Introduction
Fresh graduates, you need to ask yourself a question. Should I take an underpaid job? To make the decision easier for you, this article will discuss both sides of the coin—the pros and cons of accepting an underpaid job when you’re fresh out of college.
PRO
There are some pros to accepting an underpaid job. One is that it’s a great way to learn and gain experience. In the long run, you can use the skills you gained from working at the company to boost your CV. The experience might be priceless! Another pro is that most fresh graduates need to start somewhere and this could be a good way for them to get their foot in the door when they need it most.
The cons of accepting an underpaid job is also pretty obvious: You won’t earn much while working there, so considering this carefully before making any decisions will be helpful.
You'll learn.
When you’re a fresh graduate and you’re starting out in the workforce, there’s no better way to learn than by observing and doing. You’ll see how your boss does things and learn from their experience. When you’re working hard to get something done, mistakes will inevitably be made. But these mistakes are excellent learning opportunities for you as well! Your boss can give feedback or helpful advice about what went wrong and how it could’ve been handled better in the future—and who knows? Maybe they’ll even promote you because of how well-trained you’ve become since starting out on this job!
When interacting with others at work (co-workers, clients), it’s important to remember that people have different personalities. The way someone reacts may not necessarily mean anything bad about them; they may just have had a rough day before coming into work that day. Depending on where in the world your workplace is located, some cultures might not be as friendly or welcoming as others; however, if everyone is being treated equally then chances are pretty good that whatever problems arise between coworkers will eventually be solved without too much difficulty after all parties involved have cooled down enough from whatever happened earlier on during their shift together.”
The experience might be priceless.
As a recent graduate, you will have many things to think about when looking for your first job, but one thing that should be at the top of your list is experience. The older generation may see this as a waste of time and money; if you don’t believe me, go ask them what they thought when they were in school. Their response will probably be something like “well I had no choice because I needed the experience.”
The truth is that experience is very important and can really help with your career development even if it’s not underpaid! Your first job will give you valuable skills that you may not learn in school or by yourself. It could also help with building character and making connections within your industry which are important assets in any person’s life.
You need the job to boost your CV.
If you are a fresh graduate, the chances are that you need a job to boost your CV. Likewise, if you have worked for some time but not been able to secure a good job, perhaps it’s time for you to take up an underpaid job. The reality is that most of us cannot afford to be picky in our search for jobs especially when there is this burning desire within us to secure one.
In fact, there are many reasons why people might want a job regardless of its pay package or benefits. Some people may want to get experience while others may need extra income in order to meet their financial obligations such as paying school fees or buying food items on credit. Whatever the reason may be, here are some insights on how taking up an underpaid job can help boost your CV and career prospects:
You can take it as a challenge.
You can take it as a challenge.
To prove yourself: You can use this opportunity to showcase your skills and prove that you are worth more than what is being offered to you.
To learn new skills: If the job profile seems interesting enough, then you can use it as an opportunity to learn some new skills that will help in building your career in future.
To build your career: This might be the perfect start for your career, especially if it’s a stepping stone for something better later on.
CON
When you’re new to the workforce and trying to get a job, it can be hard to know what kind of salary is reasonable. You might find yourself taking whatever you can get—even if that means accepting an underpaid position. But before you do that, think about the following pros and cons:
Pro: You may not know what your market value is yet. Before deciding on a salary offer, make sure you know what other people in your field are making. This will help ensure that your demands are realistic and won’t put off potential employers.
Con: If offers aren’t coming in from companies that pay well, consider looking elsewhere for employment opportunities—even if they’re less prestigious than those in your desired industry or location
An underpaid job is of a low priority for the company.
First, let’s talk about the company. If you are underpaid as a fresh graduate and your employer doesn’t see value in your work and time, then it is highly likely that they will not give you much attention either. They don’t care about how well you can do the job because they don’t need to be concerned with how well their employees are doing their jobs.
Next, consider the fact that if a company is paying an employee an underpaid wage, then it means that the company has no respect for them or their work ethic. It also means that they have no intention of moving up within their ranks and gaining experience while working at this job (which could help them out in future employment).
Finally, if money isn’t worth anything to a company then neither will be your career growth – because real progress comes from earning more money!
Most probably, you won't be given proper training.
One of the biggest cons for taking an underpaid job is that you won’t be given proper training. You will not have time to learn from your mistakes, which means that you won’t be able to develop your skills and grow as a professional.
Say, for example, you’re hired as a sales agent at an energy drink company who is paying you only $20 per hour. Your manager tells you to sell 10 cases of energy drinks per day (that’s 100 cans). If this task seems too hard for you or if it takes longer than expected, there will be no one to help resolve the issue with your customers or colleagues because everyone else has their own responsibilities and deadlines to meet too!
And since most companies don’t provide adequate training programs for their employees but expect them instead just learn on the job without any guidance from other people who know more about what they should do next, then how can one expect someone like me who’s just starting out in life find an extra source income?
Your skills might wither away on this job.
The second reason why you should not accept an underpaid job is because you will not be able to grow in the organization. If you are working on a project which is below your skill level, then it would be difficult for you to enhance your skills and expertise. A project which requires only basic knowledge and skills can be handled by anyone with a minimum qualification. Hence, if they offer you a job at such a low salary, there are chances that they might not even give any training or support in learning new things. This can result in your stagnating as an employee for many years without any growth potentials (or even worse—getting laid off).
There won't be any growth opportunity.
You may think that when you are young, gung-ho and ambitious, it is not a problem to accept an underpaid job. But as time goes by, if you don’t have enough savings to live on, then your life will be pretty miserable. And don’t forget about the family pressure!
If you are working in a company where there is no growth opportunity for fresh graduates with low salary package, the company would not invest in them either. That means they will not give them any chance to grow as well as learn new skills which might lead to better opportunities elsewhere later on.
Furthermore, if you accepted low salary packages from the beginning of your career then it’s difficult for yourself to move up the ladder because by that time all other companies prefer experienced people than fresh graduates who have little experience or knowledge about projects or processes within their respective fields
Weigh your options well before accepting an underpaid job!
Weigh your options well before accepting an underpaid job.
Underpaying a new employee is never a good idea, but if you’re considering it as a way to get some extra cash while you wait for another opportunity to come along, think again! It might seem like taking a lower salary than what you deserve is the only option at the moment—but remember that there are always better opportunities out there. And even if there weren’t any better options available, would you really want to work somewhere that doesn’t value your skills and experience? We didn’t think so! In fact, if this happens often enough (and it can), it could actually hurt your career in the long run because employers tend not to take those who have been working for lower pay seriously as candidates for future jobs or promotions. So why put yourself in this position? Negotiating is always an option—and one we highly recommend. It’s up to YOU what kind of salary package works best for YOU and YOUR family/finances… so don’t feel pressured into accepting less just because someone else tells you that’s all they can afford right now (or ever).
Conclusion
We have seen both the pros and cons of accepting an underpaid job. However, it’s up to you to decide whether you want to accept an underpaid job or not. If you think that this job will help you grow as a professional and gain some valuable experience then go for it! But if the company doesn’t seem to be serious about your career growth then don’t waste your time on such companies because they will only exploit you for their own benefit.
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