They make it sound like you’ll be rich, but they won’t tell you they just changed the commission structure, and there’s no way of knowing if new people will make as much as the sales engineers that came before.
Some managers know that people of color and women make substantially less commission than white men, but other managers will just tell you that these employees “aren’t our best” when this is pointed out. With 6 women and 7 black men among over 550 white male sales engineers, these people can’t really defend themselves.
Anyway, regardless of demographics, the moment you get out of training, they’ll cut your pay. I’ve heard a manager say it’s because they want us to be hungry, to work harder for that commission. I’ve heard of people breaking the low base pay in their second paycheck, but I’ve actually spoken to people who didn’t break that base in their first year.
Once there’s nothing left in your account, you’ll “live on the badge” and buy all your food at work before the money hits your paycheck. Then, when the smaller paycheck comes, you don’t know if you’ll make rent. But at least you can buy your morning coffee with your badge.
It’s like a mining town. We buy our meals here, we get our hair cut here. We’re all musicians, so we buy gear here. I’m lucky I didn’t get a sweetwater credit card and get into debt like many of my coworkers.
I had substantial savings when I started working at Sweetwater, but all that is gone now. The experience has not been worth the costs.
