From "This Is Uncomfortable": Wait, I think I’m being underpaid

Make Me Smart

Marketplace

Business, News

4.6 • 5.4K Ratings

🗓️ 2 January 2026

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hey smarties! Happy New Year. We’re taking a short break for the holidays. In the meantime, we’re sharing an episode from our friends over at “This Is Uncomfortable.” Reema Khrais and the team are getting ready to relaunch the show on Jan. 15. Stay tuned for new episodes!

Nikki Massie never had a reason to question her salary. After more than a decade with the same company, she’d earned awards, promotions and the trust of co-workers who felt like family. But then one day, she discovered she might have missed out on tens of thousands of dollars over the years. Nikki began to wonder: What do you do when you suspect you’ve been underpaid? And at what point do you consider walking away?

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Transcript

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0:00.0	At Pluralsight, we don't just teach skills.
0:02.7	We are building the tech workforce, who deliver results fast, accelerated by top-tier content.
0:08.6	Lead with confidence, lead with expertise.
0:11.1	Visit us at Pluralsight.com to tap in and learn more.
0:15.1	Hey, smarties, it's me, Rima Grace, here to wish you a happy new year, and to share an episode of my podcast, This Is Uncomfortable.
0:22.7	As you might have heard, we're relaunching the show on January 15th, so figured there's no time
0:27.1	like the present to revisit our back catalog with 11 seasons worth of episodes.
0:32.0	The story you're about to hear first published on This Is Uncomfortable in September
0:35.7	2024.
0:37.0	It's one of my favorites because it gets
0:38.7	at a workplace taboo and what gets exposed when pay stops being invisible. I hope you enjoy it,
0:45.1	and be sure to tune in to our new season on January 15th. On a Friday afternoon back in May,
0:57.7	hundreds of people stood shoulder to shoulder in a Pax Stadium in Washington, D.C.
1:02.3	They were watching blue-robed students cross the stage to receive their diplomas from Howard University.
1:08.1	Nikki Massey scanned the room, looking for her youngest daughter.
1:11.0	That might be her. I think it is her. Yep. Because it was such a big class, they're just
1:16.9	calling out these names in rapid succession. And so my phone is going because I was like, I am not
1:21.5	going to miss this moment. When Nikki's daughter finally crossed the stage, she triumphantly held up her degree.
1:27.4	Sorry to her. See, baby. We were going nuts. When Nikki's daughter finally crossed the stage, she triumphantly held up her degree.
1:28.8	Sorry to everything.
1:31.7	We were going nuts.
1:34.4	My brother was really going nuts.
	...

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