Question is in the title really. I worked in a company for 5 years and left them last year to move to a new company. I really enjoy the work I’m doing right now, I like my manager and I like the people I’m working with. However I am underpaid, relatively speaking, for the work I do.
That said, I get contacted by recruiters a lot (my field happens to be one in high demand right now) so I said I’d follow up on some interviews to see what happened. Now I’ve been offered a few new jobs, but there’s only one in particular I’m tempted by.
It’s significantly better paid than my current job (by about 20%) and it’s in a very similar area so I do think it would be interesting. That said - I’ve had bad managers before and I’m hesitant to leave what I feel is a good working environment. Also, I’ve only worked at my most recent job for a year (the one I enjoy), so I’m just very unsure right now.
Do you love where you are so much that you’re willing to effectively take a 20% pay cut to stay there, or would that leave you with a lingering sense of resentment no matter how much you like your manager and co-workers?
Rephrasing it as a 20% pay cut is a really good way of thinking about it.
The thing is, I’ve had bad experiences with managers before, and liking who you work with is genuinely important. Also, as I said, the industry I work in is booming right now so it’s not necessarily that I’ll be turning down the chance forever.
But IMHO, the only factor worth considering is career growth. Where do you have the most to learn and grow? Opportunities to move ahead rapidly are very rare in this life, and it pays to seek them out. Don’t think about tomorrow, think about five years from now.
Screw the extra money; you are surviving without it and can continue to do so. Hating walking out the house every day and cussing about work when you get home isn’t worth 20%. At a certain age, it wouldn’t be worth 200%. If you are young (say under 30) and have a family to support or hope to in the future, consider it seriously. But if you are older, stable, and fairly debt free, where you are may be the best bet.
Are you satisfied with the amount of money you’re making now? Do you have everything you need, and a reasonable portion of what you want? Is it a fair recompense for what you think your work is worth?
If you knew for a fact that the new job entailed worked for or with jerks and you’d hate going to work in the morning that would be one situation.
But what I hear you saying is the extra money is for sure, the work sounds as good or better than what you have today, and you have a vague non-specific fear that maybe, just maybe, the coworkers or boss might possibly be jerks. Not because you got bad vibes at the interview, but just because, well, … I guess you just can’t ever know for sure they won’t be jerks.
If I’ve read you correctly, you’re really saying you fear vague generic potential downsides more than you value 20+% upsides. Here, let me put some fear in you the other way: Your current boss could be replaced tomorrow by a jerk.
Now you have two choices: Fear a vague and uncertain possibility at your current job, or fear the same possibility at the new job with better work and 20% more dollars.
TLDR: you can rule your life with vague fear, or with optimism and a willingness to change course if the optimism later proves unfounded. You get to pick which. The hard part is that you *have *to pick.