Career Advice

[Bugeater]

You're the only person that can answer that question.

I'm going to be facing a similar situation in the near future, I recently got a job that I was originally just planning on keeping until I finished school, but it's a very secure one with a very stable company and I really, really like the people I am working with. The only drawback is I'm not making the kind of money I'd like to, and if I stay there I cannot justify continuing to sink money into school. And if I continue with school, I cannot justify staying at this job once I get my degree, and chances are I'm not going to get another job that I like as much as this one. And there's really no guarantees that I'll even get a better job...so what to do...I hate making important life decisions like these.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

You're the only person that can answer that question.

I'm going to be facing a similar situation in the near future, I recently got a job that I was originally just planning on keeping until I finished school, but it's a very secure one with a very stable company and I really, really like the people I am working with. The only drawback is I'm not making the kind of money I'd like to, and if I stay there I cannot justify continuing to sink money into school. And if I continue with school, I cannot justify staying at this job once I get my degree, and chances are I'm not going to get another job that I like as much as this one. And there's really no guarantees that I'll even get a better job...so what to do...I hate making important life decisions like these.

When I started the job 5 years ago, I was 27 and single. I had a good job before, and this job nearly doubled my salary. It was great, but I'm not making that much more now than I was 5 years ago, as standard raises have been about 3% a year. It's still really good money, but it's hard to take a risk when I find myself in a comfort zone.

What type of raise would someone have to offer you in order to take a lateral position at another company?

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

When I started the job 5 years ago, I was 27 and single. I had a good job before, and this job nearly doubled my salary. It was great, but I'm not making that much more now than I was 5 years ago, as standard raises have been about 3% a year. It's still really good money, but it's hard to take a risk when I find myself in a comfort zone.

What type of raise would someone have to offer you in order to take a lateral position at another company?

It would have to be at least 25% for them to even get my attention. It's tough to put a dollar value on not dreading to have to go to work in the morning.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

It would have to be at least 25% for them to even get my attention. It's tough to put a dollar value on not dreading to have to go to work in the morning.

Wow. 25% minimum? That's strong. I totally understand where you're coming from, though. No amount of money is worth dreading coming to work. That's why I added the "all things being equal" caveat. I know that there's no such thing, but it's hard to quantify the uncertainty.

I've also come to realize that job security is a myth, and I don't really believe in loyalty to an employer in most circumstances. If the employer has gone out of its way to help you out when you had a sick family member or something, I would say that you owe them something. If they just pay you for coming to work, you don't owe them any more loyalty than your grocery store owes you for buying a gallon of milk.

In my case, I feel like I agreed to work to the best of my ability, and I have. They agreed to pay me a certain amount, and they have. It's been a good deal for both sides, but I don't feel like I owe them anything, and I don't think they feel like they owe me anything.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Wow. 25% minimum? That's strong. I totally understand where you're coming from, though. No amount of money is worth dreading coming to work. That's why I added the "all things being equal" caveat. I know that there's no such thing, but it's hard to quantify the uncertainty.

I've also come to realize that job security is a myth, and I don't really believe in loyalty to an employer in most circumstances. If the employer has gone out of its way to help you out when you had a sick family member or something, I would say that you owe them something. If they just pay you for coming to work, you don't owe them any more loyalty than your grocery store owes you for buying a gallon of milk.

In my case, I feel like I agreed to work to the best of my ability, and I have. They agreed to pay me a certain amount, and they have. It's been a good deal for both sides, but I don't feel like I owe them anything, and I don't think they feel like they owe me anything.

I've never approached my employer for a raise or let them know of another job offer and expected a counter offer. All the jumps were for clearly better positions.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

I've never approached my employer for a raise or let them know of another job offer and expected a counter offer. All the jumps were for clearly better positions.

Neither have I. Then again, my raises have been about 3% over the last 4 years, so maybe I need to re-think my strategy.

If the new employer offers me 20%, and my current employer offers me 10%, I'm thinking I'll probably stay. Anything less than that makes it really tough to decide. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if this isn't about stroking my own ego. If my current employer told me that they could only offer me 7% but really hopes that I will stay because they realize that I am valuable to them, that would probably mean more to me than them offering me 10% and telling me to take it or leave it.

[rageeumr]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Neither have I. Then again, my raises have been about 3% over the last 4 years, so maybe I need to re-think my strategy.

If the new employer offers me 20%, and my current employer offers me 10%, I'm thinking I'll probably stay. Anything less than that makes it really tough to decide. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if this isn't about stroking my own ego. If my current employer told me that they could only offer me 7% but really hopes that I will stay because they realize that I am valuable to them, that would probably mean more to me than them offering me 10% and telling me to take it or leave it.

I'm not offering this as advice, simply as an anecdote. My wife and I went to undergrad together. She's a year older than me, graduated a year earlier and went to grad school. I graduated and took a job. When she got out of grad school she had an offer with a company in Pittsburgh that she really wanted to take. I went and interviewed with them, and they made me an offer for substantially more than I was making at the time. In the end, I convinced her to move to KC.

I took my offer letter from the other company in and gave it to my boss. I explained to him that I wasn't looking to negotiate and that I had already turned the offer down, but I wanted him to know what my market value was. My next raise was to the exact level of that offer.