pirategurt in 
Software Engineer
1 year out of college, earning ~$200k - Should I leave for more challenge?
Pretty good work life balance and on track for another promotion. My main concern is I feel like I'm not being challenged enough by my coworkers. One tiny example, people very rarely critique my system designs or code. I know I'm not that good.. (I want to work with people with much more experience than myself)
I graduated last year and live in Atlanta. I’m at a large company (not FANG or a ‘sexy’ company) but it pays well:
- Base: $152k
- Bonus: $17k (11%)
- Retention Bonus: $60k over 3 years
(broken down into three $20k payments/year)
I’ve been debating whether I should start looking for a new job that would challenge me more, ideally being around people I can learn from. But given the current job market and my compensation level, I’m wondering if it’s a bad idea. Would I be crazy to look for something new right now, or is it better to prioritize growth over security this early in my career?
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pirategurtSoftware Engineer
Oh no, had internships every year of college. Thanks for the long well written response !
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But still, I know how you feel. Not being around people that grow you and not improving fast enough is hard.
As others have mentioned, you can keep your job and become a regular open source contributor. You can also just learn more by yourself (nowadays we're blessed with tons of amazing content available for free online or even in good old books), however this is going to be slower than having excellent teammates.
In my honest (but very subjective) opinion, unless you get a really killer offer somewhere else, leaving you present situation would be stupid. You have a very high income in a low-ish COL place, you can save a bunch and your work-life balance is still good. Most people would kill for this.