A different drum | The paycheck

“My net is gross.”

For some, this quip is about taxes; for others, the size of their take-home makes them wonder, “am I being paid what I’m worth?” Compensation is usually more than a salary—benefits, work experience and life lessons make us richer in more ways than we’re sometimes willing to admit or recognize. Do you want to know your current market value? Talk with colleagues, peers and recruiters to understand where you (and they) stand. But before you get too excited or disappointed about what you learn, consider this: if we’re underpaid at the beginning of our careers, and overpaid by the end, isn’t it reasonable to think that our actual worth is found somewhere in the middle?

Leave us a comment—it’s worth it.

Download Procol Harum “Bringing Home the Bacon”

A Different Drum is an ongoing series that is inspired by Tom’s playlist.