Salary Story: I Make $100k & My Career Is No Longer My Priority

Age: 27
Location: Northern California
Current industry and job title: Education Technology, Senior Brand Marketing Manager

Current salary: $100,000/year
Number of years employed since school or university: 6
Starting salary: $55,000/year

Biggest salary jump: Last year, my salary increased over 13%! I went from $75,000 to $85,000 when I got promoted within my company. I had been pushing for this promotion for about a year beforehand so was really happy to see it come to fruition.

Biggest salary drop: In 2020, I was laid off (along with most everyone else!) so my salary went from $65,000 to $0, but at the time, there was so much extra unemployment available that I actually ended up taking home more money while I was unemployed than I was making previously.

Biggest negotiation regret: I’ve always been keen on negotiating my salary, but my biggest regret is that I often accepted less because I thought I didn’t have enough experience or because I was at smaller companies who could only afford a certain amount. I never regret negotiating, but there were times I probably should have passed on an offer in pursuit of something better.

Best salary advice: What would you do if you weren’t afraid? This is from a book we had to read for work recently, Who Moved My Cheese? If you want to make a career move, quit a job you don’t like, or ask for a raise, just think what you would do if you weren’t afraid and go for it.