Got a promotion and a raise!!!!

I have been working at Houston-Galveston Area Council since 2000 and have been getting my annual 4% raise and a couple mid-year raises. However, I never got a big raise even though I was promised one several years ago. The big raise here is about 5-6% because I work at a government agency and we don't get 10-15% raises like private companies.

I came to H-GAC from Arthur Andersen (yes, the infamous one). At the time they were trying to consolidate all IT and want us to relocate to Atlanta or Chicago. My whole group went out trying to look for another job with the help from our manager. In hindsight, it's blessing in disguise because not long after I found a job, Andersen had that whole scandal with Enron. It's so sad about Enron because it was a place everyone wanted to work at. That's a different story though.

When I was offered a job at H-GAC, it was with a pay cut but I was so desperate for a job by then that I accepted. It was during internet bubble burst and everyone is scrambling to look for a job. I sent out over 80 resumes and received 2 interviews.

H-GAC is a great place to work at, especially when you have a family and small children. I get to leave by 5p.m. everyday and go home to spend time with my family. The schedule is also very flexible and I get every other Friday off. On top of that, they pay for all my benefits including a whole 3% on my 401K. When I worked at Andersen, we did have many perks such as free Happy Hour and awesome group lunches but we also had to put in many overtime hours. One time we were on a time crunch so the entire group worked for 32 hours straight. I got to go home for about 1 hour to shower and get a change of clothes but that's it. You can imagine how hard the drive home the next day was. I literally had to keep hitting myself to stay awake on the way home. Good thing we all had no kids then or I don't know what I would do.

Anyways, my old boss at H-GAC just recently left to work for the City of Houston. I thought he had always been good to me so when he told me last year during my review what a great job I am doing and how he wish he can give me a good raise but they just can't afford it, I believed him with no hard feelings. After he left, I found out that he had given someone else a big raise instead. Everyone was disgusted at how the other guy got it because he was undeserving. He left with my ex-boss to go work for him. After my ex-boss left, one of the manager, who is also my good friend, became the Director. I worry for a bit about how this will affect our friendship but we've adjusted well. She does work me much more than my old boss but that's okay. I like keeping busy. She told me she will give me a good raise during my annual reviewbut I didn't see it so I asked her about it and she said at mid-year. I am starting to see the same pattern as my old boss but gave her the benefit of the doubt. She is my friend after all and she've always looked out for me. I sent her an email when mid-year came around because I didn't hear her mention anything about it. She replied and said she already put it in and is waiting for approval. How awesome is that??!! It's finally happening!!!

So I got a 5% something raise and my title is now Agency Web Developer instead of Agency Webmaster. I know, not much of a difference but it's pretty big by government standard. In addition, I will also get an opportunity for another 4% raise in January. I am a step below manager...even though I am not sure if I ever want to be one here. It's just nice to have your hard-work and effort be recognized and rewarded.