Ask HN: For how much money would you be willing to leave your job? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: For how much money would you be willing to leave your job?

10 pointsantonellis9 comments

For someone with almost five years of professional experience as a Web Developer I think I'm paid a low salary in the UK. I reckon I'm paid well at my company, but I believe I could get better elsewhere.

It would probably be 20-25% for me to quit right now and join in a month. However, a lot of this will depend on who is offering the money, and the quality of the job I'll be walking into.

Let's say Company X offer me a 20% increase on my salary, but developers at Company X are stressed out and work tons of extra hours, I'd flat out decline. If Company Y come along, offer me 5% more money than I am currently paid, but have a much more relaxed atmosphere then I would probably take it.

I've had a few offers from companies that would bump my salary up about 25%, but I know people that have worked for these companies, and they have awful reputations for treating their developers like shit.

Interesting. Is there a number that would make all the ugliness of the new company be irrelevant?

I'd like to say no, but in reality everyone has a price. I imagine it'll vary, based on your current situation, and just how bad the job could be. I imagine a lot of people take on jobs they know they'll hate because the money is much better than they'd get elsewhere.

I'm asking for a 20% increase. (but I was really lowballed in salary negotiations for my current position)

Do you have a number in mind?

I think 20% is a good general-case job-hopping goal number. You'd expect a 5% raise in a good company every year, maybe 10% on a promotion. You want more than that to change domains/workplaces. Plus you want to cover the small chance that the new place will end up having a bad work environment, commute, culture, etc, so you aim higher.

But if you were lowballed at your current job, aim for the top of the range! Look up your position on glassdoor.com and see what you're really worth. Information is ammunition!

For an ok place, $125k. For a cool place $115k. If there's the expectation of off-hours support, add at least $10k. That said, I'm actively looking. I suppose the numbers would be higher if I weren't.

Especially for the people out there looking for opportunities, do you have a clear number in mind?

50k euro

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