CG Artist I need your advice

i know its totally unprofessional to talk about salaries and all, but please read through.

my contracted ended (1 year) the company loves me wants me to stay and wrote a new contract with 2 years, now the reason of this post is, THEY DIDN'T CHANGE MY SALARY not 1 $ increment, so i am asking for advice on how much is the general lot of people are getting payed for the same kinda work (compositing, video editing, little bit of 3d animation here and there, some illustration and so on etc... mainly video editing and creation of video ads) thats my main job, in addition i am in R&D i already helped them a lot finding many many solution and so.

reason for asking for more is:

-i am doing a lot of work which has nothing to do with my original job title, and doing it very good and being thanked more than once by the boss for the initiative.

-living expenses are becoming more and more expensive over here so its not easy to save a decent amount of money.

-i will be spending 2 more years and the job is becoming more and more demanding specially that they didn't provide me with the promised team.

-this is a stupid reason, its very strict here in saudia arabia nothing like jordan, in saudi there is no pool place, bowling, no theater cinema, no arcades recently they opened a small place but is not maintained at all and not worth the long distance to get there. all you do is work eat sleep, not so much fun .


the only thing i can progress to now is a tv station work, which is not easy to get into, i don't want to go to a lower kind of CG i love what i do and i love working with Video and composition and so on.


CURRENT SALARY: 2200$ (i pay for rent and phone and transportation) there is sometimes bonuses which are not very frequent.

ANY ADVICE IDEA CRIT ANYTHING AT ALL TO HELP ME WITH THIS, WOULD BE VERY VERY APPRECIATED.
and please hurry only got 1 more day to decide to ask for how much or quit. THANKS

i'd say, ask for more, since it's them who want you back! (stay resonable though) how much would you want them to give you? are you happy with what you get?

in case you can't, then at lest get phone and transport paid!

either way, let them know what you told us, about life getting more and more expencive and all, and let them know that you think you are producing quality work so it deserves more...

in case they don't want to ear about anything... well if you need the job keep it, and start looking for a new one while you are still there.

also, don't work late to and don't kill yourself at work! If they make no effort for you, why should you be making some for them? Get a life and don't work untill 3 am or something. work for what you are paid to do and that's it!

hope this helps...

i totally agree with richard. but the problem is i guess its hard to get a life in saudi arabia because you have probably no real "entertainment" exept your pc. I would say try to get a job in jordan for the quarter or half and live happy with your family until you get something better. And if you think you really cant get anything better (better is happiness imo) then stay there.

RICH what u wrote is exactly what i had inmind untill the following showed up in the contract:

the contract states:
1- if i leave before the completion of 2 years i have to pay back all the expenses they payed for to get me the visa and iqama.
2- have to pay back any training fees they paid for me
3- have to pay back all additional payments that were given in advance
4- THIS ONE IS REALLY WRONG (i got hired by a hiring agency so they payed that agency 10k) if i leave i have to give them back that 10k


^_^ very nicce ha


if i to stay how much should i ask for, which is fair and within reason and not something sky high

holly cow,

do you want the work?
if not what wlse could you do?

and as for money, how much do YOU want, and feels right for the job...

well as i said before if you think that you gonna be happy sign but 2 years are much try to shorten it to 1 year so you have some room to get out and you can rearrange your salary if you want to stay.

Agreed with these guys, get what you're worth man! Talking about salaries is NOT unprofessional. That's just what companies want you to think. In the United States at least it is absolutely illegal for a company to say "you can't talk about your salary with coworkers". They only want you to think you can't so people don't talk you into asking for more money if the inept guy next to you is making 15% more.

I have no idea how the economy works over there, but here in the USA it's essential to get at least a small raise in salary every year because we have so much inflation. Things that cost ($xx) right now are going to cost ($xx + y) next year, so you're salary increase should at least be ($y) every year, and if it isn't you're actually making less money than you were the year before.

Get what you deserve man! The last thing we need in this industry is more people settling for making less and doing more. It's a vicious cycle that will inevitably drive everyone's wages down down down.

This should remind everyone how extremely important it is to go over all the terms of your contract before signing. Are all those things you listed on the contract for your old contract or new contract?

wow moe, your contract sounds scary! geeze! i'd hafta agree with the above comments 100%, you could hold out for more if ya wanted.

It's always nice to get views from others, but at the end of the day, it's your life that will be changed by your choices.

First off, your contract and situation suck!
Second, your employer and placement agency should be embarrassed. ( If not arrested! ) It sound like if you sign the 2 year contract that your employer has you in a bind for 2 years!

My advice is.... you're young. Get all the experience and portfolio samples you can while working at this place, along with forming a plan on what path you're going to take. Start putting those pieces together TODAY!

Don't wait for things to happen. Plan for them and work to make them happen.

As far as salary goes, it depends on a lot of factors.
Where you work.
What you do. ( Or are expected to do. )
Location.
The need for somebody with your skills.
Etc.

I've worked creating multimedia, etc at a few places. At some I was expected to do everything from creating the images and sounds, to assembly and coding. Blah, Blah, Blah.
At others I was just asked to do the design. Coders put the piece together.
At the Ad Agency I'm at now, it's a whole new ball game. Every piece of the project is handled by a different Dept.

Anyway, the salaries have varied. It seems that the MORE you do, the less you get paid. That's probably because if you're doing EVERYTHING, you're probably working for a small company. Hence the low salary.

I won't tell you the salaries I've made, but I can tell you, work toward bettering your skill set, and one day you will be paid what you feel you're worth.


Peter

thanks for the advice, i was just discussing with my dad and he also advice on making it a 1 year contract, i feel i have wasted a long time with the conculsion that i didnt plan for, there fore i decided to quit, but not just say i quit i will give them a big figure if they want it fine if not good bye, at least i can go back to train my self in all the things i want to learn.

yes sometimes i do some html, (i don't know action script but understand the logic and so sometimes i have to do a very little task using that).

as for the market THE POT IS FILLED AND SPILLING FROM THE SIDES of 2d people that only do Cards Posters and Newspaper ads, VERY VERY FEW DO ANIMATION
i am not saying i am the only one, there is many BUT VERY LIMITED.

i did some research the only media company i found that is well known in the country and did almost the same kinda level of work i do, they ask for 2500$ per 30 sec ad, if all was CG NO 3D, if 3D adds more depending on who they put on the project, if it contains video editing and sound that will add up based on the equipment. i don't know if that helps but .

RIGHT NOW THE DECISION IS QUIT BY THE END OF THE FIRST CONTRACT or give me a huge reason to stay (approx 3000$).

RICH
(rich is didn't contain the things in the second one the first one was convenient didn't have to pay anything back or all that stuff)

ONEPIECE GUY:
(totally agree with you, and yes i also keep telling my friends don't settle for low prices otherwise you screw our market, in saudia the basic salary for a starting person in any IT field is around 1500$)

i just got my hands on this info from here


i am not a graphic designer i am doing many other things and all concern animating, i didn't find my job title in the list of jobs in saudia which also means only few exist.

i will ask for something just a tiny below average from the link above i hope this works for the best.

THANK TO ALL THAT HELPED i was in confusion of what to do in my life tell i heard ur advices and some other people i think now i got it strait.

Good luck man. One thing I've learned from talking to colleagues and guys that have been around the business for awhile, is that 90% of the time, the money IS there. You just have to be willing to negotiate for it. =)

oops sorry man, I guess found this after you made up your mind but i would say you made the right decision so I wish you the best of luck..

and my buddy just tried the same thing and it worked like a charm so rock on

Mahmoud:

Be very careful what you post online, in a public forum like this.

Posting sensitive company information, like salaries and company management is NOT something you'd want your employer to discover you doing.

Just some friendly advice

nothing is soo secretive about how much my company pays at least not in my contract, i know my contract very well thanks for the advice T.

the only thing i have to stay shut about is our businesses and connections and solutions cause these are the main income.