Gaji yang Terkunci di Masa Lalu: Ketika Ijazah S.Kom Hanya Jadi Ornamen di CV

Gaji yang Terkunci di Masa Lalu: Ketika Ijazah S.Kom Hanya Jadi Ornamen di CV

Ada yang lebih menyakitkan daripada slip gaji yang kecil; yaitu slip gaji yang selama lima tahun lebih dengan keras kepala menolak untuk mengenali gelar sarjana di namamu, seolah-olah seluruh keringat dan begadang di bangku kuliah hanyalah ilusi, dan kontribusimu membangun aplikasi hanyalah tugas seorang anak SMA yang iseng.

Perusahaannya, sebut saja PT Bumi Maju Abadi, punya cara unik mengelola harapan. Dulu, sistem gajinya persis seperti PNS: Golongan A, B, C. Kamu masuk, dapat golongan, dan setiap tahun naik sedikit secara otomatis, seperti jam tangan tua yang masih berdetak. Sistem itu kaku, tapi punya kejelasan yang menenangkan: tahan lama, dan kamu akan naik. Aku masuk tahun 2010, fresh dari SMA. Waktu itu, posisi admin di divisi umum. Gaji cukup untuk sendiri, masih tinggal di rumah orang tua. Dunia terasa linear: kerja, naik golongan, menikah, punya rumah. Tapi kemudian aku lihat teman-teman yang kuliah, yang bicara tentang framework, database, jaringan. Aku merasa tertinggal. Bukan soal gaji saat itu, tapi soal pengetahuan. Aku ingin paham bagaimana sistem bekerja, bukan cuma mengoperasikannya.

Jadi, aku kuliah. S.Kom. Sambil kerja full time. Bayangkan: pagi sampai sore kerja, mampus. Malam dari jam 7 sampai 10 kelas. Weekend ngerjakan tugas dan skripsi. Liburan? Itu kata untuk mengejar ketertinggalan mata kuliah. Lima tahun lebih. Bukan lima tahun yang mudah. Tapi ada kebanggaan tersendiri. Aku lulus. Dengan IPK lumayan. Aku membayangkan slip gaji berikutnya akan berbeda. Akan ada tambahan tunjangan strata. Akan ada perubahan status dari "SMU" ke "S1". Itu bayanganku.

Kenyataannya? Slip gaji bulan berikutnya datang. Di kolom pendidikan: "SMU". Gaji pokok: sama. Tunjangan: sama. Aku kira ada kesalahan administrasi. Aju permohonan penyetaraan ijazah. Lengkap dengan fotokopi ijazah, transkrip, surat pengantar. Diajukan ke HRD. "Tunggu proses, ya," kata mereka. Aku tunggu. Satu bulan. Dua bulan. Enam bulan. Aku tanya lagi. "Masih proses. Sistemnya rumit." Aku masih di divisi umum, jadi mungkin pikirku: "Mereka berpikir aku kerja di admin, gak butuh S.Kom. Oke, masuk akal." Maka aku berjuang pindah ke divisi IT. Butuh setahun, lobi sana-sini, tunjukkan skill otodidakku, bantu perbaiki komputer yang rusak, bikin laporan Excel yang rumit jadi otomatis. Akhirnya, tahun 2018, aku resmi di divisi IT. Jaringan dan Helpdesk.

Slip gaji pertama di divisi IT. Jantung berdebar. Kubuka pelan-pelan. Kolom pendidikan: "SMU". Gaji pokok: naik sedikit karena kenaikan golongan tahunan, bukan karena S1. Rasanya seperti ditampar. Aku sudah berada di habitat yang tepat. Kerjaanku berkaitan langsung dengan kompetensi ijazahku. Tapi sistem perusahaan, entah bagaimana, tetap memandangku sebagai anak SMA yang kebetulan lagi nongkrong di ruang server. Aku ajukan lagi penyetaraan. Lagi. "Tunggu proses." Lima tahun berlalu dengan permainan yang sama. Setiap kali tanya, jawabannya selalu tentang "kebijakan", "restrukturisasi", "sedang diusulkan". Satu hal yang kupelajari: birokrasi perusahaan bisa lebih lincah dalam menunda daripada dalam bertindak.

Lalu, angin segar. Akhir 2025, perusahaan mengumumkan transformasi besar: sistem remunerasi berbasis kompetensi! Gaji akan disesuaikan dengan posisi dan skill, bukan lagi sekadar golongan dan masa kerja. Aku membaca pengumuman itu berulang kali. Ini dia. Akhirnya. Setelah lebih dari lima tahun, keadilan akan datang. Aku bahkan sudah mulai menghitung kira-kira berapa kenaikannya. Mimpi sederhana: bisa nabung untuk DP rumah, atau sekadar merasa dihargai.

Workshop diadakan. Presentasi PowerPoint yang glossy. Matriks kompetensi yang warna-warni. Tapi di slide kecil, ada poin yang membuatku membeku: "Pembatasan Kenaikan Gaji Maksimal 15% per tahun akibat transisi." Mereka menyebutnya "soft landing policy". Aku hitung cepat. Untuk mencapai gaji S1 standar di perusahaan, dengan kenaikan 15% per tahun, butuh... tiga tahun. Jadi, setelah semua perjuangan, aku harus menunggu TIGA TAHUN lagi untuk mendapat pengakuan yang seharusnya sudah kudapat lima tahun lalu. Itu seperti dihukum karena ketekunanmu sendiri.

Tapi oke. Aku terima. "Aku sudah bertahan sepuluh tahun, tiga tahun lagi bukan apa-apa," pikirku. Setidaknya jalannya sudah jelas. Aku kerja lebih giat. Aku manfaatkan AI, ChatGPT, untuk membangun aplikasi pelaporan internal kecil-kecilan yang menyederhanakan kerja tim. Aplikasi itu dipakai. Bahkan atasan memuji. Aku merasa, akhirnya, kontribusiku terlihat.

Kemudian, bisik-bisik itu datang. Dari atasan, dengan wajah yang agak tidak enak. "Ada wacana dari HRD, kamu mungkin akan dirotasi ke divisi Humas. Jadi digital creator untuk marketing."

Dunia berhenti sebentar.

Pikiranku berputar cepat. Sistem remunerasi berbasis kompetensi. Aku di IT, kompetensiku IT. Aku sudah membuat aplikasi yang berguna. Lalu kenapa… dipindah? Ke Humas? Bidang yang sama sekali bukan keahlianku? Logika macam apa ini?

Dan kemudian, koneksi yang mengerikan itu muncul. Kalau aku pindah ke Humas, alasan lama akan hidup kembali: "Kamu gak dapat gaji S1 karena TIDAK BEKERJA SESUAI KOMPETENSI." Padahal yang memindahkan adalah mereka! Aku terjebak dalam logika lingkaran setan yang dirancang sempurna untuk mengunci aku tetap di tempat. Mau bukti kontribusi? Mereka pindahkan kamu. Mau pengakuan ijazah? Mereka buat aturan transisi yang melambatkan. Rasanya seperti bermain catur melawan seseorang yang bisa mengubah aturan papan setiap kali giliranmu.

Aku pulang malam itu, melihat istri dan tiga anak yang sudah tidur. Usia 38. Bukan usia yang mudah untuk mulai dari nol di tempat lain. Pilihan terasa sempit. Di satu sisi, rasa aman dari pekerjaan tetap. Di sisi lain, ganjalan di hati yang setiap hari bertanya: "Apa artinya semua perjuanganmu?"

Bab ini bukan tentang satu perusahaan. Ini tentang sistemik. Tentang bagaimana institusi sering kali menghargai loyalitas sebagai kepasifan, dan memandang inisiatif peningkatan diri sebagai ancaman terhadap tatanan lama yang nyaman. Gelar S.Kom-ku bukan sekadar kertas. Itu adalah simbol dari ribuan jam yang diambil dari keluarga, dari tidur, dari kesenangan, untuk menjadi lebih baik. Dan ketika simbol itu diabaikan, yang terluka bukan hanya rekening bank, tapi narasi diri. Cerita bahwa "usaha keras akan dibayar" retak di tengah jalan.

Apakah ini perusahaan toxic? Toxic itu kata yang kuat. Tapi mungkin tepat. Racunnya bukan yang aktif dan menyengat, melainkan yang pasif dan perlahan. Racun yang membuatmu terbiasa dengan ketidakadilan, yang meyakinkanmu bahwa menunggu tiga tahun lagi itu "wajar", bahwa wacana rotasi yang tak logis itu "kebijakan". Racun yang perlahan-lahan melarutkan harga dirimu, dan menggantinya dengan rasa bersyukur bahwa setidaknya kamu masih punya pekerjaan.

Naik kelas dari bangku SMA ke gerbang kantor divisi IT ternyata bukan akhir perjalanan; itu hanyalah pemindahan arena tempat kita harus terus berjuang, kali ini bukan melawan soal ujian, melawan sistem yang hitungnya lebih pelit, dan melawan wacana yang siap memindahkan kita kembali ke garis start yang salah.

FAQ: Tentang Kunci Gaji dan Logika yang Hilang

Q: Kenapa tidak keluar saja dari perusahaan itu?
A: Pertanyaan yang mudah diucapkan. Tapi pada usia 38, dengan tiga anak, jaminan kesehatan, dan ketidakpastian pasar kerja, "keluar" adalah sebuah lompatan yang menakutkan. Loyalitas yang lama justru sering menjadi penjara yang paling nyaman—kamu tahu semua sudut selnya.

Q: Apa tidak mungkin bahwa rotasi ke Humas justru peluang?
A> Mungkin saja. Tapi konteksnya penting. Rotasi yang datang tepat setelah sistem remunerasi baru, dan ke bidang yang tidak berkaitan, terasa seperti strategi untuk menjaga status quo gaji, bukan pengembangan karir. Jika itu peluang, harusnya didahului dengan dialog: "Kami lihat potensimu di konten kreatif, mau coba?" Bukan bisik-bisik tentang "wacana".

Q: Apakah penggunaan ChatGPT untuk bikin aplikasi mengurangi nilai kontribusinya?
A> Sama sekali tidak. ChatGPT adalah alat, seperti kalkulator atau compiler. Yang penting adalah kemampuan untuk mendefinisikan masalah, merancang solusi, dan mengimplementasikannya—meski dengan bantuan alat. Orang yang meragukan kontribusi karena pakai AI sama naifnya dengan orang yang meragukan arsitek karena pakai AutoCAD.

Q: Apakah ini kasus umum di perusahaan Indonesia?
A> Sangat umum, terutama di perusahaan lama yang sedang transisi. Sistem lama (masa kerja, golongan) bersifat patrimonial—seperti keluarga. Sistem baru (kompetensi, performa) bersifat meritokratis. Transisi antara keduanya sering melukai orang-orang yang terjebak di tengah: mereka yang sudah berinvestasi untuk naik kelas, tapi sistem lamanya belum rela melepas.

Q: Apa yang harus dia lakukan sekarang?
A> Pertama, dokumentasi SEMUA kontribusi: aplikasi yang dibangun, pujian atasan, email, bukti penggunaan. Kedua, minta pertemuan FORMAL dengan HRD dan atasan, bukan bisik-bisik. Tanyakan dengan sopan tapi tegas: "Berdasarkan sistem remunerasi kompetensi baru, apa roadmap konkret untuk penyetaraan gaji saya? Dan bagaimana rencana rotasi ke Humas selaras dengan prinsip penempatan berbasis kompetensi?" Buat mereka menjawab di atas kertas. Ketiga, mulailah melirik pasar diam-diam. Update LinkedIn, portofolio. Pilihan muncul ketika kita mempersiapkannya.

Q: Apakah ini masih termasuk "naik kelas"?
A> Iya, tapi naik kelas yang paling sulit: kelas kesadaran. Kelas di mana kita belajar bahwa gelar dan skill hanyalah tiket masuk. Permainan sesungguhnya adalah politik pengakuan, negosiasi nilai, dan keberanian untuk menuntut harga diri kita sendiri—seringkali lebih menakutkan daripada ujian skripsi manapun.

The Salary Locked in the Past: When a Bachelor's Degree in IT is Just a CV Ornament

There is something more painful than a small pay slip; it is a pay slip that for over five years stubbornly refuses to recognize the bachelor's degree next to your name, as if all the sweat and all-nighters in college were just an illusion, and your contribution building applications was merely the task of a bored high school kid.

The company, let's call it PT Bumi Maju Abadi, has a unique way of managing hope. Back then, the salary system was exactly like the civil service: Grade A, B, C. You join, get a grade, and every year it goes up a bit automatically, like an old watch that still ticks. That system was rigid, but it had a calming clarity: endure, and you will rise. I joined in 2010, fresh out of high school. Back then, an admin position in the general division. The salary was enough for myself, still living with my parents. The world felt linear: work, grade increase, get married, have a house. But then I saw friends who went to college, who talked about frameworks, databases, networks. I felt left behind. Not about the salary then, but about knowledge. I wanted to understand how systems work, not just operate them.

So, I went to college. A Bachelor's in Computer Science. While working full time. Imagine: work from morning to evening, dead tired. Classes from 7 to 10 at night. Weekends doing assignments and thesis. Vacation? That's a word for catching up on missed courses. Over five years. Not five easy years. But there was a certain pride. I graduated. With a decent GPA. I imagined the next pay slip would be different. There would be an additional strata allowance. There would be a status change from "High School" to "Bachelor's". That was my expectation.

The reality? The next month's pay slip arrived. In the education column: "High School". Base salary: same. Allowances: same. I thought it was an administrative error. Submitted a degree equivalency request. Complete with photocopies of diploma, transcript, cover letter. Submitted to HR. "Wait for the process," they said. I waited. One month. Two months. Six months. I asked again. "Still in process. The system is complicated." I was still in the general division, so maybe I thought: "They think I work in admin, don't need a Bachelors. Okay, makes sense." So I fought to move to the IT division. It took a year, lobbying here and there, showing my self-taught skills, helping fix broken computers, making complex Excel reports automated. Finally, in 2018, I was officially in the IT division. Networking and Helpdesk.

The first pay slip in the IT division. Heart pounding. I opened it slowly. Education column: "High School". Base salary: increased a bit due to annual grade increase, not because of a Bachelor's. It felt like a slap. I was now in the right habitat. My work was directly related to my degree's competency. But the company system, somehow, still saw me as a high school kid who happened to be hanging out in the server room. I submitted the equivalency again. Again. "Wait for the process." Five years passed with the same game. Every time I asked, the answer was always about "policy", "restructuring", "under proposal". One thing I learned: corporate bureaucracy can be more agile in delaying than in acting.

Then, a breath of fresh air. Late 2025, the company announced a major transformation: a competency-based remuneration system! Salaries would be adjusted to position and skills, no longer just grade and tenure. I read that announcement over and over. This is it. Finally. After over five years, justice would come. I even started calculating roughly how much the increase would be. A simple dream: could save for a house down payment, or just feel valued.

Workshops were held. Glossy PowerPoint presentations. Colorful competency matrices. But on a small slide, there was a point that made me freeze: "Maximum Salary Increase Cap of 15% per year due to transition." They called it a "soft landing policy". I did a quick calculation. To reach the standard Bachelor's salary in the company, with a 15% annual increase, it would take... three years. So, after all the struggle, I had to wait THREE MORE YEARS to get the recognition I should have gotten five years ago. It's like being punished for your own perseverance.

But okay. I accepted. "I've endured ten years, three more is nothing," I thought. At least the path was clear. I worked harder. I leveraged AI, ChatGPT, to build small internal reporting applications that simplified the team's work. Those applications were used. Even my boss praised them. I felt, finally, my contribution was visible.

Then, the whisper came. From my boss, with a somewhat uncomfortable face. "There's a notion from HR, you might be rotated to the Public Relations division. To be a digital creator for marketing."

The world stopped for a moment.

My mind spun fast. A competency-based remuneration system. I'm in IT, my competency is IT. I've built useful applications. So why… move me? To PR? A field that is not my expertise at all? What kind of logic is this?

And then, that terrifying connection emerged. If I move to PR, the old reason will come alive again: "You don't get a Bachelor's salary because you are NOT WORKING ACCORDING TO YOUR COMPETENCY." Even though they are the ones moving me! I'm trapped in a perfectly designed circular logic to keep me locked in place. Want proof of contribution? They'll move you. Want degree recognition? They'll make a transition rule that slows it down. It feels like playing chess against someone who can change the board rules every time it's your turn.

I went home that night, saw my wife and three children asleep. Age 38. Not an easy age to start from scratch somewhere else. Choices feel narrow. On one side, the security of a permanent job. On the other, a nagging in the heart that asks every day: "What was the point of all your struggle?"

This chapter is not about one company. It's systemic. About how institutions often value loyalty as passivity, and view self-improvement initiatives as a threat to the comfortable old order. My Bachelor's degree isn't just a piece of paper. It's a symbol of thousands of hours taken from family, from sleep, from pleasure, to become better. And when that symbol is ignored, what's wounded isn't just the bank account, but the self-narrative. The story that "hard work will be rewarded" cracks along the way.

Is this a toxic company? Toxic is a strong word. But maybe accurate. Its poison isn't active and stinging, but passive and slow. The poison that makes you accustomed to injustice, that convinces you that waiting three more years is "normal", that an illogical rotation notion is "policy". The poison that slowly dissolves your self-worth and replaces it with gratitude that at least you still have a job.

Moving up from a high school desk to the door of the IT division turned out not to be the end of the journey; it was merely a change of arena where we must keep fighting, this time not against exam questions, but against a system that counts more stingily, and against notions ready to move us back to the wrong starting line.

Q&A: About Salary Locks and Missing Logic

Q: Why not just leave that company?
A: An easy question to ask. But at age 38, with three kids, health insurance, and job market uncertainty, "leaving" is a terrifying leap. Long loyalty often becomes the most comfortable prison—you know every corner of its cell.

Q: Isn't it possible that rotation to PR is actually an opportunity?
A> It could be. But context is key. A rotation that comes right after a new remuneration system, and to an unrelated field, feels like a strategy to maintain salary status quo, not career development. If it were an opportunity, it should be preceded by dialogue: "We see your potential in creative content, want to try?" Not whispers about a "notion".

Q: Does using ChatGPT to build applications reduce the value of his contribution?
A> Not at all. ChatGPT is a tool, like a calculator or a compiler. What matters is the ability to define the problem, design a solution, and implement it—even with tool assistance. Anyone doubting contribution because of using AI is as naive as someone doubting an architect for using AutoCAD.

Q: Is this a common case in Indonesian companies?
A> Very common, especially in old companies undergoing transition. The old system (tenure, grade) is patrimonial—like family. The new system (competency, performance) is meritocratic. The transition between the two often hurts people caught in the middle: those who have invested to move up a class, but the old system isn't willing to let go.

Q: What should he do now?
A> First, document ALL contributions: applications built, boss's praise, emails, proof of use. Second, request a FORMAL meeting with HR and supervisor, not whispers. Ask politely but firmly: "Based on the new competency remuneration system, what is the concrete roadmap for equalizing my salary? And how does the planned rotation to PR align with the principle of competency-based placement?" Make them answer on paper. Third, start quietly eyeing the market. Update LinkedIn, portfolio. Options appear when we prepare for them.

Q: Does this still count as "moving up a class"?
A> Yes, but the hardest class: the class of awareness. The class where we learn that degrees and skills are just entry tickets. The real game is the politics of recognition, value negotiation, and the courage to demand our own self-worth—often more frightening than any thesis exam.