
Ask HN: Should I stay at a job just for the money? - MyFakeAcct9381
My story:
I have over a decade of experience as a professional software engineer.<p>I started as an engineer here, then was promoted to manage the development teams.  The company has grown, but their focus is not on technology.  No one in senior management has a technical background.  I&#x27;m the highest-ranked technical person, and I feel there isn&#x27;t any room to grow within the company or learn from a mentor.<p>However, the owners take very good care of me.  I want to be clear that I&#x27;m super grateful for them and can make no complaint with how I&#x27;ve ever been treated.  This is a great job, I&#x27;m blessed to have it.  Tell me 10 years ago I could ever make this much money and I wouldn&#x27;t have believed you - it&#x27;s nearly $200k per year (USD).  I again want to be clear this is not a &quot;poor me, please feel bad for me&quot; story... I&#x27;m astounded with how lucky I have been.<p>Where it gets complicated:
I have a hellish commute.  I spend 3.5 hours a day commuting.  And telecommute work here is frowned upon within the company.<p>If I were to leave this job for another software engineering position, it&#x27;d be for around $130k per year, with either a better commute or full-time remote work.  This completely covers my living expenses.<p>But... a $70k pay cut is an entire salary.  I don&#x27;t know if my future self would look back and think I did the dumbest thing when given the best opportunity.<p>The ask:
So I&#x27;m seeking advice... do I stick with the job that&#x27;s treated me well, despite the fact that I&#x27;ve outgrown it or it&#x27;s outgrown me?<p>My real life goal is to be financially independent and not have a terrible commute.<p>Thanks, all.<p>(I&#x27;m a regular HN user, just made a throwaway account for confidentiality.)
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dv_dt
Being at the top of the local heap technically is maybe lonesome, but if there
is trust and a good working relationship with the non-technical senior team
then that means a lot of independence you might not have in other situations.

On the other hand 3.5 hrs is a long commute - and that is time in your life
being taken up for not much value. Have you considered moving closer to work
and taking up a side technical hobby? If your main goal is financial
independence, an extra $70k gets you there a lot faster than without.

~~~
MyFakeAcct9381
Thanks for responding, dv_dt

You're right to point out the commute. Thing is, traffic goes up exponentially
closer to work. A 10 mile commute still takes an hour each way.

Likewise, the cost of living goes up dramatically. If I moved closer and lost
the job, I'd still be facing a salary decrease if I went back to being a
regular engineer.

Also, full disclosure, part of the salary is due to the fact that the
company's fundamentals aren't exactly "rock-solid". There are some questions
to whether it'd even exist in 1-2 years.

~~~
LeoSolaris
Now that changes the calculus...

Might be time to dust off the resume. Remember, remote jobs receive an order
of magnitude more responses. It may take a little while to snag that position.

If you can at all help it, do not make a step down. Try to aim for a lateral
move into another company. In most companies, you would qualify as a CTO as
the highest ranking technical person.

~~~
MyFakeAcct9381
Really appreciate the advice. Especially the reminder that remote jobs get
more candidates. I've had a couple local interviews so far, but none with a
remote job.

Part of the step down is the allure of having a happier work/life balance. But
that could well be a case of the grass being greener on the other side. It's
good to have encouraging support to stick with a lateral move...

------
LeoSolaris
I assume that there is a major problem with moving closer to work, otherwise
you would have done so by now.

I would have a formal meeting with your chief of staff/head of HR and point
out the value add in remote work. Cite the body of research on the subject,
and make sure to stress the value in employee retention with a subtle (or no
so subtle) implication that you're one of those retention cases.

Make sure you address management style changes for remote work. It will be a
training opportunity for many managers. Make sure you account for the costs of
training.

Once those points are out there, security becomes the primary concern. Do your
research and give them real costs.

Sell them on the value and productivity increases that happen because of the
remote option. There are costs involved, however, there are benefits that
easily create an ROI. Give the benefits in hard financial numbers, including
the reduction in turnover costs, employee acquisition costs, and better
indicators than clock-in/clock-out for productivity measurements. Give
examples from other parts of the business than just IT. (Remember that many
people take sick leave who wouldn't need to if there is a remote option.)

Your objective is to get Staffing on your side. That will go a long way to
prevailing upon the rest of upper management.

With the right political maneuvering, you are showing that you are ready for a
seat at the table. By both convincing upper management that the benefits of a
remote friendly workplace outweigh the costs to maintain and executing on such
a large culture shifting project, you are showing your value in greater
strategic planning.

Once the project starts showing a positive return, propose an IT dept
structural re-org. Separate Dev from Ops, with a small slice of DevOps to go
between. Add a Sec focused group to protect the company's assets. With the new
layer of management, they will need a C-suite to report to, which naturally
should be you.

When you're at the top, expand the base to grow. When you have pain points,
chances are you're not alone. Politics may not be your strongest suit, but you
have a valuable, strong working relationship with these people. Use your
influence to alleviate your pain points.

To make sure that you keep your hand in the technical, start side projects in
all that free time you'll have as a remote leader.

~~~
MyFakeAcct9381
Thanks, LeoSolaris.

Yeah, even 'close' to work still has a bad commute, and the prices skyrocket.

I do intend to bring the situation up with my superiors at work. Due to my
position, I don't know if merely handing in a 2-weeks notice would be fair to
them. I'm also considering negotiating a severance of a few months' salary in
return for a few months' notice of leave.

You're right that even though I don't think they'd go for a telework deal,
there's no harm in asking, and better to leave no stone unturned.

One part that I haven't figured out yet though, is how to replace my
professional career growth. I really feel that my immediate boss doesn't have
much to offer me in this capacity... and he's the source of all my work-
related stress. He can be pretty hard to deal with. For more backstory-
roughly 30% of the department under him has quit since he's been assigned in
charge.

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icedchai
You need to think about quality of life. 3.5 hours commute is, in my mind,
pure hell. I wouldn't do that for 400K a year, never mind 200K.

~~~
MyFakeAcct9381
Thanks, icedchai. It's definitely a major factor in my life for the past few
years.

The alternatives available include driving to a different city with a 2 hour /
day commute, or full-time remote work.

I appreciate it... it's nice to have any encouragement that I'm not crazy for
even considering passing up such an opportunity in my life.

