Solid Environment, Poor Compensation, Mixed Bag - Support Varsity News Network Employee Review

Pay was abysmal. In my role we were getting paid $11 an hour to do support, the position that also had to take the most heat from customers and thus, one of the more stressful jobs. At the same time they required us to have a bachelor's degree, so all of us were paying off expensive student loans. When we asked for our role to collectively get a pay increase, as we were all unable to keep up with monthly expenses on our minimal paycheck, they shrugged us off as a group and instead turned us all down individually, insisting we work our time underpaid before eventually reaching a more acceptable pay level after a year or two of exceptional work. When we stated that our loans and expenses were so high that our current positions were not a sustainable lifestyle, the management replied by saying "I don't care that you have loans to pay -- what about giving you a raise will help the company?" And without enough of an epiphany to give them in response, we remained underpaid. While I can acknowledge the truth in this statement, it showed a particular disconnect between management (in this case, the CEO) and his employees and their needs. Additionally, PTO was not offered to me or anyone else in my position. This made taking time away to relax/recuperate from the stress of the job difficult because you knew your next paycheck would be even smaller than normal. Despite being a crucial part of the company, it also felt like support was looked down upon by other people in the organization, especially the employees across the country. This may have been because we were relatively new to the organization -- a result of the low pay meaning that everyone in the position would either leave or move to a different, higher-paying position within the company before too long.