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How to deal with high salary jumps?

H

hollowcupra

Member
Hi all, first time posting a thread and I would like to apologise for my poor english.

A bit of background, I have been working for a small MSP as a 3rd line support engineer earning 50K per year. Most of the clients I deal with always left great reviews and have been praising the support they received from me. One of our clients is an animation studio to which I was appointed as their major point of contact due to my proven track record with clients. I have been their do it all IT guy. From managing the rendefarm, designing and deploying the network, working with pipeline, everything. A few months ago I was randomly approached by another company (a big studio) that had references for me from a few VIPs of our current animation studio client and got offered a position for 180K. I accepted the offer yesterday but now I am thinking I am good for this? I feel very very weird with that huge jump and the responsibilities that come with it.

I would love to hear opinions and your stories, just to take my mind off. Thanks in advance!
 
Embrace and feel good for yourself. You are obviously a very good and knowledgeable in your field. This is the reward for all that hard work paying off.
Treat yourself/family to something nice and celebrate it. Live your life like normal and get comfortable in your new position.

Congratulations!
 
man, you have nothing to worry about, you should see some of the fucking dumbasses I work with who are paid upwards of 200k to basically push buttons all day and they still fuck up constantly.

I am obviously the biggest dumbass at work since I get paid no where near that high, but fix all the problems
 
Congrats on the offer. Give it a try and see. Clearly they see something in you. If you just walk away from it you'll regret not at least giving it a shot.
 
You'll be fine. If you can avoid lifestyle creep you can sock away a good amount of money. You'll also get used to the amount of money real quick IMO so don't think you're rich. 180k is a lot more but it is far from rich so be smart with your additional income. Congrats btw!
 
Even if you do not deserve it, I would say milk the shit out of the situation while you can. May prove yourself wrong in the process.
milk cow GIF
 
Google bogleheads, google three fund portfolio, and google money guy show financial order of operations. Do this right and you can get to financial independence early.
 
Get ready for the increased expectations. There will be lots regardless of what they say. Be sure to live within the means of your old pay too just in case it doesn't stick.
 
Higher pay doesn't always mean more work. Think of it like being a lawyer on retainer. Impostor syndrome is a real thing, but don't let it get to you. Enjoy your newfound monies, and put LOTS of it in savings until you feel like this is really real!

This reminded me to ask ChatGPT a question: Based on statistical analysis of the viral TikTok trend, there are only about two to five single men in the entire United States who work in finance, are 6'5, have blue eyes, and possess a trust fund. Calculations suggest roughly 33 to 21,000 such men exist in total before accounting for marital status.
 
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Fake it till u make it. I remember my days doing 60k..now at 200k and i wonder how did this totally unrelated education degree get me here
 
You keep living like you have been and you'll suddenly find yourself with tons of savings; that's when you start to spend/invest.
 
The best thing you can do is enjoy yourself, work hard, and buy me an RTX 5090.
 
Don't inflate your standard of living. Make a budget, make it hurt just a little, and then set some ambitious savings goals and prioritize them. It's soooooooo easy to piss away all that 'extra' money on ordering out, too many streaming subscriptions, lazy amazon shopping, and a few indulgent trips.

And for gods sake don't get married 'cause those savings goals will fly right out the window :P
 
Congrats! I didn't have a jump that big, but I have tripled my salary over the last 10 years. Some recommendations:
  • Maintain your current lifestyle, the urge will be to splurge and indulge some things. Try to avoid that and save it instead or if you have impulse control issues like me, pay off debt with it so you won't have it to spend. If you don't have a house, now's the time to start saving for a down payment.
  • If you're in the US, now's the time to start maxing out that 401k investment every year. Open an IRA too if you don't have one (you will no longer qualify for a Roth IRA after this year, but you could open one of those too and deposit 7000k for last year). It will pay off when you're retired.
  • Try not to second guess yourself. In a job like this, you might struggle with the workload or learning all the new processes but just work hard, put in some extra hours in the beginning, and you should feel a lot more comfortable with it 6 months to a year from now.
 
Shifty1897 said:
Congrats! I didn't have a jump that big, but I have tripled my salary over the last 10 years. Some recommendations:
  • Maintain your current lifestyle, the urge will be to splurge and indulge some things. Try to avoid that and save it instead or if you have impulse control issues like me, pay off debt with it so you won't have it to spend. If you don't have a house, now's the time to start saving for a down payment.
  • If you're in the US, now's the time to start maxing out that 401k investment every year. Open an IRA too if you don't have one (you will no longer qualify for a Roth IRA after this year, but you could open one of those too and deposit 7000k for last year). It will pay off when you're retired.
  • Try not to second guess yourself. In a job like this, you might struggle with the workload or learning all the new processes but just work hard, put in some extra hours in the beginning, and you should feel a lot more comfortable with it 6 months to a year from now.
Click to expand...
100% this!

Congrats OP 😄
 
My advice is to avoid any major changes to your lifestyle and use the windfall to pay off high interest debt and invest the rest. Consumerism is a trap. Debt is slavery. Freedom is being able to stop working whenever because you have enough assets to cover everything. 5 years of saving the extra 100-150k you're netting will remove years from your career in the long run.
 
Welcome to the middle class. Don't lifestyle creep, pay off high interest debt, invest intelligently, as all my smart and savvy members have said. Don't put yourself down by assuming you didn't earn it. Sounds like you've proven yourself to the right people.
 
You accept the job and then you figure out a plan for the finances.

Invest a portion and decide.
I would probably take my first check and spend a chunk just to get it out of your system.
Begin to pay off any debt. And quickly.
But if you don't plan how to use the money you will wonder where it went.
Make a plan write it down follow the plan.

And congratulations on the hard work paying off bootstraps.
 
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EviLore said:
Welcome to the middle class. Don't lifestyle creep, pay off high interest debt, invest intelligently, as all my smart and savvy members have said. Don't put yourself down by assuming you didn't earn it. Sounds like you've proven yourself to the right people.
Click to expand...
Allow me to translate....."buy Gaf gold, yah cheap sunofabitch!" :P
 
You earned the role, or someone sees the potential in you to perform the role to or above their standard. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has "imposter syndrome". You will find a natural rhythm at your new gig and the same skills, attention to detail, and work ethic will shine through in your new role like they did in your previous one.

Just like many of the other folks have mentioned, unless you have to move for this new position to a location with a higher cost of living, maintain your current living levels (financially) for as long as you.

Best of luck and kick ass!
 
hollowcupra said:
Hi all, first time posting a thread and I would like to apologise for my poor english.

A bit of background, I have been working for a small MSP as a 3rd line support engineer earning 50K per year. Most of the clients I deal with always left great reviews and have been praising the support they received from me. One of our clients is an animation studio to which I was appointed as their major point of contact due to my proven track record with clients. I have been their do it all IT guy. From managing the rendefarm, designing and deploying the network, working with pipeline, everything. A few months ago I was randomly approached by another company (a big studio) that had references for me from a few VIPs of our current animation studio client and got offered a position for 180K. I accepted the offer yesterday but now I am thinking I am good for this? I feel very very weird with that huge jump and the responsibilities that come with it.

I would love to hear opinions and your stories, just to take my mind off. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
If the salary scares you then you can share it with me. Sometimes having a salary that's too big can cause mental and emotional suffering. I normally don't get involved in other people's financial matters, but I see that you really need someone who takes at least half the burden of all that money off your shoulders.
 
Seems like you earned it, so yes, you are good for it. Enjoy the new oppertunity and future oppertunities and stay smart.
 
jason10mm said:
Don't inflate your standard of living. Make a budget, make it hurt just a little, and then set some ambitious savings goals and prioritize them. It's soooooooo easy to piss away all that 'extra' money on ordering out, too many streaming subscriptions, lazy amazon shopping, and a few indulgent trips.

And for gods sake don't get married 'cause those savings goals will fly right out the window :P
Click to expand...
Luckily me and my partner are so against marrying and kids.

My general view on this because these salaries come once in a blue moon, at least at my level, to use this as an opportunity to speed up some life goals. A house, build up my pention and do some emergency savings.
 
EviLore said:
Welcome to the middle class. Don't lifestyle creep, pay off high interest debt, invest intelligently, as all my smart and savvy members have said. Don't put yourself down by assuming you didn't earn it. Sounds like you've proven yourself to the right people.
Click to expand...
Wow 6 figures is middle class nowadays ?
 
First of all many congratulations.


EviLore said:
Welcome to the middle class. Don't lifestyle creep, pay off high interest debt, invest intelligently, as all my smart and savvy members have said. Don't put yourself down by assuming you didn't earn it. Sounds like you've proven yourself to the right people.
Click to expand...
Best advise!

Unfortunately higher income is usually higher taxes, so tripling your basic doesn't triple your take home, allow for that!

Also it is worth the money to pay for good advisors!
 
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Above all enjoy yourself a little, take a nicer holiday, eat in a slightly fancier restaurant and hire top tier hookers
 
OMG guys, I'm going to make 3x my current salary, what do now?

Lul, fake it til you make it bruh / Welcome to the middle class boys club! / Pay of your debt and make smart investments!

Thankfully we're not into marriage or kids, so crisis averted. Thank you for sound advice GAF, I can continue with life now.

Sorry, just fooling around
 
Reizo Ryuu said:
Maybe in the US, €180k a year would be firmly upper class/wealthy, top 1-5%.
Click to expand...
Nooooooooooooooo, not in the US. Though what really defines "wealthy"?

I'd say the traditional markers of wealthy (from the perspective of a distinctly not wealthy kid growing up in the 80's watching lots of movies) would be A. flying first class, B. regular dining at places with a wine list, and C. enough money to pay off a ransom and D. a safe in the house with a small stack of bills, some jewelry, and a rolex :P

For sure the (upper) middle class now can do a lot of those things, other than maybe business class if the company isn't paying. But real upper class now in the US is probably north of 500k/yr salary.
 
Baemono said:
Wow 6 figures is middle class nowadays ?
Click to expand...
Yes and no, it depends on where you live. I'm single in NYC and I make a little above average income for the area. I've been here for some time, and I'm always shocked how cheap everything is outside of major cities or the NE in general. I was on a work trip to Cleveland recently and they're practically giving houses away, food and alcohol is crazy cheap. Hell, even in NYC, if you can afford rent or a mortgage here, everyday things here are just a few bucks more, but man are there plenty of temptations to just get the best of the best because it's right there. No amazon, no shipping, no waiting, just a $3 train ride away. 2-3 hours away in PA housing is like 1/3 to 1/4 of the cost here. There is a lot of the city that is expensive, but no place is really like it. What really sucks are the taxes, I take about a 50k hit in taxes. If I had a wife and kids, I think anything under 200k a year and a stay at home wife would be really tough with a mortgage.
 
I worked in Seattle and some of my co workers weren't even good at their job and got offers from Google and Facebook. One even became a software engineer and didn't even know how to reformat a computer. So, you got this no problem.
 
hollowcupra said:
Hi all, first time posting a thread and I would like to apologise for my poor english.

A bit of background, I have been working for a small MSP as a 3rd line support engineer earning 50K per year. Most of the clients I deal with always left great reviews and have been praising the support they received from me. One of our clients is an animation studio to which I was appointed as their major point of contact due to my proven track record with clients. I have been their do it all IT guy. From managing the rendefarm, designing and deploying the network, working with pipeline, everything. A few months ago I was randomly approached by another company (a big studio) that had references for me from a few VIPs of our current animation studio client and got offered a position for 180K. I accepted the offer yesterday but now I am thinking I am good for this? I feel very very weird with that huge jump and the responsibilities that come with it.

I would love to hear opinions and your stories, just to take my mind off. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Big companies usually do research into more specialized positions like that before they make someone an offer, if they approached you if means they liked what they saw, congrats, it sounds like you've earned it.
 
MSP owner here. Salary for MSP's vs internal/corporate IT can be very different. There are a lot of factors at play in regard to your former and new salary like location, quality of the company you were with, duties, etc. I will say that you're likely going from a position of doing many different things so a few more focused tasks. You are probably going to do great going from a job that is spread thin to something more specific, and its not crazy to see a salary jump like this. Congrats on the new job, don't second guess yourself. As for what to do with all the extra money? Obviously a personal decision, but if you're used to living on much less, its a great opportunity to invest a bunch and think of 'future you' instead of buying a bunch of toys and junk. Good luck!
 
Congrats OP!
My advice is to celebrate somehow, make sure to max your 401K contributions (and make sure you know what it's invested in), live on less than you make, and believe in yourself. You got this.
 
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Reizo Ryuu said:
Maybe in the US, €180k a year would be firmly upper class/wealthy, top 1-5%.
Click to expand...
Really dependant not just on where you live but also your personal situation. I have a salary similar to OP, but live in an extremely high cost of living area but also am the sole provider for my family (wife + two kids, though they're now grown). Was a bit of a struggle to make bills and cover expenses when the kids were younger. Now that I own my own house with a fixed mortgage rate, and the kids are grown and (mostly) financially independent, I have a lot more breathing room.

The last few years have literally been the first time in my life that I haven't been living paycheck to paycheck despite making a six-figure salary.
 
hollowcupra said:
Hi all, first time posting a thread and I would like to apologise for my poor english.

A bit of background, I have been working for a small MSP as a 3rd line support engineer earning 50K per year. Most of the clients I deal with always left great reviews and have been praising the support they received from me. One of our clients is an animation studio to which I was appointed as their major point of contact due to my proven track record with clients. I have been their do it all IT guy. From managing the rendefarm, designing and deploying the network, working with pipeline, everything. A few months ago I was randomly approached by another company (a big studio) that had references for me from a few VIPs of our current animation studio client and got offered a position for 180K. I accepted the offer yesterday but now I am thinking I am good for this? I feel very very weird with that huge jump and the responsibilities that come with it.

I would love to hear opinions and your stories, just to take my mind off. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
I am in my 30s and now a director in my company. Only have the VP and President above me with the VP role potentially mine in 3 years when current VP retires.

In 2 years I raised my income $60,000+.

I absolutely wake up with imposter syndrome feelings like I'm not this guy but just do my job the best I can while being friendly. Worked so far to keep climbing the ladder.

If it doesn't pan out, just tuck what you can into savings as extra income for yourself and family. Then you can make up your own story for departure for next role and see where you land.

Odds are you're more than qualified and your old job just underpaid significantly. Some companies are just the jump off point for building blocks and give you all the knowledge to succeed in another role that pays correctly as you advance.

Keep on keeping on!
 
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