Being overpaid... Not really sure if I should do anything about it.

Most white collar jobs get paid more than they should. I know I do.

As to whether or not you should be worrying about it, if you quit the job it might clear you conscience but it won't stop them from hiring someone else to fill in for you with a very similar deal. If you want to reduce the guilt the only things you can do are work as hard as you can up to the point that you feel you're earning your keep, or ask for a pay reduction.

On a macro scale, money they don't pay you will end up going to execs or shareholders (if it's a private company you work for), and that money will end up being used for rent-seeking and other unproductive returns to capital, whereas as a younger person (so not as much saved up), making less than execs and not (I'm assuming) making gains on stocks but rather direct income, are a better expenditure of that money from the perspective of the economy.

Why are you talking about this on LR anyways?

Give it to me.

Tell them about it, I had a teacher in high school who said in one her first jobs, she was being paid extra for whatever reason and she went and spent it on stuff and had to pay the company back, in full within an absurdly short window (like 4 or 5 days). The company accountant(s) will find the error after the books don't match up and they will ask you to give it back. If you go now before accounting catches the error, they will probably be more forgiving.

TJR25 wrote:

Tell them about it, I had a teacher in high school who said in one her first jobs, she was being paid extra for whatever reason and she went and spent it on stuff and had to pay the company back, in full within an absurdly short window (like 4 or 5 days). The company accountant(s) will find the error after the books don't match up and they will ask you to give it back. If you go now before accounting catches the error, they will probably be more forgiving.

Did you read my post? There's no error. I even asked my immediate supervisor about it and then her immediate supervisor about it before I turned in my time sheet for this month because of how outrageous it seemed. Another person was in the same boat and also asked. We were both given the same answer, that we should be including overtime and drivetime hours, and our supervisors said this knowing how much overtime we have and how much we drive, so we both reasoned apparently it's okay. It just seems bizarre to me. Again, I'm 26 and my income puts me above the 90th percentile for people with my career. I make more than a lot of people with 30 years more experience. It's just crazy.

I do understand that if it wasn't me, it'd just be someone else though, so I guess why not? I'm not stealing from anyone, and the company has told me they WANT to pay me this much, so I guess I'll just go with it.

they know how much you own and they are ok with it. the supervisor earns more, his boss earns much more....the CEO probably earns at least 100X what you earn. you still feeling overpaid?

OP you have to give us a ballpark estimate of your salary...are we talking $150k/year? $200k/year?

It's nothing to worry about. If the company were found not to be paying you that overtime, they would probably be in a world of legal hurt.

Perhaps you'll feel better if you look around for a local charity to take some of that extra cash.

You are worth what they are willing to pay. Therefore, you are not overpaid.

Is your company a contractor to another firm?

If so, the charging for everything would make sense, because your company is making more money for every hour you charge. When I travel for business, it is often partly on my own time, but I am salaried, so I don't get payed for it. When we have contractors, they charge their full hourly rate ($200-$300) when traveling to and from our site. I thought this was outrageous, but contractors will try to fill for everything and see if they can get away with it and in a lot of big companies employees don't think of it as their money and don't challenge this type of stuff or force service agreements to be re-negotiated to stop this nonsense.

Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash.

How much money are we really talkin here?

Economics Major wrote:

You are worth what they are willing to pay. Therefore, you are not overpaid.

Yes. You are one of the fortunate people who has found work that isn't particularly hard for you and the work you do is highly valued for reasons unknown. Count yourself lucky and make hay while the sun shines.

Save it for a while. A little later, spend a small portion funding some cause you feel could benefit from the money. There is nothing like money in the bank to ease the mind.

I'm midway through my career and never had a job like that ever. You are very, very lucky.

This post sounds like a humble brag. Max out your 401K, put whatever you don't need into savings and once you have a pretty big surplus then maybe start investing. This is how the world works and I promise you in a few years you're going to view your salary as an entitlement. Putting a lot of miles on your car costs you money in wear and tear and saves your company from having a company car. They are essentially leasing your car. I don't care how nice and new your car is now you're going to be needing a new car in a couple of years.

My first job out of college was as an environmental scientist (field sampling technician). I'd drive all over the state, working full days. It was common for me to have 60 hour weeks of which 15 was driving, plus I was paid mileage.

I think I was making $14/hr at the time, so my base weekly gross would have been $560. With the overtime it was $980. I don't remember what the mileage rate was, but it was something like $0.40/mile and I'd have driven hundreds of miles a week.

My advice to you is to set aside your mileage pay for when things go wrong with your car. That's what it is for, and if you're driving that much you're putting a lot of extra wear and tear on it. Another option is to rent a vehicle. Depending on where you are, you can get a midsize car from Enterprise for $40/day. As long as you're driving 70 miles, you'll still make out ok, plus you get the Enterprise rewards to rent cars when you travel for vacation or whatever.

seriously... wrote:

This post sounds like a humble brag.

What an interesting and perceptive construct!

I too am significantly over paid and I love it!

But the sad thing is that I only earn minimum wage.

seriously... wrote:

This post sounds like a humble brag. Max out your 401K, put whatever you don't need into savings and once you have a pretty big surplus then maybe start investing. This is how the world works and I promise you in a few years you're going to view your salary as an entitlement. Putting a lot of miles on your car costs you money in wear and tear and saves your company from having a company car. They are essentially leasing your car. I don't care how nice and new your car is now you're going to be needing a new car in a couple of years.

I'm already doing that. I only spend 26% of my net income each month. The rest is surplus. It goes without saying driving puts wear and tear on your car. That's precisely what the mileage reimbursement is for. My car already has 200,000 miles on it and gets 35mpg. They're paying me a mileage rate roughly 80% more than what they need to for me to break even.

I guarantee you I will never view my salary as an entitlement. Most people doing what I do make half as much as I do, and half as much as I'm making is still a decent salary. Not everyone is prone to drastic lifestyle inflation.

When you say you're getting reimbursed for driving, do you mean they're paying the IRS rate (which is like 60 cents a mile), or your hourly wage? The first one isn't really income, since you're putting wear and tear on your car.

So you signed up for a what you thought was a job with normal hours and normal duties. It turned out to require massive overtime, grueling hours on the road, putting unexpected wear and tear your private vehicle and being away from home for long lonely periods of time. This prompts you to think this nice company is getting screwed and you want to have them cut your pay?

How long have you been working on this job that has cost that has resulted in you putting 200,000 miles on your car? How many miles do you drive per year?

How many hours, including driving do you put in every week?