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Career and salary progression

A popular thread here on grapevine had some amazing stories on salary hikes. This thread is for the stories of people who let go of higher pay because of some reason. Did you ever let go off higher pay offers than your current pay? Reasons could be anything (comfortable current role, better role somewhere else, took bet on a startup, location constraints, gut feelings, felt higher pay would come with higher pressure, etc.) How did your decision pan out? Would you say you did the right thing?

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Madara

Stealth

a year ago

A person I used to work with when I was in my early years wanted me to join his team at Rippling. He was a great guy. But he clearly told me that the WLB is shit and it was in US time zone. We know how much Rippling pays.
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doodle

Stealth

a year ago

I left out on a role in the same 'market research' industry because of a higher brand prestige where I work at currently. The pay was almost equal, location, equal too. But it was in the end the prestige and the brand name.
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jake_peralta_B99

Unemployed

a year ago

I left a role which paid 32L to 48L for the role simply because I didn't like the attitude of the person interviewing and their communication(it was not clear). I don't accept offers from companies where the interviewers ask any random question they think for the sole purpose of rejecting a candidate
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BlueLeave

Stealth

a year ago

This is so relatable. Good interviewing process increases confidence on the company. Taking rounds with random questions just for the sake of interviewing is so absurd.
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Bruder

Uber

a year ago

Can i work for you part time?
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canthisflynn

Headout

a year ago

Left a 22L offer for 25% tax bracket role (New regime) 😛 22L was in a edtech firm. High pressure work environment, WFO, digital marketing also had to take ownership of sales. Also opportunity to excel was low. Brand already got tons of traffic from non converting Keywords and then for someone to pivot to harder keywords would mean a lot of time convincing the management of being patient which is not something edtech would appreciate.
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BlueLeave

Stealth

a year ago

This is interesting to hear (especially about tax implications). I think everybody should look at post tax numbers to evaluate actual tradeoffs. CTC numbers are inherently bloated.
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Gupchup

TCS

14 days ago

I left a significantly high paying analytics role abroad to learn and pursue product management in India itself.
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by AlphaGrindset

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by GoodPerson

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by Marty_Byrde

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Ever Rejected an offer just for growth in skills

Hi Folks, Have you guys ever rejected an offer just because you thought maybe after 1 year I will get something better? I'm currently working as a consultant. I got an offer in a core product based company that too for a senior position. I got a decent hike approx 40 percent and stocks as well I have switched 3 companies in my career of 4 years (currently working in 4th). This is seen as a red flag by interviewers. And I also strongly believe I have some growth in my current company (skill wise not money and promotion). But in terms of Promotion or Money I have to wait a lot. The hikes are expected to be around 10 percent max in the month of November and for Promotion I have to wait till next June 2025 probably. What should I do now please advise 🥺

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Indian Startups on

by SickSpit80

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Should I leave my toxic work environment with no backup in a job market like this?

I'll set the context here. I was suppose to join a new organisation in the start of the year but it went on a hiring freeze immediately after my notice ended with my then employer. I ended up accepting the first offer that came my way. It was not of my desired profile but it was better than being jobless. Now, couple of months into the new job, I realize this is a very toxic place to be. Dormant founders only caring about money, rampant nepotism, no clear path for career growth. It is becoming difficult to sustain at this place. I've been trying but now I can feel my mental health dwindling because of it. I dread going to office everyday. But again, in this job market, atleast I have a job. The product role I mentioned is still on pipeline but no one knows when the freeze will end. My hiring manager and HR are pushing for my candidature (according to them) but management isn't allowing them to move ahead with new hires. Now my question is, should I quit my job and try finding my desire role (which seem like a humongous task) or stay put and wait for a offer to come and then leave my current employer? I'm torn. I dread going to office everyday. I don't know how much do I have it in me to keep continuing but I'm pushing my limits. Want some advice from fellow grapeviners here. TIA!

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by CanineDip

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How do you end up using a platform like Grapevine?

How did you come to know about it? What made you download it? And why are you still using it? Building anything in social is so hard. I want to know how they got the users.

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Layoffs on

by Zooperman

Stealth

Did I do the right thing turning down a 40% hike offer

So I recently gave an interview to a company, cracked it and got offered 50% hike but I was very hesitant joining there because they said they'll demote my role to a Jr Engineer, because they said my code wasn't as good as they wanted. The task was to add a new feature in their codebase, all I did was used the existing transformers, methods and I just wrote a new one for the feature they requested, it worked flawlessly without a single issue. So, their existing code had issues and they counted that into my assessment and said they'll reduce the salary promised on their job listing by 40%. So I first said yes, I was just looking that hike my my salary, later to omly realise, I keep seeking for validation when working there rather than working for shipping features. So, I actually turned it down. Did I do the right thing?

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Software Engineers on

by SeedhaLadka

Stealth

Feeling low becoz of my base CTC

Hello Viners! I wanted to share my CTC journey and looking to seek your opinion on this! Joined Fintech(Paytm) last year with 3.5 YOE - 31LPA(Base) [Current] LaidOff but Got an offer in a SaaS company during my NP - 31LPA(Base) YOE - 4.5 Years Most of the companies I interviewed for were not able to match my current fixed because of which I took this offer. Now I feel like my Base is low as compared to the market average in terms of YOE which makes me worry about my career’s progression. Do you also feel the same? But at the same time I am grateful that in this job market, I have got a job. What do you think? Am I rationally thinking here? I live with my parents and they are partially dependent on me. I hope I have made a correct decision.

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Indian IT on

by TintedBox

Nykaa

[Guide] How I got a 300% pay hike switching from Accenture

Spoke to someone in Grapevine through DMs 2 months ago about increasing pay. They helped me with the following roadmap but in more detail. Got offer from two competing startups in AI. 28L-Fixed is the best offer I got. Previous CTC: 7L (Fixed) Current YOE: 1Y Here was my strategy: 1. Improved functional python knowledge via Leetcode and Codeforces. 2. Learnt more about Cassandra, PostgreSQL, Redis, Django and React. Not in-depth but functional enough to build proof of concepts. 3. Understanding intuitively rather rote-learning concepts like: OS, Computer Networkls, DBMS, OOPs(Read everything around them using MIT OCW). 4. Data Structures and Algorithms: String Manipulation, Arrays, Linked Lists, Stacks, Queues, HashMaps, Trees, Graphs, and Heaps. 5. Mock Interviews with my friends in the end.

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Indian Startups on

by CallMeShirley

Citymall

2 years back, I voluntarily took a pay cut from 60L/year to 25L to chase my startup dream. Did it work out? No. Was it worth it? Debatable. Will I have regrets later in life? Not a chance.

For anyone stepping into the world of building, just be okay with the above. It'll be true, no matter how much you fall.

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Layoffs on

by FaintHeart

Stealth

Should I accept the offer or let it go?

Right now I am looking for a new job because of a layoff in my own company. I have recently applied for a new job. I didn't get a hike and they even decreased the basic pay in their shared CTC Structure. The in-hand is the same as my previous company but my basic salary is impacted. Should I accept the offer or let it go?