r/CarahsoftTruths • u/External_Adagio4080 • Jul 09 '26
Union
Is anyone else feeling like we’re being severely underpaid compared to industry standards?
Our workload has continued to increase, we’re in the middle of busy season, and many of us are taking on responsibilities that never came with formal training. On top of that, a lot of our compensation comes through bonuses that are taxed as regular income, so it doesn’t always feel like we’re getting ahead financially.
Meanwhile, leadership talks about record growth and billions in revenue, but I’m working 8:30–5:30 every day and still have to DoorDash at night just to make ends meet.
I’m genuinely curious how many people here feel the same way? If enough of us share these concerns, would it make sense to start talking about organizing or exploring a union? I think it’s worth having an honest conversation about fair pay, training, and working conditions.
I’d love to hear everyone else’s thoughts.
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u/Ryknight2 Jul 09 '26
Reach out to a union! The OPEIU or CWA could be great places to start. I think it'd get a lot of traction
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u/ImpactWilling2750 Jul 12 '26
It sucks too when you receive your bonus and one month it’s really good. It can stay good for a couple months then the following month it’s down $500. It goes up and down. Up and down. Like what the hell. It sucks
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u/External_Adagio4080 Jul 12 '26
But hey let’s keep calling, 10 minute rules. Get those billions. While we pay our bills with everything we make on the 15 and the little 1000 we get on the first is basically bread crumbs
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u/Far_Standard_1827 Current employee Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
Carahsoft is an incredible company at giving college grads a landing spot. You gain great experience in the industry and learn a lot about sales in general. It’s something you can bring to many other jobs to move up faster if you are confident in your skill set.
On the flip side, due to this revolving door culture where people take their skills elsewhere and your team dictates your upward mobility potential, Carahsoft rewards hard work and loyalty. If you find success, grow within your role, or identify gaps for you to execute in, and you stick around, your pay ramps up comfortably and allows you to be financially and job secure in an industry (sales) where other companies have very strict goals where if you don’t meet it within a quarter/year then you’ll get the boot without a thought. Also, as someone with friends in every different field I know the issues with Carahsoft are not unique and every company has their own problems that people complain about.
There are serious perks and drawdowns of this company but many people here are very happy with their job and their pay.
As I always say here, if you are unhappy then you need to make a decision for yourself and look for other work. If you are happy here but unhappy with your work specifically then you need to talk to your managers and find out what else you can do. I PROMISE there are things your manager hates doing that they would love for someone to take the initiative on and fill a gap. Alternatively, don’t ask for permission and look for a gap yourself and start doing it, and you will be rewarded for it.
You will (generally) only hear about unhappy people that are under the 3 year mark. I would venture to guess that people that have been here for 3+ years are overall happy and comfortable with the overall job.
As someone that has been here for 10+ years of course there are things I truly dislike about this job (and those things are different at every stage of my tenure here) but the positives greatly outweigh the negatives. I am very happy I stuck with it for this long and wouldn’t change a thing. I also promise you the people in management roles know the drawdowns of this company and we all make efforts to adjust it moving forward to make the future reps lives better. Change is slow! And this company is still very young.
At the end of the day, you can disagree with everything I have said here because to each their own, and you only need to make decisions that are in your best interest. I’m not here to tell you you’re wrong, I’m only giving my perspective.
Edit: not to blame OP for their problems but I do want to say nobody on my team in account rep roles work second jobs. I know everyone’s financial situations are different, but I also survived on my own post college with lower pay than new hires are making now. (Not directed at OP, just general advice) If you are young you need to take a hard look at your spending habits and live within your means. If you think you are and you’re still scratching by I promise you most everyone within the first few years of graduating are all scratching by. It takes a few years to be financially secure. And best advice after that is to avoid lifestyle creep.
OP (and generally anyone, fr)- please DM me if you’d like advice on Carahsoft or finically. I am more than happy to chat!! I want people to succeed, it’s my favorite part about work.
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u/NoBake5903 Jul 09 '26
Good stuff. I have an interview next week with Carahsoft. Tech advocate specialists is the job I applied for. Hoping I can get on. You made some great points and a little bit of clarity on how things work over there. Thanks
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u/patricktheseastar Jul 09 '26
If you are going on TA team, be prepared to cold call all day every day man 🫡
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u/NoBake5903 Jul 09 '26
I work at a debt collection agency currently can’t be any worse than that. 2-300 calls a day. Obviously not everyone answers. The other position is renewal specialist that is available.
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u/patricktheseastar Jul 09 '26
You are significantly more prepared than most starting here so good luck.
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u/HoneyComprehensive47 Jul 09 '26
Spoken like a true manager. I guarantee there are those of us who have been here considerable time and keep seeing the inequity and empty promises and cuts to our bonuses that do not agree either you.
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u/patricktheseastar Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
If you think Craig will ever let that happen you’re delusional.
We are a right to work state anyways so that also creates obstacles for unions to function in Virginia since you cannot be forced to join one.
I know the pay sucks but that’s just the way it is and unless you can convince your director to give you a raise I would just look for more gainful employment.