I’m a creative web developer for more than 15 years now, with a strong passion to share my knowledge and support junior developers. You can ask me anything.
I've taken jobs with lower salary (up to 20%) twice already and even that it wasn't the best decision the first time, I would always do it again. I think how much you are willing to give up for a better working environment depends on what level you are on with your salary. Of course it is easier to do without if you don't have to limit yourself at all.
The first time, my work was more meaningful and had a very good social purpose, but the working environment proved to be more toxic than I thought possible. At the beginning everything sounded much too good to be true, because there was talk of individual encouragement and a lot of potential for development. In the end, however, you had to work almost inhumanly if you wanted to do your job well and meet the requirements that you set as your personal standard. I had never before worked in a company that had so little interest in quality and humanity.
The second time it was exactly the right decision, because I had a relaxed working atmosphere, felt that my work was valued and that I could make a difference. I had the opportunity to deal with new topics, learn a lot and contribute to something positive. It was the right decision at that time.
After my salary had risen year after year and the constant lack of good developers had also contributed to higher incomes, I realized that I very often burned myself very much. Many companies expect people to identify with them, to stand up for them and to perform at their best ... Unfortunately, this is often a one-way street.
I don't think it's easy to see what a working environment really is like before trying to work there. I had even talked to local employees before my first change, but I didn't see any warning signals that would have made me aware. You can only look people in the eye and sometimes you don't see anything strange.
At a time when we as developers don't have to worry too much about finding a new job, I would say that you should always dare to try something new when you don't feel comfortable anymore. Of course, you might want to give your boss the opportunity to work on problems and find a way together, but fear of new things is unfounded. Change always entails risks, but if I hadn't dared one or two things in my life, I could never have made many valuable experiences.
Like @giant995
said, there are things you can't buy with money. I can only confirm how valuable it is to have a team where everyone can learn from each other and achieve new goals together. Experiences don't pay rent, but they are fulfilling and you can often be proud of the things that became possible because of those experiences.
Correct me if I read this wrong, but what was your position before you took the paycut role for the first time? Did you leave that previous role (i.e. one before the first paycut role) because it was toxic too?
Change always entails risks, but if I hadn't dared one or two things in my life, I could never have made many valuable experiences.
This matches with what I thought quite well, that great and valuable experiences await those who dare to take some risks, especially if things seem to have plateaued or got more toxic in the current role.
I’m a creative web developer for more than 15 years now, with a strong passion to share my knowledge and support junior developers. You can ask me anything.
When I took a new position with a much lower payment for the first time I was looking for new challenges. The job before wasn’t toxic, but I wanted a larger team, more challenging tasks and new technologies again.
It might also be important that the 2 times with lower payments haven’t been in a row, so that I didn’t lower my payment with every new job.
When I was looking for a more challenging job and an environment that could fit my expectations better, I found that many companies with a higher salary had crazy expectations in return. “Take the good money, but be okay with sacrificing the rest of your life”. That’s why I decided to take less money and a better environment instead.
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I've taken jobs with lower salary (up to 20%) twice already and even that it wasn't the best decision the first time, I would always do it again. I think how much you are willing to give up for a better working environment depends on what level you are on with your salary. Of course it is easier to do without if you don't have to limit yourself at all.
The first time, my work was more meaningful and had a very good social purpose, but the working environment proved to be more toxic than I thought possible. At the beginning everything sounded much too good to be true, because there was talk of individual encouragement and a lot of potential for development. In the end, however, you had to work almost inhumanly if you wanted to do your job well and meet the requirements that you set as your personal standard. I had never before worked in a company that had so little interest in quality and humanity.
The second time it was exactly the right decision, because I had a relaxed working atmosphere, felt that my work was valued and that I could make a difference. I had the opportunity to deal with new topics, learn a lot and contribute to something positive. It was the right decision at that time.
After my salary had risen year after year and the constant lack of good developers had also contributed to higher incomes, I realized that I very often burned myself very much. Many companies expect people to identify with them, to stand up for them and to perform at their best ... Unfortunately, this is often a one-way street.
I don't think it's easy to see what a working environment really is like before trying to work there. I had even talked to local employees before my first change, but I didn't see any warning signals that would have made me aware. You can only look people in the eye and sometimes you don't see anything strange.
At a time when we as developers don't have to worry too much about finding a new job, I would say that you should always dare to try something new when you don't feel comfortable anymore. Of course, you might want to give your boss the opportunity to work on problems and find a way together, but fear of new things is unfounded. Change always entails risks, but if I hadn't dared one or two things in my life, I could never have made many valuable experiences.
Like @giant995 said, there are things you can't buy with money. I can only confirm how valuable it is to have a team where everyone can learn from each other and achieve new goals together. Experiences don't pay rent, but they are fulfilling and you can often be proud of the things that became possible because of those experiences.
Correct me if I read this wrong, but what was your position before you took the paycut role for the first time? Did you leave that previous role (i.e. one before the first paycut role) because it was toxic too?
This matches with what I thought quite well, that great and valuable experiences await those who dare to take some risks, especially if things seem to have plateaued or got more toxic in the current role.
When I took a new position with a much lower payment for the first time I was looking for new challenges. The job before wasn’t toxic, but I wanted a larger team, more challenging tasks and new technologies again.
It might also be important that the 2 times with lower payments haven’t been in a row, so that I didn’t lower my payment with every new job.
When I was looking for a more challenging job and an environment that could fit my expectations better, I found that many companies with a higher salary had crazy expectations in return. “Take the good money, but be okay with sacrificing the rest of your life”. That’s why I decided to take less money and a better environment instead.