We pay lab techs with minimal experience 25/hr in CA but the bay area is kind of ridiculous as far as cost of living.
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Unfortunately, from what I hear, the pay in CA averaged from 15-25 per hour depending on your location and responsibilities.
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thats pretty standard. all i can say is LEARN, become an invaluable, irreplaceable member of the operation, and you will see your pay rate rise, if you dont then leave those assholes and find greener pastures with your new found skills.
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Thank you guys for the feedback, it’s hard to get info on this!
Put together a resume and shop yourself around.
The easiest / fastest way to get a raise is to get find a new job with a different company.
You need to look at jobs like you have as a steppingstone. Do a good job and learn, but keep looking for your next move. If you are willing to relocate to a different state that is just coming online, you can probably make a lot more.
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This is by far the worst advice a human being has ever given.
The best way to get a raise is to get a new job??? 
You’ve been there less than a year. As others have said give it everything you got an make yourself invaluable to the operation. In this space trustworthy, intelligent people are hard to find and in demand. If you show your employers you are that guy the raises/promotions will follow. If you’ve been there for a few years and there’s no growth, broken promises etc then consider a move.
Every time you leave a company you loose all your “equity” all the work and experience you put in. A resume is just a piece of paper anyone can type a good one. You’ll be tremendously more valuable to the people you’ve proven yourself to as opposed to some guys reading your resume the first time
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once a company finds out they can pay you shit, it’s hard for them to not pay you shit. And if they know they can get away with not providing benefits, they will let it drag on as long as possible. It saves them money. A lot of money. The grunts are replaceable. They don’t care about you. Do the best job you can, but if someone else is offering better compensation, why not look at the other opportunities?
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I truly feel sorry for you and your career path if this is the way you live your life. It’s an outright path to failure and zero job security.
Yes, obviously if you work at a bad place that doesn’t appreciate it’s employees you should get out of there. The OP made no mention of any such behavior. He simply asked how he should prepare himself for a better and long lasting career.
I’ve hired thousands of people. Myself and almost every CEO do the same thing with applications, we flip to the previous work section and look for people that have had a lot of jobs for short periods of time. We immediately throw those application in the garbage. Nobody wants a disloyal employee who hops around from job to job looking for small pay bumps over staying loyal and being rewarded.
I’m sorry clearly someone hurt you in the past but you are giving awful advice and once again I truly pity you if that’s how you run your own affairs.
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Dang, there’s more than one approach. You’re just a dick for thinking you’ve got the best solution.
Ya don’t.
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Hopping around from job to job shaking your tin cup isn’t an approach, it’s a scam.
Sorry if you found that to strongly worded but if there’s one thing that truly angers me it’s people giving uneducated advice that can alter someones life. The OP seems like a driven, intelligent person who simply asked for some guidance about how he could learn, prepare, and add value to himself and his career to continue to thrive in this industry. He’s been at his company less than a year with no experience. Instead, the advice he got was whore yourself around town and kill your reputation.
So yes, that angers me
As someone who has had to switch between jobs to 1) maintain income to support myself and 2) find adequate pay for my experience…I wholeheartedly disagree.
You’re a CEO (according to yourself) maybe you shouldn’t be giving entry level employees advice on better pay since your pay is orders of magnitude higher.
We struggle, you don’t. You have no reason to leave, we have several.
-Phil
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He got hired at $15 with no experience.
He has a year of experience now. He got no raises. Cost of living increases 2-3% a year. He is effectively making less now than when he was hired. He is almost certainly more productive than he was a year ago. He is not working for a good company that values their employees.
He is worth more than $15 per hour now.
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For sure, so the correct advice is sit down with management and ask them about your future in the company. Ask for a performance review, ask about his room for growth in the company ask about a raise structure etc.
Now if you don’t like the answers, or they make a lot of promises that go unfulfilled then for sure, consider other career options.
Your advice was simply, “Hey man easiest way to get a raise is get a new job” . That’s not ok
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Phil, I may be a CEO today but I started my career making $9/hour answering phones. I watched countless entry level guys float from competitor to competitor looking for an extra $1 an hour. I also watched others (like myself) stay and grow within the company to 100k,200k, 300k a year positions.
When I did leave, on very positive terms. I used that experience and resume with references into larger positions and eventually my own company. I went through the same process of promoting those same types of people from within. When I sold that company to tobacco, the longest standing most loyal employees made millions.
Now is every person a great boss who will run things the correct way? Of course not, I’ve said a million times if you are in a bad spot or being undervalued then by all means leave. That doesn’t change the logic of the situation, find good people to work for and work your way up. Don’t for a second think I didn’t start in the exact same position as you
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You don’t leave for $1 an hour more…you leave for $5 more, and benefits.
He’ll be lucky to get a $1 an hour raise per year from the current company, as he is finding out.
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He’s not finding that out at all. He made no mention of that what so ever! He hasn’t even asked for a raise!!
Look I’ll bottom line why this is such a passionate subject for me. This industry represents a once in a lifetime opportunity for so many people. At this second it’s comprised mostly of small business owners who are rapidly growing. Within about 3 years it will be a flood of corporate money and big corps trying to dominate the space. The people doing well now will be in positions to be acquired or be invested into and compete a multi 100million or even billion dollar level.
That means, guys like the OP with no college background, no experience have the opportunity to get in on the ground floor and work their way up in an organization that could be worth millions+. When will they ever get that opportunity again?? Can you imagine if you where one of the first employees at pfizer? or Uber?
So when someone gives that type of person that advice to just start hopping around from job to job building no equity, no loyalty without even asking for a raise or sitting down and talking about their future…yeah, it’s a sore spot
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Tech’s with zero experience start at 18 an hour at a couple places in the SF Bay.
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You make some fair points.
Difficult decision to be sure, but god damn if a lot of companies (and I mean a TON) underpay with the expectation of high turnover.
Find a place you want to be and stick with it—salary ain’t everything—but it’s a major component.
Thanks for sharing yer story
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I’m personally paid $20 he in NorCal. I’ve extracted for 3 years now. Started at $12 as a grunt and have had my pay rise with my experience. I’d say 17/18 is pretty good for one years worth of experience. Then from there, bust your balls on research and make yourself invaluable. No way but up, buddy.
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