plan (employee paid, low fees) – Mass transit pass subsidy – Life insurance ($50k benefit, employer paid) – Long-term disability insurance (employee paid) – FSA – EAP – Group legal plan (employee paid) – Pre-tax parking savings program
Attorney (State Government)* August 10, 2017 at 11:35 am These benefits are not unique to a person in my role, but are the benefits offered to other employees of the organization as well.
Attorney (State Government)* August 10, 2017 at 12:08 pm Oh, some more: The employer pays my annual bar dues to keep my license active. They will pay for the annual license fees of anyone required to have a state license as part of their job. The employer offers employees making below a certain salary, $100/year toward professional association dues for a job-related professional association.
Attorney (State Government)* August 10, 2017 at 4:16 pm Err… should be 15/hours annual leave per month. Sorry, I just noticed that error.
Legal Clinic Director at a Public Law School* August 10, 2017 at 11:33 am Job Description: My job is a cross between law teaching, being the Exec Director of a small nonprofit (managing, fundraising, budgeting, strategic planning), and providing direct legal services (i.e., free legal aid for very low-income communities). It’s most analogous to clinical teaching in medicine, but with more administrative responsibilities. I supervise a (growing) team of 3 and mentor/coach/teach a student team of 10. I’m also part of a larger clinical program with several other clinical profs, administrative support staff, and about 70 students (total). Although the position is part of the faculty, we’re categorized differently, and so we are all union members with a CBA in place. Geographic Area: Northern California (closer to the Bay Area / Sacramento than the Oregon border) Experience: 1 year as director; 6 years in the field; and 16 years of overall work experience. Benefits: — Three weeks’ vacation per year (on an accrual basis, and it rolls over). This will increase over time; our CBA ties leave increases to years of university experience. — 10-15 days sick leave per year (also accrues and rolls over & increases w/ years of university experience) — 401(K) or public pension system; I’m in the 401(K) and receive a 4% employer contribution. The pension is more generous, but you have to commit to staying in the system for 10 years, and I don’t have tenure, yet, so I was worried about what would happen if I had to leave. We get a one-time opportunity to rollover our 401(K) into the pension system, which I’ll take up if I make tenure. — There are multiple plan options, but because we have a med school, I opted for a plan that covers 100% of the cost of preventive care (if you use the med school’s providers), and 80% if you use providers from a linked PPO plan. The medical plan covers “behavioral” health (mental health, nutritionists, etc.) and vision, as well. Dental is covered up to $2000/year. — My employer pays for a life insurance policy and to cover me at 75% disability; I’m not required to contribute to receive coverage. — We receive academic discounts on courses offered through the main campus or through university extension. No tuition discount, though, if you’re enrolled in a certificate/degree program. — We’re also able to access discounted travel fares, even for personal travel, because the university is such a large customer. — After 6 years, I qualify for a paid semester-long sabbatical (which comes up, again, every 5 years).
Legal Clinic Director at a Public Law School* August 10, 2017 at 11:38 am Ack! Sorry for the weird spacing. In response to the question re: parental leave, the answer is: it’s complicated, and it would be different if we were categorized differently. So there’s basically 3 leave structures depending on your faculty classification. My cohort is “allowed” to take a semester of unpaid leave pre-tenure (about 4.5 months if we exclude summer), and post-tenure that’s supposed to be up to 6 months’ of leave, with 1 semester paid and all additional time (1.5ish months?) unpaid. But the summer term is comparatively short (3 months), which kind of shortchanges your leave if you’re using the “semester” method (since there’s no summer semester), so the running joke-that-isn’t-really-a-joke is to avoid a due date over the summer “break.”
Sr Project Manager (Software)* August 10, 2017 at 11:33 am Sr Project Manager (Software) – I manage a team of 6 developers for a start up in the medical software field. I also handle a lot of proposal/new business sales support and marketing since we’re a small company. Geographic area – North Georgia/Chattanooga metro Years of experience – 15 Benefits – Vacation & Sick – 3 weeks paid vacation + 1 week paid sick time, with flexibility so that I can work remotely if needed or work extra hours within the same pay period to avoid using hours from my sick/vacation buckets. I can also carry unused vacation time over from year to year. 401k Match – company matches up to 4% Long term and short term disability paid by the company Health/Dental Insurance – 70% of the cost paid by the company Other benefits: Free soda/coffee/bottled water, lunch catered by the company at least once a month, casual environment (jeans every day!)
Database & administrative stuff* August 10, 2017 at 11:33 am I wanted to add mine as I suspect I’m much more junior than most of the responders here. Job: Nonprofit, dealing with our donor database and administrative side of that. Region: Canada Experience: 2 years in this area, 8 years out of school (I worked in a different area before nonprofits) Benefits: 2 weeks vacation, 1 week sick leave, no insurance, no other benefits. It sucks. At least I’m in Canada and don’t have to worry about paying for a hospital visit. Other: Flexible work hours, ability to work at home.
Senior Digital Project Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:33 am Manage digital (online, app, email, etc) projects for an advertising agency Philadelphia 18 years’ experience 3 weeks PTO, no retirement, employer offsets health benefits and offers a choice of 2 plans – one high deductible, one more traditional (but expensive). No subsidy for spouse or children. HOWEVER, we did get bagels on thursdays. JEALOUS???? Note: I have since gone freelance where my benefits are my own doing, but this was my last onsite W-2 job.
Data Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 11:34 am Data analyst for financial services company Mid-Atlantic 4.5 yrs experience Benefits: ~80% health/dental/vision insurance paid for self, spouse, children; 4 wks paid vacation; 10 bank holidays; sick time as needed; 3% 401k contribution, plus matching to 6%; life/disability insurance for self and family; 15 days backup childcare; tuition reimbursement up to $5000 per yr; paid paternity leave (8 wks!, though this changed after my son was born); on-site gym; on-site health center; employee assistance program covering things like mental health, legal help, etc.; other random discounts, free food, etc.
Development Director* August 10, 2017 at 11:34 am Executive director, overseeing all aspects of income generation for a mid-sized, national non-profit UK 5 years in industry post graduation (this speed of progression is *not* the norm for my industry) Vacation: 28 days plus 8 bank holidays Sick Leave: 40 days full pay, followed by 80 days half pay Pension: 5% employer contribution for 3% employee Health Insurance: subsidised insurance available – but haven’t taken this up Other stuff: flexi-time (up to an extra day off per month for hours worked above contracted 37.5), enhanced parental leave, lifestyle leave – paid or unpaid leave to deal with the fact that life happens, life assurance at 2x salary and transport loans (season tickets, bikes etc)
Development Director* August 10, 2017 at 3:24 pm Not that unusual in the UK. The public sector tends to go up to 26 weeks full pay then 26 weeks half pay for sick pay. Part of this is subsidised by the government through a benefit called Statutory Sick Pay that your employer claims back. Statutory Maternity Pay (all 39 weeks of it) is also something like 90% reimbursed by the government. The legal minimum allowance is 90% of salary for 6 weeks followed by about £120 per week for the next 33, but it’s something at least.
Development and Communications Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 3:01 pm Development and Commincations Director at $2 mil non-profit (12 employees). In charge of all fundraising (grant applications and reports, major gifts, individual donors, 3-5 events a year, corporate sponsorships, etc.) *15 vacation days and 12 sick days a year; 12 paid holidays *flexible schedule, choose my hours ( I work 7:15-3:45 so I can miss traffic) *can work remotely when needed (usually once a month or so) *retirement 3% match after first year *health and dental insurance, no vision *$500 for professional development a year
Development Officer (higher ed)* August 11, 2017 at 11:33 am I’m an annual giving officer at a university in the Northeastern US. The bulk of my job is managing teams of alumni volunteer fundraisers. I’ve been in development for almost 15 years. 15 days paid vacation, with the week between Christmas and New Year’s off as a freebie, plus 2 “flex days” 10 sick days 1:1 403b match up to 5% of my salary, plus another 5% of my salary whether I save for retirement or not We use the university’s private health plan, so I pay $120 a month for coverage for the whole family (dental and vision are carried by my spouse) While I’m technically able to audit whatever courses I like at the university. If I want a grade or to pursue a degree? I get a 50% tuition reduction (rather than full remission), and only in some departments. (So, I couldn’t get a free medical or law degree or anything like that.) Tuition remission for coursework elsewhere up to $5,250 per year. If I stay put until my child is college-aged, the university offers a tuition scholarship of up to $15,000 annually, that my child can take anywhere.
Development Officer (higher ed)* August 11, 2017 at 11:37 am Ah, and the *really* great thing about the 403b is that I’m 100% vested from the first deposit. It has been a long time since I’ve had such a sweet retirement benefit.
Associate Attorney* August 10, 2017 at 11:34 am Associate Attorney: I manage the workup of cases after signup, and through litigation or settlement. This includes client/witness interviews and depositions, responding to defense motions, drafting our own motions, negotiating settlements, and just general lawyer stuff. your geographic area: Charleston, SC your years of experience: 6 a description of your benefits: Employer pays 100% of our health care, including dental. Only firm employees can use it unless the spouse doesn’t have benefits. Otherwise, spouse/kids must be on the spouse’s insurance. Firm also contributes to our HSA almost to the yearly maximum. Everyone in the firm starts with 20 days PTO, and recently those who have been here for five years or more got an extra 5 days. No restrictions on how or when those are used, other than obvious trial times, etc. 12 weeks unpaid maternity leave, I don’t know about paternity (I don’t think we offer it), applies to births and adoptions. Safe Harbor 3% match, opt-out, vested after 3 years I think. Annual bonuses. Everyone has the same benefits, as far as I know. Maybe partners have something different, but I don’t think so. We just added short-term and long-term disability and I think one of those plans where you can set money aside for your aging parents, or something like that. No dress code, although there are limits (you can wear jeans, but not pajama pants. Shorts are ok, but not the ones that are so short your butt shows).
Informal Science Educator* August 10, 2017 at 11:34 am Develop on-site educational programs and manage ~ 30 part time educators Megalopolis 20 days PTO, 6 floating holidays, 1 conservation day (a day to do volunteer activities, the March for Science counted which was awesome) Retirement: 401(k) 3% match (I think, honestly I made me husband figure all that out) Medical: employer pays 2/3 of premium for medical/ dental/ vision Other: tuition assistance up to $5,250 a year
Software Engineer* August 10, 2017 at 11:34 am I am a software engineer, located in the Portland, Oregon, metro area. Our benefits are subject to change (possibly drastically) at the end of this year, but currently: Health insurance (good but not jaw-dropping, from what I’ve seen elsewhere), but one positive is that if you choose the high-deductible plan, the company puts the difference in deductibles into your HSA for you. So you pretty much always come out ahead to take that option, plus if your health issues never reach the deductible, you’ve been storing money that can be used in future years. Vision insurance (fairly basic and standard). Dental insurance, which mostly is as lousy as you expect for dental insurance as far as the most it will pay for non-preventative, but which covers four cleanings a year instead of only two. 401k, company match, up to 3%. Unlimited PTO for sick and vacation at manager’s discretion. I don’t love this, I’d rather have a large but fixed bank, but practically speaking about 25 days a year seems to be considered reasonable. (And taking more because of health issues usually is also, from what I’ve seen.) Short term and long term disability, life insurance, travel insurance if you travel for the company, if you travel much they’ll pay for your TSA Pre-check, on-site gym, and discounts with a number of retailers.
Software Engineer* August 10, 2017 at 12:53 pm * Software engineer at a company that produces software. Typical job responsibilities for that environment. * Portland, Oregon area * 12 years Benefits: * 10 days PTO, covering both sick time and vacation. We’re allowed to swap holidays for a different day off. We’re allowed to work remotely, so I don’t wind up taking many actual sick days. * 5% 401k match. * 100% of health/vision/dental insurance premium paid for the employee, 80% for spouse/partner/children. HSA option. * Life and long-term care insurance for employee and spouse/partner. * Choice of either free monthly transit passes or free parking in the garage attached to our building. * Reimbursement of training costs if we take classes related to job skills. * Reimbursement of the cost of a basic yearly Costco membership. This is more or less in line with what I’ve seen in other jobs in this industry in this region. Except for the Costco thing.
Residence Life Co-Ordinator* August 10, 2017 at 11:34 am – Co-managing Residence Life in a university – UK – 9 years experience – 41 days annual leave (including Bank Holidays) – 6 months sick leave at full pay, then 6 months at half pay – Salary sacrifice pension scheme with an employer contribution of 18% of salary – n/a on health insurance because it’s the UK – Up to 1 year maternity leave (8 weeks full pay, then 16 weeks half pay plus SMP – Statutory Maternity Pay, which is £140.98 a week – then 15 weeks SMP, then 13 weeks unpaid) – Salary exchange schemes for bicycle or fuel-efficient car purchases
Privacy & Information Management (Canada)* August 10, 2017 at 11:34 am *Industry: Government *Location: Toronto, Canada *17 years experience in my field *Job: Develop policies and procedures around the management of business records – security & access, privacy, how do we organize them, how long do we keep them, etc. Provide training and advice to my colleagues as required. Respond to Access to Information (FOI) requests. Coordinate response to privacy breaches. Some people at my level supervise records clerks (the people who actually move the records around), but this is not currently part of my job. *A lot of people in my field come in via Library Science. Masters’ degrees tend to be preferred, but not required. *Salary range for my position: $80K – $95K CDN *Benefits: Vision care, prescriptions, dental (all of which are not covered under provincial health insurance); paramedical such as massage & chiropractic; pension. Spouses & dependents are fully covered as well. 20 sick days and 15 vacation days, plus statutory holidays including Easter Monday and Remembrance Day. These are all pretty standard for government jobs in my experience.
US Government Management and Program Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 11:35 am I’m a GS-13 management and program analyst for a very large non-defense US government agency. In practice, this means I’m a SharePoint developer and a project manager. Washington, DC, right off the mall 9 years with this agency, two years in this position. I started as a GS-1 intern! I get 20 days of annual leave per year and 13 days of sick leave. 10 federal holidays. 5% match on my TSP (like a 401k). Plus a pension where I put in .8% of my salary and I will theoretically get 1% of my salary for every year I’ve been here. (Newer employees pay in more, like 3% I think?) The government pays 72%ish of my health insurance premium and none of my vision or dental insurance. I also have life insurance through work but I’m not clear on what they pay vs what I pay. Plus I get unexpected spans of time off for government shutdowns! Unpaid at first but almost always with back pay. Next time I’m taking myself to Disney World for the duration of the shutdown because screw it, I’m not sitting at home and stressing again. (Also I have a best friend in Orlando.)
-Also a fed 13 (fewer years in) but you mostly covered it :)* August 10, 2017 at 11:50 am No maternity or paternity leave (pay out FMLA using sick/vacation) and some aspect of the TSP match only vests after 3 years’ service (same time as reinstatement eligibility).
DoD GS14 biological scientist* August 10, 2017 at 3:50 pm There is also the ability to borrow up to 240 hours LS and 240 hours LA if your agency approves. Also, my dental plan max is 25k/year
Christy* August 11, 2017 at 11:11 am Yes! Let’s definitely remember that there is 0 paid parental leave available. And reproductive technology isn’t covered in any offered health insurance plan, even if you live in a state that requires that coverage.
Content writer* August 10, 2017 at 11:35 am -I’m a writer, producing articles and white papers -my work is 100% remote -I have unlimited vacation (and they mean it. Folks have taken a whole month off to backpack through Europe, for example) -they gave me a $2000 stipend to set up a home office -they match my 401k contributions up to 5% of my income -they offer health, dental, and vision. If you opt for the bronze plan, they cover 100% of the premiums for both me and my husband. We opted for a higher plan, so I pay $100 a month – I get $150 a month for health expenses, like a gym membership, massages, or copay -I also get $150 a month for education expenses, like books, online classes, etc -they cover the cost of my home internet
Administrative Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 11:35 am I work in a community (two-year) college in an adult education department. My duties involve writing, editing, scheduling classes, acting as intermediary between the department and payroll), some pre-HR stuff, and general other duties. My geographic area is southern coastal California. I have always worked as AA so among the various employers, I’d say 35 + years. At the college, around 14 years. We are a union campus so the classified (of which I am one) get graduated benefits. But everyone gets the choice of four health plans, which include visions: 100% PPO, a (new) 90% PPO, an 80% PPO, and an HMO. We pay a (relatively) small portion of that over the ten months these deductions are taken; the college picks up the rest. Dental has three plans: the middle one is the better one (probably with a smaller network of dentists but much higher pay rates. I choose the 100% (and it really is excellent) with a $10 co-pay for most but not all visits. The one medication I take is free from Costco mail order pharmacy. The monthly cost to me beginning on October 1 will be $182.95. Of that, $115.99 is medical (with the college picking up $854.81), the dental is all mine to pay and is $66.96. Then I have to take LT disability and life insurance which are minimal and covered by the college. These costs are taken out over ten months of the year (with July and August being exempt). Everyone–classified, management, tenured faculty–gets 8 hours of sick leave per month. There is no limit to the hours you can accumulate. Vacation for classified begins at 8 hours per month to start and goes up to a maximum of 24 days per year after 20+ years (management gets the 24 days upon starting). Right now I get 13.34 per month; you can accumulate up to two years’ worth before you have to use the excess at the end of every fiscal year. We also get 16 days of vacation per year including the time from Christmas Eve through New Year’s Day and a four-day Thanksgiving weekend. We belong to PERS (Public Employees Retirement System). Classified get their automatic deductions matched after 10 years. There are optional funds you can have directed to other retirement accounts.
Administrative Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 12:07 pm I forgot to add that we get discounts on many gyms here as well as various places out of town like SeaWorld, Six Flags, Knott’s Berry Farm, etc. We can also sign up and use the college gym and showers. Parking is free! You can sign up for additional things to be taken out of your paycheck for retirement (403B,). There is also an employee assistance program which provides confidential counseling. Adjuncts get a few very limited benefits.
Digital Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:35 am 1. Digital Manager at a small non-profit 2. DC Area 3. 5 years of experience total 4. – 15 days of vacation (goes up to 20 after 3 years, I think) – 13 holidays (includes day after Thanksgiving as a holiday) – 12 days of sick time – 12 weeks of parental leave (which includes adoption/fostering as well as the birth of a child) – 2 personal days – 4% 401k contribution (automatic, not just matching) after 6 months – 100% paid health, dental, vision, plus reasonable contributions for spouse/dependents (based on my general experience, it seems reasonable) – we can float holidays, within certain parameters, which is nice when Veteran’s Day falls in the middle of the week or something – After 5 years, you can take a 6-week-long sabbatical (with all pay and benefits), in addition to your normal leave – and then a few other small ones, like bereavement leave, the flexibility to occasionally work from home if necessary, etc…
Polytechnic Faculty* August 10, 2017 at 11:36 am My job: I’m a full-time business instructor at a degree-granting polytechnic institution (somewhere between a community college / trade school and a university) Location: Calgary, AB Experience: 2 years’ full-time teaching, 6 years’ adjunct (sessional), 17 years’ professional experience Benefits: 43 days’ vacation + week between Xmas + New Years off Fully-paid health / dental plans (80% prescription coverage, $1500 max on dental in a year, $500 chiro, massage, etc.) $800 flexible spending account DB pension (contribution rate = about 13% + 14% from employer) Free use of school fitness facilities Subsidized transit pass Generous policies for training and credential enhancement (currently pursuing PhD with significant funding) Full payment for my professional dues
Administrative Assistant, Compliance* August 10, 2017 at 11:36 am Job: Support 5 Sr. Officers and assist with basic compliance projects. In the financial industry – asset management, mostly private equity Area: NYC Experience: 7 year total (4 within finance) Benefits: – 15 vacation days + 5 sick days (additional 5 vacay after certain amount of time) – Insurance – how much is contributed by the company is tiered by how much money you make. The more you make, the more you contribute. I’m in the lowest tier and I think I contribute about 10%/they cover 90% (I’m contributing less than $100 a month). HOWEVER – the plan is great. Very low deductible and co-pays. – 50% match in 401K after 3 years – Breakfast and lunch provided everyday – Stocked kitchen with snack/drinks/appliances – Subsidized gym membership – Company covers phone bill 100% if you use personal device or free, fully paid for separate work device – Transit/Commute perks – costs are deducted from pay-check pre-taxes – FSA account – Car service & Dinner if you work past 8pm, car service if you come in over two hours early, and car service to/from home if you work on weekends – Onsite chiropractor, manicurist and acupuncture once a week (for a small co-pay/fee) – Laptops/iPads available for loan for home work – Tuition reimbursement (no cap that I’m aware of, but at the discretion of management/HR) – Various discounts with companies we are invested in/aligned with I’m quite spoiled, and very well aware of it. I consider it karma for surviving a string of dysfunctional small companies prior to this
Assistant Director of Finance* August 10, 2017 at 11:36 am Assistant Director of Finance for a well known hotel company 11 years at this company, located in NJ 80 hours of vacation 2 personal days plus major holidays off 6 sick days Good inexpensive insurance with vision/dental FSA option 401k Match on 5% Free lunches/dinners (standard in hotel industry) The cool perk though is that I get 12 free hotel nights a year at other properties plus discounted rooms after that. Anywhere in the world subject to availability. It’s need though, since I work 55-60 hour weeks year round.
Controls Engineer* August 10, 2017 at 11:36 am Engineer working on controls and automation (electrical background) 8 years experience with BS and MS in engineering South East US Actually in my notice period right now so I’ll give you both jobs: Current Job: 2 Weeks Vacation, 8 Holidays. Vacation days are not tracked so as long as your work is done you can usually take more and chalk it up as comp time. Normal work week is around 60 hours (worst one was 112 hours) Education (Tuition and Books) up to $5,500 a year Adoption assistance up to $10,000 a year 401K – 50% match up to 3% Up to 4% profit share (paid in January into 401K if we meet our numbers) 10% target bonus – goes up and down based on numbers and your score in reviews Life Insurance 2X annual salary paid by company Dental and Vision not sure what the company pays but its about $7 a month for the family plan Medical depends on plan, 4 options to choose from can be high deductible with HSA or PPO or anything in between. New Job 3 Weeks Vacation 10 Holidays Quarterly employee appreciation events 401K – 100% match up to 4% Comp time for any hours over 40 with option to use as days off or take as straight time pay Medical, Dental, and Vision 100% covered for individual Company Chaplain Both jobs also offer the perks at work program which is a third party web service. You can get some pretty good discounts through them.
Software engineer* August 10, 2017 at 11:36 am I write code for a consumer and enterprise-facing application in a big tech company in a Western state. Nine years in industry, max education is a bachelor’s. Vacation: 4 weeks Sick leave: unlimited Retirement matching: 50% match on up to $18,000 yearly Premiums: I only see my own payroll deductions, I don’t know how much my employer pays on my behalf Other interesting benefits: free on-site breakfast and lunch, company-paid carpooling, partial reimbursement for any educational expenses not incurred for company business, seed money every year in my HSA, negotiated discounts for popular goods and services, a concierge team at the health insurance company and the retirement account recordkeeper to handle issues, probably lots of other things I’m forgetting Salary in the low six figures, doubled by stock and bonus
Analyst HR* August 10, 2017 at 11:37 am 2. Southeastern US 3. 30 years experience 4. Time Off: Vacation time depending on years of service, plus 5 days emergency leave. I get 4 weeks vacation pay a year but 1 week has to be reserved for use for the week after Christmas (AKA Winter Break) Health insurance – coverages and pay dependent on choice by employee, from a 70/30 split to a 90/10 split. It’s a customer-driven health care plan Summers we get a 4.5 day schedule with half-days Friday. We still have a 40-hour work schedule, so Mondays through Thursdays are longer workdays. We go back to our regular schedule next week.
Senior Program Officer* August 10, 2017 at 11:37 am Senior Program Officer – at a nonprofit in International Education. I’m responsible for a large portfolio of study abroad programs for US college students. I work as part of a team to make sure things are running smoothly, and contribute to new program development. Midwest, large city 5+ (1 year working abroad, 1 year graduate internship, 3.5 years with current org) Medical – I pay $0 Dental – I pay $0 Vision – I pay $100/year Long-term disability – I pay $0 Retirement – I contribute 15%, my company matches 5% Life insurance – coverage close to 100K, paid by company Voluntary life – I pay $48 annually for a $50K policy Medical Flex spending (pre-tax): $499.92/year My total benefits have a monetary value of approx $13K At the start of FY17, I had 16 vacation days and 18.5 days of PTO per year, and I have 4 days in an extended illness bank. (You can bank up to 5 unused PTO days per year in this area, but I haven’t started saving them yet.). We close between Christmas and New Years (usually Dec 23-Jan 2 off), have a half day before Thanksgiving and Black Friday, and all public holidays except MLK & Columbus day. I have the flexibility to work from home if needed; and can set my own schedule. Additional, non-monetary: the constant stream of snacks available both as part of business, and those that coworkers bring in. I took a full 11 business days off this summer, and I love what I do. Thanks for making me appreciate all my benefits!
Senior Engineer* August 10, 2017 at 11:37 am Civil Engineer – I’m senior level, but not a manager Eastern mid-west 17 years I get 17 PTO days (these are also sick days) but we can roll over some ridiculous amount, like 500 hours. Plus comp time is up to “manager’s discretion” and everyone I’ve worked for has been really flexible about that. We get a 5% 401k match, but we are also employee owned, so we get stock. There are a bunch of health insurance plans, but I get 80% of in-network services covered. We do have one of those health programs that get talked about a lot where you can fill out some forms, get a few blood tests and get a discount on your health insurance, but I never do it. We also have vision, dental, life and disability insurance you can opt into. There is something called employee “perks” that only seem good to me if you do a lot of online shopping, plus a bunch of employee discounts on services – the big one I use is 19% off my phone plan.
Research Grants Officer* August 10, 2017 at 11:37 am Employer: Canadian University (Large) Responsibilities: Reviewing research grants from University faculty, monitoring for university risk, etc. – Research Administration. Years of Experience: First job out of univeristy (graduate degree holder) 7 months on job Sick Leave: 20 days paid @100% // 110 days @70% (number of days @100% increases annually) Vacation: 3 weeks Pension Plan: Matched equally, though the amount is determined by pension company, I contribute ~11% of paycheque Health: (above provincial health plan) covered for employee, spouse, children: employer covers dental (80% coverage of basic services, 50% of ortho, 65% extensive, perio, etc), Extended Health (100% coverage of prescriptions, hospital accommodation, ambulance, paramedical, eye exams, etc) Employee pays Long term disability & life insurance BONUS: We have $750 annually in either a “health spending” or “wellness spending” account – this can be used to top up dental coverage, eye exams, massages, etc. but also to pay for “wellness” which can mean sports equipment, gym memberships, professional development, etc. Also Tuition support (for University degree courses or continuing education classes – dependent children/spouses in a degree program also covered by this) + 24hour access to remote counselling service (emergency, mental health, but also financial advice, career counselling, etc)
Designer/Developer at large university* August 10, 2017 at 11:38 am I work as a designer/developer/project manager/team manager in a library at a large university. Area: Nebraska, USA 11 years in this department, started as an assistant. 8 years in design/dev role. Vacation: 24 days a year Holidays: 12 a year, 4 of which are floating and are used for a holiday closedown every christmas. Sick: 6 months. If I were chronically sick and quit, I could get those 6 months paid out, which is nice to know. When I was at the assistant level rather than professional I got a day of sick time a month. Retirement: I put in 5.5% they put in 8.5%. This is required after two years if you are over 30- employees MUST put in at least 3.5% (then the uni matches 6.5%). Health insurance: I just looked this up and apparently my employer puts in 87% for health insurance. I’m on the “low” plan which means I pay out of pocket until $3000 or so (no copays for office visits), but I only pay $105/month for myself and my husband. I could bump it up to a plan with lower deductible, but still wouldn’t have copays. We get free generic prescriptions by mail, I haven’t had to use the drug plan otherwise. Dental insurance typically pays around 80% of costs, up to an annual maximum of around $4k. Free tuition up to 15 credits a year for me and immediate family. You still have to pay other costs – lab fees, student fees, but it’s a pretty great deal. We get funding for travel to conferences and other professional development opportunities as funds allow. I’m not faculty, so I don’t get guaranteed funding, but I have been able to attend a conference or two a year on average.
International Student Adviser* August 10, 2017 at 11:40 am *Immigration adviser for international students, employed by a university *UK *10 *6 weeks vacation; unlimited sick leave (we do have to say why we’re out and it does get monitored for suspicious patterns); had a final salary pension but it’s been changed to some kind of average – still very good outside of public sector, however; health insurance not necessary as we have the National Health Service; paid family leave is very good – 8 weeks full pay, 16 weeks 1/2 pay, 15 weeks ‘statutory’ pay from government and then 13 weeks unpaid. Vacation time also accrues while on maternity leave. I have had two 1 year periods of maternity leave and returned to my job and this is very normal at all levels of my organisation.
Software Consultant* August 10, 2017 at 11:40 am Job: Varied responsibilities, including code design, customer engagement, team management, technical sales, training & mentoring. Location: UK (London), but with global travel (typically 2-8 intercontinental trips per year) Experience: 13 years (the last 10 with this employer) Vacation/time off: – 23 days initially, increasing to 28 with long service. – Unlimited sick leave (up to 6 months). Benefits: – Car allowance (£700/month) – Private health insurance (for me + spouse); this is a taxable benefit so I pay 45% of the value. – Retirement contributions – 8% of salary, provided I pay at least 4% – Flexibility to work from home (depending on meetings) – Training budget – typically around £1000 per year, but more available if asked for. – Salaried, but my bonus is based (partly) on billable hours – so long hours on a client project are actually rewarded.
biglaw partner* August 10, 2017 at 11:40 am Benefits: -Some unspecified number of vacation days, which doesn’t really matter because it’s not tracked and all that matters is if my work gets done. It is very rare for me to take a vacation where I don’t do at least some work, but I’m better at managing this than many of my peers…I probably spend no more than 15% of my vacation handling work stuff under normal circumstances. -Sick days aren’t a thing for large firm lawyers, generally. -Health insurance is available through the firm, but partners pay the full premium. The only option is a high-deductible plan but the coverage is good. I think I pay about $350/month to cover myself (no dependents). -Dental and vision insurance are available, and again I pay the full premium. -No retirement match. I am required to contribute to several different retirement plans, but my contribution goes into my own account (i.e., I’m not providing social security for retired partners). -Firm provides my laptop and an allowance for the data service on my phone. -Firm pays for life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability. -Firm pays my professional licensing fees. -Non-standard interesting benefits: free estate planning services, free executive physical (but it counts as compensation, so you’re taxed on it), subsidized concierge service that does stuff like run errands.
Attorney - small law* August 10, 2017 at 3:33 pm My prior mid-sized firm had “sick days aren’t a thing” and I just didn’t understand what they meant. I could stay home if I was sick. I didn’t have to take vacation time. But we didn’t have “sick time.” I’m assuming it meant I was to just worry about my hourly requirement and work more on other days if needed to make my hours. It was the opposite of retail where no sick days meant no calling out sick. Here, you can call out sick but you don’t really track it anywhere and you still get your work done if you can and if you can’t you do it the next day. Is this what you mean?
Senior Counsel* August 10, 2017 at 9:52 pm I didn’t realize there was a biglaw partner here. (Ex-biglaw associate, now in-house.) One thing I thought was super weird about biglaw was the lack of retirement benefit, but they also don’t expect associates to stick around long enough for it to matter… lol.
LawPancake* August 10, 2017 at 11:40 am Corporate Counsel at a midsize company in the south. – 14 days of PTO (after 4 years), 10 paid holidays i.e. Xmas, Labor Day etc., and 2 floating holidays – 10 days sick leave but it is discouraged to take the full amount, I think some managers rate people down on their reviews if they take “too much” sick leave. I’m trying to get this policy changed. – Health, vision, dental, LTD, and company paid life insurance at 1.5x salary. The employee paid portion of the health insurance is significantly more expensive than most other companies in the area. Also, a self funded HSA (in that the employer does not make any contributions). – 401(k) has matching of up to 4% with a 5 year vesting schedule. – tuition reimbursement for pre-approved industry related classes up to a couple thousand. – 37.5 hour workweek. Most other perks like work from home or flex time are at the discretion of the department manager.
Senior Counsel* August 10, 2017 at 8:37 pm Senior In House Counsel at a Fortune 500 company in the South. 7 years total, 4 here Vacation – 15 days (20 days at 5 years service), 2 floating holidays, 5-7 days year-end shut down, 7 holidays Unlimited sick leave Health, vision, dental, LTD, company paid life insurance and basic spousal insurance — good health insurance coverage 401(k) has matching up to 4%, immediate vesting, additional 2% annual in cash balance pension plan flexible work schedule/work from home without reporting in or negotiating it (i.e., just be in the office when you need to be) 18.5-22.5% bonus (depending on company performance, with higher bonus for higher ratings) ~20% stock GRANT (3 year vesting) a description of your benefits — how much vacation and sick leave you get, retirement matching, what portion of your health insurance premium your employer pays for you, and any other interesting benefits you might get
Nonprofit Online Marketing Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:40 am * I head up online fundraising at an established international nonprofit. I create most of our online content, plan the email calendar, develop campaign strategy, manage the budget, supervise a direct report, and coordinate with our social media, web, and direct mail teams to ensure consistent branding and voice across all channels. * DC metro area * 8 years experience in nonprofit fundraising, including 7 in online fundraising * Employer-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance with FSA; life insurance; short-term disability and workers’ comp; pet insurance; adoption fees assistance; EAP; tuition and professional development reimbursement; gym discount and membership reimbursement; retirement plan with 2- 8% employer match (depends on length of service; fully vested after 3 years); travel insurance; pre-tax transit benefit; catastrophic leave sharing; 9 sick days/year (can roll over up to 50 days/year); 20 vacation days/year (can roll over up to 30 days/year); 10 paid holidays/year; 20 days maternity/paternity leave (but only after 2 years of service); flexible schedule around core hours & generous work from home policy.
Senior Project Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:41 am Dallas, TX Responsible for departmental.project work like event management, customer data collection and analysis, FTE tracking for the department. Department is approx 175 FTE in a Fortune 100 company of over 50K employees. 8 paid holidays per year 0-4 years: 18 days PTO per year 5-9 years: 23 days PTO per year 10+ years: 28 days PTO per year (I don’t remember if 15 or 20 years add more) Full medical with generous company subsidies, but most plans are high deductible plans with HRAs or HSAs. Metabolic screening provides the opportunity to reduce medical premiums even further. Company does an annual contribution into the HRA/HSA. Wellness challenges enable us to earn $500/year ($1000 for family coverage) deposited into our HSA. 401(k) with matching contributions up to 6% of annual salary. Work at home flexibility for most positions. Tuition reimburse1,adoption expense reimbursement, and other fringe benefits available.
Senior Project Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:45 am I’ve been in the position for 9.5 years, and in the workforce (as some sort of admin) for 25 years.
VP Communications, non-profit economic development* August 10, 2017 at 11:41 am Job: I’m the VP for Communications for a nonprofit doing economic development. I represent my org across multiple mediums: in print, website, social media, to the local news media, in person to the local business community, and to elected officials. I contribute to collaborative marketing efforts across our region. I provide support to our donors with guidance on communications and government relations. I do lobbying. I oversee a team of contract PR professionals. I proof my colleague’s written materials. I am the face and voice of our organization, second only to our CEO. Where: Puget Sound – Western Washington Years: I’ve been doing communications work with gradually increasing responsibilities for my entire career, starting in 1998. I’ve been in my current job for nearly 6 months. This job has asked me to grow dramatically, and will continue to do so in the future. Benefits: Leave: 2 wks/year vacation with gradual increase, sick leave is comparable (for comparison, I left a job with 5 wks/year of vacation leave and 12 days/yr sick leave) Retirement matching: 7% Health insurance premium: 100% coverage for gold level insurance Annual bonus up to $10k.
VP Communications, non-profit economic development* August 10, 2017 at 11:50 am Forgot to add: paid holidays continuing ed budget for classes & conferences flexibility to WFH Nobody watches my clock. “Work like a grownup,” my boss says.
Kaya* August 10, 2017 at 11:41 am your job (the more descriptive the better, since job titles don’t always explain level of responsibility or scope of work) your geographic area your years of experience a description of your benefits — how much vacation and sick leave you get, retirement matching, what portion of your health insurance premium your employer pays for you, and any other interesting benefits you might get Marketing Manager South East, UK 2 years in this role, 5 years in marketing 25 days of holiday a year, not including all English bank holidays (8, I think). 20 days of sick leave a year. Free office snacks. Monthly team lunch. Company matches pension contributions up to 5%. We don’t have healthcare etc. but we’re in the UK, so don’t really need it.
Police Officer with National Force* August 10, 2017 at 11:41 am Here is DH’s job benefits with the guys in red serge: ◾job – Police Officer ◾geographic area – town in Alberta but same for everywhere in Canada (remote postings get a few perks not listed) ◾years of experience – 7 but 14 including military service (which counts towards his benefits as both fall under Veterans Affairs) ◾Benefits — 5 weeks vacation, unlimited sick leave, full extended health benefits covered for entire family, shifts are 4 days on (2 days, 2 nights of min. 10 hours each), 4 days off, unlimited overtime available, defined benefit government pension after 35 years service (for DH, that is at age 53 as they include military service) governed by Veterans Affairs, uniform supplied (and replaced on as needed basis – turns out he isn’t the first to replace his beaver fur hat because it was eaten by a household per), dress uniform is custom made and alterations paid for by the force, moves are paid for (including the packing and unpacking – best perk ever!), funeral paid for with full military/police honours (I am thinking they also cover the extra cost of a public funeral if he dies in the line of duty and I hope I never find out). What I think are cool benefits (DH may disagree) – ability to give tickets to jerks who park in fire lanes and handicap parking spots, opportunity to dress up as national symbol and take part in various ceremonies (and be paid overtime for doing so), opportunity to be called into local disaster zones when everyone else is fleeing, opportunity to be deployed overseas for peacekeeping missions, so many career options once you have done your time as a beat cop (the American equivalent is that these guys/gals can apply to the Canadian equivalent of the NYPD, Secret Service and FBI without changing employers) while still having the option to stay a beat cop and not have it affect how your career is viewed.
JD - Also a S. Albertan* August 10, 2017 at 1:49 pm bahahaha! I’ve always thought that some of the duties of an enforcement job must also be perks… I’ve also always wondered about the uniforms/hats. Are they itchy? The uniforms look itchy…
Calgary worker* August 10, 2017 at 2:46 pm The formal uniforms are itchy – they are real wool and they all wear t-shirts underneath the jacket (which never comes off in public). The hat isn’t bad but it is warm and hard to drive a car in. The boots require a special thingy or a really cooperative friend to take them off without ruining the polish. Ironically, they only stopped issuing wool work pants in the last 5 years and there are still police officers out there wearing wool work pants in hot humid weather or, worse, when it is raining.
Risha* August 10, 2017 at 2:44 pm Oh man, I just pictured my dog’s reaction to a big fuzzy fur hat, and he’d definitely be trying to eat it at every opportunity.
Calgary worker* August 10, 2017 at 2:48 pm Ummm…it doesn’t help when said pet is Marley the Wolf and beaver and rabbit are part of her natural diet. So, is, it turns out, Sam Browne leather belts with a lot a brown polish. Luckily, she never found the boots.
Senior Design Engineer* August 10, 2017 at 11:42 am your job: I do computer hardware design, converting hardware description language to circuits and wires for mass production. My company is known for making consumer electronics, although we also make electronics for things like digital billboards or industrial appliances. I take on some leadership roles in limited circumstances, but I’m not at the point of being a team lead or tech lead yet. your geographic area: northeast U.S. your years of experience: in this job, 5; overall career, 8 plus having a Masters a description of your benefits: All our benefits apply to all exempt employees regardless of job title. 15 days vacation per year until they’ve reached 5 years tenure, after that you get an additional day for each year you stay at the company until you max out at 20 days PTO at 10 years tenure. 10 paid holidays per year Sick leave is officially 5 days per year, but in reality, none of the managers log it or care as long as you don’t abuse it and meet your commitments for each project phase 100% 401(k) matching up to 6% of income I don’t know about health insurance, since our health insurance is kind of crap so I’m covered on my spouse’s employer’s plan Generous flex time/work from home, again, as long as your work is getting done and you’re dialing in to meetings and responsive, no one cares if you work 7-3 or 10-6 or WFH, although it’s rare to see someone using routine WFH more than 1day/wk. It’s also pretty common to see people do things like “I’m going to visit my family in India for three weeks, taking two weeks of vacation and one week of remote work” or “plane tickets for this vacation were cheaper flying home Monday instead of Sunday, so I’ll be WFH from my hotel on Monday and back in the office on Tuesday.” 8 weeks partially paid parental leave for all parents regardless of gender or bio/adoption/foster. Gestating parents get an additional 4 weeks paid medical leave to recover from labor/delivery.
Economic Development-Local Government* August 10, 2017 at 11:43 am Job: staff member in the economic development department of a municipal government (non-union) Geographic area: Midwest Years experience: 4 (0 years experience when entering the position) A description of your Benefits: -1 week vacation for first year, 2 weeks vacation years 2-5, 3 weeks vacation for years 6-15, 4 weeks vacation 15+years; 12 days sick leave; 10 paid holidays -public retirement system with mandatory contribution (~6% income from employee, ~9% contribution from employer) -employer pays ~85-90% of health insurance premium (I believe)-dental, vision, and medical with mental health! -20k life insurance while employed -Access to disability insurance (employee pays cost) -Save ~$10 per month on gym membership by having it withdrawn from paycheck -flex spending account with $500 annual contribution to be used for dependent care or health -Longevity bonus of $40 per year worked -free access to online estate-planning tools, which helped me draft my will. I know lots of people get less, so I can’t complain too much, but vacation is slim and the fact that there’s no maternity/parental leave really annoys me. Salary (~45-50k) and health insurance made it worth it to me.
Associate Editor* August 10, 2017 at 11:43 am Description: I write/edit/photograph a magazine for a scientific professional association. I also run social media (sometimes), help out with our annual conference, am the web master for one of our online academic journals, and am just starting to hire/develop freelance talent. Geographical area: Washington, DC Years of experience: 6.5 Education: BA in English, Dual MA in Journalism and Folklore Salary: $48.5k (I know you didn’t ask, but my salary is comparatively pretty low for the region/experience, but my job is interesting, boss/co-workers are great, and the benefits are really good–and having worked in super-toxic places before, I would rather have all those things! I thought it would be good to have that all in one place transparently.) Benefits: 3 weeks vacation, 3 weeks sick leave, teleworking, flexible hours, 3% salary matching for retirement (whether you contribute to the account or not–this could still be better though), 100% employer-paid healthcare (best health plan I’ve ever seen!), legal help, 24-hour access to teleconferences with doctors (so you don’t have to go into a doctor’s office for a cold/flu/mystery sore throat but still want an opinion), EAP.
Associate Editor* August 10, 2017 at 11:48 am Oh, also 10 paid holidays and employee recognition program. This year we MIGHT be getting bonuses (we’re just coming out of a couple of years of bad finances and are kind of back on track), so that would be good. I forgot to say that I’ve been at this job for almost 3 years, received a promotion last year from assistant editor.
Manager of HR & Administration* August 10, 2017 at 11:44 am Job: I am in charge of all human resources, operations, and administrative work. I supervise 5 people. In September, I will be promoted to VP/General Manager and will supervise…everyone (eek!). Geographic area: Washington, DC suburb Company size: Less than 25 employees Years of Experience: 12+ Benefits: PTO: (Paid Time Off) 15 days/year, will increase to 20 days/year at 6yrs w/ company and 25 days/year at 11 years Holidays: 7 paid holidays Health: HRA plan (2 levels) with 80% employer paid towards individual premium and 75% of deductible paid via HRA Dental: 30% paid by employer (costs me $10/month) Vision: 40% paid by employer (costs me $3/month) Group Term Life: 100% paid by employer, 2x base salary plus $25k AD&D/LTD: 100% paid by employer FSA: no employer contribution 401k: company match up to 4% for 5% of compensation, no vesting delay Annual opportunity to purchase shares in parent company w/ “bonus” shares granted by company, 3 year vesting delay
Archaeologist* August 10, 2017 at 11:44 am I work for a tribal government in southern California, one step below a director. I have 2 weeks of vacation (increases over time), 2 personal days, 6 days of sick leave, and a lot of local discounts on amusement parks, restaurants, etc. Tribe offers exellebt insurance – I pay around $85 a month for health/vision/dental/orthodonture total for my husband and I. We have Kaiser, so out of pocket costs are extremely low. The only thing missing is a maternity/paternity leave package, but I’m the first person under the age of 35 the government has ever hired and it’s likely they never thought about this before (I’m 26).
Starbuck* August 10, 2017 at 11:58 am Wow, you got started at 15? Impressive! What was the position trajectory? How did you enter the field of archaeology?
Archaeology Student* August 12, 2017 at 7:02 pm Didn’t actually think I’d find an archaeologist in this thread, but its a relief to see someone talk about an archaeology job that actually comes with benefits! If you don’t mind, how much/what kind of experience did you need to get a job like that? I’m working on my MA right now and hoping to find a full time job… someday.
Archaeologist* August 13, 2017 at 4:45 pm Hi guys – sorry it’s a few days late. I didn’t expect to get noticed haha! I started with volunteering, which I did all through highschool and college. I lived close to a tribal community in high school and I was mentored by an archaeologist who worked well with them. I started college early, graduated at 20, and went straight into my MA program. I worked full time in archaeology and GIS during grad school as a contractor taking projects as they came. I specialized in regulatory compliance and GIS. I worked full-time on longer projects once I moved up into meeting SoI standards, eventually capping out in that world as Lead at a very young age. I also became disillusioned with the whole thing because I was more interested in preservation than compliance and contracting doesn’t give you that power. I had also worked with federal government long enough to know that I wouldn’t fit in on that side of the house. So I went back to my roots and reminded myself why I got into this in the first place, and started applying for positions with tribes. I have a name in my region at this point and luckily a local tribe heard good things about my work in their ancestral territory. It’s been the perfect fit all around and I couldnt be happier. It’s not an easy world. I started so young and I’ve been very lucky with timing and my connections to great people. It’s a tough road, but there are so many options – you just have to work on finding where you fit in.
Academic archives* August 10, 2017 at 11:44 am ● Archives Associate – I do digital reference, digitization of photographs (and papers if necessary), reference, and processing of collections. ● Upper midwest ● Here is 2.5 years, overall 7 in the archival field, I have a MLIS ● 240 hours of accrued vacation time which does roll over but then we have to use some of that by December 31st; 80 sick days accrued which also roll over (my co-worker has 7,000 hours of sick time!); I get 10 paid holidays a year (sometimes 10.5 depend on what day Christmas Eve falls on); I don’t pay any insurance premiums for health and I have to pay (it comes out of my paycheck, but it’s pretty reasonable considering what is covered!) dental and eye insurance. My retirement is based on years of service, so for me right now, my employer puts in 12.26%, 3% comes out of my paycheck and there’s other stuff in there that I don’t quite understand :); I get to take classes for free (1-2 a semester) if I want, there’s a handful of other discounts around town (including moving companies which was helpful when I moved here!). There is an opportunity to get a 2% on Delta Flights and I can also get Microsoft products deeply discounted.
Postdoctoral Fellow* August 10, 2017 at 11:44 am Postdoctoral fellow (F32 funded for those who know NIH funding) San Francisco Bay Area 3.5 years as a postdoc, 5.5 years for the PhD. Publishing papers since 2010. University of California postdocs are unionized (UAW 5810) so this is much better than the average postdoc. We have 24 days vacation (use it or lose it, no pay out), 12 sick days that roll over into following years (also not paid out). To some extent we are encouraged not to use that vacation unless we’re international scholars traveling home to renew a visa (I’m a US citizen). We have 4 weeks of paid parental leave for both new fathers and mothers. I’m a fellow so not an “employee” on paper, therefore I don’t technically have “earned income” and can’t use retirement accounts. Postdocs employed normally and paid by their advisor’s grants have access to a 403(b), but there is no matching. We pay a very tiny portion of our health insurance premium and can add family for the same cost: I pay $40/mo for a PPO for myself and my husband ($20 for each person), and the total monthly premium is $1150. The coverage and network is very good (e.g., blood work is like $7, an office visit is $20, and I only paid $80 for an MRI.) The dental and vision premiums are paid 100% by the university, and our dental HMO has no cap so you can get all the root canals you want in one year unlike many plans. University also pays for a short term disability policy (pays 70% of wages up to 180 days).
Another postdoc* August 10, 2017 at 1:42 pm Also a postdoc in the sciences. Private research university in the Midwest 2 years as a postdoc, 5 years for PhD We’re not unionized, but we’ve got good benefits. I’m technically staff and get all the normal university staff benefits. 10 holidays, 15 vacations days (which roll over), 3 floating holidays (no roll over), and 15 sick days (no roll over). We’re strongly encouraged to use up our vacation days – I think advisors are required to pay out all but 5 vacation days when we leave. Health, dental, and vision are fairly cheap through the university. We also have access to a 403(b). After the first year, the university automatically contributes 5% of salary and matches up to 5%.
Admin Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 11:44 am JOb: Admin Assistant. Basic duties for a small non-profit with 13 people in the office. From making coffee, to researching event apps and proof reading various piece of writing material. Most junior position in the office Area: New York City Experience: 20+ years of admin experience Benefits: -Vacation Days: 10 in the first year. Acquire 1 day each year. -Personal Days: 3 -Sick Days: Unlimited -3% 401K Match. Automatically enrolled, must opt out. -Organization pays 90% of health care and 90% of dental eye care. (total for myself and spouse $140/month health $6/month eye and dental) OTHER: Office closed: -between Christmas and New Years. -all federal holidays (including Columbus Day) -Friday after Thanksgiving Parental Leave: Don’t know. Didn’t ask.
Customer Service Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:45 am I have been with my company 3 years and have 10 years experience. We’re a biotech and very much not “call center” customer service. I am on the west coast but our main US offices are in the northeast. Our company HQ is in the UK. All of these benefits also apply to the specialists that work for me. I get: *24 days PTO (started at 21, add 1 day per year) *Flextime to adjust my schedule as needed *401k non-matching “Safe Haven” contributions of 4% of my salary plus matching contributions of up to 2% of my salary (for a total of 6% if I contribute 4% so my 4% = 10%) *Company pays 98% of health insurance premiums meaning I pay $7/pay check for myself ($20 if I had a family) *Company funds 1/2 of my deductible (and family deductible, if applicable) into an HSA (deductible is $2k, they fund $1k and once deductible is met everything except hospitalization is covered at 100%. Hospitalization is $150/day capped at $750) *8 Company holidays (NYD, Memorial Day, 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Day After Thanksgiving, Christmas & Boxing Day) *Tuition Reimbursement/Career Development Fund *Employee & family appreciation/social events including tickets to ball games, winter ski trips, summer camping trips and after work happy hours, game nights, sports teams, office lunches, snacks and treats, *3x a year paid volunteer days (optional)
Customer Service Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:47 am Oh I forgot my favorite: STOCK OPTIONS! My stock options have tripled in three years. Hello, retirement!
Accounting/HR* August 10, 2017 at 11:45 am Accounting/HR professional (nonprofit sector) San Francisco Bay Area 5 years experience –Dental/vision 100% paid by company for all staff and family members. –Health insurance premium $60/month self only, $100/month family. –13% defined contribution salary match [no employee contribution required, though we are also able to contribute a portion of our salary each month.] –2 vacation days and 1 sick day a month, for all employees regardless of time in. –Special leave can be granted at management discretion. –several paid holidays a year and a two week closure at the end of the year. Day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve/New Year’s Eve are considered holidays. EAP Disability insurance available. Out of state employees enrolled in short term disability coverage at company cost in an attempt to replicate the state disability benefits available to local [CA] employees.
Accounting/HR* August 10, 2017 at 11:46 am And full vesting in the defined contribution plan happens at 3 years, with 30% vesting after the first year….
Accounting/HR* August 10, 2017 at 1:28 pm And I handle most of the day to day lower level accounting/HR functions [basically the person who enters stuff into our system] along with some operational duties. I’m on the second tier of job categories here, above entry level, but not managing any permanent employees other than temps and student workers.
Accounting Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 11:45 am 1. I am the everyday accounting person. Accounts payable/receivable, bank recons and some GL detail taken care. I do the minor details for our closing each month. 2. I am in the metro areas in the southern US. 3. I have been at the company 1 year and have 3 years of experience in this field. Benefits: -2 weeks of vacation (when you reach 3 you get an additional week) -1 week PTO per year -5 sick days per year -20% of health insurance premium paid – 2 % match in retirement accounts (Roth and Traditional) – 3-5 days of bereavement and paid jury leave – ESOP – partial paid 6 weeks of parental leave (percentage depending on how long you have been with the company.) – Can work from home if needed (really hard with my job since it really does require me to be in the office)
Communications Administrator (at a private university)* August 10, 2017 at 11:46 am – I handle administrative and operational support as well as oversee communications, e.g. website, social media, email, etc., for a research institute at a private university. – New York, NY – 2 yrs in this position but 5.5 yrs total (promoted about 3.5 yrs in) – 22 vacation days, 20 sick days, 2 personal days, plus national holidays; 401(k), employer contributes 5% un-matched then up to an additional 5% matched; very generous health, dental, and vision insurance (I pay about $30 total premium for all three); tuition remission up to 9 credits/semester (I did my MA for nearly free – I was taxed on it); pre-tax transit
Production Editor (books)* August 10, 2017 at 11:46 am –I’m a production editor at a membership association. I work in book publishing. My job involves doing book production (generally once the book has gone through at least one heavy edit); so, moving a manuscript from a bunch of Word documents to final product. Choosing vendors and freelancers for the various steps. I also handle a lot of the press’s marketing and social media, preparing for conferences, doing translation rights agreements, and working with our various fulfillment companies (Amazon, etc.), both domestic and international. –Washington, DC metro area (Maryland suburbs) –17 years experience (I feel super old now, thanks) –Benefits: *Vacation: Start at 2 weeks. Bump up to 3 weeks after 2 years; bump up to 4 weeks after 5 years, I think. Can carry over up to 3 weeks, I think. 1 personal day your first year, 2 every year after. Lose it if you don’t use it that year. *Sick: 12 days/year (1 day/month) *Retirement: Employer kicks in 5% of your salary into your 401(k). We regularly will get a “We had a good year” 1% bonus into the retirement fund (one-time payment). *Insurance: We have a decent amount of choice for health and dental. I’m on the cheapest one (I’m single, on the HMO). I think they cover 70% or so? Dental insurance is pretty good. Life insurance (2x salary) covered. Options for long-term disability. Good EAP. Flexible spending account offered. *Other: We have Hays Perks, which gives us discounts to various things, which is nice. Get bonuses annually (if you do good work). Very flexible with telecommuting and hours (though it varies by department). Subsidies for parking/Metro.
Production Editor (books)* August 10, 2017 at 11:47 am Oh! We also get the week between Christmas and New Year’s off as holiday time (plus the federal government holidays [minus Veteran’s Day, for some reason] and the day after Thanksgiving).
Prosecuting attorney* August 10, 2017 at 11:46 am I work for a small law firm that contracts with small cities for prosecution services. I personally lead two cities, with at least 13 court appearances per week. Suburban Seattle region One year in this job, practicing law about 1.5 years 12 days PTO per year (combined sick leave/vacation) All licensing fees (annual bar dues and required Continuing Legal Education credits) Flexible office time – they’re great about running errands or attending an appointment during the day, as long as we don’t have court appearances Simple IRA with matching up to 3% of salary No health insurance though – I pay over $300 a month through the exchange I’ve received $9000 in raises in the year I’ve been here, which puts me almost on par with working directly for the county. But the benefits package is nowhere near the county, so I will probably leave this position within a year or so.
Aerospace Engineer* August 10, 2017 at 11:46 am 4 years of experience in Connecticut at a large international company. We get: 3 weeks of vacation, I will get a 4th week at 10 years. I have the option to “buy” a week of vacation so that the cost comes out of each paycheck. 6 weeks of sick time (hire in with 2 weeks, get an extra week each year) 401k matching, 60% up to 6% (3.6% total match) HSA health plan, dental, and vision (levels of each are up to our discretion and we can change during the annual enrollment period) Long-term and short-term disability Life insurance **Education assistance** – I can get a degree from any accredited institution at any level, special permission is required for a PhD. Company will pay tuition directly to the school and reimburse me for any required textbooks, as long as I earn at least a C in each class. If the classes are related to my current job, they are nontaxable to me (taxable status of a class is up to the discretion of your manager, they are given guidelines to follow by the company). We also get 0.5 hours of study time per week for every credit hour, and the time accrues up to 15 weeks and 6 credits at a time. Therefore, if I’m taking 3 credit hours, I get up to 22.5 hours of study time throughout the semester, which I can use to study, write a paper, attend class, whatever I need.
Senior Supplier Quality Investigator* August 10, 2017 at 12:03 pm We work for the same major corporation, though not sure which umbrella you’re under. I just did a C&P and swapped in my experience. ;-) 10 years of experience in Connecticut at a large international company. I get: 4 weeks of vacation, with option to purchase an additional week (I did) 6 weeks of sick time (New hires get 2 weeks, get an extra week each year) 1 week of Personal Time (PTO) for Dr.’s appointments, and the like. Pension (This option has been discontinued for those hired after a certain year) 401k matching, 60% up to 6% (3.6% total match) HSA health plan, dental, and vision (levels of each are up to our discretion and we can change during the annual enrollment period) Long-term and short-term disability Life insurance **Education assistance** – My BS (2014) and my MS (in progress) were paid 100% by the corporation. Also, since I began the educational program through the company prior to 2009, I was awarded $10k in company stock (fully vested just this year) when I finished my BS. This perk was discontinued for anyone who registered through the program beginning in 2010. I can get a degree from any accredited institution at any level, special permission is required for a PhD. Company will pay tuition directly to the school and reimburse me for any required textbooks, as long as I earn at least a C in each class. If the classes are related to my current job, they are nontaxable to me (taxable status of a class is up to the discretion of your manager, they are given guidelines to follow by the company). We also get 0.5 hours of study time per week for every credit hour, and the time accrues up to 15 weeks and 6 credits at a time. Therefore, if I’m taking 3 credit hours, I get up to 22.5 hours of study time throughout the semester, which I can use to study, write a paper, attend class, whatever I need. Additionally, if applicable to your position with the company, they will pay 100% towards a pilots license and all flight training hours.
Aerospace Engineer* August 10, 2017 at 3:20 pm I forgot about the pilot’s license! And yes, I unfortunately hired in too late for the pension and ESP perks :(
Database Administrator (DBA)* August 10, 2017 at 11:47 am DBA’s monitor the health of database servers (MS-SQL) and make sure that servers are maintained with the maximum availability and access with the highest security. Missouri 32 Years 20 days of PTO, No Sick Time 6% 401k match (instant vesting) Not sure of medical match
Database Administrator (DBA)* August 10, 2017 at 12:32 pm And Salary: $120015.33 Plus I get to buy company stock at a 10% Discount (Since the company is tanking right now, that’s a dubious benefit)
LexieLex* August 10, 2017 at 11:47 am Content Writer / Strategist. I plan campaigns and do all of the writing for my company, including eBooks, promo emails, website landing pages – you name it, I write it. I also ghostwrite for executives. South Jersey 20 years of experience Open PTO (which means an unlimited number of vacation and sick days, just get your manager’s approval), work from home sometimes, 401K with some matching, some schedule flexibility, paid training. I pay $0 for my health insurance (myself only).Other interesting perks include: Game room in our office, lots of fun company-wide celebration events (such as leaving the office to see the latest Star Wars movie because the CEO is a fan), amazing paid internship program (doesn’t help me directly but is a sign of a great organization), charity donation matching (up to $500/employee), summer Fridays (work an extra hour M-Th and leave at 1pm on Friday), No-meeting Monday, stock options, fresh fruit and fresh veggies in the kitchen every day, company-wide charity drives and volunteering opportunities, competitive activities (like table tennis tournaments), walking treadmill in the office, and casual dress. There are more, but I can’t remember them all right now.
Library staff member at Big 10 school (non-librarian)* August 10, 2017 at 11:48 am I work with the incoming/outgoing ILLs, e-reserves for faculty, and have circulation and reference desk duties at a smaller campus of a Big 10 school. Pennsylvania 2 years at campus, 4 months in this position Most staff at this campus will have these benefits despite what department they are in. But the actual librarians and faculty get waaaaaay better benefits regarding vacation (and, well, pay). But here’s what I get: 18 days vacation (earn 12 hours a month–up to I think 24 days accumulation) 12 days sick time (earn 8 hours a month–unlimited accumulation) Holidays are sad. We get the week from Christmas to New Year’s off which is great, but then only get Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Black Friday the rest of the year. Faculty and students get MLK Jr. Day off. We don’t. Retirement: there’s a state employee plan and TIAA-Cref plan (this is what I have). I pay 5% they match 9.29%. I actually don’t know how much of my health care premium my employer pays. It’s salary based and there are 2 plans. A savings plan (0.63% of salary for 1 person, $1600 deductible) and the not-savings-plan. For one person it’s 1.81% of your salary each month and goes higher the more people on the plan. Deductible is $375. Dental and vision are maybe like, $3 or less a month. $50,000 in life insurance without enrolling in anything extra. 75% off tuition for you or family members (unless you want to be a doctor or lawyer) I don’t think we get anything else exciting. We get typical things like Verizon/AT&T/etc. discounts, some local discounts at a mechanic. Unfortunately I don’t work at the main campus so many of these discounts they have are for their area, not the area I live in. I work 8-5 with a 1 hour lunch.
Operations Director* August 10, 2017 at 11:48 am Description: I manage the day-to-day operations of an organization with 75-80 employees. Years of Experience: 6 Geographic Area: Chicago, IL Suburbs Education: BA Benefits: – Health Insurance (50% Employer-Paid) – 10 Paid Holidays – 10 Paid Sick Days/Year – Unlimited Vacation (Pre-Planned and Approved) – Flexible Hours – Company-Paid Cell Phone
Lead Business Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 11:48 am Job Description: Program commissions plans/reports for sales force and oversee monthly commissions datafeeds/calculations/payments. Geographic Area: Midwest USA Years of Experience: Twelve with the company, nine in this role Time Off: Currently at 28 days PTO (in the 7-20 year band). PTO maxes out at 33 days for 20+ years of service. Four additional days available for volunteer work plus ten holidays. Also the ability to purchase up to 5 more PTO days. Retirement Matching: Matches first 5% at 100%, then next 2% at 200% – totaling 9%. Insurance: Medical/Dental/Vision. Medical covered at 80%. HSA: Company contributes $500 annually ($250 automatic, plus addl $250 for completing survey and health screening). Other benefits: onsite gym, tuition reimbursement, matching donations, discounts at many local companies, short/long-term disability
Marketing & Communications Writer* August 10, 2017 at 11:49 am I am a marketing and communications writer; for the most part, I work with our sales teams to write proposals, but I also do some copywriting for posters, ads, website and social media posts, etc. I live in Salt Lake City. I have close to four years of experience. I currently get 20 days of PTO a year, and it increases with every five years I am here; the first year you work at my company, it is prorated, so I had something like 12 days, but now that I am in my first full years, I started with a full 20 days. My company contributes 4% of my salary to my 401K, and I can contribute as much as I was. They even contribute if you aren’t (which I’m not – focusing on paying off debt right now) Since I am single and don’t have a spouse or dependents, my company pays my entire premium for all products except for my vision (which I pay about $2 a month for) and my life insurance (which is about $3 a month). My company also offers a lot of voluntary benefits, like pet insurance, car insurance, home insurance, etc., most of which I don’t take advantage of but I may in the future!
Communication Manager* August 11, 2017 at 5:02 pm I’m a communication manager, also in Salt Lake. I manage the marketing department which includes 1 other (soon to be 2) employee and one contractor. I manage the strategy, budgeting and execution of all internal communication and marketing, but I also work on special software projects as a PM, which is mostly outside the marketing role. I’ve been in this position over 6 years, but have other experience in graphic design, photography and business management. My benefits include not being exempt from overtime (I work a lot of overtime, and could easily be classified exempt but am thankfully not), my company contributes 100% of the Employee-only medical premium on a $500 deductible PPO plan, 100% of the dental premium, 100% short and long-term disability, provides $10000 term life insurance, and contributes 50% of my 401k percentage, up to 3% (if I contribute 6% or above, they contribute 3%). I also have access to vision, FSA, accident/illness/hospital plans, telehealth and even identity theft at my expense. My PTO includes 19 days off (it started at 5 only when I started, but goes up every year of service), plus about 6 paid holidays. I also have the ability to flex my hours, work from home and basically control my hours. As a perk, the company also periodically gives us free tickets to baseball games and premium concerts, and throws awesome parties.
Sr. IT Manager (Contractor for U.S. Gov't)* August 10, 2017 at 11:49 am Sr. IT Manager over a large U.S. government data center in the Southeast. I have been in my current position for 6 years, with 17 years experience as a manager, and 28 years experience in my field. Benefits: – Retirement: 401k match up to 4% – Paid Time Off (PTO): 15 days per year – Holidays: The 10 U.S. government holidays. – Healthcare: There are two basic options: the standard healthcare with a low deductible, and the high-deductible health care with a Healthcare Savings Account (HSA). If you take the HSA option, the company will put in certain dollar amounts for getting a physical, filling out a health questionnaire, and walking 7,500 steps every day for a month. They put more money in for those making less than $100K, and less money in for those making over $100K. – Dental insurance – Vision insurance – Life insurance – Pet insurance (really??? Yes, this surprised me) – Legal insurance – Short and long term disability insurance – Education Reimbursement
Community Counsellor (non-profit)* August 10, 2017 at 11:49 am 1. Counsellor seeing clients for up to 12 months at a time, up to once a week. Dealing with any issues from self esteem all the way to escaping abusive situations. (Canadian non-profit). 2. 7 years direct, plus 3 years related 3. I’ve worked at this non-profit for 10 years so I get maximum benefits. Due to low pay we have come up with some extra incentives for staff retention. – paid week off between christmas and new years (separate from vacation time) – 6 weeks vacation (so 7 including the Dec week off). New hires start at 3 weeks. – 18 days sick time – 12 hours of “medical time” – a budget for professional development books and courses/seminars/worskhops – I pay for all medical benefits (because again, non-profit). – I have a pension (although not sure of the details off hand). – flexible hours – I can come in when I want and leave when I want so long as I get my hours in the week. – the trust to use my vacation and sick time when i choose to
Community Counsellor (non-profit)* August 10, 2017 at 11:55 am I forgot a couple of things: – bonus vacation days for years of service (10 year, 1 day off; 15 years, 2 days off; 20 years, 3 days off; 25 years, 4 days off; 30 years, 5 days off). – all stat holidays paid off (Christmas, New Years, Family Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Terry Fox Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day). – OT in kind at 1.5 hours (I work 1 hour OT, I get 1.5 PTO).
Office Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:49 am I’m an office manager for a tiny manufacturing company. My main duties are payroll and all the other bookkeeping, but I have to cover for my two other office co-workers in their jobs whenever they’re absent (for an hour or a day or more), doing things such as scheduling trucks, preparing bills of lading, managing the production schedule, ordering raw materials, etc. I’m in Central Oregon, a weird area that’s fairly rural (largest town has around 100,000 residents now, I think?) but has a high cost of living (popular place to live, tourist destination, etc.). So many employers think they can still pay lower wages than Portland, three hours away, but really, the COL is the same or higher. I have an accounting degree and 16 years of experience at varying levels in the field, plus two more in an unrelated but similarly-minded field. Because it’s a tiny company, I have very few benefits. We used to have medical insurance provided and completely paid by the company, but they stopped providing that and gave us a raise at the time that covered the premium plus taxes on the increased salary, but as health care costs increase, that won’t cover it anymore. No short- or long-term disability or life insurance through the company either, of course. When I originally started, you had to work here for a year before you’d even get one week of vacation/sick (combined), but because of the Oregon Sick Time law, we now have to provide it in the first year as well. So you get one week for the first few years you work here, and I just entered the level of seniority where I’ll get TWO whole weeks of combined sick/vacation time. I came from a job where I was earning five weeks plus had a very flexible schedule, so this has been fairly painful, but since I’m the only one who can run payroll and do many of the other functions, it’s also not that easy to take time off anyway. The company offers a 401(k) plan, but with one of the higher-fee companies, and zero matching (when I started, they told me they did an annual company match based on how well the company did that year, but they actually don’t–the boss didn’t have a clue). So I rolled my 401(k) with my last company over into an IRA still with Fidelity, and just contribute to it there. If I’m not gonna get a match anyway, what’s the point. There’s no remote working or schedule flexibility–we’re open 8-5 and have to be here those hours to greet customers and answer the phones. With only three of us in the office, it’s important to have coverage. We have to schedule our vacations and even lunches around each other, but I can take an hour here and there for doctor’s appointments or whatever, so there’s a tiny bit of flexibility in that regard. The only “interesting” benefit is that I get free or cheap portions of what our company sells, which is a niche product, but one that I use (a little bit, not as much as our typical customers). Sometimes the boss charges me a small amount, other times he’s told me to just take it for free. I do, at least, get paid more than the market rate. My boss likes me, so when he distributes raises, he’s been pretty generous with mine. I haven’t scoped out the going rate lately, but I’d say I’m $10,000-15,000 “overpaid,” which helps pay for the insurance premiums, and helps make up for the lack of paid time (I have taken unpaid time when I didn’t want to dip into the bank for a day here or there), but was able to schedule the time off around my co-workers). It wasn’t what I pictured at this stage of my career, and when I accepted the job because my former company was closing, I figured it’d be short-term until I found something better. But I actually like the day-to-day parts of the work, just not the benefits, but the pay is honestly keeping me back from looking much. Plus the boss is near retirement, so I kinda want to see how that shakes out. It’s likely I could take his place of managing the managers of other areas, and a decent bump in salary, so I’ll likely stick it out at least long enough to see how that shakes out.
Contractor - Administrative Assistant III* August 10, 2017 at 11:49 am Job: Administrative support to two senior people with accessibility needs Bay Area, CA, USA 10-15 years experience in administrative work, some in another job where it’s more “transferable skills” – I’ve been using Mail merge in windows for a very very long time. I make $21 an hour because I asked for a raise from $19 after my first six months. Benefits: The City of Oakland gives sick time for ANYONE, including contractors, who works in the city limits if you work more than 12 hours a week. (THANK YOU OAKLAND) Agency benefits: health insurance I pay for ($2500 deductible a year, so far the only thing the insurance has paid for is a portion of my prescriptions) Vision/Dental (neither are very good) I have no vacation days, no paid time off, I don’t get paid for any holiday. I’m not exempt, but I’m not allowed to take overtime. My job is scheduled to end in the first quarter of 2018, right now. Presumably I’ll start the song and dance of please keep on payroll sometime in 2018 and it might be extended again.
Contractor - Administrative Assistant III* August 10, 2017 at 11:52 am Sorry I included salary. I would say a benefit I don’t have is annual reviews or any scheduled time where raises might happen. No career development, no reviews unless I ask, no raises unless I ask. (Which would be a benefit of a permanent job depending on the company.)
Research Program Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:49 am Job: I manage a research program with about 60 investigators and staff at an academic medical center. Location: New England Experience: 10 years in this department (increasing title/responsibilities over time) with another 6 prior to this. Benefits: 20 days vacation (started at 15, increased at 5 years but won’t go up again until 20 yrs), 10 holidays + 1 floating holiday, 10 sick days (we can sell back unused sick time each year – win!). My employer contributes 3% to a pension plan, and we have a 403-B available (but no match). It’s a hospital, so the health and dental insurance rocks and we pay a very small percentage of the premium.
Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist* August 10, 2017 at 11:49 am your job (the more descriptive the better, since job titles don’t always explain level of responsibility or scope of work) your geographic area your years of experience a description of your benefits — how much vacation and sick leave you get, retirement matching, what portion of your health insurance premium your employer pays for you, and any other interesting benefits you might get I’m a cognitive behavioural psychotherapist working for the government’s national health service in the UK. I hold a caseload of around 25 patients at any one time, and see them weekly for hour-long sessions. I average around four or five sessions per day. I assess people, plan their treatment, and then see them for 3-5 months, delivering evidence based interventions for common mental health problems such as depression and various anxiety disorders. My day involves seeing my clients, attending supervision for my work, team meetings once per month, writing up case notes, liaising with patients, accepting and registering referrals, and occasionally running groups. I just qualified. Prior to this I worked for the same organisation for two years delivering a slightly less complex form of CBT, seeing patients for only six sessions rather than 15-20 and with a more limited scope of interventions. Prior to that, I worked in prisons as a drugs counsellor and prior to that I completed my MA to become a licensed social worker. I also have ten years experience volunteering for a suicide crisis line and a couple of years experience volunteering in prison rehabs. My qualification involved a one year postgrad full time course that I just finished. I work in the North of England, but my pay is the same as anywhere else other than London (London weighting). The beauty of the NHS is that the pay is transparent, I’m on a band 7 salary which begins around £32000 and increases to £40000+ over a number of years. I get paid the same as any other CBT therapist working for the NHS. I get 29 days vacation to take, and paid leave for all eight UK bank holidays. Our sick leave is flexible: in my third year of service now, I’m entitled to four months of full pay and four months of half pay. I trigger a meeting with my manager if I’m off sick for more than two episodes in a four month period, or more than five episodes in a twelve month period. An episode in my organisation is considered to be any continuous length of time, so if you’re out for a half day that’s seen the same as being out for six weeks as long as you were out solidly that whole six weeks. Once you hit the trigger, you have to meet with your manager to discuss your health and see if there’s anything they can do to support you to reduce your sickness absences. Not sure about my pension. I pay into it! I don’t know what they contribute. I get free healthcare from the government already so my job doesn’t have any relation to that. A particular benefit I love is our lease car policy, I lease a car for a three year period from my organisation which means a brand new car with all insurance, tax, repairs and servicing included for one monthly payment that comes straight outta your salary before you receive it. It’s so helpful to have a reliable car and takes away the stress of owning one. Another benefit I love is flexible working. I can set my clinics up how I like them mostly (I prefer seeing people in the mornings if possible), but other than needing to be there for patients I can come in when I like and leave when I like. I have a work laptop so I can work from home but there’s zero expectation that you’ll do that. Nobody stays late past 5pm. My hours are generally 9 or 10 until 4 or 5 but I can flex them however I want and nobody monitors it. Another major benefit is on the job training… when I joined the company I was doing one job, but they offered for me to go through this postgrad training course which they paid for, worth probably around £7k. On top of that they gave me a payrise while training and a further rise once qualified. So in the space of one year they gave me a £10k payrise, paid for my training and enabled me to do some serious professional development. The NHS gets a lot of flack in the press for being a terrible place to work, but from my own perspective in the trust I’m in doing the job I do, I’ve never had it so good. I adore my job, I love my colleagues, I love the wage, I love the freedom. It’s the best job I’ve ever had.
Mechanical Systems Engineer* August 10, 2017 at 11:49 am 1. Job: I am a mechanical systems engineer for satellites. I work on a variety of different parts of that: proposals and initial designs, detailed CAD work, schedules and costs, test planning, documentation writing, parts ordering and tracking. 2. Location: Greater Washington, DC 3. Experience: 10 years experience in related roles at 4 different companies 4. Benefits: 19 days PTO (for vacation and sick) and 10 holidays, High Deductible insurance with $1000 HSA contribution from the company, 4% 401(k) match, EAP, 1x salary life insurace and 3x salary ADD, options for other insurance types subsidized (short term disability, vision, dental), tuition assistance up to $5,250 per year. Benefits are pretty par for the course for my industry. I’m currently a contractor but when I’ve been a direct employee, I’ve gotten 1% better match on the 401(k) and a few other benefits that come with working at the company I work for (free coffee, gym, parking).
Recruiter* August 10, 2017 at 11:49 am Corporate recruiting through RPO. National company, but I’m based in the PNW. 3 years experience – 3 weeks’ vacation -M/D/V, premium is about $30, but the company does have a $0 premium option. Deductible is about $2500. -4% match for 401(k) -Stock purchase at 25% discount after 6 months service -My favorite: 12 weeks paid paternal/maternal leave for birth or adoption. Only available after 1 year of service and must be taken within 1 year of birth/adoption, but doesn’t need to be 12 consecutive weeks. -Office is closed the week between Christmas and New Years
Database Administrator* August 10, 2017 at 11:50 am Oracle and MySQL Database Administrator in near-public sector, Germany. 10 years of experience, but benefits are equal for every employee from day one. 30 days vacation. (Monthly salary, so vacation and public holidays are paid.) Sick days as needed (full pay to 26 weeks per illness, doctor’s note required after 3 days per illness) Employer pays about 50% of social insurance (consists of health, nursing, unemployment, old age), total is about 20% of gross income. No retirement matching, but additional subsidized old age pension kicking in after 5 years of employment (remains valid after leaving the job. I’ve got a second one from a previous employer.) A few smaller things e.g. subsidized public transport, company gas station, gym membership, wellness subsidies.
Receptionist - Big Law* August 10, 2017 at 11:50 am Receptionist / Administrative Coordinator – small satelitte office for a global big law firm Large Midwestern city 2 years post grad 4 weeks PTO, 6% 401K matching. I don’t remember the details of my health and dental coverage but the premiums are reasonable and it’s the best benefits package I’ve had. We have most major US holidays off and covered. There’s a gym in our tower with a small locker room, which I love because I commute into work by bike and it allows me to shower and store my sweaty clothes away from my desk. We have fresh fruit delivered weekly and unlimited soda (Apricot LaCroix for days!). Every Thursday we host a small happy hour gathering in our kitchen with snacks and drinks. We have season tickets to a number of professional sports teams in town, and anytime they aren’t in use we raffle them off among the staff.
Operations Manager (Broadcasting)* August 10, 2017 at 11:50 am – I handle inter-departmental coordination between all of our station’s different departments (news, technical, production, sales, etc), coordinate live remote specials & studio productions, manage a department of 11 people & direct newscasts; – Mid-sized Midwest television market; – 22 years of experience; – Vacation: 5 weeks; Sick time: 5 days; Personal days: 2 days; Retirement: I have a pension that the company contributes to on my behalf + a 401(k) that they match up to 3% (for people who started after the pension cut-off, they get a higher 401(k) match; Health benefits: our premiums are pegged to salary bands, but for a single person it’s about 80/20; The days of TV swag are over in our market, so I get nothing else exciting.
School Librarian* August 10, 2017 at 11:51 am Library Director, Private School Pennsylvania 4 years Vacation & sick leave- no set days but I am expected to be at school when the kids are here. Retirement Matching – if I contribute 3%, they contribute 10% of my salary Health insurance – they pay 70% of the premium, and give a small contribution to my HSA to offset the high deductible
Associate - Corporate Tax Specialty* August 10, 2017 at 11:51 am Tax Accountant Midwest 2 years 5 weeks combined PTO (additional can be approved in certain situations, just as medical emergencies), additional week off in December Standard 401K + matching of 5k Choice of three health insurance plans Free 50K Life insurance + optional spouse or dependent life insurance Disability insurance EHE (free preventative health care, dietitian, etc) Optional vision, dental, day care FSA, legal insurance, EAP additional life insurance Year end bonus – average of 5% Additional smaller bonuses throughout the year on on a project basis – I got 2k this year Free dinner Mon -thurs six months out of the year. + so many free lunches and all the snacks
Web Developer* August 10, 2017 at 11:51 am Job: mid-level web apps developer with one of the big banks. I work on internal-facing apps that help other departments do their daily work. On this team we all have a lot of autonomy to lead the projects that we “own” and my boss is fairly hands-off unless we ask for him to get more involved (which I prefer in a manager!). Location: Iowa Experience: 6-7 years in web development, 4.5 of that with my current employer; plus a few years as a tech writer before I changed career paths Benefits: 23 days PTO (combined vacation and sick), 8 paid holidays. Not sure what the percentage paid/company’s cost on health insurance is, but I only pay about $55/month for coverage on just myself on an HRA-type plan. Company also puts $600 into the HRA each year at my pay grade. Full dollar-for-dollar match on 401k up to 6%, plus a small profit sharing amount each year. Most of the company is generous with remote work flexibility, manager depending; I’m 100% remote. There’s also now a 16-week paid maternity/paternity leave benefit, paid at 100% of salary; if both parents work with the company, the second parent also gets four weeks of paid leave.
Safety Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 11:51 am Job Description: Officially it’s safety coordinator but safety manager also works. I handle all safety related matters including assigning tasks, implementing controls and safety training. I update or develop new programs as needed and maintain all safety equipment. I have my safety auditing license and may be called on to audit other companies in addition to my own. I am responsible for maintaining COR certification, knowing the Code, Regulation and Act and advising upper management about any changes we need to make to comply. Location: Western Canada Experience: Three years experience specifically with safety. Many more years related paperwork and government regulation wrangling experience. PTO: 6 paid sick days, 10 paid vacation days. After five years, I get 15 vacation days. I do have the option to roll vacation days into the next year if I want extra time. Benefits: Drug/dental plan covers 80% of most basic stuff and the cost is covered by the company. There is a small life insurance policy. There’s an RRSP program where they match a percentage of your contributions. Come tax time, everyone who is part of the program gets a bonus which is added directly into the RRSP pre-tax. The rest get cheques for the bonus amount that are taxed. At Christmas we also get yearly bonuses based on how well the company is doing and length of time employed. The government takes a 30-40% bite out of cash bonuses so we usually get gift cards also.
Safety Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 12:01 pm Oh, and acronyms. I feel like this should be something you could list on a resume as an achievement, you know? “Knows industry related acronyms: COR, NACE, JSA, HAT, ITP, MTR, CRN, BOM. Let me tell you about how everyone who is trained by me is an ASS!”
Education Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 11:52 am Education Coordinator – Informal environmental education programs for K-12 and adults. Program planning, teaching, training & supervising a team of educators. Puget Sound, WA 3 years experience + BS degree Vacation – 10 paid days/year 1st year, 15 paid days/year 2nd year – 5th year. Plus 3 paid “personal days” per year Sick Leave – 12 paid days accrued/year, accrue up to 8 weeks Insurance – Health & Dental, employer pays 90%, employee pays %10 pre-tax Retirement – there’s a 401k, but the employer does not match contributions. All full-time staff where I work receive these benefits. We also have flexible schedules- as long as work is done and everyone is on time and prepared for programs. Working from home happens, though we don’t have a policy for how often is acceptable. This is my first full time permanent position and I’m pretty satisfied with what I’ve got.
Development Services Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 11:52 am I manage all “back room” aspects of development (database management, reports, prospect management, strategy, donor stewardship, etc etc.) at an independent K-12 school in a largish city in the South. I have over fifteen years of experience in this field, primarily in higher education before moving to independent schools five years ago. My benefits are amazing and a large reason retention here is very high. Seriously, I know how fortunate I am. 4 weeks of paid vacation a year plus most holidays (MLK Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day). School breaks (2 days for Fall Break, 3 days for Thanksgiving Break, 2 weeks for Winter Break, 1 week for Spring Break). I am a 12 month employee so I do have to work in the summer. 1 sick day a month that accrues up to a maximum of 60 days. 2 personal days. Retirement matching up to 5% of my salary. Health, dental, vision insurance. It’s very affordable for just me but pretty costly if I were to cover my own family (think $20/month for individual health insurance but closer to $800 for family coverage). It’s an HDHP though so if you have ongoing medical needs, the out of pocket costs are pretty high. HSA to which the employer contributes something like $200/month. Standard group coverage for long-term disability & AD&D. Optional short-term disability and supplemental life insurance. Most of my benefits were comparable when I worked in higher ed, but we did not receive as many holidays or school breaks off. We used to have summer hours here but they stopped doing that a few years ago.
Admin Ass't Intermediate* August 10, 2017 at 11:52 am I work in Michigan at a Big 10 university, this is my 10th year in this position. I’ve been doing office admin work all my life, just different fields. As a 10 year employee I now receive 24 vacation days, standard holidays plus the week between Christmas and NYE off, 15 sick days and a 2-to-1 match into my retirement – up to 10% of my salary! We get reasonable priced medical (lots of plans to chose from), dental, optical, standard life, plus extra life insurance available, short and long term disability, legal fund, and standard FMLA benefits. The only thing I’d like to see is a benefit if our children were to attend this school (we get nothing for them), but individual depts. can approve to reimburse you up to 75% for undergrad, or 50% for grad courses plus give you three hours off a week to attend classes! Being involved in such a large campus gives me free or reduced price access to most sporting events, museums, theater, etc.
Production Control Specialist* August 10, 2017 at 11:53 am -Jack-of-all-trades for a manufacturer. I do some scheduling, some long-term forecasting; I also handle some Bills of Material and Design Changes and other related activities for new models. -Southeast US -6 years industry/company, 5 years current position -we get 2 paid weeks a year when the plant shuts down for maintenance; these always line up over the Fourth of July and Christmas. We also start with 5 days of paid vacation for each year plus one add’l day for each year you’ve been there, so for example: next year will be my seventh year and I’ll get 11 days. -We get 2 days of unpaid sick leave a year; if you don’t use them you get a pay out at the end of the year -We get 3% matching on 401K -Our insurance coverage is fantastic; a co-worker had a baby last year and I think she only paid $100 out of pocket the entire pregnancy. Insurance also includes vision/dental. I won’t bother going into the details but insurance premiums are about $32/month for individuals, about $80/month for families. Company covers the rest.
Production Control Specialist* August 10, 2017 at 12:06 pm Forgot to add: Company has negotiated discounts for homeowner’s insurance and cell service providers as well as the local gym. Also, because we’re an automotive supplier, we get discounts on the maker’s vehicles at the nearby dealership. We also get cash bonuses before the holidays every year based on length of service.
Lab Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:53 am Deep South, rural, salaries are low outside metro areas. Started w/~4 years experience, been here 5 years, which makes a difference for vacation time…. 32 hours personal time/year 10 hrs vacation time accrues/ month 8 hrs sick time accrues/month (It was 8 hours/ month until I hit the five year mark) Since I am child free & on spouse’s medical insurance my work pays 100% of my dental & vision. I use the vision, which is ok. I’ve never used the dental but I hear it isn’t great. Not sure on the retirement. I am quite young, my state is shady, and I don’t expect to live to retirement age due to a chronic illness. Even if I do, my student loans are so huge I can’tell save anything and wouldn’t be able to retire anyway. As such I consider everything they take out of my gross pay as money I’ll never see again. I think I contribute 3%. Not sure how much they match. Additionally, we have a nice on site gym that we are encouraged to use and I have a tuition benefit for myself or nuclear family members.
Administrative Assistant (University)* August 10, 2017 at 11:53 am -Admin for research institute at state university -Denver -2 here, 5 working -Vacation and sick leave accrued separately, currently accrue 8 hours vacation each month, and 6.6 hours sick each month (this would increase if I got a raise). -Retirement matching only goes for pension, which I am forced to contribute 7%. If I leave, I can take what I put in with me, but get none of the growth or matching. -I pay $38.78 a month for medical and dental (employer pays $540.32), $6.18 for vision. For medical: $30 doctor co-pay, $40 specialist/urgent care co-pay, $150 emergency room co-pay, and only a $250 deductible. I have to stay within the University health system, which means trekking to the other side of the city to see specialists at their hospital (I work on a different campus), very little out-of-network coverage. -I get some life insurance, disability insurance, and tuition reimbursement (9 credits an academic year, no fees covered).
Fellow (postdoc in government)* August 10, 2017 at 11:53 am I’m a postdoc doing grant-funded work in a federal agency. I completed my PhD 2 years ago and started this postdoc 1 year ago. I’m located in the DC area. Benefits I get: +13 days vacation and 13 days sick leave +Generous time to pursue training +$1500/year for professional development costs Benefits I don’t get: -Retirement matching or any kind of employer-sponsored retirement account -Employer paid health insurance – I get a fixed stipend to purchase it on the federal exchange, which covers about 60% of my current family premium, but I’m pretty concerned about the future of the individual markets as a result. -Accrued seniority for increased vacation – I get the same amount as an entry level employee but my time here doesn’t “count,” so if I got hired on permanently I’d have to start the clock over, whereas others would get 50% more after 2 years -An easy time doing taxes – based on the specifics of my funding, I have to file as though I’m self-employed, though in my working conditions I am treated as an employee I’m pretty happy with my salary, but postdocs really are in a bad spot where benefits are concerned. It’s considered a “training” position, so lots of places don’t classify postdocs as employees or give them any benefits, and some postdoc salaries (under grants where you have to file it as “miscellaneous income” instead of self-employed or W-2) don’t even count as “earned income” for IRA contributions, the child care tax credit, or social security. But most postdocs are in their late 20s through early 40s, when it doesn’t matter if the job is “temporary” or “training,” we all need to be thinking about retirement savings and maybe not putting off starting families. This is your PSA for today….
Postdoctoral Fellow* August 10, 2017 at 12:49 pm Hi, I’m the “Postdoctoral Fellow” from a previous comment. I’m at a public university, not government, but I didn’t think we were supposed to file as self employed (there’s an extra ~7.5% tax associated with that, yes?). I’ve always listed my fellowship stipend under “Wages, salaries, tips” with the “SCH” designation based on IRS Tax Topic 421 – Scholarships, Fellowship Grants, and Other Grants.
Fellow (postdoc in government)* August 10, 2017 at 5:51 pm It varies according to how you are paid. If it’s paid directly to you as a grant, then it’s as you do and it’s not considered earned income. If it’s through your university or a PI, you may be paid as a W-2 employee. Due to the way my funding source and government agency work, which I don’t want to get into details of here, i get paid as an independent contractor, so I do have to pay the higher self employment tax. So yeah, it can work multiple ways, and my academic spouse and I have been paid in all three I listed above between the two of us! It is definitely important to spend some time looking at IRS guidance to verify where you fall, since postdocs can fall between the cracks of “normal” employment.
Program Manager* August 10, 2017 at 11:54 am Job: I manage adult education programs at a private university — faculty affairs, course scheduling and assessments, student recruitment/community engagement Location: Virginia but not DC Experience: 10 years in the workforce; 8 years at current employer; less than a year in this role Benefits: 14 paid holidays; 12 sick days; new employees get 12 vacation days and earn more with seniority (I’m currently at 15; next year I’ll bump up to 18); 1-2 personal days depending on how the calendar falls; –403(b) with 5% automatic from employer and up to 5% matching on top –multiple health care options (I personally use the HDHP which is no cost to me and I get a small stipend to my HSA annually) –tuition benefits for yourself and dependents (I got a free graduate degree) –discounts on sports and cultural events at the university. If I had kids I’d appreciate more of the benefits more but they’re pretty great. The salary, not so much…
o-Nay ame-Nay* August 10, 2017 at 11:54 am Minimum wage earner my whole life, in USA. Benefits: NOPE, NONE, and NEVER
Event Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 11:54 am Job: Event coordinator (plus misc. other duties) for a large master’s program at a medium-sized university Area: Washington DC Years of experience: 3ish, plus work while in school Everyone at the university receives roughly the same benefits: – 16 paid personal days (sick/vacation are all in the same bucket) plus 1 additional day for each year you’re there; these accrue over time and roll over year-to-year – 16 paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s – Tuition benefits (once you’ve been there a year)–full tuition (minus taxes, for most grad studies) at any program in the university for you or a child, up to the full price of an undergrad degree (which is $$$); once you’ve been there 3 years you can apply this to any university, though with a lower cap – Generous retirement match: I pay 3% of my paycheck into my retirement fund; the university contributes 10%. (If you pay less than 3%, they do too, but still more than you do) Not sure how much of the insurance package they pay, since I have it through another source. There are also miscellaneous other things that not everyone takes advantage of, like professional development sessions and a telework policy (which is completely up to your supervisor–mine lets us use it when we need to, but I rarely do).
HR Admin at a Big University* August 10, 2017 at 11:54 am Descr: HR point person for faculty Location: New York Exp: 2.5 years of experience (1 year at this job) Benefits: PTO: 22 vacation days, 2 personal days, and 20 sick days. 9 holidays plus the last week in December off. Retirement: 5% automatic, then up to 5% more if you put in 5%. Health: contribution varies based on salary tier. The cheapest option for the lowest salary tier is about $15/month. Other Perks: Tuition remission, tuition assistance for my children’s education, wellness program with free classes, school ID gets you in most major museums in the area for free, etc.
HR Admin at a Big University* August 10, 2017 at 12:03 pm Forgot to mention 6 weeks paid parental leave! Honestly, I’m sure there’s tons of other benefits that I’m forgetting; we have awesome benefits!
Software Developer II* August 10, 2017 at 11:54 am Software Developer II (so, mid-level, no management responsibilities) Cincinnati, Ohio About 5 years with current company (just over 5 if you count the time I was on contract, just under if you count the time I’ve been directly employed) Leave: – 10 paid holidays (7 defined by the company, 3 floating – Canadian employees have 10 defined holidays and none floating), available from January 1 – 10 paid vacation days, accrues by pay period, no rollover (one exception described below) – sick time accrues by pay period, but 120 hours can roll over into the next year – 3 days bereavement leave for immediate family members (including step and inlaws) – 1 day bereavement leave for extended family members (including step and inlaws) – Additional bereavement leave at manager’s discretion Retirement Matching: – 75% match up to 6% of your annual salary for 0 – 5 years of service – 100% match up to 6% for 6 – 10 years of service – 125% match for more than 10 years of service I don’t remember what proportion of our health insurance is paid by the company. They offer 3 tiers of health insurance plans, and recently swapped in a high deductible plan in place of the previous basic plan. We got a lot of marketing documents about how great the high deductible plan was – a lot of people in my office jumped up to the mid tier plan instead (out of pocket prescriptions are expensive). More on Leave: – On my 5-year anniversary date, my accrual rate for vacation will go up, so next year I’ll get 3 weeks of paid vacation – Because of how late in the year that falls, this year I get a whopping extra half day – Employees with at least 10 years of service get 4 weeks of paid vacation, and 20 years get 5 weeks – Managers generally have one more week of vacation than non-managers with equivalent tenure – During your first 90 days of employment, you accrue vacation, but can’t use any. Therefore, if your anniversary date is within the last 90 days of the year, that accrued time will roll over into the next year. The latest version of our handbook spelled this out explicitly (the previous version didn’t). I’m not sure how time off for jury duty works, but we do have a code for it in the timekeeping system. As an exempt employee, I only need to use the system to enter in my vacation, sick time, holidays, bereavement, etc. (I shouldn’t have to enter my 7 defined holidays, but the person setting up the system configured our office wrong. I usually put in the requests for all 7 days during the week between Christmas and New Year’s.)
Administrative Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 11:55 am role: provide administrative support across a range of functions for one region of the services directorate of a national charity (includes volunteer management, accounts reconciliation, external communications and more) – southern UK – 3 years’ experience – 28 days paid annual leave, plus 8 bank holidays – unlimited sick leave within reason – no private health insurance provided – 1% retirement match (sob) This is not strictly speaking a benefit but it does affect my quality of life – my hours are 9-5 with a one hour lunch break, and I’m not expected/pressured to work more than that.
Senior QA* August 10, 2017 at 11:56 am Job: Quality assurance analyst for software company. Area: Mountain West Experience: 5 years Benefits: Vacation and sick leave are both under single bucket PTO. Starts at 17 days of PTO and increases at certain tenure markers 401K matching up to 6% Employer pays 80% of premium for health and dental insurance with participation in wellness program, 75% if not participating, no vision insurance short term and long term disability plan, company paid life insurance, 2 weeks paid parental leave On-site gym and sand volleyball court
Closed Captioner* August 10, 2017 at 11:56 am I transcribe captions for TV shows. Pennsylvania. 7 years. ~38k Pretty generous vacation time. I think they start at 2 weeks. I have 4 now. 5 days of sick time. It’s just impossible to take any of the PTO, no matter how far in advance you schedule it. Even if you’ve got the flu, the supervisors want you to come in and work anyway. (Or “call back in a couple of hours with an update to how you’re feeling.” Ugh.) Retirement: No idea. I stopped using it when it was just a 1% match. Health/Vision/Dental: Stupidly expensive premium, high deductibles. I’m single, and I can’t imagine how anyone with a family can afford our plans.
Admin/Development Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 11:56 am Job Description: The admin assistant to a small (just over $1 mil operating budget with less than 10 staff members) nonprofit’s Executive Director and Development Director. Act as their assistant in fundraising and corporate matters, as content creator for our website/mailings/reports (so a lot of writing, editing, and basic graphic creation) and also as office manager (liaison for our IT company, database admin, trained to cover any staff that are out, general question-answerer). Area: Mid/Southwest US Years of Experience: Been a nonprofit admin for 5 years, with two different orgs Benefits: – 10 paid vacation days (plus 7 paid US holidays), 6 personal days (sick days and time off for appointments are included in this) – Will match up to 3% in a 401k – Employer pays 100% of my insurance premiums (health, vision, dental), but for any dependents I pay their premiums out of pocket. Employer also pays 100% for life & AD&D insurance. I do get overtime pay, which is nice, and my employer is very good about staff development and sending us for training/conferences.
Software Validation Engineer* August 10, 2017 at 11:58 am Job: Software Validation Engineer aka Software Engineer in Test for a large defense contractor Area: Greater Boston metro Experience: Just over 1 year; first post-college job (B.S. in STEM) Benefits: – 3 weeks PTO (bumps up at the 5 year mark) and 12 paid holidays per year – pays 70% of medical insurance premium + contribution to HSA, 80% of dental premium, 70% of vision premium – $50,000 life insurance policy and short-term disability at no cost to me – Matches up to 3% of 401k, standard and/or Roth – EAPs, employee discount program, flextime, adoption assistance program, transportation benefits for commuters, discounted online graduate programs with certain universities, and others
Academic Program Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 11:59 am I provide student services and program management for a graduate program at a large state university in the midwest. 6 years of experience 4 weeks vacation as well as major holidays, 2 weeks sick time. Health insurance, life insurance, dental insurance ( I pay $70 a month) Matching 401K up to 3 % Tuition Assistance for myself and immediate family (7 credit hours undergrad 3 credit hours graduate per semester)
Ghost Town* August 10, 2017 at 10:35 pm We’re very similar in job scope, location, and benefits! I’m “Student services, big 10 uni” above, under Student Services.
Data Architect* August 10, 2017 at 11:59 am Job – I am an information architect for a large UK infrastructure project – I (try to) ensure that our data quality is good, that all our IT systems can communicate with each other easily, and that the business units have the necessary information to do their jobs properly and make informed decisions. Location – Birmingham, UK Experience – almost 20 years experience in IT, with about 13 as an IT architect of various guises (data, information, application, solution) for 7 different companies (5 as an architect). Benefits – 25 days holiday annually, with the ability to purchase another 5, private health insurance (which I don’t use, but I do get taxed on), a defined contribution salary sacrifice pension scheme where I pay 6% and my employer pays 12%, flexible working times, remote working ability, full pay for 1 month of sickness (I think this goes up with service, but I’ve not been here a year yet), subsidised gym membership, an EAP helpline, 6 months paid maternity cover, free tea and coffee in the office, good work-life balance.
Higher Ed Business Systems Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 11:59 am I support various university departments in understanding our ERP software, retooling existing processes or creating new processes to take better advantage of the software, and developing reporting solutions. I also handle the SQL coding for advanced legal or compliance reporting (we have an SQL report writer who writes basic reports based on my direction). Location: mid sized Pacific Northwest university Experience: 3.5 years, 2 at this employer Salary: $57,000 Benefits: Retirement: 15% of annual salary in pension plan, fully vested after 5 years 403B plan option, no matching Health Insurance: Three health plans are offered: a basic HMO plan, a deluxe HMO plan, and a non-HMO plan. The university pays for 90% of the cost of the basic HMO plan, including all family members), regardless of what tier of coverage you enroll in. Time Off: 11 official holidays 20 days a year of paid time off (a single bank for vacation and sick time) Increases by 1 day per year of service to a maximum of 30 days per year Various university declared bonus days (for example, we are getting August 21st and 22nd off for the eclipse, and we will be closed starting on December 22nd and reopening January 2nd, although this period includes 4 days of our 11 official holidays) Other Benefits: Free undergraduate tuition for employee, spouse, and dependent children 40% discount on graduate tuition for employee Paid disability and life insurance Public transit subsidies No interest financing on personal computers, software, and peripherals Employment qualifies for the public service loan forgiveness program, assuming that program isn’t cut
Banker* August 10, 2017 at 11:59 am I used a generic title because these benefits apply to all employees our company. -Regional commercial bank, Southeast US -27 years of experience (same company) -25 days vacation -sick leave is complicated; 5 days for any reason, 25 *weeks* paid for short term disability (concurrent with FMLA). The disability leave is a combination of 100% and 60% pay depending on length of service. (After 5 years, it is 8 weeks at 100% pay) – One paid day off per year to volunteer, one paid day off per year to focus on personal finance. -Approximately 50% of health insurance paid, I think. -401(k) match up to 6% -Free bank accounts, free checks
Banker* August 10, 2017 at 12:07 pm Forgot- there are two free medical clinics at our largest offices.
Bank Teller* August 10, 2017 at 12:29 pm Sounds suspiciously like my bank. All of the above, except I have 15 days of vacation with 11 years experience. And all 10 federal holidays off, and tuition reimbursement. Also, 10 weeks maternity leave for mothers who have given birth, and 6 months parental leave for any new parent (16 weeks total for those who give birth). Additionally, my bank has been encouraging employees to be financially healthy by putting together a program and rewarding those who complete it with a small bonus.
Technical Writer* August 10, 2017 at 11:59 am ◾Technical writer for a small software company: specifically, user-facing documentation. ◾Vancouver, BC, Canada ◾10 years experience ◾Fifteen vacation days (goes up to twenty at five years tenure!); six days sick time; provincially-mandated holidays. ◾No retirement matching ◾Secondary health insurance premiums paid; in BC there’s an additional premium for the provincial Medical Services Plan, which they do /not/ pay. ◾Um… they provide lunch on Mondays and Wednesdays? ◾It’s kinda terrible tbh and I’ve been casually looking for something else for about five months
HR Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 11:59 am HR Coordinator *Everything HR related for our medium sized staffing company (I’m an HR department of 1) *SF Bay Area *5 years of experience Time Off: *3 weeks’ PTO per year, 4 weeks once you’ve worked at the company for 3+ years. *10 Company Paid Holidays Health Benefits: *Company contributes 80% to our employee premium and 50% to any dependent premiums for medical, dental and vision. *Company also pays 100% of the premium for short term disability insurance *401k available after 1 year of employment but no employer match Other benefits: *Free food in the office as well as catered breakfast once a week and usually a catered lunch every couple of weeks *“Summer Fridays” all year round! AKA we get to leave by 3:30pm *Quarterly Company Events – Company sponsors an even each quarter to celebrate the end of the quarter. Past events have been white water rafting, box at local baseball game, bowling etc. *$20/ month contribution to health club memberships
HR Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 12:04 pm Not sure how I forgot this since I’m due in December but we also get 12 weeks of fully paid maternity leave! Must be my pregnancy brain lol
Financial Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 12:00 pm Financial/investment analyst in small field (not a stock analyst or investment adviser) Memphis, TN Five years of experience * Vacation: Three weeks/15 days of vacation. No pay out of unused vacation time. Resets based on hire date, so people aren’t all trying to burn days at the end of the year. Limited ability to take 4th quarter vacation, but long weekends and some holidays travel is okay. I can’t take two weeks at Christmas, but I can go home for it, which some of my colleagues in big cities can’t do. I won’t get anymore vacation time until I hit my 10-year mark *Holidays: seven set holidays, plus two floating holidays. *Sick Time:Unlimited sick time (usable for appointments, but most people flex their hours slightly rather than take sick time for doctors, dentists, etc.). No pay out of sick time. *401-k, Roth 401-k, no matching *ESOP *Health Insurance: Employer offers two health plan options – High deductible (Employer pays 100% of premium and offers HSA match up to $200/year), “Low” Deductible (Employer pays 75%? – not sure, this plan is very expensive and its difference in deductible between the two plans is really only worth it for families) *Dental – Premium paid 100%. It covers cleaning and x-rays 100%. Flouride for adults is $20, and it pays like 50% of extra visits. I haven’t had any serious work done, so I don’t actually know everything its covers *Vision – Premium paid 100%. Never used. *Life and Disability – Premium paid 100%. Never used, coverage is minimal from what I understand *Some ability to work from home – not routinely, but if the plumber is coming or whatever, you can work from home rather than take time *Food – Kitchen stocked with junk & snack food, some freezer & shelf stable food, fruit gotten 2x/week, chocolate drawer *Phone – Once you hit a certain title, the company provides you with a work smart phone (you can pick from a list which type you want). Plan w/unlimited data is paid 100% by company, and there are no limits on personal use. Most people cancel their private lines or port their personal number over to the work phone. *Personal Perk – I can come in late and stay late one day a week in order to attend a training session that is much easier in daylight & cooler hours. I negotiated this one year when they were doing minimal/no raises. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but the ability to train in daylight during the winter is worth $$ to me.
Certification Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:01 pm I work at an association management company where I focus on the certification lifecycle for credentialing clients. The role is mainly strategic and very client-facing volunteer/committee work. – Washington, DC – 7 years experience – 20 days leave (vacation and sick in one pot), plus 10 federal holidays – 10% 401k match! – employer pays 40% of health insurance premium – disability leave in lieu of real maternity leave :-(
Certification Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 1:43 pm I work for an association that offers certification. I focus mainly on the the process involved for our credential holders after they have become certified. -Washington DC – 3 years experience -21 vacation days, 14 sick days accrued yearly, 1 “floating holiday” and standard Fed holidays. I think we can roll over as much of the vacation and sick as we want to the following year. – High 401k match…I forget exactly what the % is, but it’s uncharacteristically high for an association – Employer pays 80% of health insurance premium. Standard vision and dental included. -Free parking -Flex time offered in the summer -Gym membership reimbursement up to $30/month
Project manager / grant writer* August 10, 2017 at 12:01 pm Vancouver, Canada 16 years post-PhD experience, 10 years experience in this specific role Vacation: we start at 20 days, and after five years with the organization we start to accrue an additional day per year. This maxes out at 35 days. Vacation is use-it-or-lose-it. In some roles (including mine) we can take up to 5 additional days to compensate for having to work weekends or holidays Sick: 10 days, which roll over if you don’t use them. I haven’t had to use personal/bereavement days or longer term disability leave yet, but we do have them An independent financial adviser told me that our pension is one of the best public-sector plans in Canada (it’s a huge employer – the biggest in the province, I think). We also have some basic life insurance but it’s not much. In Canada so basic healthcare is covered, but we also have extended health that covers things like prescriptions, dental, massage/physio, vision care (although this is very limited – our annual maximum doesn’t even cover my contact lens solution costs), semi-private rooms in hospitals etc. Plus a bunch of stuff I haven’t used like acupuncture and the like.
System administrator* August 10, 2017 at 12:01 pm Job: manage day to day operations of a health record system (emr) . Manage and lead all projects related to emr. Provide ad hoc financial support as related to emr. Provide technical support to all clinicians regarding emr. Manage all hardware interacting or dependent on emr. Develop custom reporting (think SQL and excel VBA) and automate as much as possible. Region: Midwest us; suburban Years exp: 7 Benefits: PTO of 3 weeks yr 1. 4 weeks yr 2-3. No sick time – pto required. No holidays – pto required. Caps out at 6 weeks. Leadership and execs on different schedules. Extended sick leave accrues at 1 hour every 2 weeks. Can only use for yourself and not for family care. 2% 401k match if you also put in 2%. Employer pays 92% of healh premiums but ONLY if you earn enough points in their convoluted strict wellness programs. Apparently the reduction in what they pay is significant. Other small benefits like small adoption and tuition reimbursement. Very small amount though compared to actual costs.
Lia* August 10, 2017 at 12:01 pm Higher Education Analyst for a large public university Mid Atlantic 20 vacation days and 20 sick days, earned at 1.75 days/month each. We can carry a total of 40 vacation and 200 sick days at the end of the calendar year We also get a number of paid holidays (11) annually. 401K match Employer pays 75% of employee cost in health insurance and 50% of the family cost. Dental and vision are covered for employee, spouse, and dependents to age 18 (21 if enrolled in college FT). We are union and 1% of our salary goes to union dues, with no opt-out. No parental or paid leave other than what you get in your vacation/sick time. we do have a sick leave bank that people can donate to or use for long-term illnesses (maternity/paternity leave is specifically exempted from participation in the bank). With my health insurance, I also get $250/yr of benefits that I can use for gym memberships, nutrition counseling, massage, or related things.
Healthcare Valet Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:01 pm I manage 50 valets for downtown hospital in the Midwest. 5 Years Two and a half weeks vacation 6 sick days 7 paid holidays Insurance: Pretty good, I think? Like $140/month. High deductible, but like $35/mo get put into your HSA. Retirement: 25% match on the first 4%. So put in 4% and they’ll add a whole extra 1%.
Environmental Technician* August 10, 2017 at 12:02 pm Job: Phase I & II environmental investigations, tank closures, soil/groundwater sampling Area: Connecticut Experience: Just over 1.5 years Benefits: Vacation and sick leave come out of the same “bucket” and I get 13 days per year, which don’t get carried over to the next year but unused days get paid out in December. We also get 5 paid holidays off and I believe 3 days bereavement leave for immediate family. I don’t use the company health insurance but it’s a health savings account. Retirement plans don’t kick in until 2 years of full-time work at the company (I only have ~8 months) so I’m also unclear on the details of those. We theoretically get tuition reimbursement for company-approved courses but I don’t know of anyone who’s used that benefit.
Senior Technical Writer* August 10, 2017 at 12:02 pm I work at a tech company & write documentation for our customers, which include business users/systems administrators/coders. I work in San Francisco. I have about 25 years of experience. We have 10 days paid holidays + a paid week shut-down at Christmas. We theoretically have unlimited PTO, but our benefits site says most employees take 2-3 weeks, which doesn’t sound like much to me. 10 days sick leave. At one time, we could take a 3 month sabbatical, but it seems to have disappeared from the website. We have health insurance, they pick up over 50% of the tab . They are heavily pushing the HSA, including putting some money in for you, and phasing out some of the other plans, including the one I’m currently on. I’ll be sorry to leave my current plan. Commuter checks, with a $100 subsidy from the company each month. Dental is pretty standard; vision has an optional buyup version that lets you get 2 pairs of glasses instead of just one. 401k, company match, 4% with a limit of $10,000 Some funds for back-up childcare, adoption assistance, infertility assistance, none of which I’ll ever use.
Blue Anne* August 10, 2017 at 12:02 pm Bookkeeper is my official title. Bookkeeper, Staff Accountant and Tax Preparer would be more accurate! Cleveland, OH -4 years experience -2 weeks paid vacation, 3 paid sick days, 3 paid personal days -401k match at 3.5% of salary -Premiums paid on a high deductible health care plan, and $1,000 put into an HSA for me every year -Free coffee, soda, breakfast on Fridays, lots of free meals during tax season, bosses give us turkeys on thanksgiving and hams on christmas, lots of that kind of thing -Lots of flexibility around reduced hours, working from home, leaving early etc. to deal with life or my side business -Firm pays for me to attend CPE classes, networking events, seminars, tax exam prep courses -Firm will cover up to half my tuition on any graduate education I do in the evenings, depending on what grade I achieve (planning to use this to help me do my Macc!) -Free advice from CPAs! And I’m able to use all our software, resources etc. to do the taxes of myself and my friends I’m only paid $17/hr, which is below market rate for my level of experience, but I feel like the benefits and flexibility make up for it right now. My bosses are flexible enough about my schedule that I’m growing a real estate investing business on the side and they’re fully aware of it and giving me lots of advice.
Senior Accountant* August 10, 2017 at 12:02 pm Senior Accountant, Tribal Government Middle level of finance accounting position, responsible in entirety for some individual entities, responsible for organisational a/p approval, fixed assets, some journal entries and g/l reconciliations Pacific Northwest Experience (Accounting) 20+ Experience (current job) 2 years Benefits: 4 hours vac accrued every 2 weeks 4 hours sick time accrued every 2 weeks (increases to 5 hours/pay period 37th month, 6 hr/pay period 60th month) Week off, with pay, between Christmas and New Years 1-3 extra days off around 7/4 10 paid holidays per year 100% employee health insurance paid, plan is really good dependent insurance is $450/month LTD and STD paid by employer 5% 401k match once you have even 1% taken out
Evidence Technician* August 10, 2017 at 12:03 pm I run an evidence room for a police department. I am not a cop. – a large-ish city in the Midwest – 10 years experience – my employer (a city government) pays my entire health insurance, plus $1800 yearly towards my HSA (I am on the high deductible plan). My spouse has their own insurance through their employer, but I could add them to my plan for no monthly cost to me (employer would still pay the entire premium for us both) – 37 paid days off: 10 days PTO, 12 days holiday, 15 days vacation per year (gain 1 more day per year). unused days carry over to the next year. – pension plan: my contribution is 7% (non-negotiable and unable to opt-out, not that I would want to) and they match it with 7.5% – paid life insurance – paid dental insurance – paid long term disability, opt-in (unpaid) for short term disability – full tuition reimbursement (but only to gain a degree higher than what you currently have. I have a BA so I could use it to get a masters) – gym reimbursement of $150/year – other random opt-in perks (not paid for by employer) like deferred comp, other “wellness” programs – ability to earn comp time and overtime
Strategy Consultant - Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:03 pm I’m a strategy consultant manager at a Big 4 in NYC, focusing on financial services companies. My team specifically focuses on things like customer experience strategy, but we often will also get into regulatory work depending on the market need. Experience: ~8 years (3 at this firm) We get 5 weeks of vacation/personal days, unlimited sick time (though they obviously monitor that), and about ~10 firm holidays that more or less align to banking holidays. Our parental leave benefits were recently changed and are great for the US: 16 weeks fully paid leave for all mothers/fathers of biological or adoptive children. They’ve also recently included IVF coverage of up to $20k, I think. Great medical coverage (3 tiers of plan options, depending on need) plus eye, dental, and HSA. The firm covers about 85% of the costs. They match .25% of the first 6% of your 401K deductions. STD and LTD coverage (with the option of us buying a more robust LTD plan) Life insurance covered up to 100k Great L&D program and reimbursement for outside conferences, if applicable Some education reimbursement and assistance programs… individual class/certification reimbursement comes with a 1 year commitment policy; and there is a program where they will pay for your entire MBA/MS, with a commitment of 3 years post-completion. 10% off child-care services We are able to keep all points earned through travel on any program (airline, hotels, car rentals), which can be massive given the travel often required health & wellness reimbursement (for gyms or fitness equipment/trackers) Basically, I’m never leaving. The golden handcuffs are real, y’all!
Strategy Consultant - Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:07 pm Forgot to add – when we’re not at client sites, our offices recently updated their dress code to include jeans in their business casual definition. Also, when not needed at a client site, many folks now work remotely or from home.
Ledgerman* August 11, 2017 at 1:09 am I believe we work at the same firm! I’m in Assurance (for now).
Software Development PM* August 10, 2017 at 12:03 pm -Project Manager over a team of 9 (currently) doing software configuration and installation for government clients – my employer is a consulting/contracting firm -Atlanta, GA -7 years of experience – 21 days of PTO, one pot for vacation and sick, plus all government holiday, 75% of insurance premiums paid, 6% 401k matching, $5000/calendar year for school or job-related certifications
Librarian* August 10, 2017 at 12:04 pm Library manager Western Canada 20 years experience 5 weeks vacation, 12 sick days, matching RRSP contributions (like IRAs), 100% health premium coverage
Admin Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 12:04 pm Job Desc.: Assist director of operations with office admin and event planning, assist communications director with social media and member communications, provide general office assistance to my small office (fewer than a dozen employees) Area: DC Experience: 3 years Benefits: -24 PTO days (sick time included) -Excellent health insurance (75% of cost, only a $500 deductible), okay vision & dental -Disability insurance (75% of cost) -Life insurance -$60/month in metro benefits -9% pension contribution after 1 year -Gym & roof deck in office building -13 paid holidays -Paid week off between Xmas & New Year’s I think I have it pretty good.
Youth Services Librarian* August 10, 2017 at 12:05 pm Youth Services Librarian (all children/teen programming, book ordering etc Michigan (Class 3 library – medium sized library) 7 + MLIS 5 sick days, 96 hours of vacation after 1st year, 136 after 2nd year, 176 after 3rd year Paid holidays Insurance: Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO, single subscriber – $32 a month Retirement: pension plan through township
Senior Office Support Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 12:06 pm State government: 3 weeks annual leave 3 weeks sick leave No retirement matching I think they pay around 80% of my medical premiums. We have incentive programs that are such that I only pay about 60% of my portion of the premium for really good coverage. 12 paid holidays (or 13, depending on whether we get the day after Thanksgiving as of VERY recently, 3-6 weeks PTO for maternity/paternity leave Admin leave for things like voting, jury duty, bereavement, etc… Length of time varies. Also qualifies for PSLF
Senior Office Support Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 12:07 pm I forgot vision and dental. Vision is excellent, which is great for me because my vision is horrible. Dental is meh. Basic life insurance paid by employer ,additional life insurance available for purchase
Graphic Designer* August 10, 2017 at 12:06 pm – Lead designer for small-medium company (print & digital ads, billboards, email marketing, signage, etc!) – San Francisco – 3 years experience Benefits: ~ 9 vacation days (accrued) 2 floating days 5 paid holidays :( ~8 sick days (accrued) 2% 401k match Health insurance (75%) Average/not great dental insurance (two cleanings covered, 50% everything else) Great discount on company items Work is not flexible and we’re running on frustratingly old equipment… but everyone’s out by 5 and the environment is remarkably functional.
Jr. Software Engineer* August 10, 2017 at 12:06 pm Your Job: I’m a Member of Technical Staff, Level 1 (i.e. entry level). The senior developers take specifications from Systems people, turn them into requirements and a code design, and then hand that off to me. I write the actual code per the design, and then write a lot of different tests to test code, and review the code and the tests, to make sure that everything agrees and satisfies the specifications/requirements. It is also my job to supervise our 1-2 co-op students and answer their technical questions (although I don’t “manage” them.) Geographic Area: Boston Years of Experience: 3 years. I graduated in 2014, spent 1.5 years at a previous job, and 1.5 years at my current job. Vacation Time: 15 days a year. We have to bill every hour we work. Hours more than 40/week are allowed to be banked (up to 24hr total at any given time) as “Comp Time” which I can use to take a few hours for appointments or the very occasional day off. Sick Leave: Unlimited personal time (although they’ll come have a chat with you if you’re using it too frequently) and 40 hours for taking care of family members. Retirement Matching: They require you to contribute 5% of your income minimum and they match that 5%. Health insurance premium: no idea, I’m still on my parents’ Other interesting benefits: They pay for a commuter card up to $150/month so that covers my bus and subway rides. (I take the bus to/from work daily). There’s also a Tuition Assistance Plan that will reimburse you up to $5250/year for an accredited degree-producing program so long as you earn A’s or B’s. (They’ll reimburse you higher than that actually, but anything more is taxed as income.)
Commercial Property Administrator* August 10, 2017 at 12:06 pm Perform duties similar to an Assistant Property Manager in my area. I manage a series of retail, commercial office, and industrial buildings in the Pacific Northwest. I have four years of experience in my field, and have been with this company for one year. I get 10 vacation days, 6 sick days, 2 personal days / year. They reset every year on my start date. The company I work for is very small, and I have no retirement, no matching, no health insurance, no benefits. But I am sometimes able to work from home, and my boss is fairly encouraging of work/life balance.
Workforce Optimization Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:07 pm Job: Manage all things workforce/scheduling related for a large logistics company. Location: Midwest, USA Years of Experience: 7 Benefits: 100% healthcare/dental/vision premiums paid (family plan with $2600 deductible, 80% coinsurance, $6000 max out of pocket), HSA with $1000 company contribution, 401K (52% match up to 15%/paycheck, up to 20% at annual true-up), 23 days PTO, 7 company holidays, paid bereavement leave (3 days/instance for close family), STD, LTD, GTL Insurance, AD&D Insurance, Legal Plan.
small biz owner* August 10, 2017 at 12:07 pm USA, self-employed partnership, technology. No employees. Access to SEP IRA, no matching. Basically no benefits and pay $1500/mo for health insurance. Eternally annoyed by ppl with gov’t/state jobs boo-hooing about salary, etc., not understanding the comprehensive Many ppl have no idea how expensive it is to pay for one’s own benefits.
Human Resources Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 12:07 pm your job: HR Coordinator at a national non-profit with ~150 employees in 3 offices and remote locations across the country. I do payroll, benefits, compliance, employment issues, plan org events, assist with financial audits, run our internship program, and other HR-related admin work. I report to one HR director, and we’re hiring for a recruiter on our team. your geographic area: San Francisco, CA your years of experience: about 4 years of total experience, 1.5 years of HR a description of your benefits: how much vacation and sick leave you get: 9 days’ sick leave (accrued over time), 10 days (increasing to 15 in 2018) PTO that accrue over time and increases one day for every year you’re with the org, and 16 paid holidays (we close the week between Christmas and New Years, and get an additional day around 4th of July) retirement matching: up to 4% of salary, no vesting schedule what portion of your health insurance premium your employer pays for you: 85% for health and dental, vision insurance is covered entirely. This goes for any tier of coverage from EE only to Family. Other interesting benefits you might get: $240 (taxed) annual fitness reimbursement; fully covered LTD, STD, and AD&D insurance (basic); $100/month in commuter benefits (pre-tax dollars); dependent care/medical FSA plan, flexible schedule and work-from-home options if needed (for most roles); EAP program; free shuttle that takes you to public transport hubs; starting in 2018, fully paid family leave for 12 weeks; they will be paying for me to get my PHR certification next year. Overall, not bad and getting better. With the changes we’ve made to benefits for 2018, we’re pretty much on par with nonprofits in the Bay Area. Salaries could be better, but again, we’re doing a sep progression to get people closer to market rates. Plus, not to be discounted: I enjoy my boss, work environment, very reasonable hours, staff, and ad hoc professional development opportunities.
Systems Administrator* August 10, 2017 at 12:07 pm Systems Administrator and all around IT guy for a non-profit. If it looks like a computer, I work on it. Louisville KY This job – 4 months, All paid adult work – 13 years (all in IT support roles like this) Three weeks of vacation and two weeks of sick time every year that a portion accrues every pay period starting day 1, 403b retirement where my 6% matches to their 5% (first 4% are totally matched, next two is matched my two to their one), all of my HDHP insurance is paid by employer (few hundred a month, I put in what I would be paying for PPO into an HSA), very cheap vision and dental (<$20 total to me a month, they pay a portion too)
Lab Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:07 pm I am the lab manager for a 4 person academic biomedical research lab in Boston, MA, USA. I have seven years experience. PTO: 3 weeks vacation (bumped up to 4w after five years.) 10 days sick leave, 1 personal day, nine holidays. Vacation and sick can be rolled over. 401(k): matched sat 4% Insurance: 80%(?) of health insurance is paid by the company. Health plan is very good. Dental plan is pricey and kind of awful. Other benefits: transit passes subsidized at 22%. A small discount on a very expensive nearby hotel. 20 days backup child or adult care at a discounted rate-this was invaluable when my son’s day care closed for two weeks. Tuition reimbursement-not sure of the details. One thing I would like to see offered is paid parental leave-they don’t even offer short term disability.
Assistant Library Director* August 10, 2017 at 12:07 pm Assistant Director (payroll, personnel, inventory, supervised staff) Michigan – Class 3 library (medium sized) 3+ MLIS 8 hours of sick day accrued per month 96 hours of vacation a year, 136 after 5 years, 176 after 10 years Paid holidays No insurance or retirement (Pay was low as well)
Corporate Wellness Consultant* August 10, 2017 at 12:08 pm 1) job: design and implement wellness programs based on claims data and population reports, organize events and contests, one-on-one consultations and refer as needed, develop articles and other subject-matter reports and publications as needed for distribution or reporting to C-suite. Assist Program Manager to manage and coordinate annual employee physicals, organize incentives and wellness rewards program, oversee full-service company gym. 3,000+ employee company. 2) geographic area: Mid-South 3) experience: 15 years professional working experience, 3 years field-specific experience 4) a description of your benefits: *16 accrued PTO days per year {increases with length of service] *50% 401K match up to 6% of salary {increases with length of service} + PLUS plan with end of year bonus company contribution (2-8%) *employer pays 94% of healthcare premium + contributes $900 per year to HSA; 100% employee dental paid by company *10 holidays per year *Standard packages around STD/LTD, Life Insurance, etc. *Flex hours (10:00 – 2:00 core hours) that must be set in conjunction with your supervisor. (includes 4×10’s) Variable/Participatory benefits: *Annual Incentive (up to 10% of salary) *full-service gym with locker rooms on site *$300 in wellness rewards per year for logging activity/preventative care and taking education courses (does NOT have to occur on site & accommodations are made for those who need them) *tickets/discounts to local events, business, car insurance, etc. *$8,000 in tuition assistance annually I am sure there are more than I am not aware of.
Corporate Wellness Consultant* August 10, 2017 at 12:45 pm Note: the $8,000 can be applied to professional development coursework, memberships or certifications/CEUs that enhance your position or broaden your scope.
Academic Library Director* August 10, 2017 at 12:08 pm Academic library director in medium sized liberal arts college. I supervise 4 people and manage a decent budget, and other administrative and librarianish tasks. Midwest, small town near major city. 5 years at this employer, 10+ in my field I get 4 weeks of vacation plus Christmas eve-January 2 (we don’t need to use leave for that). I don’t get a lot of holidays off, but I do get a few. Our retirement matching is excellent: I put in 5% and the college puts in 10%. Our health insurance is abysmal-it’s very expensive monthly, has a high deductible, and is a plan with a lot more paperwork than what I am used to. Some people who work here can’t afford it. One benefit we have that’s important in my industry is that we are well-funded for professional development. Everyone gets to go to at least one major conference and also smaller things, as they wish. This isn’t really a benefit, but we do have administration who are very compassionate and always respond well to problems people have, like bereavement time, personal problems, etc. Knowing that I can say “someone died and I am not ready to be here yet” and I’ll get extra bereavement time, for example, is a great way to keep people in their jobs for longer. Also, in my department (because this is a priority for me), we can flex our schedules a lot of the time, take long lunches, go on trips to visit other libraries.
Development Manager (higher ed)* August 10, 2017 at 12:08 pm This is super fascinating!! I manage an obscure team within a large fundraising operation at a large university Boston area 20+ years of experience, but new to this job. These are standard benefits for non-union staff – 20 vacation days plus a week at Christmas – 12 sick days – 4 weeks fully paid for new parents (I don’t know if there is also disability coverage for people who give birth — this is just want it says in the PTO category) – 10% of my salary put into the retirement plan, not as a match (because I’m over 40. under 40 get a smaller percentage) – generous percentage paid of health insurance, and a variety of good plans to choose – if you’re in the university’s health insurance, strong discounts for things like yoga and massages – 50% subsidy to my pre-tax transit pass. There are other benefits for drivers and bikers, but you have to pick which to take. – tuition assistance that varies widely depending on where you’re taking classes
Development Manager (higher ed)* August 10, 2017 at 12:13 pm I just checked, and birth mothers get 8 weeks of short term disability at 75% (up to seven years’ employment) or 100% (after that).
Development Manager (higher ed)* August 10, 2017 at 12:14 pm Oh, I also get three personal days. The time off here is bananas.
Internal Communications Lead* August 10, 2017 at 12:09 pm My job is broad-strokes internal comms stuff (making content, making other people make content and share it, making sure the strategy is well-communicated and understood, a bunch of background facilitation/relationship-building), plus whatever bits of random internal qualitative research/analysis/change management/problem-solving the business happens to need. UK-based (east of England) 6 years’ experience, ~3 doing this role as most or all of my job We get 25 days of vacation that we’re encouraged to use all of (plus the ability to carry over five and buy/sell up to five each year) plus public holidays. No fixed amount of sick pay (we get paid for sick days, negotiate medical leave if it’s a longer illness). 5% employer contribution/5% employee contribution pension, private health insurance for employee + immediate family, critical illness insurance, life insurance and travel insurance for employee + immediate family. We also get a bunch of perks like discounted gym membership, massages at work, free breakfast & lunch and a wide range of free or subsidised social activities. This seems to be a relatively high level of benefits compared to the UK as a whole but it’s not uncommon in my industry (tech), especially in this part of the country, as everyone is competing for the best technical people and there are a lot of tech companies here, so generous benefit packages are more common.
Controller/VP* August 10, 2017 at 12:09 pm I run all the finances, manage daily operations, HR and more for 2 automotive motorsports companies. Southern CA 15 Years Experience Unlimited vacation days, 100% Health Insurance Paid, Gym membership paid 100%, Company car and insurance paid 100% as well as all maintenance and upgrades (since car upgrades are what we do). I also have a very flexible schedule and can work from home a good amount of the time or go in for a half day.
Email Marketing Specialist* August 10, 2017 at 12:09 pm Private Art & Design College; Manage marketing drip campaigns to prospective students from initial inquiry to enrollment. Develop concept, order, and content for email communications. Work with staff and faculty across campus to highlight different aspects of the college and campus life. Prepare reports on marketing metrics. Some minor html and photo editing. Other duties as assigned. Location: Michigan Salary: $45K Experience: 10 years experience in the nonprofit world, mostly in fundraising. This position is somewhat related, though very different than what I’ve done before. Official Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision. I pay partial out of pocket but it’s taken out pre-tax; 6% straight contribution to my 403b, life insurance, disability, tuition remission after 1 year (yay!), 24 PTO (goes up to 31 after 5 years), 13 paid holidays (plus usually the week between xmas and NYE when the President decides) Unofficial Benefits: somewhat flexible schedule, laid back atmosphere, organization culture and job that’s not making me sick or killing my spirit, creative environment, beautiful campus in an urban setting, my own desk space, bathroom facilities and potable water in the same building, seeing students grow in their creative education and use their talents to make the world a better (and more beautiful) place.
Senior SQA Investigator* August 10, 2017 at 12:10 pm Senior SQA Investigator Aerospace Industry, based in Connecticut Current job role: Senior SQA (Supplier Quality Assurance) Investigator – Coordinate and lead quality escape investigations from company suppliers Previous job role (same corporation): Aerospace Quality Engineer Experience: 10 years I get: 4 weeks of vacation, with option to purchase an additional week (I did) (Can carry over up to 80 hrs of unused vacation time each year) 6 weeks of sick time (New hires get 2 weeks, get an extra week each year) 1 week of Personal Time (PTO) for Dr.’s appointments, and the like. Pension (This option has been discontinued for those hired after a certain year) 401k matching, 60% up to 6% (3.6% total match) HSA health plan, dental, and vision (levels of each are up to our discretion and we can change during the annual enrollment period) Long-term and short-term disability Life insurance **Education assistance** – My BS (2014) and my MS (in progress) were paid 100% by the corporation. Also, since I began the educational program through the company prior to 2009, I was awarded $10k in company stock (fully vested just this year) when I finished my BS. This perk was discontinued for anyone who registered through the program beginning in 2010. I can get a degree from any accredited institution at any level, special permission is required for a PhD. Company will pay tuition directly to the school and reimburse me for any required textbooks, as long as I earn at least a C in each class. If the classes are related to my current job, they are nontaxable to me (taxable status of a class is up to the discretion of your manager, they are given guidelines to follow by the company). We also get 0.5 hours of study time per week for every credit hour, and the time accrues up to 15 weeks and 6 credits at a time. Therefore, if I’m taking 3 credit hours, I get up to 22.5 hours of study time throughout the semester, which I can use to study, write a paper, attend class, whatever I need. Additionally, if applicable to your position with the company, they will pay 100% towards a pilots license and all flight training hours.
Technical Writer* August 10, 2017 at 12:10 pm Principal technical writer for an engineering company New England 28 years of experience PTO is 20 days year, no additional sick time – it sucks retirement matching 50% on up to 6% what portion of health insurance premium employer pays – not sure, but the grudging tone in the annual benefits update newsletter tells us that they think it’s a lot
Accountant* August 10, 2017 at 12:10 pm 1. I’m an accountant at an insurance company. I help prepare our quarterly filings for the SEC and other miscellaneous accountant things like journal entries. 2. I work in a mid-sized city in North Carolina. The cost of living is way lower than in Raleigh or Charlotte. 3. I have just had my 5-year anniversary! They gave me a necklace and everything, it was nice. My benefits have not really changed since I started though. 4. Benefits Time Off: We have a PTO bucket for sick time and vacation. I get 17 days plus holidays (we follow the stock market holidays, google tells me there are 9). My team is very busy in January and February working on the annual report, so we actually are expected to work on Martin Luther King Day and President’s Day and then we can take those as floating holidays later. It’s not uncommon after a particularly hard quarter for our boss to give us an extra unofficial day off, and we usually are sent home early on the day we file which is always appreciated. I once apparently earned an extra day of PTO by participating in a certain number of blood drives. I have yet to use all of my PTO in a year, but we are only able to roll over 10 days from one year to the next. Health: I think the health insurance is pretty good but I don’t have anything to compare it to really. It looks like they pay around 75% of medical, 60% of dental an I have a vision plan through them but I don’t think they pay any premiums for that. Retirement: I think retirement benefits are where my company really shines. This is my first job out of school but I’m pretty sure it is unusually generous. They match up to 6% of employee contributions into your 401(k) but then they also contribute 4% regardless of what the employee is putting in. So if you put nothing into your 401(k) they still put in 4% of your salary, and if you put in at least 6% (which you should!) then they contribute 10% of your salary. Bonuses: Our annual reviews and bonuses are usually around March and then raises go into effect in April. They have a formula to calculate bonuses that is based partially on the company’s performance and partially on your own review.
Senior Copywriter* August 10, 2017 at 12:43 pm I believe you work in the North Carolina office of the same company I work for. I’m in the Radnor office. :)
Bookkeeper* August 10, 2017 at 12:10 pm Bookkeeper for small private school in Carolinas (35 hours per week w/ paid lunch) 30+ years accounting experience Health insurance 94% employer paid; dental, life/add/std/ltd 100 % employer paid; vision insurance 100% employee paid 38 Paid Time Off days, plus 8 holidays (I think)
Program Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 12:10 pm – I run a center within a hospital-affiliated research institute that manages all of the funding/training/policy needs for students and postdocs (in Canada). I’ve been here for 2.5 years and in a similar role for ~5. – 3 weeks vacation to start; goes up to 4 after 5 years – 2 paid personal days per year – 12 paid stat holidays – 1 paid sick day per month; can accrue up to 18 weeks (but accrued sick days also serve as our STD coverage) – LTD to up to 85% of your salary with small monthly premium – Ditto excellent health insurance (drug, vision, paramedical) that pays 90-100% of most things – Pension plan (to which I contribute about ~$125 a month) – Employer paid top-up to 84% of salary for 25 weeks of parental leave (we’re entitled to 12 months total, going up to 18 at some point in the near future) – Flex time and work-from-home programs open to basically everyone; we also work a compressed schedule in the summer (slightly longer hours most of the week, alternate Fridays off) and get 2-3 hours PTO every Friday before a long weekend – Employee perks/discount and wellness plans that include really cheap gym memberships – Employee assistance program – Tuition and professional development funding, and lots of internal free professional development opportunities – Paid attendance to professional conferences
Director, Alumni Affairs* August 10, 2017 at 12:11 pm Position: I supervise one Assistant Director in creating and supporting alumni engagement for a state university. My job includes (but is not limited to!) event planning, relationship management, supporting the alumni board, drafting newsletters and correspondence, managing alumni benefit programs, overseeing student and alumni volunteers, selecting vendors and rolling out new programs and new technology. Geographic Area: New England Experience: 17 years work experience, 5 years in alumni relations Benefits: This is a state position. I receive a pension, life insurance, health insurance (we pay a minimal amount per pay period), dental/vision insurance (no cost), 11 paid holidays, 3 personal days, 20 vacation days per year (accrued), 15 sick days per year (accrued), 8 weeks maternity leave/10 days paternity leave. I also have a tuition benefit, bereavement leave, optional deductions for health and dependent care spending accounts; long-term disability insurance, tax deferred savings and retirement plans (403b and 457b); and access to early childhood education programs on site. I can travel if I want to, and I am allowed flex time for the night and weekend work.
Project analyst* August 10, 2017 at 12:11 pm – My job description doesn’t really matter since these are standard full-time benefits here – Central Florida -10 years with this company – 28 days PTO (vacation and sick combined), 2 floating holidays, 8 paid holidays (up to 5 years of service receives 18 days PTO, it increases some from there over time) – Health insurance: premiums are based on salary bands and participation levels in a wellness program, with a surcharge for smokers – 401k match, 50 cents on the dollar, up to 6%, 100% vested after 3 years – Not much else in the way of interesting benefits. We have an EAP, some sites have fitness centers available, business casual dress code that’s relaxed in the summer… -Our bereavement policy is pretty good – 5 days for immediate family members (quite broadly defined) of you or your spouse, and 2 days for aunts/uncles/cousins, etc. The provision for in-laws is something I haven’t seen too much before, and it’s very nice to be able to provide support to the spouse’s side of the family when this comes up.
Executive Secretary* August 10, 2017 at 12:11 pm ◾Executive Secretary to the #2 person in a organization with 7,500 employees. Responsible for scheduling, taking phone calls with stakeholders, monthly newsletter, graphic design, special projects, writing contracts for attorney to review ◾Gulf Coast ◾7 years of experience in marketing/journalism; 6 years of secretarial experience ◾10 vacation days per year (January – December); 2 personal days per year; 12 sick days per year; 14-15 paid holidays; pension plan (about 15% of my annual income is contributed, vested at 10 years, full retirement at 25 years); $235 per month for family health+dental with affordable co-pays and rx coverage. Salary — $48,000 per year, but I really bring home about $2,400 per month after taxes, insurance, retirement, etc., are taken out.
Technical Priject Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:11 pm Job: Technical Project Manager for software development and infrastructure Years: almost 20. Phoenix AZ I lead teams who procure, install, or develop within one of our many systems, including disaster recovery. I’m skilled in business analysis, project management, Agile development, and hold professional certifications. I didn’t participate in salary, but I make 125K in cash, closer to 175K in total comp. Benefits: 7 weeks vacation, 1 week sick time, short term disability, long term disability, 5% company match, life insurance, generous contributions for health care premiums and HSA. I have taken full advantage of almost all my benefits, including FMLA time, and have a great deal of loyalty for my Fortune100 company for covering me for my career.
Technical Project Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:17 pm Forgot to mention tuition assistance, telecommuting, flex time.
Social Media Strategist* August 10, 2017 at 12:12 pm This is my first week of work here so a lot of this is theoretical. I come up with and implement a social media strategy for a health system in Virginia (not NoVa). We have 10k+ employees and multiple hospitals, practices, etc. I work with PR and marketing and do the overall strategy as well as the actual posts/responding to consumers/etc. 6 years of experience and a BA in English 26 days of PTO with one accrued every pay period (vacation and sick together; goes up some after a few years) If you put 2% into your 401k they’ll do 1% After a year they put 4% into your 401k regardless of what you put in Health/dental/vision insurance — health insurance premiums will be $120-180/month for one person depending on what plan I get but copays are $10 or $30 if I use our doctors; dental and vision are low and reasonable If you do some wellness activities you can get money towards your copay so/deductibles/etc I think they have some options for discounted childcare but I don’t have kids so don’t know details
Health Policy Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 12:12 pm Your job: I work on a team of analysts who develop and review policies for the regulation of medical professionals in our province. This is a non-government job, and our organization is mandated to exist through legislation. Your geographic area: Large metropolitan area in Ontario, Canada Your years of experience: 1.5 years at this job, 6 years total in my career. A description of your benefits: 15 days vacation, 12 paid sick days, access to lots of unpaid leave for family emergencies, personal medical issues, educational leaves. They provide 5% retirement, plus 5% matching, so if I contribute 5%, I get a total of 15%. I’m in Canada so our insurance pays over an above what is provided publicly by the province. This includes 1500$/yr/person for allied medical services like massage therapy, social work, psychology, chiropody, etc. And “reasonable” coverage for athletic therapy and physiotherapy (meaning there is no limit as long as you need the therapy and can document the need on an ongoing basis). Dental coverage is 90% for preventative care (regular cleaning, xrays, flouride) and 50% for major restorative and corrective care (like dental surgery and braces). Coverage for your spouse here doesn’t mean you need to be married. Common-law is considered to apply after living together for 1 yr.
Health Policy Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 12:18 pm Oh I forgot – Vision coverage is $300/24months for glasses, and $90/eye exam every 12months. Long and short term disability is 75% of salary, Maternity leave is a top-up onwhat the province provides to a total of 75% of salary (we can take 12 months in Canada – and it’s extending to 18months at a lower rate of pay if you choose I think next year). Access to an Employee assistance program which includes nutrition and weight coaching, short-term therapy and legal advice. Honestly there’s other stuff but I haven’t looked into it. Basically this place cares about their employees and it shows in how we are treated, compensated and in our benefits package. I’m never leaving here – I love it. Best place I’ve ever worked.
Administrative Analyst in Higher Education* August 10, 2017 at 12:13 pm I work for a state university in the US Mid-South region. My job is tied to a grant, and I do registration and billing (and also grading) for students going to school under that grant. It’s a staff position, not faculty. Benefits: One day of vacation and sick earned per month, up to 3 years of service. After 3 years, you get 10 hours of vacation per month and still 8 hours of sick. It increases up to 15 hours per month for 25 (?) years of service Matching retirement contributions in a 403(b) up to 10% Affordable health, dental, and vision with an optional FSA which can be used to cover medical as well as dependent care expenses Life insurance paid for exclusively by the university with an option for more as well as insurance for your dependents Tuition reduction of 90% for any undergrad or grad classes (but not professional like law or medical), and being able to use up to 5 hours of work time per week to attend classes Twelve paid holidays per year And personally, lots of flex time!
Production Editor* August 10, 2017 at 12:13 pm I basically project manage publishing projects at a university press (so, I’m a university employee and get the same benefits as other university employees who are not in publishing). I am in the greater Boston area. I have 8 years of experience, but I am kind of stuck at a lower level than I should be. BUT I have AMAZING benefits. Health insurance (a little expensive, but very comprehensive) Vision/Dental 401k with a 5% match AND a pension, plus if I retire from here, I get a medicare supplement plan and/or access to a health plan until I am eligible for medicare 4 weeks vacation 14 holidays 12 sick days free T pass Tuition assistance A bunch of discounts
Marketing Specialist (University Press Publishing)* August 10, 2017 at 12:46 pm I’m jumping into this thread because I’m also at a university press! I bet you can guess which one with the clues below. 1. Marketing Specialist for a university press. I oversee marketing copy, advertising, and direct marketing for 120-140 academic books per year. 2. Located in the Bay Area, CA 3. I’ve been here for 2.5 years, with 10 years of experience in publishing. 4. Because we’re under the larger umbrella of the university, our benefits are pretty great. 403(b) retirement savings with match (maxes out at 4%, with the university giving 5%) 2 weeks vacation to start, bumping up to 3 weeks after 1 year with the university (4 weeks after 5 years, etc.). I’m at 3 weeks/year. 2 floating holidays 3 days PTO 2 weeks sick time We also close for two weeks over the December/January holidays because the university is closed. We usually need to use about 3 vacation/PTO days to help cover that time off, but it’s really nice to have two weeks off at the holidays. Health insurance: There is an option that allows the university to pay 100% of your premiums and coverage, because the university has a medical system incorporated with it. You can also choose other plans with a variety of coverage options. Dental and Vision insurance: Plans may 100% of most services for ~$20 per month for an individual Free Caltrain and VTA pass Tuition assistance, both for degree programs and professional development/training If you work here for a certain number of years (I think it’s 10 or 15), the university will cover tuition for at least one child to attend said university, assuming the child is accepted. I think you can also use that money to send the child to an equally prestigious school. Discounts to events on campus and at the university bookstore Work/Life benefits, like elder and child care subsidies (unfortunately, I don’t know the details because I don’t use them) Healthcare incentives: Cold hard cash (added to your paycheck) if you get an annual physical, attend free classes on various health care topics, etc. Can book personal travel through university services, receiving university discounts.
Course Planning Manager* August 11, 2017 at 10:26 pm These benefits sound familiar! I work at this university as well—specifically in course planning. The child tuition benefit (covering up to 20K in tuition) actually kicks in after 5 years, which is amazing. There is adoption assistance up to 10K, a childcare subsidy program, and staff also get $800/yr to spend on professional development—classes, conferences, etc. that have to do with their job. Free gyms on campus + deeply discounted fitness classes.
Admissions Counselor* August 10, 2017 at 12:13 pm Job: Admissions/financial aid counseling to local high school students at a large public university Southwest United States 5+ years of experience in the field I am in an entry-level position. Salaried, $34,332 per year. Average work week is 40+ hours. Department currently working on informal flex time arrangements. Working from home is not permitted at this time, though the job would certainly allow for it. Benefits: Generous medical, dental, pharmacy, and vision benefits at very low costs. Many options available. On-campus healthcare available, which includes chiropractors and discounted massage. FSA available. Mandatory state retirement system takes about 7% of every paycheck for retirement and disability. University contributes 3%. Life insurance is available. Maternity/paternity leave is six weeks. FSA for daycare costs is available. Generous tuition benefits allow employees to get undergraduate and graduate degrees at seriously discounted rates, sometimes for free (as in my case– I am pursuing a Master of Education degree). Dependents and spouses are included. 9 paid holidays off each year. If you are called for jury duty or to serve as a witness, you are paid for any time you have to spend in court. Paid time to vote. Bereavement leave up to 3 days for services in state, up to 5 for out of state. FMLA benefits after employed for 12 months. 12 days of sick time per year. Vacation: two weeks per year if you’ve served 0-2 years, then three weeks for 2-4 years, then four and a half for 4+ years. It’s worth noting that while I’m not paid much, the COL is low here and the benefits are awesome. It’s almost impossible to get fired and layoffs are almost nonexistent (except for grant-funded programs and things like that). I love working here and plan to stay as long as I can advance in my department. At the very least, I am staying to finish my graduate degree.
Import/Export Corporate Compliance Officer* August 10, 2017 at 12:14 pm I handle day to day import and export compliance for a Fortune 500 company, as an individual contributor on a fairly large team. My responsibilities do not include license or authorization application or management, but they do include (complicated) declarations to the US Government, liaising with brokers and freight forwarders, providing detailed advice on import/export laws and regulations as well as internal policy to internal customers, assisting in audits and investigations, and writing procedures. Southern Arizona 5 years experience, with a Customs Broker License and a Bachelor’s 3 weeks PTO, ~3% annual bonus, 401K matching to 5%, HSA (with matching to about $1600), decent health insurance including vision and dental , life (+ dependents), legal assistance, STD + LTD, 2 weeks paid parental leave, and tuition reimbursement to the tune of $10,000.
Import/Export Corporate Compliance Officer* August 10, 2017 at 12:23 pm Oh yeah, holidays: 14 days, most of which are a mandatory closure of our business the last week/week and a half of the year. And I work 9/80s. And we get a lot of discounts through work. We also get money to exercise, which I personally like. And I telework 55% of the time. This is a Fortune 500 company.
NP in MA* August 10, 2017 at 12:15 pm Nurse Practitioner Eastern Massachusetts In this particular role- 0 years experience. Just received my license and started my job recently. 2 priors years as a RN. Benefits: 26 paid days off a year (vacation, personal and sick rolled into one), 13 paid holidays, 401K match not great (matched 100% up to 1.5% and 50% up to 3%). $200 benefit to pay for gym memberships yearly, don’t know percentage of what employer pays for health care benefits since my husband’s is better cos- wise but out of pocket premiums would be $400 monthly for myself+spouse for a low deductible PPO plan. Short-term disability and maternity leave- 60% of salary for up to 12 weeks after a 2 week period. $1500 toward educational course a year (required to keep licensing so that’s a nice perk) and 3 paid days off per year to attend continuing education and conferences with travel reimbursement also covered. $2000/year tuition reimbursement.
Physician* August 10, 2017 at 12:15 pm Physician Ambulatory Care 280k 18 yrs 6 weeks vacation 2 weeks sick Pension plus partial matching 401k 64 hours paid continuing education Medical/dental/vision-no cost to me outside very minimal copay Paid Holidays Life Insurance Glasses/contacts
Attorney (independent contractor)* August 10, 2017 at 12:15 pm I contract with several national law firms to provide local representation in social security disability hearings. I’m a staff attorney at one large firm and of-counsel at several others through an appearance broker. The firm I’m a staff attorney at, I develop cases from start to finish and take my own caseload to hearing. For the of-counsel arrangements, the firms develop in-house and then pay me to show up in court for them. At all firms, it’s an independent contractor relationship. I technically have my own solo law practice, and their firms hire my firm, though on the ground, it’s really a lot like a regular job, just with more flexibility. I work in the southwestern US in a large city, but I often travel to a neighboring large city and to surrounding rural areas. I have 4 years experience overall as a lawyer, but only about 1.5 years in my current area of law. Since I’m an independent contractor/self-employed, I don’t get any employer-provided benefits. What I do get is near total control over my schedule. I work from home when I’m not in court. I can more or less set my court schedule, and for the pay-per-appearance work, I can take as few or as many cases as I want. I can take a vacation whenever I want, for as long as I want, though I do end up taking my laptop with me and working at least a few hours per day. I don’t have health insurance at the moment because my out of pocket expenses wouldn’t even come close to the deductible of any remotely affordable plan (and even the remotely affordable plans aren’t really affordable), and it’s cheaper for me to risk paying the fine for not being insured, though I haven’t actually had to pay a fine yet. I have a cushion of funds in my business bank account that I’m treating as my unemployment insurance in case I have a lean month. I’m looking into getting plans for more traditional employee-like benefits for myself (disability insurance, retirement savings, etc.), but for now, I think the flexibility and freedom is worth the lack of traditional benefits.
Attorney (independent contractor)* August 10, 2017 at 5:19 pm Desperation mixed with serendipity. I was doing document review (aka where lawyers’ dreams go to die), and the agency I was working with closed their office and laid us all off. I had been looking for a standard regular lawyer job for months in vain, and I finally decided that since there were no jobs for lawyers, I needed to make one. I hung out my shingle hoping to practice employer-side employment law because I had been an HR professional prior to becoming a lawyer, so it seemed like a natural fit. I was bleeding money and couldn’t find any paying clients, so about 6 months later, in a fit of desperation one Saturday afternoon, I applied to every lawyer job at the state government and every lawyer job on craigslist that I was even remotely qualified for. One of those was for a national law firm practicing social security disability. They were looking for local counsel in my area, and they were willing to train. About 3 weeks later, they called me back for a phone screen, then they gave me a writing test and a final interview, and they hired me about a year and a half ago. I started out as a regular lawyer, developing cases and going to hearings, and I got promoted to staff attorney a few months ago. So now in addition to handling my own caseload, I also pitch in and help out with clients of the firm whose cases are early enough in the process that they don’t have a local attorney assigned to them yet. While I was out at a hearing one day a few months ago in a really remote location that I don’t normally go to, I ran into another attorney who left the national firm and now works for the appearance broker. We had worked together on a case when I was new, and she liked my work, so she recruited me to join the appearance broker. So now I take on cases for them, too. I do about 10 hearings per month per firm (so 20ish hearings total per month, sometimes several in a day, though, so I’m not in court every day).
Program Coordinator (Non-profit)* August 10, 2017 at 12:16 pm I work in a hybrid role where I handle all client communications for the organization and also work closely with accounting in processing certain billing transactions our organization facilitates. The bulk of my position could be classed as “customer service,” but it considered communications coordinator in my particular org (which is <10 full time staff). My non-profit is linked up with a larger, national organization that explicitly exists to provide human resources support and benefits to small non-profit organizations. We have full Medical, Dental and Vision coverage, as well as FSA. We also have life insurance and matched 401k contributions (up to a certain amount per month, I believe). On an org level, we get 2 weeks PTO (sick and vacation are all in one bucket), and flexible schedules with work from home flexibility. For example, I have a set doc appointment every other Wednesday morning, and I can work from home those mornings and come in after the appointment. Three of my coworkers work from home every Friday. Work also pays for our parking passes at the downtown parking ramp across from the office, so I don't have to worry about paying for parking when I get to work (it's just sensible, but there are some places that don't). We also have a lot of holidays when the office is closed and we're allowed to go down to a bare bones operation (meaning I check email in the morning for urgent things and then have the day off). We get the entire week off between Christmas and New Year's, and several major holidays throughout the year. It's pretty great.
Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice* August 10, 2017 at 12:16 pm I am an infectious diseases clinical pharmacy specialist employed by a university in the southwestern U.S. 2 years general/specialty residency experience + PharmD degree, BCPS PTO: Holidays – 12 days/year Vacation – 20 days/year, max 50 days with carry over Sick Leave – accrue 20 days/year (max), can be used for appointments with prior approval Personal days – 2 days/year We also receive 3 days bereavement leave and up to 10 days leave for jury duty separate from the other PTO buckets. Insurance: Healthcare – 3 healthcare plan options which include Vision & Dental, optional FSA. I chose the better of the two non-HDHP options which costs me ~$150/month. Life insurance – 2x annual salary, options for supplemental coverage Retirement: 403b, employer contributes 10% annual pay after 1 year (non-match), option to create supplemental pre-tax contribution account to set aside up to $18,000 annually Other: 90% tuition reinbursement 10% childcare reimbursement $2000 adoption assistance 5% discount on pet insurance Free pedometer and access to the wellness center
Librarian I - Public Librarian* August 10, 2017 at 12:16 pm Full Time Public Librarian (primarily children’s, but officially adult adult and children’s split position) -2 years experience in a major city center with a very high cost of living. -$26 / Hour – Full Time, Hourly non-exempt. I get a step increase raise every year with positive performance review. -Health Insurance with dental option -State Retirement System — Hybrid 401K and Pension, with 2.5% matching. Low fee. Between the two, I max out at something like 8%. Option to contribute a Roth IRA, which I plan to do in coming year. -Life insurance up to 1x salary with option to purchase more. -Long term disability insurance -Around 4 hours each of annual and sick leave per pay period, maxing out at 210 hours per year. Hours roll over from year to year as long as they are under the cap. Option for additional comp time with different cap as need arises. Accumulated sick leave is not capped. -Random perks like discounts for city employees at the YMCA, free fitness tracker if you participate in wellness program, etc. -12-ish holidays a year. We get the day after Thanksgiving off in lieu of Veteran’s day, so that’s nice. -You can apply for tuition reimbursement up to a certain capped amount.
NotherTechWriter* August 10, 2017 at 12:17 pm Technical Writer Seattle 5 years of experience Vacation: 3 weeks at hire 10 holidays per year Sick leave: Seattle has an ordiance that requires employers to provide one sick day per month for employees. (You can acrrue this time and take more than one sick day per month.) Retirement matching: 401k matched at 25% Health insurance: I’m on my husband’s insurance through the City of Seattle, which is a much better plan than my employer’s plan. I pay about $50/month for health insurance. Other: AD&D, LTD, STD, and Life insurance 100% paid by my employer. Bus/light rail pass 100% paid by employer.
NotherTechWriter* August 10, 2017 at 12:20 pm *ordinance Here’s the info if anyone is interested: http://www.seattle.gov/laborstandards/ordinances/paid-sick-and-safe-time
Customer Service - Digital Specialist* August 10, 2017 at 12:17 pm – I’m in the Consumer Care department for a large household brand, but more focused on online reviews, questions/answers, managing brand voice, web FAQs as opposed to call center/answering phones – Chicago area – 14 years of work experience – standard is 2 weeks of vacation to start but I negotiated 3, plus 1 week of sick days, 2 personal days, and 2 floating holidays – company pays a large portion of health insurance, dental and vision, and if you sign up for the HSA plan you get $300 per year from the company; my total premium is under $200/mo and that includes covering my husband on vision and dental. There’s also a plan in place to further reduce premiums if you do a health screening. We get 40% off the products we make. Company matches 401K at 40% for the first 5% of your pay. Short and long term disability, basic life insurance. Summer Fridays (office closes at 1). A few other small perks, like a well-stocked coffee/tea/hot chocolate area and occasional treats from our test kitchen.
Customer Service - Digital Specialist* August 10, 2017 at 12:28 pm Oh, we also have an on-site gym, though I haven’t used it yet, and flexible work arrangements are starting. They’re still working out the technology to see if the people on my team who answer phones can do that from home with a laptop.
Paraplanner - licensed executive assistant* August 10, 2017 at 12:18 pm Location: SW Missouri 401 (k) match: 5 to get 4 – dollar for dollar up to 3%, then half a percent up to 5% Healthcare: none PTO: 10 days/yr, no matter how long you’ve been here, pays out at 50% if not used in the year Bonus: none Specifics: I’m Series 7 & 66 licensed, MO life/accident/health licensed, CRPC designation, 11yrs in the business. I’m not commission based.
Customer Service - Event Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:18 pm Description: I work for a non-profit arts organization, managing a team that sells admission and provides customer service in-person and online at 6 locations. Major annual projects are related to three large events, creating pop-up stores, hiring, training, and managing ~20 seasonal staff and 100 volunteers, collaborating on marketing and communications, and running logistics at the actual events. The job requires heavy overtime / on-call for 4 months of the year, and is seasonal with downtime in November-December. Geographic Area: Canada Years of Experience: 7. Full-time team has about 50% of people senior to me in tenure and 50% junior. Seasonal team is all junior and about 50% of our workforce. Education: MA in seemingly relevant arts field, but this hasn’t really helped me job-wise as it was very academic. Benefits: 12 days sick leave annually 25 days vacation (includes 15 that are in lieu of overtime worked = 1-1 ratio) + office closure for Christmas 7% RRSP matching (this is above average for our industry) About 60% coverage through health insurance (just added to our benefits and a huge deal for me personally – previously paid on average $400 a month for out-of-pocket care) $50/month transit or parking reimbursement Casual dress code Paid training/conferences (about 1 travel conference every 2 years and 4 professional skills seminars) Annual bonuses dependent on fiscal health What we don’t have: Work from home – overtime and on-call hours are the exception Schedule flexibility – as a manager, I can’t refuse overtime and am on call 75 hours a week during the six-month season. I’m always working. Vacation usually has to be used off-season (winter in Canada, ugh) which is not my preferred timing. On-season vacation is tricky because other people rely on me to be present. Tuition reimbursement Mentorship and teamwork – silo mentality pervades even though it’s a small team, and the people I have to collaborate with are defensive/unwilling to innovate. No mentorship for my position as it was self-created. Salary is low because of the non-profit aspect. Benefits are good but I personally am not into the work culture (some people do like it, and enjoy other perks such as flexibility, self-managed workloads, and not dealing with the public). Prior to obtaining health insurance, I would have left for a similar or lower salary. Now that we have it as a benefit, it’s harder to leave as the insurance takes about 3 years to max out. I’d like to transition duties into communications but there are no opportunities for growth within my organization.
Software Implementation Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:19 pm Job: Work with clients to manage their implementations onto our software program (client management, project management, training) Area: Alberta, Canada Experience: 6 years professional experience, 2 years in this role Benefits: 20 days of Paid Time Off (PTO) that can be used as either vacation time or sick time. (Option to “purchase” additional days, meaning they are essentially unpaid and deducted from your pay) Stock purchase contributions of up to 5% of your annual salary (with a 50% employer match that vests 1 year from contribution). These can be made into an RRSP, TFSA or general purchase plan (or a mix of all 3) Annual stock grants that typically begin vesting 2 years after grant date. Grant date is always at the same time for the entire company, so depending on when you are hired you may have to wait longer than others (for example, if you are hired in January, you have the same grant date as someone hired in June) Health and dental (can’t remember the percentage but whenever I’ve had to pay anything it’s been a small amount, <$5) Benefits cover massages, chiropractor up to $500/calendar year We receive a "parking allowance" of $60/month Short term disability at 75% of total pay up to 3 months EAP that is available for unlimited use Ability to work from home whenever you would like. I have also worked remotely from other cities in North America. We do not have any health spending or education reimbursements which is out of the norm for our city and industry, though our overall benefits are decent.
Web Developer* August 10, 2017 at 12:19 pm Duties: web developer. I work for a contractor that mostly does contracts for the Michigan government, developing web applications for various departments, with about 100 employees. I’m a programmer and currently mostly work in Java and Angular JS, with a dash of regular JavaScript, CSS, and SQL thrown in for kicks. Geographic area: Lansing, Michigan, USA Experience: about 4 years Benefits: Time off: all employees receive the same number of vacation days: 3 weeks for everyone, from the newest employee to the oldest. There are… mixed opinions about this. There’s technically a limit of 40 paid sick days, but nobody’s really nickel-and-diming you. If you consider this a benefit, we’re able to work from home basically whenever we feel like it, so long as our project lead is OK with it, and we have very flexible hours. Health insurance: Choice between an high-deductible plan + HSA and a PPO plan. Because the HSA plan is cheaper for the company, they deposit the difference into our HSAs. I think they pay something like 75% of the deductible, too. (you can get an FSA if you’re not on the HSA plan) The company pays for long-term disability and AD&D life insurance. Preventative/diagnostic dental gets 100% covered, stuff like fillings and root canals are 80% covered, and stuff like crowns and dentures get 50% covered. For vision, it’s $130 toward contacts or frames each year. I’m pretty sure there’s something for covering prescription drugs after a certain deductible, but I don’t know what it is. I think maternity leave gets counted as short-term disability, but I’m not sure how that works. Not sure about paternity leave either. Dunno about the “smoker charge” or how it works with spouses–I don’t have either! Retirement: 401(k) plan. The company matches dollar-for-dollar up to 3% of salary, and another $0.50 on the dollar up to 5% of salary. Other stuff: Tuition reimbursement is available on a case-by-case basis. Because we don’t have work phones, the company will either give you a work cellphone, or reimburse you $70 a month for your person cellphone plan. (virtually everyone I know of takes the latter) If you recruit a new hire, the company pays for a vacation for you. (not sure how this works–I think they reimburse you up to a certain amount) Also lots of free food… free lunch at least one day a month, but it often ends up being more like three or four times. Plus donuts. And fruit. And the occasional party with excellent food that you’re not required to go to or stay long at if you don’t want to. (I’m told the alcohol is good too, but I don’t drink!) Because the company requires us to all wear suits every day except Friday (even if you’re not talking to clients… I know it’s weird…), the company has a “suit stipend” of $1500 for new employees to buy professional clothing. They also reimburse a portion of relocation expenses. Don’t recall exactly how much, might be $2000?
Software Developer* August 10, 2017 at 12:19 pm I’m a web developer (Rails) at a financial services software company. – Health/Dental/Vision – fully paid by the company for myself and my fiance, including the first half of the deductible (which is paid via an HRA); choice of HMO or PPO – SIMPLE IRA with 3% match (we’re a small company so we don’t have a 401k; you can’t contribute quite as much to a SIMPLE as you can to a 401k/403b but it has some other nice qualities) – Holidays – NYSE holidays, which works out to about 10 a year – Vacation – three weeks – Sick time – unlimited – Food – kitchen full of Whole Foods hot bar and prepared foods, occasional catering and outings, bagels on Thursdays – Flexible schedule/work from home ability – we aren’t set up for 100% remote work (we rely a lot on face-to-face interaction) but it’s fine to work from home when you need to wait for a package to be delivered or a repairman or in case of unexpected childcare problems or whatever
Software developer* August 10, 2017 at 3:37 pm Oh, Boston area, 3+ years at this job/career, ~15 years in previous unrelated professional jobs.
Program Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 12:20 pm Accreditation Organization/Non-Profit Admin (letter writing, award program managing, meeting planning) Extended DC Metro 10 years total 2 years in this position 12 days vacation (once I hit 3 years increases) & 12 days sick (earning 1/2 day per pay period) They match up to 10% in the retirement fund They pay 100% health insurance premium There are some education benefits I have yet to use
Medical Coder / Team Lead* August 10, 2017 at 12:24 pm Job Description: I am a lead for a team of 20 medical coders for the largest health care organization in my state. I do training and continuing education and quality review, but no HR responsibilities. Location: the midwestern US Experience: 14 years in my career field, 3 with my organization. (Our benefits change at the 5, 10 and 15 year marks.) PTO: I accrue 8.62 hours of PTO per pay period or 28 per year, and our accrual caps at 300 hours. This includes sick time, vacation time, and 6 holidays (New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day). (This goes up to 33 days per year and 360 hour accrual cap at 5 years with the organization.) As a fully remote employee, I do also have the option to work on the official holidays and save that PTO for another day if I so choose. Other benefits: They pay about 80% of my health insurance premium officially, plus I get an extra $28 reduction of my premium per pay period because of the points I earned participating in the optional wellness program. They also give me $700 per year in my HSA and pay 50% of my dental and vision premiums. They match up to 4% of my salary in 401K contributions. There is long-term disability coverage, though I don’t know the details of it, and they pay for a life insurance policy that covers 150% of my salary. Two out of three years, we’ve gotten cash bonuses (I think both years were 0.75% of the previous year’s gross salary or a dollar amount, whichever was higher) and last year everyone got a bonus directly into their 401(k). We have a tuition reimbursement program that reimburses up to $3k per year for undergrad or $3600 per year for graduate school, as long as your program is on an approved list of majors/programs, at an accredited school and you maintain a C+ or better GPA, and requires a 2 year commitment past the completion of the degree. Other stuff, looking through the handbook right quick – adoption assistance, optional short-term disability insurance, FSAs for dependent care, optional life insurance for dependents. I’ve never used any of that stuff though. As previously stated, I’m fully remote, so I have the ‘benefit’ of not having to have much in the way of a work wardrobe or commute costs as well, barring the occasional on-site meeting.
I Like Pie* August 10, 2017 at 3:17 pm This is so great to know! I’m currently enrolled in a local community college program that’s just touching on coding and I am so interested in the field! I’ve found some online AHIM accredited programs that I plan to enroll in next Fall. One instructor told us that coding itself isn’t really something a lot of coders do now, they end up more in supervisory/teaching medical staff the codes to enter themselves. Have you had a similar experience in your area? (I am in SoCal, LA.)
Red Reader* August 10, 2017 at 7:45 pm (Not bothering to change away from my regular ‘nym again, this is the person you originally commented to.) That is, uh, complete and utter horse hockey. :P My organization has five teams of coders in our division, each with 20-odd people — inpatient, outpatient surgery, ancillary, physician, and pre-bill edits. There are other coders in the org as well outside of my division, but I’m not as familiar with what they do, plus we outsource our emergency department coding because it’s highly specialized. We also take 2 classes of freshly graduated new coders most years and divide them among the teams for training. (I joked the other day that school teaches baby coders what to do if everything is perfect, and then we teach them what to do in the real world.) Four of our five coding teams code from physician documentation. The pre-bill edits team handles medical necessity errors, modifiers, guideline issues, “hey medicare says you can’t charge that more than once a day and it’s on there twice,” stuff like that, after we finish coding it and before it goes out the door to the payers. In some cases, we do have providers entering codes. And that’s how I end up with things like a provider ordering a lab test for code z79.899 with a written description of “checking current immunosuppressive levels”, when the actual description for code z79.899 has nothing whatsoever to do with checking any levels and instead means “long-term use of other specified medication.”(Which is probably ALSO a correct code to add, but isn’t what the doc wrote down as to why he ordered the test.) One of the first things I train my new coders is to ALWAYS second-guess codes given by a physician and go by their written description instead, because physicians aren’t coders, haven’t been trained to be coders, generally don’t know jack about the coding guidelines. But even if we wanted them entering their own codes — which we don’t — THEY would balk. Hell, we can barely get them to dictate and sign their documentation in a timely fashion, we sure aren’t going to expect that they’re going to do their coding appropriately.
Web Developer* August 10, 2017 at 12:24 pm Job: I work at a cloud-based software company, mainly doing front-end web development. Location: Vancouver, Canada Experience: 1-2 years (but had a career switch, so have 15 years work experience total) Benefits: # MSP fully paid by employer (mandatory, income-based medical services payment, basically a tax for heathcare). Default is that this is 50-50 between employee/employer # Extended medical/dental fully paid by employer, with no co-pay and no deductible. Our extended medical is pretty amazing. Good prescription coverage. $500/year for each of various things like RMT, physio, nutritionist, etc. Eye care is okay ($200/year), Dental is good (fully coverage of regular cleanings, don’t know beyond that yet). But the fact that it’s fully paid and no deductible is really good. # Short-term/long-term disability – we pay LTD, but the plans are fairly good. And we pay so that we don’t have to pay taxes on the money we get while on disability leave. # EAP, including access to free counselling, etc. # No retirement/RRSP matching/pension # 2 weeks vacation, 5 sick days, 2 personal days. (This is way below standard, imo). The vacation will go up slightly as I’ve been here longer. I was planning on asking for a 3rd week when it came time for raises this year, but I got nearly a 50% raise (hired as a temp, promoted to intermediate), so I didn’t, but regret not still doing it. # Various team-building days – most of our clients are in the US, so on days like July 4th and US Thanksgiving, we take the day and have a bbq or go to an escape room. # Snacks, drinks, coffee, and breakfast on fridays # 10% bonus plan (1/2 is based on personal goals, 1/2 on company goals)
Research and Compliance Administrator* August 10, 2017 at 12:25 pm My job: I work for a large state university in research administration. At other universities this job might be called a grants analyst, research administrator, or sponsored research administrator. I work in a centralized office that handles review, negotiation, and approval of grant proposals and sponsored research conducted by the college of medicine. My main focus is confidential agreements between the university and sponsors, and amendments to existing agreements with the university. My geographic area: southeast US My years of experience: In this particular position, I have 18 months experience, but before that I worked in a support role in the same office for 2.5 years. I am new to this “industry” but have 15 years of experience in other industries. My benefits: University employees are actually employees of the state. We accrue vacation at the rate of 6.77 hours per pay period (26 pay periods) and sick time at the rate of 4 hours per pay period. It is very generous. We also have 10 paid holidays, including, strangely, “Homecoming” for the university. (But not President’s Day. I’d really like President’s Day!) Additionally, the university closes from Christmas to New Years and we are given 4 personal days to use for those days. If for some reason you have to work during Christmas to New Years, you are allowed to use those personal days some other time. All the PTO can basically accrue forever, but when you retire, you can cash out up to a year of it in pay. There is no paid family leave. However, for maternity leave you can take up to six months, unpaid, which is far beyond what FMLA allows. You can also “borrow” against future PTO for maternity leave. But you have to “pay” it back in a certain number of years. For retirement, the state used to offer two options, you could either opt into the pension plan, or into another 401K-type plan. Now you can only opt into the 401K-type plan. I did the pension, so they deduct 3% of my pay for the plan and the state puts in about 8%. They do provide EXCELLENT health insurance benefits. I pay $180 a month for very good Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO insurance, for my entire family. My employer’s cost is $1379 per month. They also offer various types of dental, vision, accident, disability and cancer insurances – even pet insurance. We can get some discounts with medical providers through the college of medicine. None of their insurances cover infertility treatments, which was of particular interest to our family. My favorite thing they offer is the dependent care account, because it has saved me thousands of dollars.They offer an HMO for the same price as the PPO, which I will be switching to next open enrollment because the out of pocket costs are much less than the PPO. If we were to get our benefits through the engineering firm where my husband works (which is the biggest in the region and known to be a “good employer”), our insurance cost would be $950 a month for our family. I basically work here only for the benefits, because the pay is pretty crappy.
Research and Compliance Administrator* August 10, 2017 at 1:10 pm Wanted to note – the university has a really crappy tuition program. It offers “Employee Assistance” for tuition for yourself, but it is limited to the university itself or another state university within 50 miles of your campus. And not all departments/programs accept it, particularly grad programs or online programs. So your options are very limited. And if there is another state university that offers a specialized program online not available at our university, but the home campus is more than 50 miles away, they won’t cover it or offer tuition reimbursement. The only tuition assistance for families is a list that you can add your name to, but the few spots of tuition assistance available are given based on seniority.
Katie the Fed* August 10, 2017 at 12:25 pm I am a first-level supervisor at a government agency. My pay grade is a GS-14. I get: – Government pays about 2/3 of my health care premiums. – Employer match for TSP (like a 401k) is 5% total. We also have access to Roth TSP which is kind of nice. – Overtime if I need to work extra (not time and a half, and it’s capped at a certain level, but it’s nice sometimes) – Travel comp time and comp time (if I choose not to take overtime) – I earn 6 hours of annual leave per 2-week pay period, and 4 hours of sick leave. In two years I’ll have been here 15 years and will cap out at 8 hours annual leave/4 hours sick leave Other random things: – Decent per diem when I travel (especially abroad) – Discounts and some retailed like Apple and Verizon – TSA pre-check (I don’t think this is universal, but for my agency we get it) – Federal Holidays (hi Columbus Day!) – General flexibility in work schedules (your mileage may vary) – Some reimbursement for higher education Things that aren’t so great: – No maternity leave. Not a single goddamn hour. We have to use accrued leave or LWOP. – My agency hasn’t opted in to student loan repayment – Being at the mercy of congress deciding to shut us down. That is NOT fun.
Katie the Fed* August 10, 2017 at 12:32 pm Oh, I completely forgot about the pension. The pension is pretty sweet. I’m hoping to retire at 57, which is my minimum retirement age based on when I started. Of course with the baby on the way, that probably won’t happen but a girl can dram.
Senior Actuarial Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 12:25 pm Job: Senior Actuarial Analyst in Health Insurance at a large consulting and brokerage firm Area: San Francisco Bay Area Experience: 6 years Benefits: – 19 days PTO (so combined pool for vacation and sick days), can buy up 5 days. – Retirement: DB plan plus savings plan with 6% matching – Health insurance: i’m not enrolled with my company so not sure on contributions but hear it’s pretty decent from my coworkers – Others: standard life and disability, 8 paid holidays, can work from home, free food
Public Library Branch Manager (librarian)* August 10, 2017 at 12:25 pm 1. Job: Technically a government employee at the county government level. I run a small (one of the two largest for our system, but small in absolute numbers) branch/satellite library location with 6 direct reports, open 6 days a week, and I manage, purchase materials, and run adult and children’s programming for my location, and for the larger system. I have a masters in library science, and am in the third tier of our reporting structure (my grandboss is the library director). 2. Location: Upstate South Carolina, USA 3. Experience: 6 years paraprofessional library work (3 of them as a paraprofessional branch manager), 4 years previous management work, 3 years as a professional librarian. 4. Benefits: All federal, state, and county holidays. (About one a month – plus extra around thanksgiving or Christmas/New Years, so about 13 yearly. Additional 2 days of vacation and 1 day of sick leave accrued per month. (Starts at 1/2 day and 1/2 day of each and jumps with every 5 years longevity, but sick leave caps earlier. County / State plan health insurance with a decent network and low co-pays and deductibles (co-pay is $30, deductible is I think $5 grand for my husband and me). My employer actually covers both the employee and the employer portion of my health insurance to the tune of about $100 a month I don’t have to spend. I do have to pay out of pocket for my husband – he costs about $200 a month, but he works for a small company so it’s worth it for the safety net to just pay for him. Retirement withdrawals mandated at 3% and matched (haha I’ll never see it but it’s sweet of them), life insurance accounts for me and my husband, options for temp disability insurance and total disability insurance, options for other insurance types (vision, dental, mental health), tuition assistance for grad school; only one person at a time for the whole company but it covers 1/3 tuition and supplies (have to work for them for at least 3 years after the year of assistance or have to pay it back). Random Perks: an official state-mandated 7.5 hour workday, meaning I can never work more than 37.5 hours in a week. State, regional, topical, and national professional association memberships and conference attendances paid for (we have to share hotel rooms tho) on a rotating schedule, cheap memberships to the county rec center, holiday parties and picnics funded by the county, semi-annual health fairs and health screenings and vaccinations free or at-cost, county vehicles to use on business or business trips/conferences, lots of ‘free’ t-shirts for various programs, lots of book and literacy-adjacent swag from everywhere. We get paid for shit so they really try to be proactive with the benefits as much as possible.
Public Library Branch Manager (librarian)* August 10, 2017 at 1:12 pm Random things to clarify: maternity leave policy: use sick leave, then vacation leave, then unpaid FMLA if you’ve got any time left on that (FMLA time runs concurrently with the other leave, because of course it does) then hope you can work out some deal with HR if that’s not enough. Leave does roll over to the tune of 300+ hours of each per year (good grief) and if you haven’t used it when you quit or retire, vacation leave is paid out in your final check, and sick leave gets applied to your ‘time in service’ calculation for your eventual retirement benefits account payout.
Another Library Branch Manager* August 10, 2017 at 1:24 pm 1. Job: I also manage a public library branch. I am employed by the county government. I run a medium-sized branch in suburban area. I have 3 direct reports (all FT) and 11 in-direct reports (6 FT, 5 PT). We are open six days a week. I manage day-to-day operations of the library, provide programming for adults and teens, manage the collection of the library, and of course deal with personnel issues. I have a Masters in Library and Information Science and report directly to the library director who oversees all 4 branches of the system. 2. Location: Piedmont/central NC 3. Experience: 8 years of paraprofessional library experience. For 2 of those I was a PT assistant, then moved up to FT. 3 years of professional experience: 2.5 years as a librarian during which I supervised 4 employees, about 3 months as a manager. 4. Benefits: – All state holidays off, and holiday time received. (These include some federal holidays, but not all of them.) Multiple days off (2-3) for both Thanksgiving and Christmas (about 16 days a year). – I accrue a little over 5 weeks of vacation time a year. This is due to my seniority, entry-level positions accrue only 2 weeks of vacation time a year. I also accrue 2.5 weeks of sick time a year, this is standard across all positions. – I receive health insurance through the county’s plan with no premium (as long as I continue to not use tobacco). My spouse is on my plan for about $300 a month. It includes a HSA that the county puts money in every year. It is a high-deductible plan, but its pretty decent. I also receive one eye exam per year for a $10 copay. My county also provides a health clinic for all FT employees that I can use for a $5 copay. – I have dental insurance through my employer for $26 a month. – I have a 401(K) that the county contributes 5% to. I also have access to a state retirement pension that I am required to contribute 6% to out of my paycheck. – There are options for life insurance, vision insurance, disability insurance, pet insurance, etc. offered, but I have not taken advantage of these. – I did receive $1000 each year I was in graduate school for my tuition since I got a job-related degree. Its not a lot, but I went to a state school so it went a pretty long way. I only had to work for them for a year after getting the reimbursement, which I have more than surpassed now. Other Perks: – There are two fitness centers operated by the county I can use for free. – Free admission to the county fair. – Because I worked for the county I got rent discounts on my apartments before I bought my house (guess they figured I had a pretty stable job). – Paid membership to national organizations and state conferences – Wellness initiatives: pretty much everything above, as well as access to the employee health clinic and free wellness coaching and access to counseling through the EAP. I’ll never get rich working here, but the benefits are pretty nice.
Another Library Branch Manager* August 10, 2017 at 1:41 pm Another perk to our health clinic is that you do not have to use sick leave if you go there. It is counted as regular work time.
Loan Officer* August 10, 2017 at 12:26 pm Technically my formal title is different, but my employer uses it to indicate a paygrade and it can encompass like 4 different actual jobs. I work at a credit union, and I do most of the things that are more involved than deposits and withdrawals. Loan applications, contacting people about delinquencies, answering questions about their accounts, helping them set up online services, creating new accounts, tax preparation assistance (VITA), etc. I do not do mortgages, estates, investment, insurance, or anything else that requires certification. Yet. I am located in NC, and have been at this job about a year and a half. I currently get 128 hours PTO per year (10 hours per month, plus 8 hours in February). The accrual rate goes up every few years as a longevity perk. At 2 years it goes to 12 hours per month, and then I believe at 5 it goes to 14. PTO will accrue for a good while, but there is a cut-off after which you can’t either roll over or accrue more – I don’t know exactly which one it is. It’s at like 320 hours, something like that. My employer offers a double-match on our 401k, up to 10% (so, employee contributes 5% and they will put in 10%). The 401k is vested immediately. For health insurance, all employees are required to carry our employer-sponsored coverage. Individual coverage is paid completely by the employer, is through BCBS, and is not a high-deductible plan. For family plans, the employer covers $500 of the monthly premium, but the employee pays any additional charge. I don’t know what that is off the top of my head but I think it’s a standard additional cost. There is dental insurance for a small monthly fee, and it’s a fairly typical plan. We are also required to carry long-term disability insurance, and the employer also pays the monthly cost for this. They offer short-term disability, life insurance, and other benefits as well, but those are optional. We get annual merit raises following our annual performance reviews. Everybody gets one, every year, but managers have discretion to split up the available funds among their employees as they see fit. My employer also offers a number of other ways for employees to increase their pay – getting certified in various additional services tends to bring a pay bump (nothing huge, but like 1-2k/yr, which can add up, and the employer will reimburse all educational expenses for the certifications), and it has an internal testing program where passing tests gives you a teensy raise ($3 per paycheck, roughly). The combination of all of these means that I’m making nearly a third more now than I was when I was hired, despite my annual raise as a percentage of income being relatively modest (I think 3% last year, and 3.5% this year). Because I work in financial services, as a regulatory requirement all employees are required to take off five consecutive work days every year. The thinking behind this is that having other people take over your work for a week is likely to uncover any little embezzlement schemes you’ve got going, or provide time for a juggled ball to drop. It works out for employees, too, since no manager gets to prevent someone from taking a proper vacation. One benefit I think is really neat is the schedule offered to many of our call center employees. They work 4-on/4-off shifts (10-hour days), which works out to 50 extra days off per year at the same pay rate as standard 8-5 M-F branch employees. The downside is their schedule rotates and they sometimes need to work holidays, but everyone I know who switched to the new schedule absolutely loves it. Especially because when they take their 40-hours off, they get 12 full days away (4 days off, 4 days vacation, 4 days off) instead of just 9 (two weekends and a week), without using any extra PTO.
Non-profit paralegal* August 10, 2017 at 12:26 pm Paralegal for complex litigation Support multiple attorney’s (3 to 5) for the small Chicago office of a National non-profit law firm. I do legal research, case information research, put exhibits together, manage/organize files, cite check briefs, run ToA ToC, some IT support, and other miscellaneous tasks. The pay is not great but the great benefits make up for it. Fully employer paid health/vision/dental coverage for myself all dependents. PPO plan has no deductible, $5/10 copay for office visits and medicine. We have been told the plan is considered a platinum level on exchange. Dental we have choice between an HMO ( no deductible 100% coverage for preventative care and basic procedures) or PPO plan (small deductible) Vision -standard free yearly check up and $130 towards glasses or contacts. 20 days PTO 25 after 5 years (Upto 10 days of carry over) 12 paid holidays 403-b with 3/4% employer contribution. Company paid Life/disability insurance 6 months paid (70% salary) paternal/maternal leave. Experience: 1yr 3months current job and 3 years total experience as paralegal/legal secretary
Staff Accountant* August 10, 2017 at 12:27 pm I’m about to start a new job with a new office in September, so answering based on NewJob rather than OldJob. Position: staff accountant at a public practice firm Calgary, Alberta 4 years’ experience – 3 weeks vacation plus 5 personal/flex days – Full coverage of all professional development and association fees, which can be quite hefty – Dental, prescription drugs and supplemental health benefits such as massage, chiropractor, physiotherapy etc. (universal health care takes care of doctor’s visits, tests and hospital stays) If and when I’ll move up in the company I will get a parking spot.
Calgary worker* August 10, 2017 at 12:49 pm Considering you are in Calgary, it is important for people to know that that parking spot could be worth over $400/month and would be covered and with electricity for winter weather. Parking around here is expensive and coveted as a perk for a reason. Does your firm offer free transit passes? I know the one I worked for did if you didn’t get a parking spot.
Senior Staff Accountant (Public Practice)* August 10, 2017 at 2:17 pm Position: Senior Staff Accountant at a public practice firm (3 partners, 3 designated accountants, 1 director, me, 4 staff (1 co-op/intern)) Ottawa, ON 7 years’ experience – 3 weeks vacation plus 5 sick days – Full coverage of all professional development and association fees, which can be quite hefty – Dental, prescription drugs and supplemental health benefits such as massage, chiropractor, physiotherapy etc. (universal health care takes care of doctor’s visits, tests and hospital stays)
Senior Staff Accountant (Public Practice)* August 10, 2017 at 2:57 pm Edit to add Flexible schedule – book 40 hours per week (50 in tax season), Fridays off in July and August (instead of OT paid from Tax Season)
Laboratory Animal Welfare Specialist* August 10, 2017 at 12:27 pm Job: Oversee environmental enrichment and behavioral management of all vertebrate research animals in our organization Area: Northern California Experience: First job out of grad school, but a decade of work experience in veterinary medicine Benefits: 15 days vacation (accrued) and 12 days sick leave (accrued) per year; pension; pre-tax transit payment; HSA and FSA programs, plus HMO and PPO networks; reduced tuition; EAP; and I got part of my relocation expenses reimbursed. This is a position covered by collective bargaining.
College Professor* August 10, 2017 at 12:28 pm Salary: $100,000 (nine months) Mostly standard benefits 15 sick days a year No vacation but off every time the students are off No fixed work schedule, just be there for classes Some online courses, e.g. working from home
Email Marketing Specialist* August 10, 2017 at 12:28 pm Job: Develop and manage marketing drip campaigns for prospective students from inquiry to enrollment (private art & design college); Work with faculty and staff to gather information on college and program highlights; develop reports for email marketing metrics; help with admissions events as needed, other duties as assigned. Geographic Location: Michigan Years of Experience: 10 years of professional experience in the nonprofit world. This role is related to, but much different than anything I’ve done in the past Official Benefits: 24 PTO, 13 holidays (plus the week between xmas and NY if the pres is feeling generous); 6% contribution to retirement (not matching, just straight up), I pay for a part of medical, dental and vision about $68/paycheck, 100% tuition remission after 1 year for me, my spouse and dependents, dependent care reimbursement, short and long-term disability Unofficial Benefits: semi flexible schedule, my own office space, wonderful laid back atmosphere that isn’t making me sick or killing my spirit.
Federal Architect* August 10, 2017 at 12:28 pm I’m a GS-13 architect for the US Department of Defense. I design facilities utilized by DoD and contractor personnel. Location: Southeast US, mid-sized city. Experience: Nearly 9 years with this agency, and approximately 5 years in the private sector before that. Benefits: * 20 days annual leave with ability to save up to 240 hours of accrued leave. * 10 paid Federal Holidays * 13 days sick leave * 401k (TSP) with 5% matching contribution * Pension * Comprehensive health plans, with 2/3: 1/3 payment split (I think) * Life Insurance policy * Up to $12,000 annually in tuition assistance * Flexible work schedule * Limited duration overseas work opportunities (haven’t done it but many, many people do) * Carpool incentives (haven’t done it, not sure anyone here has) * Employee Assistance Programs * Very limited bonuses * Free gym membership, reduced-price event tickets, opportunities to volunteer at sporting events, reduced-cost boat rentals, RV rentals, vacation rentals, etc.
Federal Architect* August 10, 2017 at 12:39 pm Oh, big perk I forgot about: paid overtime! Architects typically work long hours, weekends, overnights, etc. This is the major salary differential between private and public sector for me. The base salary is relatively comparable but the overtime can add a lot of extra income. We also receive comp time if we’d rather have PTO than $$, and travel comp.
Safety Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 12:28 pm Job Description – I am responsible for all safety and industrial health at a manufacturing facility in Ohio. I also oversee our workers’ compensation program, which is self-insured. Years of Experience – Almost 7 overall within safety. A little over 2 years at this company. PTO & Holidays: We have very generous holidays – 16 this year for salaried employees. I have 8 additional days of PTO to use as needed (both vacation and sick), but each year of service earns an additional PTO day. There is also jury duty leave and bereavement leave (depends on family member as to how many days off you receive). Retirement: 401(k) matching 100% up to 4% of my salary. Health Insurance: The company offers several tiers of insurance plans, but I am on the lowest tier in single coverage. It is a high-deductible plan and the company pays 100% of the premium and puts $500 ($1000 for family coverage) into an HSA account every year. If you participate in the wellness program you get an additional $200/year in the HSA. I am not sure of the percentage for medical and vision, but they offer subsidized plans for those as well. Life Insurance: The company provides complimentary short-term and long-term disability. They also provide up to 1x your annual salary in life insurance, as well as offer employee-paid supplemental life insurance and spouse or child life insurance. Other perks: We have a small fitness center on-site, and are potentially adding an on-site medical clinic as well. We get discounts to several local businesses. If you need minor maintenance on your car, a local company will pick up the car and return by the end of the shift. Occasionally they offer tickets to local events, and they have several employee events (Christmas party, etc.) throughout the year. They also offer an employee assistance program and discounted telemedicine programs.
Safety Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 12:31 pm Oh yes, and they are also pretty generous with training/development benefits. I’ve never been denied a training or certification I requested. Tuition reimbursement is also available, and the amount depends on what program you are enrolled in (some Masters degree programs are paid at almost 90%!). And we get small bonuses quarterly.
Executive Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 12:28 pm Job: Executive Assistant at a Private Equity firm supporting a Partner (Group Head), Principal, Vice President, Senior Associate, and 2 Associates Geographic Area: San Francisco, CA Years of Experience: 1 as an EA, 3-4 as an Administrative Assistant, 5-6 in administrative work Benefits: 401(k) but no match; 2 weeks vacation (goes to 3 weeks if you’re with the company for 5 years); 9 days of sick leave; premiums fully covered for health/dental/vision insurance for us, spouses, and dependents
Process Improvement Specialist* August 10, 2017 at 12:28 pm I am a process improvement specialist focusing on payment products at a company in the Pacific Northwest. I have 4 years of experience, 1.5ish on this team. Benefits: Health/vision/dental insurance at highly competitive rates and spouse/family coverage for additional cost (still pretty reasonable for US health insurance) 15 days vacation (will bump to 20 at 6 years of service), 6 holidays, 6 personal, 3 sick Free transit pass, shuttles to and from the suburbs 401k with 2% company match Some local discounts Subsidized life insurance (opt-in) Up to 28 weeks paid maternity leave, 6 weeks paid paternity leave
HR Genearlist* August 10, 2017 at 12:29 pm I’m an HR Generalist in a department of ONE person (me). I do everything related to HR from recruiting, onboarding, off-boarding, employee relations, setting policies and procedures, to the day to day stuff like calculating turnover, paying the benefits bills, maintaining the HRIS etc. I don’t do payroll. I do some safety functions, but mostly clerical, such as distributing the monthly safety article, handling all the worker’s comp issues, that kind of thing. I work for a small-ish company of 135 employees in the SW Florida area, WAY south of Tampa, and about 45 minutes south of Sarasota (which are bigger urban centers). I have 11 years of HR experience and have my PHR designation, but no degree. Nevertheless, my experience makes up for the lack of it. I get pretty good benefits: 80 hours per year in vacation, and 40 hours per year for sick time, and we can use up to 16 hours of sick time as personal time. My company is an ESOP, so that’s one retirement plan there, but they also match our 401(k) at 100% if we put 3%, and 50% for any percentage over 3% up to 5% (it’s really weird – I let others do the math on that). BUT, I compare that to another company for which I used to work which had 18,000 employees and was spread throughout the nation, and they didn’t match anything at all! My employer offers 3 tiers on the health insurance, and I chose the lowest tier for me and my children (my spouse has Medicare). They pay 78% of the lowest tier for the employee only. The employees pay 100% of the premium for the children and/or spouses. Speaking of ESOP, because we are one, we don’t work to make somebody else rich. We work to put money into our ESOP and to keep us employed. Recently, we’ve come up with a way to give everyone (and we mean EVERYONE) a quarterly bonus based on the company’s profitability for any given quarter. We’ll see if it works. We are hard-core believers in the Great Game of Business and Open Book Management. Pretty awesome, even for non-ESOP companies.
Executive Assistant (Lily in NYC)* August 10, 2017 at 12:31 pm 80 hours of vacation? That’s only two weeks! That sucks.
Executive Assistant (Lily in NYC)* August 10, 2017 at 12:30 pm Senior Executive Assistant New York City 12 years (at this company). 20+ years of experience 5 weeks vacation, 4 floating holidays, 1 week sick leave Vacation buy back (can sell up to 10 days of vacation days back to the company once a year) Two retirement accounts – one that we contribute to, and one that they put in a percentage of our salary into (I’m at 16% a year now – it’s the main reason I haven’t left). No social security taken out of our pay (which becomes a curse instead of a benefit after a few years) Flexible spending benefits Excellent medical benefits for very little money Pre-tax transportation spending program $400 a year towards vision care good dental benefits Flex time Tuition reimbursement 4 months paid maternity/paternity leave Mentorship and lots of professional development opportunities Half price movie tickets to all NYC movie theaters NO work from home, mediocre salaries (which is why we have good benefits), they recently took away overtime (which is so shady because I don’t think the way they handled it is remotely legal)
Executive Assistant (Chicago)* August 10, 2017 at 1:03 pm Executive Assistant to CEO and Office Manager Tech Company Chicago 2 years at this company, worked in a different administrative field previously for 3 years Unlimited vacation, sick days, flex time Company paid long-term and short-term disability Monthly, paid company events Equity and Profit Sharing Short working Fridays with a Beer O’Clock cheers Work from Home option Monthly engagement programs, gift cards to partner clients each month Extended maternity/paternity/bereavement/emergency leave Paid sabbaticals after 3 years Office snacks at least once a week Office closes between Christmas and New Years each year Commuter benefits (pre-tax) And since we are a discount company (not the one you’re thinking of) we also get amazing discounts to all of our clients Medical and retirements could be better (expensive, no match) but I don’t utilize those through my workplace anyway so it works out okay for me! :)
WorkingWhilePregnant* August 10, 2017 at 12:30 pm Business Analyst Location: MA 8 years in my current position (13 at the same company in other positions) We have relatively standard vacation/sick time (5 days sick for all employees), vaca dependent on position & time at the company, but maxes out at 5 weeks. Most get 3-4 weeks. Only 5 days can be ‘carried over’ and nothing is paid out at year end. Also 3 Personal & 3 Family Care days. 401k and stock plan matches as well. The most interesting (to me) and newest benefit is our updated family leave policy (as of this year). 8 weeks STD fully paid, and then 12 weeks parental leave, fully paid, for a total of 20 weeks if you’re physically having the child, and 12 weeks for a spouse/domestic partner. This includes adopting a child as well. Our company has a goal of at least 30% of its workforce being part of a ‘work from home’ agreement. Certain areas of the company have significantly more than 30% others less. I currently WFH 3-5/week depending on my project schedule (with the occasional week of more days in the office as needed).
Industrial Waste Inspector* August 10, 2017 at 12:31 pm I am responsible for enforcing Federal, state, and local pretreatment regulations in our sewer service area. I inspect existing and new businesses to determine if they are subject to these regulations, and if they are, work with them to apply for permits. I administer permits by reviewing self monitoring reports, performing regular inspections, and sampling wastewater from permitted users. Identifying users (required by Federal law) can involve what we call “windshield surveys”; literally driving around commercial and industrial area looking at what’s going on and smelling the air – I can find chrome platers by smell alone. We also identify users using mailed surveys, looking at monthly lists of new and renewed business licenses, participating in the building permit process, and door to door surveys. Sampling can involve working in the right of way in traffic, working in confined spaces (manholes), working outside in any weather, lifting sampling equipment weighing up to 70 pounds from manholes by rope. Inspections can involve being around dangerous equipment, hazardous chemicals, and small/elevated/difficult to access spaces. I spend a lot of time analyzing data to identify trends in sewer loading, maintaining a database that tracks our permitted users’ compliance, writing new and renewal permits, writing new and modified City ordinances, and writing policies and procedures. I also have to keep up to date on new and changed state and Federal regulations. The companies I regulate range from small shops that treat their wastewater in plastic garbage cans to the Boeing widebody plant (an inspection takes two full days and about 15 miles of walking) and a Campbell’s plant that discharges almost half a million gallons of regulated wastewater per day. I’m in a municipality north of Seattle, WA I’ve been doing this work for about 36 years for three different cities in three states and two EPA Regions, 26 with my current city. I’m a Civil Service employee with a union contract. Due to my seniority, I earn 7.69 hours of vacation a two-week pay period (200 hours/year, new hires start at 96 hours/year). I also get two paid Floating Holidays/year, 10 paid holidays, and earn 3.69 hours of sick leave per pay period (96 hours/year). Under the state retirement system of which I’m a member, I contribute 7.38% of my gross and the City contributes 12.90%. The city covers about 85% of my health insurance cost, including full vision and dental coverage. I have access to a 457 plan (public employee equivalent of a 401K), but with no matching.
Industrial Waste Inspector* August 10, 2017 at 12:36 pm Ah, caps. My vacation is capped at two years’ accumulation, so 400 hours for me. And I’ll be paid for a maximum of 240 hours at separation. Total sick leave accumulation is capped at 960 hours and I’ll be paid for 10% of those hours at separation.
Sr. Director of Development* August 10, 2017 at 12:31 pm 1. I oversee the development team (major gifts and annual giving) for a large college at a public university in the southeast 2. 15 years of experience in the industry, 7 at this institution 3. 24 vacation days, 12 sick days (no cap on sick day accrual, vacation days cap out at…I think 8 weeks). University is also closed Christmas-New Year’s, other assorted typical holidays. employer pays 75% of health insurance premium. 10% retirement contribution with no match component + 401k. Tuition assistance, including discount for dependents.
Product Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:31 pm Job: Product manager at a small tech company (~40 employees), located in the Pacific Northwest Experience: 5 years total, 3.5 years at this company (not all in this particular role; this one is about 6 months old). Traditional Benefits: – Fully paid health/dental/vision for employees. We also cover 50% for dependents, which includes spouses, kids, and domestic partners/ – FSA (and dependent care FSA), to which the company will contribute $500 regardless of what the employee contributes – We have a 401k but no matching- it’s relatively new so TPTB wanted to hold off on matching until there was a better sense of the financial impact; makes sense to me though I hope we’ll have it soon! – Stock options that begin vesting after one year – 15 days PTO for me (I think some others with longer tenure have more); no distinction between types of leave – We also take a paid break around the winter holidays where the office is closed, usually about two weeks. People work from home to varying degrees depending on their role – Unlimited bus pass (this costs about $100 per month to buy so this is a great one) This job does have some nontraditional benefits, like Work From Home Wednesday (self-explanatory; such a nice way of breaking up the week). Probably our most noteworthy is known as Freedom February. Our CEO hates the PNW in the winter (as most everyone does), so when the company was just getting started, he instated an annual trip to a sunny locale every February. Now that the company has grown, February is basically a month where employees can work from anywhere they like. Some people go on a tropical trip, but it’s not mandatory. Some people go to visit family and work from there, some stay in town, etc., but everyone receives a bonus to put towards their travels or whatever else they choose. I almost feel embarrassed describing it because it sounds so fanciful, but I’m grateful for it- it’s allowed me to visit a lot of cool places in my time here.
Service Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:31 pm Based in Scotland UK. Manage an all round service for veterans who are struggling to transition to civvy street or experiencing other difficulties. Holiday – 33 days paid inc public holidays Sick leave – up to 8 weeks full pay, 18 weeks half pay. Pension – 6% employer contribution, no matching. Flexible working, parental leave etc all above statutory. Great internal training available and external training is encouraged where relevant. No health benefits as we have NHS! But vouchers towards glasses if needed for VDU. Various discounts available at car retailer etc if buying brand new.
Graphic Designer* August 10, 2017 at 12:31 pm In house designer for an engineering company. Design all print and digital marketing materials, trade show displays, and light web updates. 4 years experience, 2.5 at current company -13 vacation days -6 personal/sick days -Flat $1000 contribution to 401k yearly -For health insurance they cover a set amount, cant remember the exact number. For my plan/age my health insurance is 100% covered, and the excess contribution goes into an HSA. -Continuing education incentives -Lunch twice a month -No official policy on remote work, but employees can work from home as needed
Insurance Broker* August 10, 2017 at 12:32 pm national designation and part way through a second less common designation Central Canada 3.5 years experience in industry 20 vacation days 3 paid sick days full health and travel insurance benefits (we just pay the taxes) with $0 deductible required continuing education paid for Boss brings in treats on a regular basis- coffee, smoothies, pizza, pastries, etc Plus he treats me with amazing respect, so supportive, values my opinion and experience, genuinely cares for the staff
Educational Program Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:32 pm Job – Educational Program Manager – multi-site program manager for small organization that is part of a larger institution Location – New York, New York Years experience – 4 at this organization, 10 total Benefits – -15 days vacation, plus Christmas-New Year’s Day, and 5 other federal holidays (up to 15 days vacation roll over each year) -12 sick days per year, and 1 personal day (15 days vacation roll over, personal day does not) -Retirement – contributions of 5% after 2 years; 2x matching up to an additional 2.5% (so, you contribute 2.5%, the college contributes 10% total) – Insurance – depends on plan, premiums are $140 – $285 per month for an individual (for comprehensive coverage with a major insurer); 4 plans available; free dental and vision -Tuition exemption – up to 12 credits per year, including some lesser dependent coverage
Compliance and Training Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 12:32 pm Job Description: I wear a lot of hats, since I work at a nonprofit. I create and revise medical forms and policies, track and analyze incident reports to identify areas for clinical improvement, create training on administrative and compliance issues, perform audits, and manage special projects, among other things. Location: Austin, TX Experience: 3.5 years here, 6 years in the non-profit industry post-college. I also worked almost full time during college, so I have 9 years of administrative experience total. Benefits: – Salary: $20.17/hr, $41,953 annual – Vacation/sick leave: I accrue 6.77 hours of PTO per pay-period, adding up to 22 days per year. Next year I’ll accrue 8 hrs per pay period, to equal 26 days per year. – Holidays: 8 scheduled paid holidays and 1 paid floating holiday – Health insurance: I pay $23.99/month for medical, $15.59/month for dental, and $3.57/month for vision. My employer pays around $325 of the monthly health insurance cost. Medical copay is $30 in-network, dental is 100% covered for preventative services, and vision is a $20 copay for the exam plus free lenses and a $130 allowance for frames or contacts. All generic prescriptions are free. We also have an optional FSA up to $2000. – Employee assistance program: We have an employee assistance program that offers up to 8 free counseling sessions per issue per year, free legal and financial services, reimbursement for emergency cab fare, and a “well coach” to help improve and maintain health. – 401k: They match 50% of the first 6% that we contribute and contribute an additional 3% of our monthly base salary whether or not we participate in the plan.
Marketing Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 12:34 pm Marketing Coordinator for a large nonprofit Midwestern city 4 years of total experience, 3 at this job Insurance: employer pays 80%, I think. I don’t have much to compare it to, but everyone tells me that the plan is very good :). Definitely more affordable than my husband’s employer. They pay 100% of dental and vision premiums. PTO: 21 vacation days, increases with years of service. New hires get 16. I can roll over 40 hours. Also 8 holidays and 1 sick day accrued per month. We also have flex hours, which is really nice. Retirement matching: 100% employer match up to 4% Other random perks: FSA account, on-site gym (shared with other companies in our building), tuition reimbursement for certain types of classes, subsidized public transportation
Marketing Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 12:48 pm I guess I should add that we do get catered lunches during our craziest 2 weeks of the year. It’s less of a “benefit” than a tactic to keep us all in the building, but it’s still nice. I absolutely hated my previous job, but we got a free 30 minute massage every month, which I miss desperately.
Billing and Accounts Receivable Specialist* August 10, 2017 at 12:34 pm JOB: I work in billing for a publicly traded firm. My job entails reviewing contracts/orders and setting cutomers up in our billing system, and updating that billing with new orders (renewals, expansions, etc.). That is the bulk of my day to day. I also send invoices, update contact information, and assist with the administrative side of the process when customers leave our company. Occasionally I help with cash or credit application, and other billing-related tasks as assigned by my supervisor or our manager. REGION: United States, Mountain West EXPERIENCE: In billing/accounting-related work, about 3-4 years. BENEFITS: I (and most people I know of) are stuck in that awful ‘PTO bank’ system. We ‘earn’ PTO based on the hours we work and draw from that bank for vacation, sick leave, etc. We can go into ‘debt’ to that bank for up to a week (40 hours) if deemed necessary. As Alison has brought up time and time again, this encourages people to ‘save’ their PTO by coming in to work when they are ill, or overworking on Monday and Tuesday so they can use fewer PTO hours for the time off they scheduled Wednesday-Friday. The company does not offer retirement matching but does do a ‘safe harbor’ payment into the company-sponsored 401k. For those who don’t know, they are essentially putting a percentage of your salary into your 401k even if you don’t increase that amount, and that expectation is built into the salary they offer you. I really want people new to the workforce to understand that ‘safe harbor’ is not the same thing as ‘matching’! I believe my health insurance premiums are paid by the company at about 70-80%? I haven’t looked at it in a while but I’ve been pretty happy with my options for choosing insurance plans. There’s one option for vision, but it’s good/comparable to others I’ve had. There are two tiers for dental, and the higher tier includes adult orthodontia, which very few plans do; my insurance through my company is covering for about 30-40% of the cost of my braces. There are three tiers for health insurance, starting with the high-deductible/health savings account plan (which the company will put several hundred dollars into if you go this route “to get you started”), then going up to two regular insurance plans that are comparable, but the higher tier pays a higher percentage and has a lower deductible. Other ‘nice to have’ benefits are the annual day of service, where you are paid your regular salary for the day while you and others go and volunteer (Food Bank, RMcD House, other local charities). Usually the day before a holiday the office closes early, but we are paid for the full day. If there is a team happy hour or morale event, we are paid for that time as well (on our timesheets it shows up as ‘office closure’). I think there is a ‘wellness program’ where you can get paid by the company if you go get a biometric screening from a doctor, but it sounds weird to me so I haven’t taken advantage of that. The company will pay for either a monthly transit pass (which is usually well over $100/month) or pay for your underground parking, which in downtown can cost $200/month or more… and not all companies working downtown are doing that in our area, so it’s a really nice perk. Every year we get to choose our branded gift from corporate (clothing, drinkware, etc.). And we get an annual bonus based on the company’s performance and our personal performance. So as you can see, there’s a reason I’m not too bitter about the stupid PTO bank. Otherwise I feel rather taken care of by my company.
Associate Attorney* August 10, 2017 at 12:35 pm This is for my previous job as I am currently unemployed after quitting it (but have prospects!) Associate attorney. All work was done under the (very close) supervision of a partner, but on any given case I could handle stuff all the way up to drafting papers to file with the court and possibly making the majority of appearances in court. Southeast Georgia 4.5 years of experience Small firm, five or fewer attorneys (including partner(s)) No sick leave. No vacation leave. About a 50/50 chance that when the office closed for holidays or natural disasters that I would have been paid for those “missed” days (one year I was told “since everyone has been working so hard, we’re going to pay you for Thanksgiving despite being closed!”). They sent me to mandatory training once or twice but didn’t pay me for those days I was out of the office (but did pay for the training). No retirement. No health benefits. Sometimes they gave a small bonus (less than $5k). They paid for malpractice insurance. They didn’t pay Bar dues or CLE fees (except for the mandatory training they sent me on when they didn’t pay my salary), and it is my understanding some law firms will pay for those as a benefit to attorneys. I will readily admit that my old job was an extreme outlier.
Associate Attorney* August 28, 2017 at 8:44 pm The no paid holidays part gave me flashbacks. My previous* firm (in North Georgia) did this with Christmas. Senior partners closed the office for several days (so they could enjoy the holiday with their families), but wanted attorneys and staff to have PTO days “saved up” for that timefram. If they didn’t, they would have to work even though the office was closed, or have their paycheck docked. A year or so into the job I accepted a position with another firm, but ultimately agreed to stay for a higher salary and better benefits. Being able to enjoy Christmas at my leisure was one of them lol. *”Previous firm” = Quit 3 months ago to move to New York. Wish I could say I have prospects, but immediately after the move I flew to the Dominican Republic to visit family. Been here 12 weeks.
Director of Communications* August 10, 2017 at 12:35 pm Responsible for all external communications of an architecture firm — PR, website, social media, brand identity, special events, relationship building in the community, firm direction and strategy. 150 person company Boston, MA 5 years experience @ this firm, 9 years of work experience Benefits: When you start at the firm, you earn 3 weeks of PTO (vacation + sick), after 2 years you earn 4 weeks and after 9 years you earn 5 weeks. You can rollover up to double what you earn. We have some people with so much PTO banked, the firm offered a 1 time “buyout” up to a certain amount. I wasn’t eligible so I don’t remember. 10 holidays 1 floating holiday 40 hours of paid parental leave within 90 days of birth or adoption of a child FMLA benefits offered Flexible schedule if you negotiate w/ your team Leaves of absence up to 6 months (could be related to FMLA or not) At my level we also get company paid life insurance, and either our public transportation passes covered or our parking. In-house flu clinics Health plan w/ $25 co-pay. Good network. Dental plan, vision plan. 401(k) – matches 25% on each dollar, up to 6% of annual salary Pays for professional organization membership Not relevant to me, but the firm pays for licensure exams for architects and provides study materials Firm provides bonuses and annual raises (both vary by level and contributions to the firm, but everyone seems to get at least a cost of living increase each year).
Civil Engineer* August 10, 2017 at 12:35 pm Intermediate Civil Engineer at a consulting firm, day to day generally includes design work, project management, some field work and basically anything else that comes up Atlantic Canada 5 years (not including work terms), 1 at a mega project and then 4 at my current job As for benefits: -3 weeks vacation a year (plus can bank time) and office shuts down over Christmas (but you need to use banked time) and 11 stat holidays -5 sick days a year (can’t role it over to the next) -Employer matches 100% of RRSP contributions up to 5% of your salary -There’s also an option to buy company stock and get up to 35% match from Employer -Health insurance is a bit weird here they give us a budget and then we get to choose what level of health/dental we want (if you use less than your allotted amount you can just get it paid out to you) I pay about $20/month for really good health (90% coverage for basically everything) and dental (70%) -They also offer a critical illness policy which will top up EI if you can no longer work due to an illness (like cancer or the like) -Employer pays all of the short term disability benefit (which you can use if you’re out sick for more than 3 days in a row) -Really flexible hours (they pretty much let me set my own schedule as long as it doesn’t conflict with meetings or client deliverables)
Sr HR Generalist* August 10, 2017 at 12:36 pm HRG/HRBP for a Fortune 100 company Greater Manchester UK, originally from US 6 years experience Vacation: 25 days plus 7 public holidays, 6 months sick leave with full pay, government mandated minimum pension of 1% of base salary, no private medical, ability to purchase company stock pre-tax. My company has bare-minimum benefits in the UK and the US.
Information Security Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 12:36 pm Job: I am responsible for crafting and enforcing security standards, policies and procedures, and processes. I handle day-to-day request activity, troubleshooting, and internal customer service for the user community. I also assist on projects that expand the company’s security and am starting to lead a few as well. Location: Mid-to South-west United States Years experience: coming up on 20! (gulp) Benefits: –Formal benefits include excellent health insurance, not-so-excellent dental insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, 7 personal days that can be used for anything, 4 weeks vacation, 5 sick days though they tend to be flexible if you go over. Matching 401K up to 6%. At the end of the fiscal year an extra 1-2% is often added if the company has done well. Bonuses up to 10% of base pay, depending on company performance. Full tuition reimbursement. Reimbursement for certain industry certifications if passed. Employee recognition which can include awards, cash, or just general kudos. –Informal benefits (dependent on organization and management) include flexible hours and telecommuting,
Operations Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:37 pm Northern New England (i.e. not MA or CT), 15 years experience I am the person that wears too many hats in a small (15FT + 15PT) company – Finance, HR, IT, workflow coordination, some project management. I get 35 days of paid time off per year to use for holidays, vacations, sick and personal time. My company pays 100% of the health insurance premium for employees and their families for a plan with a $2600 deductible (individual) and as associated Health Savings Account. For $40/month I upgraded to a more traditional plan with co-pays on most services and a $2500 deductible on hospitalization and the like. The company pays 2/3 of my dental plan. I get 1:1 match on retirement contributions up to 3% of salary. The company shares 25% of it’s profits with full-time staff, up to 20% of our salaries. We’ve maxed out that 20% for 8 of the last 10 years. The least it’s been is 15%.
Operations Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:59 pm Southern New England -5 years experience -salary 70k -I also wear too many hats at a small company (15 people on site, 50ish at other locations) -Project management, purchasing, logistics and shipping, process improvement -unlimited PTO, but I usually take 3 weeks vacation and 1 week of sick leave throughout the year -Company pays 90% of health insurance, vision, dental -4% 401k match
Software Developer* August 10, 2017 at 12:37 pm UK Public sector First year post graduation, 1 year experience. 25 days paid leave plus one additional per year up to 30 10 paid holidays and unlimited sick leave No health insurance cause UK The job is paying for my MSc. I get a ton of other benefits like half price this and that plus a good pension matching but my favorite one by far is my schedule: I work 38 hours a week. Anything extra, within limits, I can take as paid leave. I can’t accrue forever and am limited in redemption to 4 days every 6 weeks but I can on occasion work 4 day weeks without depleting my PTO.
Receptionist/Office Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 12:37 pm *I am my company’s receptionist/office assistant. I work for a firm that does special inspections for commercial construction projects. Recently though I was given more responsibility by taking over a few aspects of each of our project managers jobs. I convert all of our PMs reports to PDF and then distribute them to our corresponding clients. *New York City *about 1 year *Benefits is where it gets tricky. -Health Insurance – I do not use the company provided health insurance because I am still under 26 and on my parents insurance BUT a friend who just left did have the HI provided and he said there was no options for vision, none for dental the deductibles and copays were huge and for the lowest Bronze tier he was paying about $186/two weeks. And our company doesn’t pay any premium. So… terrible. -PTO – 40 hours per year (but we are required to work a 45 hour work week) -Sick Leave – none. If you want to be paid when you are sick, you use PTO. -Commuter benefits – it’s supposed to be a pre-tax montly metrocard, but I’ve been paying the regular $121. I guess the taxes will come back when I file my taxes next year? I’m not sure. -401k/Retirement Plan – none offered. -Holidays – also a very weird subject for my company, we are a Jewish run company so we get off for most (not all) Jewish holidays even some more minor ones. BUT if we are given off for non-traditional Jewish Holidays it is expected for most/required for some to come in on weekends or even non-Jewish national holidays. Like this year we were required to work on Memorial Day, even though ever single one of our sites that we work on was closed. So we all sat in the office with nothing to do all day. To make a long story short, I am currently looking for other work with better hours, pay, benefits, the whole shebang!
Arts Adminstrator - Nonprofit Theatre* August 10, 2017 at 12:38 pm Associate Producer, lead for marketing and development for a nonprofit theatre company; member of our leadership team, including weighing in on artistic decisions, assisting with production & facility needs; leading board of directors on major fundraising and patron stewardship work. Willamette Valley, OR 4 years full time at this org (2 years with this title); worked as intern/part-time staff for 2 years leading up to full-time Education: Master’s degree in Arts Management Holidays – major Federal days plus 2 additional (can sometimes float) Sick time – 5 days plus 1 personal day Vacation – accrued according to salary & length of time at org, with increase at 3 year mark (I’m up to 10 hrs/mo) Insurance – 75% of insurance premium covered by org Remote work option; encouraged to use at least one day a week for out-of-office work Flexible scheduling (important with frequent late evening & weekend hours) Artistic opportunities – as an artist, I am frequently tapped to work on productions at my org. There is also some flexibility offered in terms of scheduling when I’m working on projects at other organizations.
Senior Copywriter* August 10, 2017 at 12:38 pm 1. I write copy for the company website, email campaigns, infographics, fliers, newsletters, white papers, etc. I’m also a bit of a project manager when it comes to certain web initiatives. 2. Philadelphia suburbs 3. 34 years 4. 22 days PTO, 100% match on 6% contribution to 401K plus a 4% contribution at the end of the year; a bonus that averages around 5% of pay. Health, life, disability, dental, vision, the usual. I don’t know the percentage of health care that I pay, but my cut is about the same as other companies I’ve been with – about $400 a month for family coverage. Flexible schedules and work from home, various retail discounts, EAP.
Contractor - Process Specialist* August 10, 2017 at 12:38 pm Create/edit/review/issue documentation with legal implications for company’s capital projects. Lots of time spent in internal database entering data points for process tracking. Upper Midwest/Great Lakes 2 years in this position, 4 years with this department, 10 years working experience Benefits: Match 10% of your contribution for 401k, so since I put in 10%, they contribute 1% of my salary Health is a $2700 deductible plan (preventative care free, all else applied to deductible) for $540/month for a single person Paid company recognized holidays No paid time off Employer paid Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability, AD&D
Group Benefits Insurance Account Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:38 pm Job: Manage existing block of business for large insurance carrier Location: Southeast US Years of experience: 8 A description of your benefits: 30 days per year PTO, these carry over but the max is 30 days plus 9 paid holidays. 401k Match to 6%. Pension Plan- Yes, a pension plan. 100% full pay for up to 6 weeks of STD and then 60% of salary thereafter. 4 weeks full pay parental leave for new parents (outside of STD or FMLA). 6 hours per year to volunteer at a charity of our choice. Medical plan premium is paid at 70% for employees/ 50% for dependents.
State Government Attorney* August 10, 2017 at 12:39 pm I work in a state agency doing general counsel work. I’m #2 in a small legal staff. Indiana 13 years experience All state employees get: – 12 vacation, 6 sick, 4 personal days per year, bereavement, military, jury, plus state holidays; you get extra vacation days if you hit tiers of employment: 5 years, 10 years, etc. – $15 retirement matching (yes, that’s not a typo) – The portion of your insurance premium paid depends on how you do in the wellness program, which is a point system based on health and activity levels – One cool thing many state agencies offer is Alternative Work Schedule. If you have AWS, you work longer days for 9 days of the two-week pay period and you have 1 day off. It helps you bank sick and personal time because you can schedule routine appointments for your AWS day rather than taking time off. – In many state agencies, continuing education courses and licensing fees are paid.
Municipal Employee* August 10, 2017 at 12:40 pm I live in Greater Vancouver. My job is to set up and run Council meetings for a large municipality (so if you have meeting questions, feel free to ask, but everything you need to know is in the John Cleese training film “Meetings, Bloody Meetings”) I am unionized so my benefits are defined through my collective agreement. Health: employer pays 75% of my Provincial (state-run) medical health premiums for the entire family, and 100% of the extended health care benefits they administer (covers 80% up to certain amounts for certain items – like my combined chiro/naturopath is $600/year, as an example). Dental – has two levels; covers up to 80% for basic dental (cleanings, fillings, etc); 50% for more advanced things (crowns, bridges, etc) and orthodontics; employer pays 75% of premium Group life insurance – employer pays 75% of premium Sick leave – 20 days per year, banked to a maximum of 261 days; if I don’t use my sick time in a 4 month segment of the year (so three times a year), I get an extra day off in a separate gratuity bank to a maximum of 120 days. We don’t have long-term disability so that’s why we can accrue so much sick time. Employee savings program: I contribute 1.5% and employer matches. Can be withdrawn once a year. Maternity leave: 17 weeks of top up to 100% of my salary (Employment insurance covers about 50%) Court Duty: If I get called for Jury Duty or as a witness in a court case, they pay me for that time at my regular rate. Pension: run provincially; I think we contribute around 7% and the employer matches it. It’s a pooling of all the municipalities in the province. Vacation: I’m at 20 days vacation; I go up to 25 days (5 weeks) in 2019; that same year, I get a supplementary week which has to be used the year before the next increase. Overtime: 1.5x pay for the first 2 hours; 2x pay for any time after that; paid meal breaks during overtime of more than 2 hours. If it’s not used up by August of the following year, it gets paid out. Earned days off: we work an unpaid 0.52 hour every day and get 18 earned days off per year, 3 of which have to be used during the Christmas closure.
Municipal Employee* August 10, 2017 at 12:48 pm Oh and all statutory holidays (New Years, Family Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, BC Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day)
Municipal Employee* August 10, 2017 at 1:20 pm Oh and EAP, discounts on bike share/car share memberships, transit pass incentives, fitness classes at work (we pay for them but they bring in instructors).
Executive Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 12:41 pm ◾ Executive Assistant to the CEO (non-profit/charity) ◾ Toronto, Ontario, Canada ◾ 4 years of experience in this particular role ◾ 3 weeks vacation; sick leave accrued at 1.5 days/month – can save a maximum of 75 days to replace short-term disability; pension plan matched by employer: 3%/3% of gross earnings; I’m in Canada so no need for health plan, but for drug/dental coverage employer pays 100% of benefit and we have a $50 deductible per year; we pay 100% of life insurance premiums … lots of professional development, discounts, etc. but I think that’s the bulk of our benefits
System Specialist/Software Tester* August 10, 2017 at 12:41 pm Software tester for a university department that develops it’s own applications in house. I’ve been here for 11 years, with just over 1 year in my current role. 24 days vacation, 15 sick/family care, 6 holidays, and we close the week between Christmas and New Years (that doesn’t come out of our own vacation pools). I have to use my PTO in 4 hour chunks, but I can flex my time a little bit to do appointments. Really, really good healthcare for not a lot of $$, as long as I stay in network. Mediocre dental and vision. Legal plan, life insurance (1x salary is default, but for extra money I can get up to 5x my salary). STD and LTD. 401k matching up to 5% of my salary. Tuition reimbursement up to 75% of cost, as long as it’s related to my job, and up to 3 hours a week to attend classes.
Lora* August 10, 2017 at 12:41 pm Process development scale up senior engineer, manager of pilot facility, tech transfer to clinical development Pharma Cambridge MA We get technically 5 personal days but in real life it’s unlimited. 3 weeks vacation 1 week shutdown between Xmas and new year Health insurance has a sliding scale for what % you pay; at my level it’s about 10% Dental covered 100% Vision pays everything for contacts but the allowance for glasses is $250 for frames and a 50% discount on lenses Subsidized gym membership, I think the local gym costs $50/month Free lunch and snacks and bagel Wednesday 401k with 3% contribution HSA Tuition reimbursement for some amount I forget how much Subsidized transit pass / free parking in the city
Lora* August 10, 2017 at 4:05 pm Oh yeah, and we have short term disability, long term disability, life insurance, AD&D insurance all covered by the company up to 2X salary, if you want more you can buy it at a subsidized rate. Quite a bit of flex time too. And 11 holidays. Any jury duty type things are paid for. 3 days bereavement. Also a dependent spending account, emergency travel assistance (this started after the travel ban was first announced in the US). Discounted pet insurance, movie tickets, car insurance, stuff like that. One free exercise class per week at the gym on the bottom floor. A bonus referral program if you refer a candidate for a job and they get hired. And I am coming up on 18 years of experience in pharma.
Lora* August 10, 2017 at 4:19 pm And discounted phone plan. I keep remembering little things. I can use the company phone as a personal phone if I want, but I don’t.
Systems Administrator / Software Developer* August 10, 2017 at 12:41 pm I take care of Linux computers in a federal research laboratory, supporting ~3000-3500 systems (depending on how you count), as well as writing software tools to automate the work. I work in a team of 7 people. It’s a mid-level position; I am not management, and am essentially-ineligible to be upper management because I don’t have the correct degrees (only a BS in Computer Engineering). Our lab is in the Chicago suburbs. I’ve been in the profession for ~17 years, and in my current position for 4.5 years. Benefits: 18 days of vacation (increasing to 21 next year), 18 days of sick leave, plus a floating holiday. This is actually substantially worse than if I had started ~1 year earlier. Retirement is a 403b equal to 10% of salary without required matching (!!!), starting after working for 2 years. Health/Dental insurance is top-tier but with fairly expensive contributions required if you’re covering anybody but yourself (~$250-300/month at this point for the family). We’re authorized to work at home once a week, but no more. There are some life insurance benefits that I fully take advantage of to the extent that I don’t remember what they are. Nothing else really stands out; we used to get more travel funds/time but that’s been cut back in the last few years. Vaguely-reasonable maternity/paternity leave was just added last year, after it would have helped me.
Risha* August 10, 2017 at 3:00 pm *eyebrows raised to the ceiling at a techy job where they give a damn about an advanced degree*
Systems Administrator / Software Developer* August 10, 2017 at 5:43 pm It’s a Physics lab. If you don’t have a Physics degree, you may well be sub-human.
Systems Administrator / Software Developer* August 10, 2017 at 5:45 pm Oh, and there’s on-site day care. I can’t overemphasize this one enough. This single benefit, no matter the cost, has the potential to keep me here for years.
Clerk 1* August 10, 2017 at 12:41 pm Official Title: Clerk Public School Location: Greater Boston Area 3 years of experience Job Description: data entry, creating reports (for administrators or grant applications), organizing internal student and staff records, occasional reception duties ~$48,000/year 37.5 hours/week Benefits: -11% required (no opt-out) Retirement/Pension contribution, vested after 10 years (never partially vested), you receive 80% of a 5 year average of your highest paid years in the system -Optional 403(b) plans available -12 Paid Holidays -18 Vacation Days (increases with longevity) -2 Personal Days -20 Sick Days (partial payout for unused sick days at retirement, can donate 1 sick day per year to the sick bank) -Group Insurance Commission (GIC) insurance plans. I pay ~$100 per month for the most basic plan -Dental Insurance (employee covers) -Flexible Spending Account -Life Insurance (50% employer match) -Vision Insurance (not sure, I think employee covers) -Long term disability -Supplemental Insurance (employee covers) -Discounted (25%) tuition at a local, for-profit business school -Discounts on participating local restaurants, movie theaters, etc. (including Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint cell providers) -Discounts on local bike sharing and car sharing services -Early release during summer (work 1/2 hour less per day during summer months)
Senior secretary* August 10, 2017 at 12:42 pm Job: Administrative assistant at the head office of a bank. I support 3 managers, and to a lesser extent the people under them. I supervise their calendars, I take care of all the logistics when it comes to meetings as well as travel, I do the monthly expense reports, I process all the invoices that come through our sector, I do some translation and a little bit of tech support. Area: Montreal, Quebec, Canada Experience: 8 years of experience in admin positions (previously I was a high school teacher) Benefits – 3 weeks vacation – unlimited sick days (need a doctor’s note for 3 consecutive days or more) – all statutory Quebec and Canada holidays (that’s about 12 days I think) – 100% coverage on dental (except maybe purely cosmetic stuff) – 80% coverage for medication – 80% coverage for glasses & eye care – 1000$ discretionary health spending annually (massage therapist, chiropractor, psychologist, etc.) – Short term disability at 80% pay up to 6 months, long term disability at 66% pay up to 3 years (if I remember correctly) – Life insurance for 2x my annual salary, 3x in case of accidental death – Annual bonuses dependent on fiscal health Also there’s a pension plan as well as a stock option purchase plan, but I don’t remember those details.
Career Development Advisor* August 10, 2017 at 12:42 pm My job: I am located in the career services office of an R1 institution. My team serves graduate students and postdocs primarily, although I also see undergrads as needed. I am the main student-facing member of my team, and I see 12-15 scheduled appointments per week plus a drop-in shift. I do outreach to academic departments on campus, am the main data-cruncher for my team, give invited presentations, and sit on panels aimed at graduate students and postdocs. I also generate tools and content–some of it is for our website and some is internal (info or guidelines for the overall CDA team relating to graduate student or academic job search topics). Region: Mountain West Years experience: I’m new in my current role, but have a career advising certification and a variety of higher ed experience, including program management (1.5 yrs), some administration and accounting (4+ yrs), research (4+ yrs), student advising (8+ yrs), and teaching (9 yrs). Benefits: my benefits are standard for my institution and employee class: 15 sick days; 22 vacation days; all statutory holidays. Health, dental, and vision insurance are all offered and my employer covers much of the cost of all. Employee only health insurance costs for the employee range from $0 (high deductible plan) to $110 monthly; corresponding family plans range from $20 to $350 per month. Employer contribution is the same dollar amount across plan category (employee, employee+spouse, employee+children, family) so a higher percentage for lower cost plans and a lower percentage for the more expensive ones but it ranges from 100% to about 84% depending on plan. Life insurance and AD&D are all offered as well, with the institution covering premiums for $57K and additional coverage available at a small monthly cost to the employee. Retirement is either in the state pension plan or an individual retirement account, there’s matching but I honestly don’t remember how much, and you can also do additional retirement accounts on top of the mandatory. They also offer a number of pre-tax savings plans. We have a tuition benefit as well: one free course per term up to 3 per calendar year at any campus, OR you can transfer your benefit to a dependent including spouse, at which point they receive a 10% discount across the board regardless of number of credit hours or campus they attend.
Meetings Coordinator* August 10, 2017 at 12:44 pm – I’m a Program Coordinator in the Meetings Department of a large professional association. Our meetings are at the top of our industry, and our big annual meeting draws over 50k attendees and international press attention. My position is one step above entry level. – Washington, DC metro area – Four years of experience – Flexible work schedule and no defined work day (I can work a standard 8-5, 11-7, or hell, even 2-4). The organization emphasizes results over hours. – 7.5% 401k contribution. This is a flat contribution, not matched. I can put in 1% or 20% and the org will still contribute 7.5%. – Unlimited vacation and sick days. Again, the time worked doesn’t matter so long as you’re getting the work done. – Medical, dental, and vision benefits are covered 91% by the organization. Maternity/paternity leave is fully covered (no set amount of time, but folks usually take 12 weeks) and extended medical leave is covered. – Our business travel benefits are pretty great. We get an allowance of $30/$30/$75 for breakfast/lunch/dinner, pre-tax and tip. A fun perk is if you’re on the road for more than three nights you can expense a movie – either in the theater or in your hotel room.
Presentation/Product Specialist* August 10, 2017 at 12:44 pm Job: Create customized presentations for potential and current customers for sales staff. Train field reps on company’s value story as well as product and content advantages that distinguish from competitors. Professional degree required. Salary: 65K Experience: 3 years with company Benefits: -annual performance-based raise; approximately 2-3% -8% bonus depending on department’s goal completion -15 vacation days (increase to 20 after 5 years w. company) -4 floating holidays/personal days -6 sick days -2 volunteer days -company donation matching or donation for time volunteered up to $1000 -401k and or Roth 401k with 4% matching, -gym membership, in office exercise classes, in office game room. -Perks program w. discounts on cars, travel, restaurants, tickets etc. -pickup/dropoff mechanic services while you work -free towing/jumpstart services from any office location during winter -carpool incentives -Pension plan used to exist but was terminated. Only a handful of employees who made the cutoff are still in the workforce -coffee, tea, and iced tea 24/7 -raffles for professional sports events and concerts -turkey at Thanksgiving -Health, dental, vision, and life insurance
Program Associate* August 10, 2017 at 12:44 pm Job Description: Supporting the division through research and topical writing on criminal justice, taking minutes, grant reporting, administrative duties, and logistical support. Geographical Area: NYC Experience: 4 years; 1.5 years with current org Benefits: –> 17 days of vacation; at 5yrs w/ org vacation goes up to 20 days (unused days roll-over) –>12 days of sick leave (unused days roll-over) –>12 days of paid federal holidays –>2-5% retirement matching and 401k –>Vested 20% per year of employment –>Transportation subsidy (deducted pre-tax) –>I chose a High Deductive Health Plan –>Company contributes $1,250 in my HSA account; my deductible is $2,600 –>Preventative health, dental, and eye services 100% covered –>80% coverage for basic and major dental work –>Health, dental, and eye coverage deductions pre-tax –>Tuition reimbursement: 100% (A’s), 50% (B’s), 25% (C’s), nothing lower than that –>$1,000 annually for professional development –>Flexible schedule so I can work from home as needed
Candy* August 10, 2017 at 12:45 pm Library assistant at a Canadian university. I’ve worked here over 10 years. Five weeks paid vacation + the usual 12 stat holidays and one week unpaid over Christmas when the university is closed. Taking sick days of 3 days or less is called casual illness and as far as I understand there’s no limit on how many of these you can take — unless it’s considered excessive or there’s possible abuse of the policy and then it’s considered sick leave, which is 26 weeks at 100% of salary. This is Canada so we have healthcare, but our benefits also provide Extended Health Care which basically means our dental is covered for 80% (dental isn’t covered by CDN healthcare, which is ridiculous) plus long term disability and all that. Other interesting benefits are free tuition for employees and their children and spouses (100% if you work fulltime or 50% if you work parttime), unpaid leave for up to a year (I recently took a year off to travel and also made use our benefits’ travel insurance as well), and of course this is Canada so there’s 1 year parental leave too.
OfficeWitch* August 10, 2017 at 12:45 pm Office Manager (Non-Profit) Colorado 8 Years Experience – Unlimited Vacation – $100 month wellness stipend (for gym) – 3 month 100% paid parental leave – $2000 for professional development after 2 years of service Great benefits despite not being the most exciting position!
Program Associate* August 10, 2017 at 12:53 pm Unlimited vacation? I’ve heard of companies doing this. Do you find that people take more or less vacation annually?
OfficeWitch* August 10, 2017 at 12:59 pm It’s actually worked out really well! Typically people tend to take 2 -3 weeks of vacation annually, but we recently instated that employee’s have to take 2 weeks minimum because there were a few employees who weren’t taking vacation time and experiencing burn out unnecessarily. Biggest issue has been getting people to give adequate notice before their time off but we’re rolling out a schedule notification soon to counteract that.
Program Associate* August 10, 2017 at 3:18 pm Wow, that ‘s a great system you have! It would be great to have support and encouragement from management for staff to take time off incrementally, instead of in spurts as staff experience burnout. Grinding is promoted more than personal care. If we had unlimited vacation, I guarantee you, folks would be gone all of the time.
UK charity advice and information* August 10, 2017 at 12:46 pm Your job: health information, advice and advocacy for a charity Your geographic area: London, UK Your years of experience: 1 year in the charity sector, 12 years total post-college experience Vacation: 25 days to take when I want and option to buy up to 5 more, plus 8 bank holidays and 5-6 other days we’re closed Sickness: 8 weeks full pay and 8 weeks half pay, goes up to 12 weeks/16 weeks after 2 years and keeps going up based on years of service, also can take a certain number of medical appointments in work hours, also 5 days compassionate/bereavement leave Pension matching: you give 7%, they give 14% Health insurance: N/A Other stuff: flex schedule, 35-hour week, can work from home one day a week, free tea coffee and milk, interest free season ticket loan, subsidised yoga, Pilates and massages, lots of paid training I’m sure we have good parental leave but I’m not aware of the details.
UK charity advice and information* August 10, 2017 at 12:57 pm Also death in service lump sum payout to your chosen beneficiary and a very good EAP with access to therapy within five days when needed.
Something else I forgot* August 11, 2017 at 12:36 am We get paid our salary as normal for jury duty and then just have to claim available allowances and get them paid direct to work.
epidemiologist* August 10, 2017 at 12:47 pm -I analyze and disseminate data (reports, presentations, etc) to support the work of public health programs (surveillance activities, targeting interventions, etc) -government agency -city in Southwest US -2 years experience – vacation and sick time accumulate per month, how much depends how long you’ve been here- mine is 8hrs for sick, 9hrs for vacation, plus holidays -I don’t pay any of my health insurance premium, if I had dependents I’d pay part of theirs, vision and dental are extra -I’m ashamed to say I don’t really understand my retirement-related benefits, but I do have them-I think there’s a 401k involved somehow
Data Analyst (Real Estate Investment / Tax Credit Syndication / Asset Management Firm)* August 10, 2017 at 12:47 pm – Database management (just like in general); Responsible for requesting, tracking and inputting financials for about 650 properties; Managing invoices and payments for/from all properties (Coordinating w/ Accounting); Auditing financials for my portfolio at the end of each quarter; Coordinating between Asset Managers, Housing Compliance and management companies; Creating/ Proofing internal guidelines; Proofing new deal documents; Tech support for proprietary records system, ect. (the duties of this job can be pretty fluid and new ones get added/taken away quite often, but those are the consistent ones) -Boston, MA – 10 years with the company, 2 in this position – Sick leave: 7 days; Vacation: 6 weeks; 25% 401K match; 42% insurance premium covered; 42% HSA contribution match (this changes depending if you have an individual or family plan); In the summer get out at 3 on Fridays, but paid till 5; Causal Fridays (and this year casual August); yearly bonus’s and raise’s in September, with a bonus in December if we have a good year; Flex time (varies per manager); Tuition reimbursement 50% for a C and 100% for a B or above; Parking reimbursement; MBTA reimbursement for up to $53 (this can be used on: T pass, Commuter pass, bus pass, boat pass or cabs) Side Note: My company is known in the industry as a golden cage. They don’t pay very well and there isn’t much room for advancement, but the benefits are awesome. We tend to have 2 kinds of employees: lifers who’ll stay for their entire career and people who stay for a couple to cut their teeth and then move on because there’s no where to go once you get to a certain point in your career with us (despite my number of years, I am not a lifer).
Senior Accounting Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 12:48 pm I work for a small public accounting firm in Central Texas. My job entails anything from preparing financial reports to drafting tax returns to advising clients on best practices to accounting software consulting and troubleshooting to some light bookkeeping to training clients’ employees. I have been in accounting for 17 years. I returned to school to take all of the required classes to sit for the CPA exam in Texas and am currently studying for the exam. Until the end of last year, I was a subcontractor, so no benefits. I now have: – 2 weeks paid vacation – the most flexible schedule you can imagine. I work from home two days a week. My boss prefers it if I am in the office two or three days a week, but if something comes up I can just email her even if it is just to say, “Today, I.can.not.” My hours are up to me – I prefer early mornings, and many times I leave the office by 2:00. That being said, I do work late or suuuuuuper early when the job calls for it. Work/life balance is stressed as important – part of the comapany’s mission statment is, “We believe that families come first, and that people should be empowered to create a harmonious work/life balance.” We have a new CPA who just came to our firm from a larger, more prestigeous firm because we have such an awesome schedule and work/life balance. – free tech support for our personal laptops that we use for work. – snacks and beverages and the occasional lunch (especially during tax season) – a masseuse and masseur that come in every few weeks during stressful times of the year (tax season and the weeks before deadlines) for free 30 minute full body massages. – in the past my boss has offered us reimbursements for some classes – regardless of if they had to do with our jobs or not – she just thought we should be encouraged to keep learning. – no health insrance although I know my boss would like to offer it in the future.
Senior Accounting Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 12:53 pm I forgot that in addition to my paid time off (10 days), I also get 10 paid holidays per year.
Senior Accounting Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 1:13 pm I guess most of these are really perks, not benefits, but eh, whatever.
Sr. Marketing Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:50 pm 1) Job: content, social media, marketing strategy, demand-gen, product marketing/sales training, event strategy, co-manage summer intern… whatever other marketing-related duties they need, we’re a small team, which I love 2) Location: tech start-up in Silicon Valley, ~70 employees 3) Experience: 9.5 years in marketing, MBA, should be promoted to a Director title within the next 6-8 months 4) Benefits: – unlimited vacation (start-up life) that we can actually use, unlimited sick time, flexible work-from-home policy, office is closed for national holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc.) – options for HSA, FSA, or traditional insurance plans, so contributions differ, they give $125/mo to my HSA, my monthly prescription is covered 100%, and my birth control implant was the cost of an office visit at $130 (HSA plans I’ve had usually bill office visits only, so standard wellness/prevention visits are billed as an office visit), dental and vision are covered for employees and nominal cost for dependents (my husband is also on my plan) – they offer a 401(k) but don’t currently have a match, they offer options with standard 4-year vesting, 1-year cliff – downtown parking pass for car commuters, subsidized monthly train pass for rail commuters – other perks include unlimited snacks and drinks in the break room, catered lunch 1x/week, monthly company events (happy hour, picnic, game night with pizza, etc.), dinner reimbursement if you work late, Christmas party, gaming console and old-school arcade game in the lobby, we can walk one block to the trendy downtown restaurant scene for lunch, in my case the location means I can bike to work
Lead Marketing Strategist* August 10, 2017 at 12:50 pm Marketing strategist for an integrated marketing department for the Wisconsin school system (university level). -Analyze metrics to develop multi-medium marketing strategy for 6 degree programs. -Specialize in development of launch materials for new degrees. -Write content for various tactics for program marketing. -Oversee student workers. Will oversee two FT strategy employees with upcoming promotion (in process). Stationed in Madison, WI 13 years experience, not necessarily in strategy. Started out as a copy editor, moved into book editing, landed in copywriting, which brought me into marketing strategy. Benefits: -Flat rate 5 1/2 weeks vacation, 4 weeks sick. -13% pension, half required employee contribution, half matched by state. -Health insurance USED to be covered 100%, now we have copays and a moderate monthly premium. Dental is included in health at no extra cost. -Work life balance is EXCELLENT, but that’s more a result of my awesome boss than the organization itself. Not sure about maternity bennies, as that’s not really my bag. The vacation is the main reason I wanted to get a job with the university system. Pay is lower than private sector, but, again because of awesome boss, I’ve had the opportunity to move up quite a bit within the organization to make up for the original pay cut.
Office Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:51 pm I wear a lot of hats at this job. I supervise the seven employees who work in the office, I handle payroll, and I deal with all the HR issues. I also do most of the IT support. This is for an oil & gas service company in a remote part of north-western Canada. I have 16 years office experience, plus three years industry experience working in the field. To be honest, my current benefits are actually the worst I’ve ever had. However, the salary is 90K+, which is well above the average for my location and job duties. The biggest benefit is the hours. I keep core hours of 10-4 PM, Mon – Thursday. Everything else is at my discretion, as long as the work gets done. Even in core hours, I’ve never had a problem leaving for an appointment. I can remotely login and work as well. Most weeks I don’t work Fridays, and I’m really OK with that. I get 3 weeks vacation, plus statutory holidays. I had to negotiate that I would always take at least two weeks in a row off each year, as do all my staff who have access to the accounting software. (The company owner told me later that my insistence that all the accounting staff, including myself, would need to take 2 week vacations was what put me over the other candidate.) No medical or dental, but that’s not quite as big of a deal in Canada as it is in the States. No retirement benefits. No life insurance or short or long term disability. No reimbursement for mileage.
Human Resources Associate* August 10, 2017 at 12:51 pm Job: I’m an HR Associate – I work closely with the entire HR team (HR Business Partners, Comp, HRIS Analytics, Benefits) to assist with their functions. My main priority is the HRBPs and helping them with their recruiting functions. Location: PNW Experience: 1 year Benefits: 17 days PTO, accrued. That goes up with tenure, so you get 20 days by year 5. This is an umbrella, so no separate vacation and sick. 4% match 401k, 2 year vesting schedule, and they match per-paycheck We have medical, dental, vision, prescription. There are several medical options, including an HDHP that comes with an employer contribution HSA card. I pay for the most expensive PPO, standard everything else, and my costs are about $60 per paycheck. We also have a standard employer paid life insurance policy that you can add to. I elected to add to mine and it raised my costs by about 50 cents per paycheck. (Disclaimer: I am a 20 something single person) Other interesting tidbits: we have paid community service hours, a wellness grant (50% of your cost up to $200), and tuition reimbursement up to $5k per year. We are a financial institution and so we get employee pricing on products and services – you can get up to 2% off interest rates on loans and mortgages. We also have partnerships with companies like Nike and Columbia Sportswear so sometimes we get access to employee stores. Food trucks come a couple days a week to our corporate locations for lunch.
Development & Communications Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:51 pm Job: Very small nonprofit (6 year-round staff plus 8 for the program season, budget of about $750K). My ED handles high-level development (donor meetings, annual strategy and budget, final approval on all grants) while I write grants, manage donor database, plan and execute 3 fundraising/donor cultivation events per year, manage business sponsor relationships, create reports. I also manage all of our communications including social media, website content, two annual program snapshots, annual program catalog, and relationships with media partners. And since we’re small, other work as needed/as time allows. Area: Pacific Northwest city Experience: 2.5 years in this role, 3+ years prior to that in a program admin position in the same org Benefits: 17 PTO days per year. Not sure how many official days sick leave, but in practice it’s as-needed so long as we make up work that was missed. Year-round employees get health, dental, and vision, and we pay 20%. I’m familiar with the salaries of a number of folks in my area with similar jobs in similar orgs, and I know my salary is on the low end. But for me, the amount of flexibility I have with my schedule (e.g. working partial days from home in this last heat wave, doctors’ appointments mid-day, etc.) and with sick-days (as someone who catches every cold and flu there is) is incredibly valuable. I also receive personal and family discounts on programs hosted by my org, which are in high demand. And of course, as a nonprofit, there are the little benefits that help make us feel appreciated–leftover fundraiser wine, lunch paid for by board members, discount cards from business partners, things like that.
Quality Control Manager, Language Services* August 10, 2017 at 12:52 pm Quality control manager for a language services provider. Oversee linguistic quality across products/brands/languages. Miami, FL 6 years’ experience BA and MA in the field – 15 days PTO, 20 after 5 years, can roll over up to 120 hours annually – 50% health/dental/vision covered, good plans all around – 401K with matching up to 5%, vested immediately – $15k in life insurance – Ample coffee, tea, and soda – No paid parental leave – Privately held, so no stock options This is pretty standard for my area.
Senior QA Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 12:53 pm Try to make sure that what our customers see is as perfect as it can be. I writ test cases, confirm with stakeholders that I’ve understood requirements, on occasion write the requirements, supervise QA Analyst, write our part of release notes, set up automated tests, chat to devs to resolve issues and generally know everything about what our products do. So some support for internal people too. In the UK. >10 years testing, 3.5 in this job. Sick leave is only when you’re sick. Job will pay full rate for first 20 days in a y rolling year, then it goes to SSP for 28 weeks (£89/week but I’d also get housing benefit to pay rent at that point). If you have more than 5 periods in a year they’ll want a chat about what’s happening and can they help. Or check not skiving, but manager would have been addressing that long before. Holidays: Bank Holidays (8) + 26 days = 34. I did have 25 floating until got extra at 3 years’ service. (Legal minimum is 28 including bank holidays.) Pension matching… legal min is 3% but my company does 6%. Health insurance… not applicable. In UK so never pay to see doc or go to hospital. I mean you can if you want to ( get private room, etc and more choice ) but I’ve had a fractured skull, been in traction for 6 weeks after a road traffic accident, had a hole in heart repaired as a child, and as adult had abdominal surgery & two c-sections & associated maternity appointments &scans… and various minor things… and I’ve never felt the need to go private. But if I did… it’s one of the benefits on offer. If you like,you can have either private health or private dental. You do pay for dental if your not exempt, but an entire course of treatment up to and including dentures will cist a max of £244 so don’t other with that either. (Reason don’t take it anyway is because although the company pays, they are taxable benefits, and it’s not worth it.)
Senior QA Analyst* August 10, 2017 at 12:57 pm Oh and they give 12 weeks maternity at 90% of salary and then 27 at SMP (£140/week) instead of legal mi of 6 weeks 90% and 33 SMP. So hasn’t affected me but is nice
Librarian* August 10, 2017 at 12:53 pm * Adult Services Librarian; small suburban public library * Central NY * 4 years experience * 20 days of vacation per year (does not roll over), 11 paid holidays, 1 floating holiday and 2 personal days, and I accumulate sick time at a rate of 1 day per month, up to 120 days (payable upon retirement). * Member of NYS Retirement System * Employer pays 90% of health insurance premium, and annually contributes the full cost of the deductible to my HSA * 85% coverage for dental
Software Engineer* August 10, 2017 at 12:54 pm 3 wk vacation (2 for the first year), plus 6 personal/sick days. Plus any additional sick time legally required by location (Seattle req 9, so it’s 6 personal/sick + 3 sick) Parental leave is 10 wks maternity (for actually giving birth) + 6 weeks parental if you’ve been there a year (which applies to dads too). You can sacrifice some of that time and still get the pay if your partner works and has no paid leave. Dental plan covers 100% preventative, 90% small stuff (fillings etc), 50% big stuff (crowns etc) with a 1500/yr max Vision covers exam, lenses, $100 towards frames Health insurance has s few plans, employee only is very cheap and spouse + kids are less subsidized but still not bad. The most expensive plan for the whole family is ~500/mo (low deductible, co-pay only for everything). The higher deductible plan is ~200/mo. There’s also the option to do an FSA 401k matching is 50% up to 4% of your salary (so if you put in 4, they contribute 2) There’s also life insurance, 2x my base salary.
Plant Manager* August 10, 2017 at 12:55 pm Job: Run operations (manufacturing, purchasing, warehouse) for US branch of a small European company, about 30 people report indirectly or directly to me. Area: Detroit Metro Years of experience: 17 overall, 8 at this company Benefits: -15 days PTO, no rollover. Started at 10 days, went to 15 at 5 years service, will go to 20 at 10 years -10 days paid facility shutdown (1 week in summer, 1 week in winter) -health/dental/vision paid 80% (2 plan options) -10K company funded life insurance, can buy more -401K match to 4% -Leave of absence -Not official, but there’s always been a small end-of-year bonus -Lots of unofficial flexibility. Off-the-books vacation rollover, we’re paying someone during an unexpected illness even though he didn’t opt into disability insurance, etc.. Note: These are the same benefit at any position, though the bonus is bigger for the top four management people.
Library Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 12:55 pm 1. Job: I’m a specialist for media and information services, specialisation library, or as it used to be called: library assistant. It’s a 3 year apprenticeship in contrast to studying it at the university. Since we’re a small library, we all do basically everything, although acquisition and cataloguing is mainly done by my boss (the only librarian). 2: Geographic area: Germany 3: Experience: 2,5 years apprenticeship, 6 months since I’m finished with that 4: Benefits: 30 vacation days per year (available right away) Unlimited sick days (but if you’re out for longer than 6 weeks for the same illness, you don’t get your normal salary anymore but less money from the health insurance; also need a doctor’s note from the third day on) Employer pays half of insurances: Health, pension, long term care, unemployment Employer pays all of accident insurance If I had a savings plan, they’d pay around 6€/month into that No library fees or fines for me!
Library Technical Assistant* August 10, 2017 at 5:49 pm County government job, circulation staff, light programming, entry level. Geographic area: Arizona, library serves 1.1 million in the greater County. Experience: less than a year in the library, more than 15 years in similar government role. Benefits: -10 paid holidays. -12 paid days off of sick leave. -Civic Duty Leave (jury duty) is not deducted from employee’s leave bank. -12-21 paid days of vacation leave depending on years of service. -Bereavement Leave is not deducted from employee’s leave bank. For use in the death of an immediate family member: up to three (3) consecutive work days or up to five (5) consecutive work days if out of state is granted Retirement: Mandatory Employee Contribution: 11.34% / Employer Match: 11.34%, fully vested at 10 years. High Deductible Health Plan HDHP: bi-weekly deductions Employee Only $35.00 Employee + Spouse $48.92 Employee + Child(ren) $47.86 Employee + Family $66.03 HSA contribution from employer, $1,000/yr for employee only , $2,000 for employee + family. Dental: biweekly deductions Employee Only $10.23 Employee + Spouse $25.20 Employee + Children $23.11 Employee + Family $38.0 -Basic Life Insurance Coverage: $50,000 of Basic Term Life Insurance and Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance for all insurance eligible employees at no cost to the employee. -Parental Leave: Employees who are eligible for benefits & have been employees with the County for at least 12 months are eligible for 6-weeks of partially paid parental leave within the first 12- weeks after the birth or adoption of a child. The benefit will be paid at 66-2/3% of employee’s regular pay at time of leave.
Job Specialist* August 10, 2017 at 12:55 pm Scope: I am an admin assistant for several project managers in the mechanical service/installation industry. My duties involve purchasing, data entry, billing, cost analysis, tracking warranty, and all the other bits and bobs that come in a support position. Location: Pennsylvania, small city Experience: BA and (almost) MA in an unrelated field, been in this position 5 years since getting the BA Benefits: Pretty standard for America, I think. I get a little over 2 week’s PTO every year, and it accrues weekly. This bank is used for vacation and sick days, but my supervisior is very flexible about scheduling unpaid days off when requested. We also get six paid federal holidays a year. Maternity/Paternity leave is just the FLMA minimum (12 weeks?). My health/vision/dental is about $100/mo for a single person. The company offers 401k match of 25% up to the employee’s 5% deferral (hopefully that makes sense).
Senior Health Educator* August 10, 2017 at 12:55 pm Job: Senior Health Educator/Cultural and Linguistic Specialist for a mid-sized Medicaid managed care health plan. I make sure that our health plan members receive respectful and culturally appropriate health care and language services. Train staff and providers on cultural competency, data analysis and interventions on health disparities, collaborate with industry and gov’t work groups to address cultural health needs of community, and more. Years experience: 1.5 at this job/industry, total experience ~10 years (5 years post PhD) Location: Los Angeles County Benefits: 18 days combined PTO + standard US holidays + 1 “floating holiday” per year, 3 days bereavement 401k with 4% match Employee stock purchase plan at 15% discount Health insurance: Medical/Dental/Vision for me and my partner; My contribution is about $170 per month for the cheapest plan available, not sure what the total paid by my company… Flexible Spending Account All in all I’m happy with the benefits package–except that I really wish for more PTO. I’m always on the fence about combined PTO (rather than vacation time and sick leave). I’m pretty healthy, so I’m fortunate enough to be able to use most of those 18 days for vacation/personal time, but it definitely makes me think twice before taking a sick/personal day and I probably push myself harder than I should in that arena.