Leave for money or stay for convenience?

needhelpguy

I'm in a fairly stable IT job at the moment which, for the most part, I like. It's 10 mins from home (no traffic so practically zero commute), the team works well together, it's low stress, pension is good and I am home before 5pm every day.

The only thing about it is the money is bad and there are 0 promotional opportunities. I've approached management about a payrise, having printed out salary surveys and emails I'm getting on Linkedin for similar roles, but nothing. I did get an increase last year but as my experience grows the market worth for someone with my skillset climbs rapidly. I am worth, and could likely easily get, €15-€20k more per year currently by moving. However I have my reservations, as I do like where I am and the convenience of being close to home and with a good team.

If I was to move I would have to commute to the city or further afield (therefor much longer), possibly get a bad team or bad manager, possible bullying, all sorts of things are racing around in my mind. Less secure, likely much higher stress (I don't deal well with that if I'm honest!). FWIW I work as a software developer/analyst. What if it didn't work out? The technologies and systems I work with are fairly niche so I wouldn't say it's as easy to switch jobs as someone who was a java developer for example. Not impossible though.

I just don't know what do to. The money issue is really bothering me, and I find myself getting frustrated and angry in work just thinking about it. Working for less than I'm worth is really getting to me.

But then I think how good I have it elsewhere. I don't know what to do, stay and be humble and just roll with it and wait for smaller pay increases in the years ahead, or leave take the risks and earn what I'm worth...any advice is greatly appreciated.

THEFRIDGE

Something most people face at some stage.

A lot to be said for no commute and a good team , that being said stepping outside your comfort zones can sometime reap rewards.
I'm not really helping, had the same dilema, took the risk and it all worked out.

Rustyman101

So did I, it didn't work out ! Didn't do enough research into the move , and one or two I asked were biased and didn't paint the full picture ! Move by all accounts but can't emphasis enough do your research into your new company ! If in doubt keep looking !!! Best of luck.

jester77

Don't move to just any job. You will quickly see during the interview process what the company, product and team are like. Don't worry about bullying or stress, these are usually self-inflicted most of the time. Just be assertive and don't over commit and neither will happen.

And who knows, your current company probably sense your comfort and don't see a reason to give you a pay rise. If you have a good offer that you are serious about in your hand, then they will probably come back with a counter offer. At that stage, I would just move anyway as you will be in the same situation again further on, but that would be up to you. Lack of commute is a massive incentive, but most decent IT jobs allow you work remotely a few days a week.

pilly

This scenario very much depends on your age also. When you're younger I think it's good to take a risk but when you're in the situation where you've a young family never ever underestimate the value of being close to home if one of the kids is sick or there's an emergency.

So what I'm saying basically is it depends on your family circumstances. If I was young free and single I'd take risk, if not I wouldn't.

o1s1n

jester77 wrote: »

Don't worry about bullying or stress, these are usually self-inflicted most of the time. Just be assertive and don't over commit and neither will happen.

.

Bit of a massive assumption there :eek:

It is very possible to end up with a boss who just doesn't like you and manages you out of a company. I've seen it happen countless times unfortunately.

Definitely don't limit movement to a new job based on this, however don't assume it can never happen to you either.

witchgirl26

I think the key here is you like your position at the moment so there is no rush to move. That means you can go to interviews and decide on exactly which place you want, get a feel for them with no pressure of having to get the job.

Honestly I know the fear - went through it last year but you need to decide if it will grate that there's no promotion opportunities. Are there opportunities to learn more/do courses etc? Or is that not likely.

Don't go based solely on the money but don't stay just because it's convenient.

BailMeOut

if you are quite young (less than 30) and in IT then always chose the role based on what will serve you best in the future. I am an IT Director and do a lot of hiring and would always advise focusing on technology and experience and especially current relevant technology and then the money will follow. Too many young IT employees follow money and take positions working on legacy of very specific IT technologies that are not transferable or useful in the future so will limit your earning potential as you get older and when you need it the most.

Mousewar

For me, my personal motto when it comes to my career is to never be comfortable. If you're comfortable, you're not going anywhere, you're not improving. And, indeed facing uncomfortable situations is part of the process imo. That said, people are different and you know yourself better than anyone else.

jimmycrackcorm

o1s1n wrote:

It is very possible to end up with a boss who just doesn't like you and manages you out of a company. I've seen it happen countless times unfortunately.

I've had the opposite experience of being in a good role happy with salary and a good manager who subsequently left. I then got a new manager with zero people experience, who didn't like me because I wasn't one of his buddies like my peers and I ended up having to leave.

In IT every time you change jobs is almost always the only mechanism to get a (significant) pay increase so I'm always content to change.

matrim

You mention a niche skillset. Do you want to stay using that skillset or move to a more generic one?

If you want to change then the longer you leave it the harder it will be.

Diziet

I think you are asking the question at the wrong time. The right time to ask the question is when you have a job offer, then you can weigh the choices and decide, with more information at your disposal.
All you have now is a sea of possibilities. How about you brush up the CV, look at the market and start applying. SO to some interviews. You will know soon enough if something clicks, *then* you can ask the question :-)

trihead

You say you could get 15-20k more

You need to work out the extra take home pay per month - with the higher tax bands you might be surprised how little 10,000 more translates in to take home pay per month.

Have a look at this calculator - https://www.kpmg.ie/budget2017/tax-calculator.html