A discussion on Reddit has opened up over whether it pays to switch jobs in order to make more money, or whether it is better to stay with the current employer and hope for a raise. The conversation took place on September 24, in the r/LifeProTips section of Reddit, and it rests upon the case that at times a job move may be the quickest route to earning more.
The person who made the case worked at their old job for six years, during a period when the company was making record profits, and never received a raise. After leaving to take a similar position elsewhere, their pay rose by 65%. That one figure carries the whole argument.
The 65% Example and the 10% to 20% Range
The poster’s figures come from their own observations, not from industry-wide data. They noted that workers could earn 10% to 20% more by taking a similar position at a different company. The 65% jump is the outlier, the reason the post was worth reading.
The discussion soon turned to how one can make use of salary negotiations. A former manager pointed out that middle managers usually hold almost no power over pay, with increases tied to budgets and, more importantly, the approval of senior leadership. That is a good reminder for anyone who hopes their manager can simply wave a magic wand and make the numbers work.
Offers From Other Companies as Leverage
A reader reported earning a 32% raise after getting an offer from another company and using it to negotiate with their current employer. Several others claimed raises of 30%, 40%, or 50% or more as a result of switching jobs.
The engine, in this arrangement, is the threat of leaving. When a competing offer sits in hand, the reason for your current employer to move fast becomes plain.
A Long-Term Employee Plans a Big Move
This person has been with the same agency for 14 years, holding several different roles along the way, and is now moving on to a different agency for a 50% pay increase. They acknowledged that leaving means giving up the familiarity of their colleagues, but said the other benefits would still outweigh that loss.
The 50% figure stands out as the most striking number in the thread, and the poster is wagering that the funds will make up for the price of losing old friends.
Risks and Trade-Offs
Not everybody backed the shift to a new job. Certain commenters identified the dangers of an uncertain working environment or even the chance of being laid off. Job hunting alone can be difficult, and there is always the risk of losing flexibility or benefits.
A worker has said they prize the freedom their current role gives them to manage family duties, and earning less is worth it for the moment. This is a genuine stance, and it accounts for why not every employee needs to rush from their desk the instant a salary offer is made.
The risks break down into a few categories:
- The unpredictability of a new working environment
- The possibility of being laid off
- Losing flexibility or benefits while job hunting
- Giving up colleagues and familiarity by quitting
What Redditors Actually Recommend
The advice from commenters is straightforward: apply and attend interviews while you are still employed, and only then give notice if a final offer is secured. Their guidance is that one should not leave a current job until a new one is confirmed.
A few posters brought up counteroffers in the thread. One view held that accepting a major counteroffer after resigning could be read by management as evidence that the employee is a ‘flight risk’. Another view argued that a counteroffer could give a worker leverage without harming their relationship with the employer at all.
It’s worth holding onto that distinction. A counteroffer can come across as a gift or a warning, depending on what the company makes of it.
The Core Advice, Explained
The Reddit discussion makes clear that there is no single right answer. Some employees find that waiting where they are works better for them. Other workers find that threatening to leave is the only way to get a raise.
One poster’s salary increase of 65% stands as an isolated instance of what can occur when someone chooses to leave. The individuals who received 32%, 30%, 40%, or 50% raises each furnish their own anecdote, though none of them amount to evidence of a strategy.
There is no universal rule, only individual trade-offs, and the commenters who value family flexibility or fear layoffs are equally right.
The honest reaction to this story is that the debate runs from 10% to 50% pay hikes to fears of losing family-friendly flexibility. That is the story, and it is a strange one — a discussion about leaving a job, using examples of people who did exactly that.
The takeaway is not a single number or a single strategy. It is a warning to think before you act. A 50% pay increase is real, but so is the cost of losing a job you have held for 14 years.
A worker considering a rival offer can easily tally the figures and salaries involved. The harder question, though, is one that the Reddit thread never fully answers: what are you willing to give up to get it?
Source material: “‘Switching Jobs Is Usually the Fastest Way to Get a Raise’: Internet Debates Job-Hopping for Pay,” The Daily Dot.
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