
I passed on a 55% higher salary - M0dev
https://programmerfriend.com/why-i-passed-on-a-55-higher-salary/
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M0dev
Posting this because it bugged me a bit over the last weeks.

Is the only way to increase your salary to jump ships once per year? Also do
you think it is valid to stay in a technical role?

~~~
mdorazio
A few things to consider here. And this is all personal opinion from someone
who's been working around the tech world for ~15 years. Your mileage may vary.

1) Is monetary compensation actually the _most important_ thing to you? If the
answer is yes, then optimize your career around that and always take the
higher offer instead of beating yourself up over alternatives. If the answer
is no, then recognize that you're going to be leaving money on the table and
the balance of things that are important to you is going to outweigh money
over the years.

2) I find that tech workers really often lack perspective on things like this.
Talk to some friends in non-tech positions around the country and ask what
they make (or go on Glassdoor and look). Chances are you make _way_ more than
they do for relatively less work, but are beating yourself up for not making
_even more_. It's somewhat irrational if you take a step back and think about
it.

3) To answer your question directly, no, there are other options. 1) ask for
more money from your current employer while respectfully providing the
business case for why you deserve more money. _If they have the money to pay
you_ there's a good chance they'll agree and you'll get more without having to
jump ship. But recognize that many companies you might want to work for
probably can't afford to pay you as much as well-funded company X trying to
recruit you. Another option is to pursue additional income outside of your
primary job as many people on this site do. A third option is to start your
own business and take the risk of tying your compensation directly to the
company's performance.

4) It's important to recognize that there is _almost always_ a trade-off
between money and _doing things that are actually enjoyable_. Park rangers and
zoo keepers make shit for money, but generally love what they do. Finance guys
making millions of dollars a year are often completely miserable. See point #1
above.

As an anecdote, I've turned down "more money" options several times over the
years and it's almost always turned out to be a good decision because the
other junk that would have come with the money would have been awful.
Meanwhile, several friends who hopped on the money treadmill are so hopped up
on antidepressants and therapy sessions it's a wonder they're functional.

~~~
walshemj
Most employers will not give much in case #3

Also on further reading the OP is from a Uni /Rnd Background which is
notorious for paying people very badly and from experience when you start at a
low salary its hard to get what you deserve.

~~~
mdorazio
I disagree on both points. It's not uncommon at all for people to negotiate
20%+ raises just by asking and making clear they are willing to leave if a
significant raise isn't forthcoming (assuming, of course, that they are
actually worth the raise and the company can pay it). On your second point,
it's also not uncommon at all for people to very quickly raise their salary
coming from a low point (just look at people who went from minimum wage to
doing a code bootcamp and getting 3x what they were making previously). Tip on
that - if the place you're interviewing with asks what your current salary is,
tell them it's whatever your target salary is minus 5-10%. There's no downside
to doing so, and no upside to telling them what you currently make.

~~~
walshemj
But if they went to a tier one university after 10 years who would be ahead?
unfortunately its not going on average the ones who went via the vocational
route.

