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This is a very serious thought. If I was _totally_ happy in my position and you told me you could increase my salary 50%, there is no way I would stay, simply b

This is a very serious thought. If I was _totally_ happy in my position and you told me you could increase my salary 50%, there is no way I would stay, simply based on the "wait up, this means in the long run this salary increase will take X years off my time waiting for retirement". There is no substitute for "I can retire at 60 instead of 70". Of course, OP said he was making 6 figures (an insane amount of money away from my position) so perhaps they are already planning to retire at 55...

lentil_soup 4y ago
> "I can retire at 60 instead of 70" It depends, what was my life like for those 60 years vs the 70? I'd love to be financially independent, but I don't want to spend 60yrs working on projects I hate always chasing the next promotion with only the promise of retiring early. It really depends on whether that increase comes at the expense of my work life balance or not
- vanilla_nut 4y ago
  work/life balance and work satisfaction! I find a lot of the best compensation is bundled with unhealthy organizations with dysfunctional internal relationships. I’ve worked enough on projects and tasks I don’t believe in (or flat-out disagree with) that I know it’s not worth the stress and dissatisfaction. Of course, if you don’t find dysfunction stressful, or you don’t really enjoy working in your industry regardless, it’s worth it to max the comp. But I’m happiest with a balance of flexible work, passionate coworkers, little bureaucracy, and slightly less money than I could otherwise make.
- treis 4y ago
  > It really depends on whether that increase comes at the expense of my work life balance or not Right, but the point is that apples to apples comparison you'll make a lot more money switching. There's no cost to work life balance or interesting projects or anything. It's 20%+ of your salary every year in exchange for dealing with interviewing and switching companies. It's a pretty fantastic deal.
dmos62 4y ago
> There is no substitute for "I can retire at 60 instead of 70". Would you choose 30 bad work years over 40 good work years?
- mk89 4y ago
  I think the idea is to squeeze as much as you can now,... so that you can also leave something to your kids and possibly have a decent lifestyle when you're old. They are all valid points, unfortunately. Let's just remember some people have really bad really underpaid 40 years of work.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - dmos62 4y ago
    > Let's just remember some people have really bad really underpaid 40 years of work. Good point. > I think the idea is to squeeze as much as you can now,... I really, really don't think that's healthy. Be unhappy now so you can be happy later is misguided, because you need to work on being happy now to be happy later: putting it off is self-destructive. I recommend "The Power of Having Fun" by Dave Crenshaw.
- llampx 4y ago
  Jobs that pay more generally are worse than jobs that pay less? Given similar positions and industry, i.e. not jumping from being an engineer to sales. I've had better bosses and more respect at places that paid more.
bovermyer 4y ago
What about "retirement" makes you think it's the better state? All the "free time to do whatever you want?" A lot of retirees I've known ended up getting bored and going back to work, even if only part-time.
- nickjj 4y ago
  I don't see retirement as not doing anything. I see it a synonym to being financially secure. It's being able to choose to do whatever you want.
- chasd00 4y ago
  Also, a lot of people who spend their lives working very hard seem to die as soon as they stop.
- antihero 4y ago
  What if you could spend your retirement travelling the world? How would you ever get bored. Same goes for people eh get rich and go insane.
  - bovermyer 4y ago
    I already travel the world and I'm not retired.
cableshaft 4y ago
Six figures isn't that insane for engineers in the US. Especially not for Silicon Valley. And $100k doesn't really go as far as it used to in the US, especially if you have a modest home, car, two dogs, a significant other, and you live somewhat near a city with tech jobs. I'm making a decent amount over $100k, my wife also makes good money, and yet we're way, way behind on where we're supposed to be in savings for a comfortable retirement at 67 (which is apparently 3x your annual salary at the age of 40), despite me boiling the frog in increasing how much we save for it the past few years (around 20% of my paycheck now, up from 8% a few years ago).
kyaghmour 4y ago
Take this with a grain of salt: Retirement is a scam. I, for one, plan to stay away from it as long as I possibly can. My body will retire its own self when it's done.

lentil_soup 4y ago

> "I can retire at 60 instead of 70" It depends, what was my life like for those 60 years vs the 70? I'd love to be financially independent, but I don't want to spend 60yrs working on projects I hate always chasing the next promotion with only the promise of retiring early. It really depends on whether that increase comes at the expense of my work life balance or not

vanilla_nut 4y ago
work/life balance and work satisfaction! I find a lot of the best compensation is bundled with unhealthy organizations with dysfunctional internal relationships. I’ve worked enough on projects and tasks I don’t believe in (or flat-out disagree with) that I know it’s not worth the stress and dissatisfaction. Of course, if you don’t find dysfunction stressful, or you don’t really enjoy working in your industry regardless, it’s worth it to max the comp. But I’m happiest with a balance of flexible work, passionate coworkers, little bureaucracy, and slightly less money than I could otherwise make.
treis 4y ago
> It really depends on whether that increase comes at the expense of my work life balance or not Right, but the point is that apples to apples comparison you'll make a lot more money switching. There's no cost to work life balance or interesting projects or anything. It's 20%+ of your salary every year in exchange for dealing with interviewing and switching companies. It's a pretty fantastic deal.

dmos62 4y ago

> There is no substitute for "I can retire at 60 instead of 70". Would you choose 30 bad work years over 40 good work years?

mk89 4y ago
I think the idea is to squeeze as much as you can now,... so that you can also leave something to your kids and possibly have a decent lifestyle when you're old. They are all valid points, unfortunately. Let's just remember some people have really bad really underpaid 40 years of work.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- dmos62 4y ago
  > Let's just remember some people have really bad really underpaid 40 years of work. Good point. > I think the idea is to squeeze as much as you can now,... I really, really don't think that's healthy. Be unhappy now so you can be happy later is misguided, because you need to work on being happy now to be happy later: putting it off is self-destructive. I recommend "The Power of Having Fun" by Dave Crenshaw.
llampx 4y ago
Jobs that pay more generally are worse than jobs that pay less? Given similar positions and industry, i.e. not jumping from being an engineer to sales. I've had better bosses and more respect at places that paid more.

bovermyer 4y ago

What about "retirement" makes you think it's the better state? All the "free time to do whatever you want?" A lot of retirees I've known ended up getting bored and going back to work, even if only part-time.

nickjj 4y ago
I don't see retirement as not doing anything. I see it a synonym to being financially secure. It's being able to choose to do whatever you want.
chasd00 4y ago
Also, a lot of people who spend their lives working very hard seem to die as soon as they stop.
antihero 4y ago
What if you could spend your retirement travelling the world? How would you ever get bored. Same goes for people eh get rich and go insane.
- bovermyer 4y ago
  I already travel the world and I'm not retired.

cableshaft 4y ago

Six figures isn't that insane for engineers in the US. Especially not for Silicon Valley. And $100k doesn't really go as far as it used to in the US, especially if you have a modest home, car, two dogs, a significant other, and you live somewhat near a city with tech jobs. I'm making a decent amount over $100k, my wife also makes good money, and yet we're way, way behind on where we're supposed to be in savings for a comfortable retirement at 67 (which is apparently 3x your annual salary at the age of 40), despite me boiling the frog in increasing how much we save for it the past few years (around 20% of my paycheck now, up from 8% a few years ago).

kyaghmour 4y ago

Take this with a grain of salt: Retirement is a scam. I, for one, plan to stay away from it as long as I possibly can. My body will retire its own self when it's done.