Should I be earning a new job title or a raise for training an intern?

Question

Background

I work as a full-time mid-level web developer for a company that makes significant income. I currently make ~70-80k which is pretty middle of the line for my location. The owner of the company has taken an interest in my potential, and after a few months I was allowed to work with my PM to hire an intern dev. It was clear my duties were to train him up to be as good or better than me, and the requirements were that I train him while I maintain my 40 hours a week on contract (meaning overtime). I accepted thinking it was a good oportunity and I have been spread thin so it was about time to spread the work around. My boss has also spoken with me many times with long term expectations of me building the web team from the ground up.

I figured upon hiring the intern my boss would give me a title change and/or a raise for the extra responsibility either during the internship or after if the intern was hired full-time. But, upon being able to meet with him in the last week he told me "no", or at least, "if it is a title change, they don't always come with a pay raise." He used phrases like, "this is an opportunity to open others down the road" and "management/leadership take time." Whether he is meaning well or not, I felt I was in a position of guilt for thinking about a promotion, and told to be happy and look to the future.

Question thoughts

I understand that this is an opportunity which is why I went through with it. I don't want to be ungrateful or seem like a huge ego young dev who thinks he deserves more than he's worth. But I also don't want to be taken advantage of.

I should also mention the internship is 2 months long, while if the intern is hired I will be training him intently for at least another year after.

Q:

Is an intern to train worthy of a raise and/or title change, either during or after a successful hire of the intern?

TLDR;

I'm a mid level web dev training an intern on overtime while maintaining my other 40hr responsibilities, my boss says I won't be getting a raise or title change, does training the intern merit a raise and/or title change?

new contributor, let me know how I can fix this up and I will.

Answer 1

It is not my experience that training/supervising an intern confers any pay raise or title change on its own. However, this is definitely something to bring up the next time you are looking for a promotion or a raise, as one of several factors. You are showing leadership and initiative, and you're expanding your capabilities. Furthermore, you make it sound like your boss is watching how this intern project goes, to see if you should be taking on a new role. Do a good job with this intern, and at another time you'll be better prepared to ask for that promotion.

Answer 2

I don't known if it's visible on your side or not, but your question certainly reads like your current goal is to increase your salary.

First clear it with yourself: yes, there is the leadership thing, training thing, I really like this company, ..., but first and foremost, I feel like I am worth more money. All the other things are primarily to facilitate this.

Having that, there is one uncomplicated way to achieve that goal. Be pragmatic. You really can't overlook it has been proven 100% effective in real world by generation after generation. Try to analyze yourself. Be very suspicious about your reasons, it is human nature to invent them on the spot to self-deceive. From my experience, start with this generic statement and chances are there is little more to add: "I became personally attached, I am very much afraid of change, I don't want to feel like a traitor to the group. These are ancestral feelings of a hunter-gatherer, these are immature, they don't belong in modern business. Other people overcome these, so can I." Then go job hunting.

There is also a complicated way that occasionally works. The absolute three requisites are a profitable company (check), a lot of extra effort, and, most importantly, an actively supportive boss. I mean, to get a raise always requires approval on many levels. It's nearly impossible for you alone to negotiate on these levels; it's usually very much doable for your manager. If your manager won't negotiate for you (over and over), the substantial raise is not going to happen, as a rule of thumb. Use all your intuition to feel if you trust them with this or not; we really can't say!

What you say about your boss is ambivalent in this respect. Ask them, then ask them more. "Leadership takes time". Nice. So is it really just time and how much time, boss? 3 more years? Or do you mean 2 more interns? Or do you mean something else? Try to quantify it.

The intern training is tangential to this, not really decisive. It's a really bad sign that you've imagined all this effort, all this overtime, will convince your boss. If you are still trying to win your boss, instead of merely providing them with high-octane fuel, then it's hopeless... sorry. (Especially in your case when you've heard a flat "no", ouch!) Maybe try to re-frame this as "can we work together to get me a raise, let's establish what sort of arguments you need from me" and then try to fit the intern somewhere into the picture if possible.