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Ok, let's do this.
I took a 12k pay cut to get into the games industry. Went from being paid 47k to 35k. My wife was pregnant at the time and the 25% pay cut definitely severely impacted our quality of life. But I really wanted to get into games, so she supported me.
I took a 12k pay cut to get into the games industry. Went from being paid 47k to 35k. My wife was pregnant at the time and the 25% pay cut definitely severely impacted our quality of life. But I really wanted to get into games, so she supported me.
When I was a lead designer at that same company with ~5 years of experience at the time, I found out one of my employees with 1 year of experience was being paid ~2k less than I was. He was white. I started to ask about salaries and saw that I was underpaid compared to my peers.
I asked for a raise and threatened to quit otherwise. They refused me. So I looked for a job elsewhere and found one that would pay me 60k, ~10k more than I was being paid at the time.
They countered at 65 k. That entire time they could have paid me 30% more. I left anyway.
They countered at 65 k. That entire time they could have paid me 30% more. I left anyway.
Salary isn't everything when you have "enough".
It's a different story when you're the sole provider for a family of 5, struggling to make ends meet, racking up debt, and all so that you can follow your dreams.
My finances improved as I found jobs that paid me what I was worth.
It's a different story when you're the sole provider for a family of 5, struggling to make ends meet, racking up debt, and all so that you can follow your dreams.
My finances improved as I found jobs that paid me what I was worth.
It's hard to say if the struggle was worth it. I do have regrets, but at the same time I'm really grateful for everything that I have.
My advice is to keep periodically interviewing even if you're happy where you are, if for no other reason than to know your market worth.
My advice is to keep periodically interviewing even if you're happy where you are, if for no other reason than to know your market worth.
