...to make you leave your current job?

Just wondering. Getting offered a few jobs. I like what I do, but a $13,000 salary increase doesn't feel like enough to make me want to jump ship. It does make me consider it though. I dunno....

I put this in Tech Talk because I work as a programmer. I figured other programmers / QA / DBA people can chime in.

[Edited on January 18, 2011 at 2:10 PM. Reason : ]

1/18/2011 2:09:52 PM

i'd have to look at the company, the product, their market share, and how they are anchored in the industry (leading edge innovation versus just following). if the other company offered better job security and was working on something more exciting, then 12k - 15k might be worth it.

1/18/2011 2:14:19 PM

will be interesting to see answers here. Obviously it would depend on a lot of things including comparing vacation, paid or non-paid OT, benefits, actual enjoyment of current job etc.

I'm an engineer and though I feel like I could possibly make a little more, the amount of paid vacation I get, the benefits, paid OT, and the fact that I really like the stuff I do , the company, and the people I work with would mean it would take a lot for me to consider leaving here. Don't think I could put a number to that though without weighing all of the things I just mentioned.

[Edited on January 18, 2011 at 2:16 PM. Reason : .]

1/18/2011 2:15:11 PM

I work as a pseudo web designer/developer for a large company in RTP.

As has already been mentioned, it would require a comparison of company values, marketshare, etc.

My current company is amazing and has an awesome employee culture. I feel it would take at LEAST $13k-15K to make me want to leave.

1/18/2011 2:30:29 PM

$12k got me, but a lot of that was the location and that I kept all of my state benefits, retirements, etc. Wanted to be in the Triangle and get outta Halifax ASAP.

[Edited on January 18, 2011 at 2:46 PM. Reason : ]

1/18/2011 2:45:40 PM

i got over $20k bump for my last switch, plus i got to go back to work with some people i really enjoy working with.

downside is i spent the first 6 months doing remediation on the legacy app we were brought in to replace. fortunately all that is over now and we are focused on the fun new development

1/18/2011 2:48:38 PM

Depends on the salary at the other job as well. Going from say 30k to 40k may be a bigger difference for someone than say 80k to 90k may be.

1/18/2011 3:54:15 PM

I usually ignore these, but Ill bite. (words)

I was cut back 20% at my last job due to the downturn. When they couldnt tell me when we would go back to fulltime, I left for a 7.5% increase on my full salary. I lost a lot of overtime potential (which could be as much as 20% yearly), but the stress was significantly reduced as well. My previous employer kept me as a subcontractor to do odd programming jobs when they realized I was seriously leaving. My new job has great benefits (I am back in manufacturing), which I was fully paying for a personal health insurance for my family with my last job. Commute went from 125ish miles roundtrip to 90ish miles, but with my last job I telecommuted about once a week.

In the end, my 2yo daughter sees me a lot more, which is totally worth it.

Controls Engineer graduated EE/CpE in '02

1/18/2011 4:40:18 PM

Right now I'm in school taking home $7500/month.

In July, I'll be the Engineer of this:



and taking home $8500/month.

1/18/2011 5:01:27 PM

if someone could pay me to go to school, i'd appreciate it

1/18/2011 5:31:10 PM

We should be talking about this in terms of percentages. 13k on 100k is a good bit different than on 50k.

1/18/2011 5:37:16 PM

i changed jobs for a 7% increase. location was paramount to me so i got what i wanted

1/18/2011 8:38:05 PM

Depending on the other things such as benefits, employee culture - yes I would leave my current job for an extra 13K.

1/18/2011 9:05:32 PM

given equivalent pay + benefits, i could easily be convinced to jump ship right now.

(the beatings will continue until morale improves...)

[Edited on January 18, 2011 at 9:25 PM. Reason : but in reality, i'd ask for an additional 20% and would accept 15%]

1/18/2011 9:22:51 PM

I took a 50% raise on my last one. And for the right company I might take a cut and leave right now

I enjoy my job a lot, but I don't see a ton of growth potential right now. And forget management, we're way too small for that.

1/18/2011 11:57:28 PM

It would take a 40-50% pay increase for me to consider leaving right now. I'm starting to have so much damn stock vest every year that it's rivaling my salary

1/18/2011 11:59:17 PM

Quote :

"It would take a 40-50% pay increase for me to consider leaving right now. I'm starting to have so much damn stock vest every year that it's rivaling my salary "

Amen, brotha

1/19/2011 12:04:19 AM

25% if the benefits were the same. i'd consider less if i got more vacation. currently my job's cashflow isnt necessary for me to get by, so its benefits and flexibility are what keep me there on a piss poor salary. i'm a systems and software architect (middleware and systems integration) but i'm paid like a sysadmin because i also have to support the platform i design. that's supposed to change this year but we'll see. there aren't many companies in the area that are as advanced in cloud computing as what i'm doing right now so finding something that suits my skillset that isn't remedial is tough.

1/19/2011 12:12:24 AM

It would take at least 30% raise, and I still would be hesitant. In this day and time, if you have seniority at your job, you better damn well know where you are going if you leave your job. I dont believe this is the time to be greedy. Its the time to be safe, stay employed when so many are unemployed, and build your skill set for the next up cycle.

1/19/2011 10:21:29 AM

At least 40%

1/19/2011 10:26:55 AM

30% plus any cost of living differences in a larger city.


assuming other benefits are relatively unchanged. (vacation, retirement, healthcare, etc)

1/19/2011 10:53:47 AM

Ok...so they upped the offer and it would be the equivalent of a 22% increase. On the fence here. Love what I do currently, but damn....sure would be nice to have those dollar bucks!

1/19/2011 5:22:53 PM

I would take a pay decrease for more stability and a better office environment.

1/19/2011 5:24:58 PM

Unemployment rate in my industry is 40-48%.

I'm happy to have my job.

1/19/2011 6:01:34 PM

hard question, there's a lot more to it than salary as others have said.

let's say it's another job within the same company, so all other things would be the same, i'd probably move for $15k assuming there would be no increase in workload or required travel.

1/19/2011 6:38:34 PM

If it was with the same company, it would be no question. Decisions...decisions...

1/19/2011 9:15:14 PM

Oh yeah, I get a $22,500 bonus each June for the next four years.

1/19/2011 9:32:14 PM

^ good for you. you probably deserve a cookie.

Well....interviewed for it today. Think I'm going to take the plunge.

1/26/2011 3:47:21 PM

Quote :

"let's say it's another job within the same company, so all other things would be the same, i'd probably move for $15k assuming there would be no increase in workload or required travel."

So.... you would work for the same company doing the same amount of work and you would want 15k more.


So.... you just want a 15k raise without anything changing.

1/27/2011 11:57:54 AM

It's all about the people you work with. Having an amazing team arOund you is pretty awesome

1/27/2011 2:10:37 PM

If you made the O in around upper case on purpose I hate you.

1/27/2011 3:12:56 PM

You can thank my shitty iPhone for that.

1/27/2011 3:36:49 PM

Programmer in state government currently and I'm low man on the totem pole only making 68k. I have a few open offers that would be a significant bump (+30k easily) but I don't even think twice about turning them down. Heck, 120k and I would be tempted but the problem is that in my current job I can't ever work more than 40 hours a week. Most of my friends in private industry work 50-70 hours a week, and at that point they end up with a lower hourly rate than my lowly state job. Plus, I'd pretty much have to be in my cubicle doing lines of coke off the back of a Thai hooker to get fired... and even then I could file a grievance. Zero stress and total job security are huge perks.

I just had my first kid on New Year's Eve and my wife is my best friend so time is clearly my most important commodity. Of course it doesn't hurt that my wife makes more than double what I make but I was turning down job offers before she finally entered the workforce. Heck, if I do leave my current job its more likely because I became a stay at home dad (then I'll just do contract work and mobile development).

1/28/2011 12:17:12 AM

I'd take as low as 10% as long as the new place was a nice place to work. If it were not an improvement in work environment, then 10% would not be enough.

1/28/2011 12:34:45 AM

depending on the work environment anywhere from 15-50%. I could have gotten a 35% bump last year (with comparable benefits) but the job would have been a more local travel and only 1 guy on the team seemed like a tolerable human being.

1/28/2011 10:07:31 AM

25-30% taking into account benefits

1/28/2011 1:55:06 PM

It really depends on the company... right now it would take 30-40%

I've worked with 2 horrible bosses before and i don't want to get stuck there again. right now I'm all but guaranteed 5% per year and I'm up for a promotion soon which will be a pretty good chunk of money. But most importantly i like my boss and my employees.

1/28/2011 2:34:27 PM

10% or higher.

I'm pretty much making nothing (40k). I too am low man on the totem pole. I will probably always be the computer guy and never move up. So it won't take much for me to move on. Would like to work in a team environment with more like minded individuals than showing my boss how to make a spreadsheet formula >.<

1/28/2011 3:38:30 PM

"I will probably always be the computer guy and never move up. "

Damn, dude. Dont be that harsh on yourself. You just need to become part of (or move to) an organization with a sufficiently large I.T. organization to get opportunities to do a lot more.

I tell my wife, that while she may be doing the same thing in 20 years, I will be amazed if I am doing something in the same area of I.T. in 10 years. Stuff just changes quickly in I.T., and if you anticipate the curves, and prepare yourself, opportunities will come up.



[Edited on January 28, 2011 at 3:52 PM. Reason : .]

1/28/2011 3:50:06 PM

Quote :

"Damn, dude. Dont be that harsh on yourself. You just need to become part of (or move to) an organization with a sufficiently large I.T. organization to get opportunities to do a lot more."

Well its just the vibe i get being here. They hire one person and expect them to do everything. Like we have one sales guy, one accountant, one service guy, one warehouse guy, etc.

Pretty much if something beeps and has a keyboard and it doesn't beep the way they want it to, i get the call. Nothing wrong with that, I can handle it, but working with this small company (20 people) i just don't see room for growth.

1/28/2011 4:14:02 PM