u/Old-Air3659

I've been with the same company (more than 70K employees) for about 37 years, and I suddenly got an offer from a smaller company. They're offering me $58K more than what I'm making now, which comes out to about a 31.9% increase. And that feels like a really huge pay bump. They also have a retirement plan with a 4% match, plus profit sharing in the range of 6-8%. The big problem is that medical, dental, vision, and other benefits are much more expensive, which reduces the $58k difference by about $22k, and I'd also be giving up 9 vacation days. The big company also has some other benefits that the smaller place doesn't offer.

I've been loyal to my current company for a long time. I have a strong retirement account, and I'm lucky that I started here before the company went public, so I also have a pension with them.

Now my current company, without me bringing anything up, is suddenly offering me a 12% raise. That makes the whole thing feel strange, as if they somehow know I have another offer waiting for me. $58k in additional income is a lot to walk away from, but I'm very conflicted about making a change after being with the same employer for so many years. Has anyone been in a similar situation before? Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks.

I left my job recently and accepted a similar position with a supplier that works with my old company, with a much better salary. When I sat down with my manager to submit my resignation, I tried to keep it from seeming personal, so I told him I wasn't going to a competing company or even staying in the same field. He asked me a few questions that seemed sincere but were fake-sincere, as if he was just trying to understand my reasons, and in the end I found myself telling him where I was going.

About 90 minutes later, he called me back into his office and started yelling and talking about how shady that supplier was, and that he planned to contact them directly, and that he would threaten to cancel any upcoming agreements if they continued with my hiring process. Thank God, nothing happened because of that.

I really did follow most of the usual advice people give when you leave a job, but I still said more than I should have. That could have put my new job at risk. This was a manager I genuinely trusted, but I learned the hard way that people who tell you they have your back can still throw you under the bus if it benefits them. Don't repeat my mistake. When you submit your resignation, especially if you're not interested in any counteroffer, be polite and professional, but give them as few details as possible about your next step.

My job as a software developer at a medical diagnostics company was recently eliminated due to budget restructuring. The company gave me a 10-week window to try and find another position within the company. If that doesn't work out, or if I decide I don't want to, they will let me go with a good severance package, roughly 9 months' salary.

Honestly, part of me feels relieved. The constant pressure of sprints and deliverables is gone. Although the compensation package was good and the benefits excellent, I felt very exhausted and found no inspiration in the work itself. My performance reviews rarely reached 'exceeds expectations,' which made promotion opportunities slim, even after nearly 10 years in this industry since graduating. I see this as a unique opportunity to step back, explore new places, and truly dedicate time to projects I love and have been postponing. It's essentially a long paid vacation. I'm seriously considering taking the full severance pay, taking a few months off to disconnect, and then starting to look for a job when the money runs out or gets close to running out.

I talked to my aunt about this situation. She's a very smart and professional woman, but at the same time, her views are somewhat traditional. Her immediate advice was for me to enter the job market right away. She even said jokingly, but with meaning, that it would be difficult for someone to get married or settle down without a stable income. While I didn't let her words bother me too much, I am genuinely worried about the difficult climate in the tech market right now. What scares me most is that if I can't find something new when the severance pay dwindles, I might have to move back in with my parents to avoid spending my emergency fund. And honestly, moving back in with them would be tough; my dad can be a bit overbearing and set in his ways.

What are your thoughts, or has anyone gone through a similar experience? The state of the tech job market is what truly worries me and keeps me up at night.