That's great man.
Congrats, Veloxi! 
Fantastic news Veloxi! Their counteroffer and communication shows respect, the importance of which cannot be understated.
Maybe take some time when you're off the emotional rollercoaster to go over the entire process and how you felt about everything? It might help for any future wage discussions if you ponder it while it's not on the table at that moment - with the luxury of detachment so to speak.
Good job, Veloxi! Sounds like they appreciate you and you just took action to better yourself and your family.
Thanks y'all. After I got away from the emotions of the whole thing I felt pretty good about it. Actually went out on a school night to celebrate. 
That’s a near-perfect result, and in today’s market 7.5% per year is outstanding. They clearly value you. Celebrate!
I'm 99% certain the project manager was drunk during the testing meeting this afternoon. It was only 1:30.
Sounds like a great lunch break he must have had before
As long as they don't deploy any code...
As long as they don't deploy any code...
Project managers don't code
That works for me in Rocket League too. 
Haven't touched alcohol in 20 years... Are you guys saying I would be even more awesome at my job if I picked it up?
I like working from home, but I miss that guilty pleasure of ordering a beer when going out to lunch with the co-workers. I guess I could still have one these days but it wouldn't be the same.
Yeah sometimes Friday lunches were nice like that
Today is Day 2 of full-time back-to-office work, and it barely took me 4 hours on Day 1 to realize how utterly performative bein back here is.
The entire work experience and my workflow is almost exactly the same as WFH. I am, essentially, now paying to do WFH (due to commute costs).
Not really much to say other than to excoriate management for utter ignorance, cowardice and lack of progressive thinking.
I'm thinking of going from federal employee to federal contractor.
I know, I know. Job safety and all that, but I stupidly did the math of my salary over the eight years I've been a fed, and even not counting this year's massive inflation rate, I've taken at least a 15% pay cut. I've gotten raises, but 2%/year ain't keeping up with prices of anything.
I've been talking to a few contracting companies, and one sounds pretty promising above the rest. It would be about a 20% bump immediately too, which is great. Also, the customers they work for are very enticing to me as well. Will let me at the very least see a different set of beige government walls for a few years.
I like the contractor side better, I saw what the government folks were doing/ dealing with and it wasn't for me. But I'm in aerospace stuff.
But if all the good ones leave, who will be left?!
Vrikk, consider your retirement pension and healthcare too. That's a HUGE benefit...
So, I work in the hospitality business which has obviously been hit hard by the last couple of years. My position is luckier than most so our company survived, Many restaurants closed March 2020 and never reopened.
However cultural issues I've never liked were exacerbated by the company using lockdowns to justify treatment of the workers I didn't appreciate. Our management team managed to stand together to get some of our own rights back, but these issues combined with the fact that my now 8 year old doesn't like me working every weekend and holiday meant I was looking to the future.
I do my podcast and I've done small bits of audio client work so I've made the frankly terrifying choice to resign, cash in my pension to keep the family gong and try go full time into podcast editing and production. Thanks to exchange rates I don't need a lot of dollar income to live comfortably, so I'm fairly confident I can make it work.
But 1st of August I wake up 'unemployed;' or rather self-employed, but with a very uncertain future. I'm sh*tting myself, but really excited.
And if anyone needs a podcast edited at very competitive rates, let me know.
Wouldn't hurt to send a resume or samples or something to Maximum Fun. They have a million shows on their network and are always adding more. It wouldn't surprise me if they could use your help.
MrDevil, I have every faith that you will pull this off. Perhaps Veloxi can assist with his accumulated knowledge? We must have other folks in the business, too. Maybe start a "My podcast media adventure" thread to solicit advice?
Let us know if there is a way we can support you if needed.
Yeah max fun, Spotify, and iHeart are often hiring or contracting for positions like that if you are interested in going that route.
I started the first day of my new job today. It's obviously way too early to know for sure, but I think I'm going to like it here. The people I've met so far have been great, with an equally great work culture.
I'm in a more senior position than I anticipated, but that's mostly due to the small size of the company. Like, I knew it was small, but not that small. Super intimidating, but I'll give it a crack anyway, see what happens. I'm trying to stop underestimating myself, but I'm also making sure I'm very honest with my co-workers/employers.
You probably aren't old enough to remember this. Hopefully it is inspiring:
Halfwaywrong, small companies work based on their culture, not on roles. Roles are often flexible; culture however is the glue that holds things together. Learn *how* you are expected to communicate, what the ethics of the team relationships are (for example, what you do when work lands in your queue, even if it’s “not your job”), and work to frame disagreements as completely impersonal, and you’ll be off to a good start.
A good company will build your role around your capabilities and you should be able to define that over the next year or so, until you are doing stuff that is most useful AND fits your skills. It’s a great feeling when it finally clicks.
Good luck!
Vrikk, consider your retirement pension and healthcare too. That's a HUGE benefit...
I agree. It's also why I won't cash out my pension contributions if/when I leave, since ultimately the dream is to come back to government service after many years away, and then ride it out. I'm 35, and I'm still too hungry to just be hitting the same red tape snags.
It's only Tuesday and I'm already wishing this was Friday. Good thing I have Thursday and Friday off this week.
Nobody should have to go through two months of all-day testing meetings where nothing ever goes right. (Luckily, most of the stuff that goes wrong is not mine.)
Halfwaywrong, small companies work based on their culture, not on roles. Roles are often flexible; culture however is the glue that holds things together. Learn *how* you are expected to communicate, what the ethics of the team relationships are (for example, what you do when work lands in your queue, even if it’s “not your job”), and work to frame disagreements as completely impersonal, and you’ll be off to a good start.
A good company will build your role around your capabilities and you should be able to define that over the next year or so, until you are doing stuff that is most useful AND fits your skills. It’s a great feeling when it finally clicks.
Good luck!
Thanks for the kinds words and advice! Just two days in and I'm definitely seeing a lot of truth in your first sentence. Also the thing about framing disagreements as impersonal - this is something they actually brought up in the interview. I think gave a good answer, as I rarely take anything personally when it comes to my day-job.
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