Was this a job at a place that was a such a small startup that you were being paid partially in stock? Or was this a larger company where you didn't have to tak

Was this a job at a place that was a such a small startup that you were being paid partially in stock? Or was this a larger company where you didn't have to take that risk? My point is that there are places where your contribution to the overall success is more directly related to what you are paid, however many people don't want to work at those places because it involves significantly more risk. Let's say you have a nearly 100% chance of making $50k for the next 10 years for a total of $500k. Alternatively you can take a 10% chance at making $5 million total over the next 10 years. The reason that there is potential for a larger payout in the second job is because you are taking a greater risk. If you were working at a company where someone else was taking the risk, then the rewards likely flowed to those people. For many young people, their first job gives them some data points about what they are actually capable of delivering so they can choose to work at places that trend toward rewarding contribution (startup, self-employed, etc.) or at places that don't (like your company) based on what type of performance they are capable of providing.