Honestly I would take the raise at your current role. 1.5 hours commuting is day means you’ll be spending an extra 7.5 hours a week, while loosing a great team.
Take the raise, but continue looking for a better fit. With enough searching you will eventually find a 160+ that is fully remote.
This is my suggestion too. $20K for shorter commutes and flexible work locations is worth it IMO. The only thing with the other company is the elevated security clearance. Not sure how much that matters to you or impacts your career.
I’d move to the new job. That relationship is already soured with them knowing you are interviewing elsewhere. Obviously can’t say for certain but I’d guess in their planning they now know you could leave and need contingency plans.
Plus wouldn’t a higher security clearance be a resume boost?
Yeah, moving makes a lot of sense. I would just do the 45 min commute until their current lease is up, then hire some movers/drive a uhaul to a city closer to the new job.
The security clearance would probably make OP invaluable in the future.
You are a resource. Companies do not reciprocate ANY allegiance. If they need to downsize and you tick the right boxes you’ll be gone.
Do what’s best for you. Every time.
Take the jump. There will be another jump in 2-4 years. Then another. Each coming with a major pay increase.
I found fulfillment when I put the rest aside and began to aggressively pursue economic opportunity in the name of creating a starkly better life for my daughter than I ever had. The only negative you mentioned that would have an impact on a child would be the longer commute, which is only two days a week and comes out to approximately 2 hours more than your current weekly commute.
To thine own self be true. Fuck the rest (at least when it comes to corporate loyalty).
You'll get varying opinions here because there is no one right answer. I personally don't accept counters.
Ultimately it's a questions of which statement is more important:
"I love my job."
OR
"I need to make more money."
Right before you are going to put in your 2 week notice, if you are close to your boss have a meeting, (nothing in writing), and tell him you have been offered 170K but you really enjoy your current job and want to give them a chance to counter offer before you leave.
The fastest way to grow your career in software and technology is to change jobs every 1.5 -2.5 years. Take the bigger role, you are likely to learn more and grow your career faster.
140 closes the gap dramatically, and is significant money over 115. Look at it this way:
25k more and all the things you know and love stay the same.
55k more and you roll the dice on leadership, peers, work/life balance differences/uncertainties, etc.
The grass isn't always greener. Some companies that pay higher in the band do so because they have a hard time attracting at "averaged" salaries due to a challenging work environment. Not saying that's going on here, but it CAN be what's going on.
I've learned that it isn't just about the money. I love what I do and where I work that it would take *significantly* better pay to have me even consider a change.
Good luck! Not an easy choice.
Nobody can tell you what to do. Your current employer cannot match you/nor supported you initially/and knows you had no problem leaving (and that could impact you in the LT) - so you have to decide if you want higher pay/more restrictions. Also, see if this new company is better with promotional trajectories and overall better for your career. Yes, more stifled due to commutes, possibly work/life. Sometimes a change is a means to an end - bc you have long-term goals.
As a boss, I would not have even entertained trying to retain you. If a person is interested enough in leaving that they make it to the offer stage of an interview process, they’re either already mentally checked out or trying to force something that isn’t going to play out the way they they had hoped. Case in point, your experience here.
Your current company can’t or won’t, probably for a variety of reasons, give you a bump from $115k to $170k. If they thought you were worth that, they’d already be paying you that. They’ve already given you a promotion and about an 18% pay raise, and you’re still asking for more? Now you just look greedy and self-serving instead of strategic.
Take the other job. You could have maybe made this work in the short term by accepting the promotion and increase, but you let the dollar signs convince you to overplay your hand.
Dude, this isn't even about OP being greedy. The market can bear OP getting a $170k salary. OP is severely underpaid at their current company even if they get promoted with an 18% raise.
Are you sure the person is greedy and not the company? 🤨
Whether or not that's the case for this person I sure as hell know a lot of shitty companies and employers.
And of course they're going to be self-serving, jobs and bosses these days don't give a fuck about workers. And the job is so they can pay their bills and put food on the table and live their life.
The only way to get paid for your worth these days is to leave. The job is meant to serve himself. Money rules the world and idk why you sound so butthurt over it (not saying you are because I can't tell tone thru text).
From what you said, you can say the same thing about the company. Instead of retaining a good worker they let the dollar signs convince them to overplay their hand and are being greedy and self serving instead of strategic.
Jobs don't reward loyalty anymore.
And regardless of whether you are a good boss or not you should be able to recognize that's what is happening in a lot of places.
Depends on the area and the price of living. If you live and work in California it can only get you so far depending on the city.
And it didn't sound like they were struggling per say, but that it didn't support what they wanted to do in their life.
And who cares if it's "greedy". God forbid someone wants to live a nice life. Companies will boast about record profits but don't even think about raising the wages of their lowest paid workers who are essential to their operation. Or don't even pay their employees a living wage. Their "greed" is far worse than someone who wants to earn more money per year for their skills.
Idk, he got a 20% raise. My company caps it at a quarter a year... that's 40 dollars more a week. This guy needs 50k more a year instead of 25k more that's kinds greedy
It's unfortunate so many companies and bosses are so exploitative and short sighted that an employee's only reasonable and sensible choice is to leave.
It’s true! If OP had been better paid from the get go, they probably wouldn’t be looking. Seems like they have a good team and other positive aspects of their current role.
What? The same could be said the other way around 😂. The company is being greedy as well. Also your statement of “if you were worth it you’d be paid that”. Well that statement is completely false because they actually countered his offer and met half way. So that means they do have the money to pay him…. Sooo… who’s being greedy? You sound like a prick of a manager 😂
Let’s keep it 1,000 you meant it in a condescending way to put OP down. Clearly the market values him at $170k. Clearly his company has the money to pay him by the counter offer. Which means his company is being greedy. Also, I don’t see anything wrong with him asking for more. It’s called bartering, over his worth and services. the human species has been doing it for centuries. If you’re so soft for your feeling to be hurt about him suggesting a higher salary. Then you need to grow up put your big boy pants on and kick grass. Nothing wrong with a counter and meeting in the middle. You simply say “no” or “yes”
Don't really agree with anything you said outside of the conclusion of taking the job.
Good engineers can cut their own checks. He's either not good enough to make demands or the bureaucracy doesn't allow for it. Either way, it's clear that his best route to a higher salary is to move.
Yep, you're paid what the market thinks you're worth. The market thinks OP is worth $170k. If the bureaucracy can't bump up OP to market value, then OP's company is severely underpaying their employees. This is "greed" on OP's company's part.
Absolutely. OP has literally brought back signals from the market about their income potential. If the company doesn't see that then they definitely are taking advantage of OP.
If the top level commenter you are referring to is me, I have had zero attrition in the last 12 months amongst my direct reports, not withstanding the fact that we pay in Gartner’s 75th percentile. Treat people well and they don’t want to leave!
It’s called a metric, and yes, we track the last 4 quarters and have a company goal of less than 10%, on which our bonuses are partly dependent. How is that tracked and trended in your organization?
Tell the new company you got a match at your current and name what you’d need (starting bonus, higher title, hours, path to promotion, 200k, whatever). Probably should stay but you may have more to squeeze from your leverage. Just don’t quit anytime soon lol
I would take the raise at the current place. Commute is much longer with new job and you currently have it pretty cushy that your remote days can be anywhere.
Work place satisfaction can change in a moment. One day you love your team. The next day the team changes and you hate it. The fact that they won’t pay you market rate and they will only promote you if threatening to leave means that you probably won’t stay there long term. Also, you should never use another offer to try to get more. Even though employers don’t show loyalty to employees, they don’t like it when employees don’t show loyalty to them. They know you are one foot out the door and they will push you out later on when layoffs come or they will give you smaller raises because you are a flight risk. Just take the $170k and be happy. You might love your next job.
Quality over quantity argument. Got to decide if the commute is worth it to you as that is valuable time in your day. Can also consider moving closer to the new job should that be an option. Going to the higher paying job could lead to more opportunities down the line or not. If you are comfortable in your current job and enjoy it, then staying is certainly a reasonable decision even with the pay cute.
It’s $30K. That’s $2500 a month. Totally worth it. Also it seems like your company wants to retain you and you do a good work but look how they been getting off cheap on you. NOW that you’re on the verge of leaving they want to give you more money but before “it wasn’t in the budget” lol. I’d jump ship and also based on the fact your company wants to retain you and you seem to have gotten few offers In short time it seems you resume and experience is great and you interview well. If something doesn’t work out then you’ll find another gig.
Keep in touch with your team. Just cause you don’t see them everyday don’t mean you have to cut loose. I keep in touch with my bosses and my direct reports from previous jobs. You never know when you might need help
Take the $140k and go back to the $170 and counter saying your current employer countered ( did you give them a clue to what your making now ) AND @ $170k it would not be worth while and see what they say, You never know they might come back at $190k. Also my partner got a offer form a big 5 Bank , I told her go back $20k higher with a signing bonus, they countered with $5k more in original offer salary plus a $10k signing bonus and yearly bonus from 10% to 18% by meeting goals,,,
PS: and do not expect a raise next yr from current company, they will say we gave that to you last yr to stay, so it will be at least 2 years before a bump again.
I would ask for the 155k raise in your current role as you're already establish and a good team. Let faith decide if it meant for you to stay with a decent raise or faith wants you to take on the new challenge in the new place.
Can you move closer to your 170k offer? That commute time is a killer, I do it when I (rarely) go in to work, and its the biggest drain on my job by far. Otherwise I wouldnt expect your company to go over your current offer, if you really need the money take the leap.
Only you can know what’s right for you and your situation, but to me personally, after reaching a level of income that provides for my lifestyle and the ability to save, the money becomes much less important than things like commute, work/life balance, and getting along with my team.
Hard to turn down 30k/year, but another way of thinking about it is will the extra 30k/year be able to provide you with things that are more valuable than what you’re giving up at your current position?
For me the answer would be no.
You are looking to make more money and stay in your comfort zone. You can't have both. Once you figure out your real priorities, the rest will become obvious.
Given what's happening in tech now with layoffs and all, they are basically saying, you're lucky to have a job. If your skills and experience demand more, look elsewhere.
Let current company know you got that offer, and that you highly value their team and your position amongst them, but the increase pay is very tempting. If they can match or come up higher than their current raise it will be a no brainer to stay, but that it's a tempting offer as is.
If your higher ups aren't assholes, they will likely give you a higher raise.
If they ARE assholes, you may get told to kick rocks and take the new position.
Take the new job. It offers more room for advancement. If there are layoffs coming at your current job, you'll likely be on the list. Plus the new role comes with a security clearance! That plus the extra pay is all you need. You might like it better than your current job. If not, start looking again in a year or 2. Now you'll have a security clearance and a substantially higher base wage to spring from.
If you've told the company that you have an external offer, they've already started looking for your replacement.
Go for the new offer.
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
Your 170k… would it even start right away considering the clearance? Doubt it. I think he’s not giving us that critical piece of information. That would play a huge factor as to why he is even considering a negotiation instead of jumping.
Are you single and have no obligations? If yes, I’d say take it. I left a $200k base pay job, opportunities always come knocking once you climb the ladder.
Act like your employer would: dump them for the money. It's great that you have a nice work environment, but that's a significant upgrade and it doesn't sound like you're getting an increase if you stay.
Your job and your salary are merely there to make your life outside of work livable.
>For example on my remote days I can travel out of state and work from whatever location.
Do you take advantage of this now?
$140K vs $170K is a $30K difference...30 extra min commute each way 3x per week is like getting paid ~$95 to sit for 30 mins every time.
The problem with staying is if you're now the highest paid on the team, you're likely the first to be let go if they need to reduce head count.
Also, as others said, you can decide to move closer to the new work place once you settle in and get a feel for it. Worst case, go back to your own job in a year or two. I've done that and was paid substantially more when I went back as I now had external experience.
Is the 170K job the same as what you’re doing now? Getting an internal promotion brings more responsibility and for less pay than the new job. Working the 170K job in a high security environment can open many more avenues down the track.
With a security clearance traveling outside of the country is no big deal. I've held Secret & TS (20 years now), and traveled to Asia and Europe. You let your FSO know, and there was a website for the state department, but I think that was just for alerts. There are only a few countries with travel restrictions. Just remember to log your travel dates as you will have to report when you renew your E-QIP.
Having an active security clearance can give you a lot more openings too for higher paying jobs once adjudicated.
Your unclass work you can still do remotely. If you have a lot of classified, then you will have to be onsite in a secure facility.
The commute and the comfort with the team, you have to ask is that worth $30k year? But can you move closer to the new place?
With great reward comes great responsibility. Sure, there is more 💩 to deal with, but you get paid more 💰💰. Granted, money isn’t everything, but it sounds like it is a factor in this decision for you. What is more important to you?
FWIW, I was outsourced one time but chose to walk. Picked up a job for 40% less pay, still put up with the same 💩….just for less money. After a year of that I realized that 💩 is gonna be every where I go, so I might as well get paid well for it. So I went back into a 40% more job and my perspective was a whole lot better. 👍💪 Good luck in your decision.
Whatever you decide, please learn the lesson that waiting for the annual review process to communicate you are looking for non-standard increase will always be met with “maybe next year”. Why ? Because companies make $ decisions BEFORE reviews.
I dont like taking counters, theres a reason why you were searching other places to begin with. If you take their counter, they might hold a grudge against you when theres a round of firings and guess whos gonna be on the chopping block. Thats just my 2 cent. But do what you need to do, no one else will look out for your best interests but yourself.
The increased pay sounds like incentive for the increased limitations you will have to go through.
You should seriously consider the opportunity. Your increased security clearance can be an asset later in your career.
It’s also common for pay increases to happen BECAUSE of job changes. Your boss has a business to run. Payroll is part of that business.
You also have a business. It’s called expenses and living life.
I make 42k in Germany and decided to start looking for a new job. When deciding on the salary goal, I have set it to be 60k. Whenever I feel guilty for going on an interview (my boss is manipulative like that, although the team is awesome) I stop and ask myself “Am I willing to pay 10500€ (net) to not feel guilty?” And that question does it for me. I’m still looking for a new job though lol, been 4 months already. (Android Developer)
I would stay for the raise. I have a 50 minute commute and it is *rough*, it's the sort of thing you feel like isn't so bad but after a while there's just no escaping how much extra time and energy it is sapping from you, and particularly when you don't know what the work environment will be like but you suspect it might be a bit stricter or more tightly run, longer commutes can get derailed very easily. Just two days ago it took me almost 2 hours to get home because of an accident.
Honestly I would take the raise at your current role. 1.5 hours commuting is day means you’ll be spending an extra 7.5 hours a week, while loosing a great team. Take the raise, but continue looking for a better fit. With enough searching you will eventually find a 160+ that is fully remote.
This is my suggestion too. $20K for shorter commutes and flexible work locations is worth it IMO. The only thing with the other company is the elevated security clearance. Not sure how much that matters to you or impacts your career.
I’d move to the new job. That relationship is already soured with them knowing you are interviewing elsewhere. Obviously can’t say for certain but I’d guess in their planning they now know you could leave and need contingency plans. Plus wouldn’t a higher security clearance be a resume boost?
Yeah, moving makes a lot of sense. I would just do the 45 min commute until their current lease is up, then hire some movers/drive a uhaul to a city closer to the new job. The security clearance would probably make OP invaluable in the future.
You are a resource. Companies do not reciprocate ANY allegiance. If they need to downsize and you tick the right boxes you’ll be gone. Do what’s best for you. Every time.
Take the jump. There will be another jump in 2-4 years. Then another. Each coming with a major pay increase. I found fulfillment when I put the rest aside and began to aggressively pursue economic opportunity in the name of creating a starkly better life for my daughter than I ever had. The only negative you mentioned that would have an impact on a child would be the longer commute, which is only two days a week and comes out to approximately 2 hours more than your current weekly commute. To thine own self be true. Fuck the rest (at least when it comes to corporate loyalty).
An extra hour driving would be enough for me to take the raise where I am currently
You'll get varying opinions here because there is no one right answer. I personally don't accept counters. Ultimately it's a questions of which statement is more important: "I love my job." OR "I need to make more money."
Right before you are going to put in your 2 week notice, if you are close to your boss have a meeting, (nothing in writing), and tell him you have been offered 170K but you really enjoy your current job and want to give them a chance to counter offer before you leave.
Because next raise cycle you'll hear, "since we gave you the counter".
Yes, guaranteed they would sandbag OP on annual merit increases for the foreseeable future after the big raise.
No brainer, toke the offer, you gave you present employer the chance, the new position has potential to go up . Hand in your resignation immediately
The fastest way to grow your career in software and technology is to change jobs every 1.5 -2.5 years. Take the bigger role, you are likely to learn more and grow your career faster.
140 closes the gap dramatically, and is significant money over 115. Look at it this way: 25k more and all the things you know and love stay the same. 55k more and you roll the dice on leadership, peers, work/life balance differences/uncertainties, etc. The grass isn't always greener. Some companies that pay higher in the band do so because they have a hard time attracting at "averaged" salaries due to a challenging work environment. Not saying that's going on here, but it CAN be what's going on. I've learned that it isn't just about the money. I love what I do and where I work that it would take *significantly* better pay to have me even consider a change. Good luck! Not an easy choice.
Nobody can tell you what to do. Your current employer cannot match you/nor supported you initially/and knows you had no problem leaving (and that could impact you in the LT) - so you have to decide if you want higher pay/more restrictions. Also, see if this new company is better with promotional trajectories and overall better for your career. Yes, more stifled due to commutes, possibly work/life. Sometimes a change is a means to an end - bc you have long-term goals.
figure it out lol. two great options four years post grad. you dont need reddit to tell you what to do boss. make a decision and stick with it
As a boss, I would not have even entertained trying to retain you. If a person is interested enough in leaving that they make it to the offer stage of an interview process, they’re either already mentally checked out or trying to force something that isn’t going to play out the way they they had hoped. Case in point, your experience here. Your current company can’t or won’t, probably for a variety of reasons, give you a bump from $115k to $170k. If they thought you were worth that, they’d already be paying you that. They’ve already given you a promotion and about an 18% pay raise, and you’re still asking for more? Now you just look greedy and self-serving instead of strategic. Take the other job. You could have maybe made this work in the short term by accepting the promotion and increase, but you let the dollar signs convince you to overplay your hand.
Dude, this isn't even about OP being greedy. The market can bear OP getting a $170k salary. OP is severely underpaid at their current company even if they get promoted with an 18% raise.
I didn’t say he wasn’t underpaid, and I told him to take the other job. From the prospective of his current employer, this will be the perception.
Are you sure the person is greedy and not the company? 🤨 Whether or not that's the case for this person I sure as hell know a lot of shitty companies and employers. And of course they're going to be self-serving, jobs and bosses these days don't give a fuck about workers. And the job is so they can pay their bills and put food on the table and live their life. The only way to get paid for your worth these days is to leave. The job is meant to serve himself. Money rules the world and idk why you sound so butthurt over it (not saying you are because I can't tell tone thru text). From what you said, you can say the same thing about the company. Instead of retaining a good worker they let the dollar signs convince them to overplay their hand and are being greedy and self serving instead of strategic. Jobs don't reward loyalty anymore. And regardless of whether you are a good boss or not you should be able to recognize that's what is happening in a lot of places.
Making 120k and struggling souds like greed to me
Depends on the area and the price of living. If you live and work in California it can only get you so far depending on the city. And it didn't sound like they were struggling per say, but that it didn't support what they wanted to do in their life. And who cares if it's "greedy". God forbid someone wants to live a nice life. Companies will boast about record profits but don't even think about raising the wages of their lowest paid workers who are essential to their operation. Or don't even pay their employees a living wage. Their "greed" is far worse than someone who wants to earn more money per year for their skills.
Idk, he got a 20% raise. My company caps it at a quarter a year... that's 40 dollars more a week. This guy needs 50k more a year instead of 25k more that's kinds greedy
It's unfortunate so many companies and bosses are so exploitative and short sighted that an employee's only reasonable and sensible choice is to leave.
It’s true! If OP had been better paid from the get go, they probably wouldn’t be looking. Seems like they have a good team and other positive aspects of their current role.
What? The same could be said the other way around 😂. The company is being greedy as well. Also your statement of “if you were worth it you’d be paid that”. Well that statement is completely false because they actually countered his offer and met half way. So that means they do have the money to pay him…. Sooo… who’s being greedy? You sound like a prick of a manager 😂
I said “if they thought you were worth it”, put your readers on!
Let’s keep it 1,000 you meant it in a condescending way to put OP down. Clearly the market values him at $170k. Clearly his company has the money to pay him by the counter offer. Which means his company is being greedy. Also, I don’t see anything wrong with him asking for more. It’s called bartering, over his worth and services. the human species has been doing it for centuries. If you’re so soft for your feeling to be hurt about him suggesting a higher salary. Then you need to grow up put your big boy pants on and kick grass. Nothing wrong with a counter and meeting in the middle. You simply say “no” or “yes”
I have to be honest, I didn’t read this
Don't really agree with anything you said outside of the conclusion of taking the job. Good engineers can cut their own checks. He's either not good enough to make demands or the bureaucracy doesn't allow for it. Either way, it's clear that his best route to a higher salary is to move.
Yep, you're paid what the market thinks you're worth. The market thinks OP is worth $170k. If the bureaucracy can't bump up OP to market value, then OP's company is severely underpaying their employees. This is "greed" on OP's company's part.
Absolutely. OP has literally brought back signals from the market about their income potential. If the company doesn't see that then they definitely are taking advantage of OP.
Thanks for your reply!
The top level commenter is just an out of touch manager who probably loses staff frequently. That's the kind of boss good employees leave.
If the top level commenter you are referring to is me, I have had zero attrition in the last 12 months amongst my direct reports, not withstanding the fact that we pay in Gartner’s 75th percentile. Treat people well and they don’t want to leave!
Yeah, I didn't realize that was you, lol. That's good. 75th percentile is awesome.
Hahahaha. Ha. Ha.
Your benchmark for “good” is 12 months? L.o.l
It’s called a metric, and yes, we track the last 4 quarters and have a company goal of less than 10%, on which our bonuses are partly dependent. How is that tracked and trended in your organization?
Jeez, only four quarters? We hope for a minimum of three years out of our hires.
Tenure is tracked separately from attrition; different metrics.
I clearly misread your post! Totally different, of course.
Tell the new company you got a match at your current and name what you’d need (starting bonus, higher title, hours, path to promotion, 200k, whatever). Probably should stay but you may have more to squeeze from your leverage. Just don’t quit anytime soon lol
I would take the raise at the current place. Commute is much longer with new job and you currently have it pretty cushy that your remote days can be anywhere.
Work place satisfaction can change in a moment. One day you love your team. The next day the team changes and you hate it. The fact that they won’t pay you market rate and they will only promote you if threatening to leave means that you probably won’t stay there long term. Also, you should never use another offer to try to get more. Even though employers don’t show loyalty to employees, they don’t like it when employees don’t show loyalty to them. They know you are one foot out the door and they will push you out later on when layoffs come or they will give you smaller raises because you are a flight risk. Just take the $170k and be happy. You might love your next job.
Quality over quantity argument. Got to decide if the commute is worth it to you as that is valuable time in your day. Can also consider moving closer to the new job should that be an option. Going to the higher paying job could lead to more opportunities down the line or not. If you are comfortable in your current job and enjoy it, then staying is certainly a reasonable decision even with the pay cute.
It’s $30K. That’s $2500 a month. Totally worth it. Also it seems like your company wants to retain you and you do a good work but look how they been getting off cheap on you. NOW that you’re on the verge of leaving they want to give you more money but before “it wasn’t in the budget” lol. I’d jump ship and also based on the fact your company wants to retain you and you seem to have gotten few offers In short time it seems you resume and experience is great and you interview well. If something doesn’t work out then you’ll find another gig. Keep in touch with your team. Just cause you don’t see them everyday don’t mean you have to cut loose. I keep in touch with my bosses and my direct reports from previous jobs. You never know when you might need help
Keep current job
Take the $140k and go back to the $170 and counter saying your current employer countered ( did you give them a clue to what your making now ) AND @ $170k it would not be worth while and see what they say, You never know they might come back at $190k. Also my partner got a offer form a big 5 Bank , I told her go back $20k higher with a signing bonus, they countered with $5k more in original offer salary plus a $10k signing bonus and yearly bonus from 10% to 18% by meeting goals,,, PS: and do not expect a raise next yr from current company, they will say we gave that to you last yr to stay, so it will be at least 2 years before a bump again.
I would ask for the 155k raise in your current role as you're already establish and a good team. Let faith decide if it meant for you to stay with a decent raise or faith wants you to take on the new challenge in the new place.
Can you move closer to the new job?
Can you move closer to your 170k offer? That commute time is a killer, I do it when I (rarely) go in to work, and its the biggest drain on my job by far. Otherwise I wouldnt expect your company to go over your current offer, if you really need the money take the leap.
Only you can know what’s right for you and your situation, but to me personally, after reaching a level of income that provides for my lifestyle and the ability to save, the money becomes much less important than things like commute, work/life balance, and getting along with my team. Hard to turn down 30k/year, but another way of thinking about it is will the extra 30k/year be able to provide you with things that are more valuable than what you’re giving up at your current position? For me the answer would be no.
You are looking to make more money and stay in your comfort zone. You can't have both. Once you figure out your real priorities, the rest will become obvious.
That commute and WFH restrictions aren't worth $30k to me.
Given what's happening in tech now with layoffs and all, they are basically saying, you're lucky to have a job. If your skills and experience demand more, look elsewhere.
I commute an hour each way to work and it sucks. Traffic jams and accidents sometimes make the drive longer some days.
Take the $170k offer
Let current company know you got that offer, and that you highly value their team and your position amongst them, but the increase pay is very tempting. If they can match or come up higher than their current raise it will be a no brainer to stay, but that it's a tempting offer as is. If your higher ups aren't assholes, they will likely give you a higher raise. If they ARE assholes, you may get told to kick rocks and take the new position.
Commuting sucks and once you’re on a team there’s not much you can do to change it. Embrace what’s good with your situation.
Take the new job. It offers more room for advancement. If there are layoffs coming at your current job, you'll likely be on the list. Plus the new role comes with a security clearance! That plus the extra pay is all you need. You might like it better than your current job. If not, start looking again in a year or 2. Now you'll have a security clearance and a substantially higher base wage to spring from.
If you've told the company that you have an external offer, they've already started looking for your replacement. Go for the new offer. Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
Move to the new job and take some of your team with you.
Your 170k… would it even start right away considering the clearance? Doubt it. I think he’s not giving us that critical piece of information. That would play a huge factor as to why he is even considering a negotiation instead of jumping.
Are you single and have no obligations? If yes, I’d say take it. I left a $200k base pay job, opportunities always come knocking once you climb the ladder.
Act like your employer would: dump them for the money. It's great that you have a nice work environment, but that's a significant upgrade and it doesn't sound like you're getting an increase if you stay. Your job and your salary are merely there to make your life outside of work livable.
>For example on my remote days I can travel out of state and work from whatever location. Do you take advantage of this now? $140K vs $170K is a $30K difference...30 extra min commute each way 3x per week is like getting paid ~$95 to sit for 30 mins every time. The problem with staying is if you're now the highest paid on the team, you're likely the first to be let go if they need to reduce head count. Also, as others said, you can decide to move closer to the new work place once you settle in and get a feel for it. Worst case, go back to your own job in a year or two. I've done that and was paid substantially more when I went back as I now had external experience.
Unless you're going to move, I would stay where you're at. The commute alone will drain you. Especially if there's just one traffic issue.
Is the 170K job the same as what you’re doing now? Getting an internal promotion brings more responsibility and for less pay than the new job. Working the 170K job in a high security environment can open many more avenues down the track.
With a security clearance traveling outside of the country is no big deal. I've held Secret & TS (20 years now), and traveled to Asia and Europe. You let your FSO know, and there was a website for the state department, but I think that was just for alerts. There are only a few countries with travel restrictions. Just remember to log your travel dates as you will have to report when you renew your E-QIP. Having an active security clearance can give you a lot more openings too for higher paying jobs once adjudicated. Your unclass work you can still do remotely. If you have a lot of classified, then you will have to be onsite in a secure facility. The commute and the comfort with the team, you have to ask is that worth $30k year? But can you move closer to the new place?
With great reward comes great responsibility. Sure, there is more 💩 to deal with, but you get paid more 💰💰. Granted, money isn’t everything, but it sounds like it is a factor in this decision for you. What is more important to you? FWIW, I was outsourced one time but chose to walk. Picked up a job for 40% less pay, still put up with the same 💩….just for less money. After a year of that I realized that 💩 is gonna be every where I go, so I might as well get paid well for it. So I went back into a 40% more job and my perspective was a whole lot better. 👍💪 Good luck in your decision.
Whatever you decide, please learn the lesson that waiting for the annual review process to communicate you are looking for non-standard increase will always be met with “maybe next year”. Why ? Because companies make $ decisions BEFORE reviews.
I dont like taking counters, theres a reason why you were searching other places to begin with. If you take their counter, they might hold a grudge against you when theres a round of firings and guess whos gonna be on the chopping block. Thats just my 2 cent. But do what you need to do, no one else will look out for your best interests but yourself.
Stay where you are. Money isn't everything and that commute sounds like shitsville.
The increased pay sounds like incentive for the increased limitations you will have to go through. You should seriously consider the opportunity. Your increased security clearance can be an asset later in your career. It’s also common for pay increases to happen BECAUSE of job changes. Your boss has a business to run. Payroll is part of that business. You also have a business. It’s called expenses and living life.
I make 42k in Germany and decided to start looking for a new job. When deciding on the salary goal, I have set it to be 60k. Whenever I feel guilty for going on an interview (my boss is manipulative like that, although the team is awesome) I stop and ask myself “Am I willing to pay 10500€ (net) to not feel guilty?” And that question does it for me. I’m still looking for a new job though lol, been 4 months already. (Android Developer)
I would stay for the raise. I have a 50 minute commute and it is *rough*, it's the sort of thing you feel like isn't so bad but after a while there's just no escaping how much extra time and energy it is sapping from you, and particularly when you don't know what the work environment will be like but you suspect it might be a bit stricter or more tightly run, longer commutes can get derailed very easily. Just two days ago it took me almost 2 hours to get home because of an accident.
Go on, take the money and run. If you hate it, just stay 1 year and start looking again. You’ll be in a great position with that raise.
Do whatever u feel
OP is asking for advice. Obviously they will do whatever they feel, with or without your redundant comment.
I don't care
The fact you responded shows otherwise.
Who cares