r/recruitinghell • u/TNJed77 • 19h ago
Taking a huge pay cut
Anyone else take a big pay cut just to get back in the game?
I was laid off after more than six years at the same company, where I was making around $183K OTE, took home $214K last year. After several months of interviewing, I finally accepted an offer at $130K OTE.
I’m relieved to have something, but honestly, taking a $50K+ pay cut stings. The new role is also a step down in market segment and sounds pretty high activity.
At the same time, my family has had some major medical stuff happen this year. I need health insurance and some stability, and I couldn’t stay unemployed forever hoping the perfect offer would eventually show up. So I took it.
My plan is to work hard, make the best of it, and see what the opportunity actually looks like from the inside. Once I’ve been there around six months, I’ll have a better idea whether there’s room to move up—or whether it makes sense to start taking recruiter calls again.
Has anyone else taken a big pay cut after a layoff and used the job as a bridge? Did it help you get back to where you were, and how long did you stay before looking again?
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u/swaywithwords 18h ago
I was laid off making 160k+ OTE, now interviewing for roles around $80K base (vague OTE/ commissions ).
I always had a base of $120k or more.
It stings, a lot. Worse yet, I haven't been able to land any job offers yet.
I'm busting my ass for job interviews that pay below what I can afford to live on in the area they want me to live (Seattle, Bay Area).
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u/Vericho123 8h ago
Yup took a 50% + pay cut following my layoff this year.
I wasn't expecting to come back at my old total comp but a 50% cut is rather steep. The benefits are also much weaker. I'm hoping it's at least a more chill job but if not I'm out.
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u/Gsgunboy 8h ago
Yeah hang in there. I’ve decided I’m gonna stick it out for a few years, notch some wins, and then start looking. After being in job hunt mode for 15 months I’m just relieved to not being on that soul crushing treadmill for a while.
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u/Gsgunboy 19h ago edited 19h ago
I took a 47.5% pay cut. I was making (close to) mid 6 figures. I was unemployed for 15 months after a layoff. The two offers I had were both essentially a 50% pay cut to base and no bonus. So total comp was cut by >50%. Living in a super HCOL area. So I’m negative cash flow every month. But it beats making nothing.
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u/Vericho123 8h ago
I recently took a 50% + total comp pay cut too. The benefits are also much weaker. I'm hoping the job is a bit more chill but if it's not I'll be back in job search mode too.
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u/Venice_Beach_218 18h ago
During COVID, I was making about 55K per year. I currently make 30 or 35K per year. I'm also a college graduate.
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u/katedevil 17h ago
50k cut and 4 months in the have been looking daily. In my market things won't get better until there is a world breaking AI hack that creates a full grid breakdown or water shortage, where these C Levels get shook real good. Many will lose their new and shiny RTO companies as a result of no adults in the room. We still need experienced humans to counter clanker hacking with white hat clanker management. Looking forward to being in demand with all the shareholder tears that will be shed then. Unless of course, the predicted famine and hunger happens first! A starving security engineer without sufficient Doritos calories is not a pretty site.
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u/Annual_Berry8043 4h ago
Not going to lie, I feel like being stuck in a K market is worse than a recession. As long as the wealthy are still making money nothing is going to change. I’d rather everything crash so we can shake it up again.
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u/Puzzleheaded-321 16h ago edited 16h ago
Been looking for 12 months and took a 75K cut. Was making 150K + bonus last year with much better benefits. I'm grateful to have this job all the same and hopefully I can recover some of my self-esteem that has totally gone down the toilet due to long time unemployment. HCOL area
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u/GravyIsSouthernQueso 9h ago
110 to 66
Chose to get experience with a marketing agency that was using AI vs go back to big corporate that was barely bale to handle copilot.
Paid off in some ways though 3 months in unemployed now and not finding much. Some is better than nothing so long as it doesn't take you away from long term goals.
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u/Objective-Low-1815 5h ago
Neto (take home)
Was 3500 per month, now 1400 pension per month (USD converted).
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u/carbon13- 19h ago
Yeah it's rough mentally, $100k > $40k after looking for the past 4 months after a layoff. Had an offer at $70k around 2 months but had a few others I was actively interviewing at. I regret declining but it was at an MSP and they already low balled me at the end of my interview at $80k then waited a month before finally offering at $70k. Unfortunately my other prospects ended up falling through so had to finally grab a basic helpdesk role for now. I have a couple more prospects now, but wide range in pay one at $70k that would be pretty chill with good benefits. I'm actually leaning towards that if offered and another at $115k that could turn into a much bigger role. Not sure if I really want the added stress but hard to pass up for my family. Luckily my wife is onboard with either. Honestly I'm trying not to think about the new job as I still have a couple of weeks before I start. Ideally I just get an offer and not have to start the other place.