It was then, I knew it was time to leave.

HR offered me a 2.8% raise on a starting salary that was already too low. We had been campaigning for a salary adjustment for a long time. The HR rep made it seem like that was a great raise.

My manager knew it wasn't - I saw the look on their face.

In the preceding months, I delivered on two projects that were overdue and over budget, one of which was for the European Commission, the other for the World Bank and ESA. I contributed to multiple other projects and took over the technical lead after my boss got poached for a huge salary boost and title.

I got a raise that barely covered inflation in a good year.

Why Even Take That Job?

People in HR will say "but you took the job!". Trying to find hypocrisy in me leaving.

I got hired by a great boss with a vision. That boss was a shield to all the bureaucracy. The team were top-performers I'd for sure work with again. We worked on fantastic projects people would hire you for immediately.

When you have to fight for any type of resource every step of the way, everyone slowly burns out.

Realizing Your Value

I realized my value when I typed out my job description on Linkedin.

I realized it when the interface said I had used up the character limit of the job description. I was writing bullet points. We had jokingly called it "The Bootcamp". It was a bootcamp.

I left for a net 80% raise and better benefits.

Know your worth, it's an interesting time. Leverage your experience and secure that bag.

This atomic essay was part of the October 2021 #Ship30for30 cohort. A 30-day daily writing challenge by Dickie Bush and Nicolas Cole. Want to join the challenge?