Underpaid. Underappreciated. Am I Asking Too Much?

Dear Stanley,
I work for the state but am paid by a senior-citizen employment agency. In two years on the job, I've done some serious tasks that required trained skills in the administrative area. I make charts, write memos, keep records, and do other jobs of that nature. I make everyone look good to the state. But while they're making state money, I only get minimum wage -- and to top it off, when it's time for recognition and they receive their little award, there is no mention of my contribution. I feel used and abused and also frustrated because I have been waiting for them to possibly hire me permanently and I have not heard anything from them. Am I asking too much?
Signed,
At Wits End

Dear Soon-to-Be Witless,

No, you're not asking too much. You are asking too little. But look on the bright side: The state has given you the opportunity to learn how to "make charts, write memos, keep records, and do other jobs of that nature." These are all valuable skills in the workplace. Now, while the job market for decent positions is very tight indeed, you are now in the position of making minimum wage for work that should be making you considerably more. You could, in fact, be making more money at a nice restaurant, waiting on tables. At least you get tips there.

So I'll give you a tip: Don't sell yourself short. Here are some jobs that you should start thinking about, given the kinds of things you now know how to do:

• Assistant to an Executive (formerly known as secretary): Executives often can't make charts, write memos, or keep records. You can. That means you could be extremely valuable to a person who makes a lot of money for very little actual hands-on activity. Depending on where you live and who you work for, a first-class assistant can make between $35,000 to, in some cases, $150,000 and up for the great, steaming work engines that protect the ultra-crème de la corporate crème.
• Junior Finance Wonk: You give these guys the numbers and they turn them into charts, memos and records. They don't make a lot of money at first, but they make more than you're making right now, and they begin to climb the ladder once they understand a little about the numbers they are inputting.
• Corporate Communications Associate: These people express the thoughts that more serious business people want to put into words but can't. Here's where your memo-writing skills come in. The big boss calls you in. "I want to say something about this whole Rutabaga situation," he says. "Like what?" you reply. "Like, how it's okay and no big deal and like that." "Okay," you say, then you go away. Half an hour later, you come back with this:

Greetings colleagues,

In regards to the Rutabaga situation now developing in our overseas trading group, I wanted to first of all congratulate all on the Massive Root Vegetable team for their excellent work in containing the worst of the blow-back going forward and making sure that our customer relations remain solid. Please recall, as you consider this issue, that the entire matter concerns less than 2 percent of our revenue, and much of that amount is still salvageable. As they will, rumors will fly. But 2010 is shaping up to be a record year whether we nail down that contract in Burundi or not. Keep up the good work!

Bob

Those are just a few of the gigs that come to mind, looking at the things for which you're now being horrendously underpaid. Start looking for a new job, a real one, right now, and stop wasting your time with these people. They don't appreciate you, and life is too short.

Keep working hard at your stinky job, of course, and don't lose it until you're ready to call your own tune and depart. And one further piece of advice. While your letter to me is fine as far as it goes, there were several typos (which I fixed) and a couple of odd phrasings. Perhaps it was due to the fact that e-mails are just dashed off, and it's no big deal. But if you're going to sell yourself as a chartmeister, memo jockey, or record-keeper, you need to be impeccable. You're halfway there. But impeccability is like pregnancy. Halfway doesn't really cut it.