I might quit a perfectly good job

[SuperSecretName]

I came to the realization that any new job at this point would require entry into the rat race.

I'm planning to retire early in 6 years or so.  I don't need the money, and it doesn't seem worth it.  I have it pretty good at my current job.

[homestead neohio]

I came to the realization that any new job at this point would require entry into the rat race.

I'm planning to retire early in 6 years or so.  I don't need the money, and it doesn't seem worth it.  I have it pretty good at my current job.

So you may not be underpaid after all?  Because the higher salaries you were drooling over also require more work? 

By rat race I assume you mean long hours, high achievement, and "driven" kind of performance.  I think of rat race as full time employment doing something I'm not really excited about.  So while my job is not long hours when considered against other full time positions, it is still higher than I want, so for now I'm still a rat and I'm still running.

Are you going to keep looking?  I ask because, if not, that's a big change in perspective.  You were about ready to walk.

[brian313313]

I don't have much to add to what's already been said. However, if it goes to you getting another offer I personally would take the new job. You already know how hard it is to get a raise with the current company. The unknown can sometimes be intimidating but you will have a new base and it would be easier to get raises in the new company. If you stay and get the raise in your current company, you probably will not see another significant raise until you push again. Also, you may find the annual raises drop some.

In my entry level job I got another offer to get the raise and stayed with my current employer. I found that they just gave me more work so my effective hourly rate never went up. After 2.5 years, I finally left for another job with equal pay. The new company gave me a 40% raise after 6 months. This was a contract renegotiation at the end of a 6 month contract. I was vastly underpaid and didn't know it until working with the new employees at the new company that were more in touch with the market rate.

[Slee_stack]

As another long termer (9 years) I can empathize with the OP's annoyance.  I've regularly got top reviews for the past 5 years.  I also get decent overall pay raises.

Yet, I am also fantasizing about walking out, and am also at or near the FI threshold.

My annoyance doesn't come from compensation, but from being denied opportunity.

I've been lip serviced for years and my boss is finally moving to another position.

In spite of all the speeches he gave me about taking over for him, he 180'd recently and said that they want to go with someone with more managerial experience.  I wasn't even given an opportunity to interview!  This after plenty other questionable people have gotten promotions and he always trotted out the line 'you have to give the person a chance!'.  It seems though that chances are for other people...not myself.

So fine...business decision...move on.

I went ahead and applied for another internal opportunity just the other day.

I get a call today from my boss, all huffy that I didn't 'let him know' ahead of time that I was going to apply for another position.  I'm thinking...wtf!?  Seriously?  You cannot be surprised by this!

Anyway.  I'm as irked as I can be.... browbeaten for taking my future into my own hands.  I can only surmise that its going to inconvenience him because he delegates critical work to me, and if I'm not there, he's actually going to be on the hook for it during his transition.  I've actually noticed a trend in my location where the truly best performers in a particular role get held back.  I can't help but think its intentional.

[ChpBstrd]

^ More likely, there are people who do wonderful technical or operational work, but would not make good managers (either in someone's opinion or in reality). I know many such people. They would flop as managers.

Assertiveness, sociability, big-picture thinking, a willingness to consider radical change, charisma, legal awareness, political awareness, accounting knowledge, and salesmanship are actually rare commodities among IT trained folks. Develop and/or show off these traits if you want to be considered for management.

Keep in mind, it's a totally different career. Instead of monitoring RAID arrays for failures, you'll be trying to determine if an employee is abusing sick time. Just because it pays more doesn't mean you should attempt it.

[Slee_stack]

^ More likely, there are people who do wonderful technical or operational work, but would not make good managers (either in someone's opinion or in reality). I know many such people. They would flop as managers.

Assertiveness, sociability, big-picture thinking, a willingness to consider radical change, charisma, legal awareness, political awareness, accounting knowledge, and salesmanship are actually rare commodities among IT trained folks. Develop and/or show off these traits if you want to be considered for management.

Keep in mind, it's a totally different career. Instead of monitoring RAID arrays for failures, you'll be trying to determine if an employee is abusing sick time. Just because it pays more doesn't mean you should attempt it.

Indeed.  Interesting that I have most of the attributes in spades that you mention.  Further interesting that the other top performers I've seen denied also tend to be out of the box thinkers and doers.

I've even attended the most prestigious corporate managerial annual retreat at my company...an opportunity that  <0.5% of employees receive, and one that was offered to me by my boss' boss (not my direct one!).  Actually my boss was surprised when that happened.  He congratulated me, but I wonder if there wasn't some underlying resentment?

The signals of a positive career path are pretty blinding, yet the outcome is not actually following.  Its very odd.

Every time I go to HQ I get the same question from multiple people of when I'll move out there.  Its fairly obvious my talent is appreciated in other circles.

And then there are also the junior guys I mentor/guide daily that tell me they'd come work for me in a heartbeat.


So am I really just a bad candidate and questioning my boss's motives are all in my head?


Its funny, because I actually strive to be most of what my boss isn't as it pertains to my co-workers.  I'm always looking to leverage their strengths, endeavor to give them the tools they need to succeed, and encourage their development.   Oh and I'm actually genuinely happy when I see others are successful with something.  I don't hold back praise.

Maybe I'm really not cut out for the role...   (cue sarcasm)


Sometimes...(maybe many times)...there just might really be incompetence and/or bullshit politics afoot.

I'm fine with that.  I'm not fine with someone sticking a knife in my back though.  I'm pretty certain I never will be.

I'm a pretty logical person and my situation just doesn't compute.  I've made my desires/goals clear for years.  I admit I am a fool for putting any faith in my boss.  In hindsight, I'm nearly certain I work for a sociopath.  Perhaps not an extreme one, but one with significant tendencies.  I'd always kidded that he had a split personality.  Be your best buddy in the morning, then go off on something relatively insignificant in the afternoon.  I largely brushed it off as an eccentric personality and adapted my interactions accordingly.  My share of these 'snaps' is fortunately isolated.  I do feel bad for many of my coworkers who experience this more regularly.

Life isn't fair. 

One benefit that FI offers is more leverage in trying to actively make it a little more fair with little to no fear of the consequences.  Its what I'm doing now...taking responsibility for myself and not expecting someone else to have my back.  Its clear my boss doesn't.   EFF him...seriously.