If you applied you’d be at probably 90,000-100,000 plus production bonuses.
There’s 2 different tiers of “running a lab” guys who were just managers and have done different roles. Or guys who have genuinely run their entire lab and consult on additional build outs.
I’m a lab manager in Ohio, you should probably DM me. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes right now, depending on where you’re located and who you’re working for. I can give you some pretty sane numbers to throw out if I know how big your team is and what market you serve.
The long and short of it is, if you can demonstrate the value-add you’ve provided, ask for 50% more. There are some pretty major cash-flow issues with a lot of companies right now, especially up north, and getting blood from a stone isn’t going to get you anywhere fast.
I like the idea of asking for a nominal salary increase and a nice production based incentive.
High salary can easily equate to more work, where as a production bonus can both increase your income and reduce your workload.
Get paid more for being smarter, not working too hard. Use that additional income and time to establish a secondary income stream (after investing in self of course)
This should be every professionals goal no matter the field. Find a situation where your compensation is more reflective of what you make happen as opposed to how much time you spend at it.
Remember also that experience has value. If this company is giving you the opportunity to learn what you are trying to learn then that’s part of your pay. I ran labs (was the only technician) for years at $20-$22/hr because those labs were basically paying me to learn. It really takes working at multiple labs with different set ups to gain the kind of knowledge where you are worth $80-100K/yr.
I’d say you’re off to a good start, keep learning, make friends with other labs and lab techs, try new things at the lab whenever you can, be patient. A production lab can give you a lot of experience in a short time, but can it can also be easy to just fall into habits and stop learning. Especially after you’ve been doing this stuff for 8-10hrs a day for years on end. Find a way to teach yourself something on every run or procedure you do, every time. Keep meticulous notes and take lots of pictures and videos of all the amazing things you see throughout the day.
You may love chemistry, but never make a dime from it. Science in general doesn’t pay very well.
If you are looking for big bucks, get out of science.
If you wanna make more money, your best bet is to get on with a new company starting out making more than your current pay. If you started at $18, your “promotion” maybe 2-3 dollars increase.
Anytime I got an increase in pay, it is because I changed jobs. My pay increased about 30% last time I changed jobs. My last two job changes before that, my pay increased 15-20% each time. Currently I am making just shy of 6-figures.
You are young and fresh, bid your time and find a new opportunity elsewhere.
As time goes on and more “corporate” entities come into this industry, your education background will open more doors. If you have some experience in a regulated environment like drugs, food, etc., it will give you a big advantage as a job seeker when seeking opportunities with more “corporate” entities, which typically have the budget to pay you more than the smaller guys.
Also any descent outfit should expect to provide some level of training to a new employee. How else can an employer ensure regulatory compliance, product quality and consistency? These are products that are going into someone’s body. There is no GMP Company (like FDA comes and audits you) that doesn’t have some kind of training program/regime. Ha, tell an FDA auditor you don’t train new hires - see how fast they come at you with a 483. As someone else mentioned, any large successful enterprise offers training. If an employer feels like they are doing you a favor by offering training, that is not a place where you want to work. Unfortunately this attitude this pervasive in this nascent industry at the moment but will change as it matures and standards are enforced.
We use the word “lab” a lot in this industry to describe essentially what is production work, but is this accurate? A lab is a controlled environment to test hypothesis through experiments designed As part of scientific method. So what is a “real” lab? An analytical lab accredited to ISO 17025?
I was an R&D chemist in the polymer field in southern Ohio. I have a Masters Degree in Polymer Chemistry and I made $75k a year.
If you have a Bachelor’s and are looking to build your resume I would ask $50k to start. Clearly they like your work but you dont want to price yourself out of the job.
You could include performance bonuses in your request.
Good Luck!
I have no degree but plenty of experience including a year of heading a type 6 lab. I got 85k 2% production 10% for wholesale accounts I bag(I was a purchasing manager as well so I haggled a sales deal on mine.) I believe you proved to them you are easily worth a percentage or 6 figures. Only works at this point if you can expedite/streamline/optimize more processes. Tell them you are willing to share more intellectual property for more green. You GREATLY increased their profits If they cant see that apply elsewhere and see if someone will, I thought I’d have no luck but experience is HUGE. Go get what you deserve!
This 1000 times over. So many clueless people chime in oh you Wana pay someone with a chemistry degree 20$ an hour? How dare you that’s a joke. No y’all are a joke. Yes I pay 20$ an hour and I got probably 20 resumes that only hired 3 from.
CANNABIS PAYS LOKE SHIT UNTIL YOUR A LAB DIRECTOR OR YOUR MAKING PRODUCTION BONUSES!!
Remember this people. It’ll serve you well in life. I ran 3 different labs and didn’t crack 60k till i was consulting for my own company! Took over 3 years. Be patient and don’t listen to too many fools that have no idea what they’re doing
A job is a low paying resource that allows you to start accumulating some wealth.
A business is where you risk that wealth, in an attempt to multiply it. The rewards of owning your own business can be bountiful, but they reflect the risk.
How about $75,000 plus 1 or 2% profit sharing.
In the interim you could make bank:moneybag:
and don’t I know it.