>An offer of $x/yr salary and $b/yr bonus is less valuable to me than $x+n/yr salary, even if n<b and the bonus is characterized as a sure thing. In my experie

>An offer of $x/yr salary and $b/yr bonus is less valuable to me than $x+n/yr salary, even if n<b and the bonus is characterized as a sure thing. In my experience taking the bonus always makes more financial sense. "No!" you shout in horror, "you're leaving money on the table because salaries compound and bonuses don't!" Ah, but there's the thing: 10b is surely < 10n, but 3b is almost always > 3n. So while you're getting +n a year, I'm now making $[1.10 ... 1.25]*x/yr because I worked for 2-3 years and then found a new job. Employers switching to bonuses gives a strong incentive for employees to try to secure raises by quitting (or threatening to quit). This strikes me as ridiculously counterproductive, but hey, that's how it seems to work, so you might as well ride the wave!