u/Adorable-Ad-7411 — reddlx

I’m a mid-level engineer at a product company in India, earning in low-teens LPA. Work is decent overall, some grunt work recently but nothing terrible.

Due to higher family responsibilities, I started job hunting and got an offer from another company at ~1.5x my current pay.

After I resigned, my current manager (good rapport, has supported me personally) gave a counter offer. The current plan is:

Match the external offer soon
Give the remaining hike a few months later (documented, not just verbal)

So it’s basically a split hike: part now, part later.

I’m confused between:

Staying: familiar people, good visibility, potentially better total pay if everything comes through
Leaving: clean start, higher fixed from day one, but I’ll be new and have to wait a year for appraisal

My questions:

If you accepted a counter offer in India, did it hurt your job security or growth later?
If you were me, would you stay with the counter or join the new company?

Would really appreciate honest experiences and advice.