I just graduated with a B.S. in CS in May 2023. I’ve been working at a big non tech company in a data engineering type of role with AWS and Terraform. My team’s culture, team members, and PTO hours are great. The work is easy, but I also don’t learn much from it.
I’ve only been at the job for three months, but I was just headhunted by a recruiter for a tech company similar to iRobot ( they don’t sell robot vacuums, but they sell hardware with similar levels of tech behind it and are in the same stage of growth and have also been recently bought out by a magma company). They are offering about 25% higher base than my current total comp. Both jobs are remote btw.
However, I am wary of the notorious culture of the magma company that bought it and how often that new parent company fires its devs. I am also wary of how a 3 month job would look like on my resume.
Edit: yes, this is in the US
If you have reservations about a job offer and you’re happy at your current job, there’s not really any reason to switch. More money is nice but working at a toxic company can really ruin your life.
Yes, learning this the hard way is the bane of young devs.
I am an underpaid senior developer. I KNOW I am underpaid. I don’t care. My work-life balance is great, my co-workers are competent and friendly, my boss leaves me alone on weekends and fully respects my vacation time. I am respected and listened to when I think a project is ill-fated, or even if I simply don’t like working on it.
There is no drama, minimal pressure, and I haven’t worked an hour over 40 in a very long time. I get called by headhunters all the time offering big pay raises, but they also say shit like “rewarded commensurate with effort given” which is code for “200% more work for 25% more pay” and I’m not falling for it.
This isn’t to say you shouldn’t keep your eyes open and be willing to change for the better, but if you ever find yourself happy, stay happy.
Can confirm, I was so stressed at my previous job that I became super strung out, had multiple stomach ulcers, it almost ruined my relationship, and I lost a ton of my hair. Toxic jobs are no fucking joke.
With how competitive the current market is for job hunting, I would stick with the more stable company.
Plus being headhunted by a recruiter making promises isn’t necessar7ly a good thing. How often haven’t wr heard rwcruiters promising everything, but when the paperwork arrives it’s only for a fraction of the agreed upon pay.
I’ve never had the pay be less, but the companies themselves have sometimes been garbage. Sometimes not, but I guess that’s all opinion.
I haven’t experienced myself, but I’ve read the horror stories. Also, I’ll let my above comment stay unedited as a reminder to proofread, especially if you have sausage fingers.
- 3 months+ is considered the probation period for you and your new employer - you can change your mind, too. Better more than in 3 more months.
- You can just leave the short stint off your resume.
- Check your local laws, but if you’re headhunted you probably get additional protections (waive probation, extra severance, etc).
I can only speak from personal experience, but when I was just getting started I prioritised jobs that would a) teach me a lot, b) look good on a resume. Your first job exists to set you up for your second, better job. I feel like an ass suggesting this, but if you’ve got the basic skills, you really can get a good headstart by having harder, “grindier” jobs for your first few years.
If you don’t feel like you’re learning enough in your current role, tell your boss! It helps to be explicit about what your goals are in a conversation like this. Ideally they should be able to steer you towards work that better aligns with what you’re looking for, or at least find a mentorship situation for you.
I’m assuming you’re from the us since you mentioned pto.
Are the benefits equal other than the pay? Or are you taking an increase in pay and losing pto, healthcare, 401k, etc?
If you lose out on other benefits I would pass. The 25% pay bump won’t count for much if your healthcare cost is non existent or so over priced it may as well be.
Work life balance and a pto are crucial for your health and life in general. I’d recommend avoiding work places that don’t value work life balance if possible. Unfortunately it’s hard to gauge their sincerity here before you join.
If the benefits are about the same and you get a 25% bump in pay then it’s worth the risk.
The other benefits are about the same, only PTO is lower. I don’t know anyone who works at that company to ask about work life balance, but I know that SWEs at the parent company that bought it do regularly end up working in the evenings and weekends to meet deadlines.
Not sure how much of that demand and pressure the parent company puts on this company.
but I know that SWEs at the parent company that bought it do regularly end up working in the evenings and weekends to meet deadlines.
If this is a cultural expectation, then it’s safe to assume you will be expected to sacrifice your nights and weekends as well. If that’s a dealbreaker for you, walk away. Personally, I refuse to work someplace that doesn’t encourage a good work life balance. I spent a lot of years giving up my nights and weekends. Whatever benefits I got from it, and they were negligible at best, were not worth the cost.
Tough call then. Thats a good pay bump but not worth it if it costs your evenings and weekends.
Get an offer on writing and take that to your current manager asking them to match it if you want to stay. Companies can afford a lot more especially when you’re new, having an offer letter in hand makes it easy for them to go to Sr. Leadership for a match, because you’re clearly worth it.
Just be aware that you have one shot and one shot only at doing this. You should also be prepared for the possibility that they will say no.
Don’t be scared of this. Remember you’re not actually family. If they could get rid of you to save money they would. I love love my employer and they’re amazing but I’m not naive. Few scenarios here:
They counter and show you you’re valued - great
They can’t match or afford you - up to you to stay or leave for more money
They get mad at you because you went somewhere else - if it’s a good place they won’t, they understand life. If they actually get mad at you then you don’t want to work there anyway.
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I would keep the a proven good boss over one whose organization’s bad reputation precedes them. Life is too short to out up with a shit boss, except when completely necessary.
On the learning front - an easy job can be a great time and place to do a bunch of self study, if you’re able to make yourself do that. I.e. drop a couple hundred bucks on something like Cloud Academy, and use it in your spare work minutes.
