💼 Career

What happened

I accepted the first offer instantly because I was grateful. Every raise for the next eight years was a percentage of that number, and so was every offer that followed.

What I learned

Your first salary is the base of every number that comes after it. One uncomfortable conversation compounds for a decade.

What happened

Every year I told myself I would leave after the next bonus. The bonus always came, and so did another year. I left at 34 and got a better job in five weeks.

What I learned

If you can be replaced in two weeks, you can leave in two weeks. The cost of staying is invisible until you add up the years.

What happened

It was comfortable and I stopped selling. They restructured, my contact left, and the contract ended with 30 days notice. I had no pipeline at all.

What I learned

A single client is not a business, it is a job with none of the protections. Keep selling when you least need to.