Ask HN: When would you accept a sub-par salary?

[marlag]

I've been a professional programmer since 2000, hobbyist since 1995, without formal education in computer science. The last ten years of my life, projects I have been in have all touched on basically the same tech (lucene, solr, es, sql server, oracle, ravendb, asp.net mvc/webforms, cms:es written for .net, all of the what-have-you-got-to-offer-me-dear-microsoft stack (including sharepoint) and a bunch of other MS-related tech.

I'm usually the best payed developer in the house. When I am not, it's when I really shine.

I want to work for Google. Or Microsoft Bing (because they could definitely use my help). Or for someone who is determined in their quest of breaking the momentum of both of the previously mentioned players. I have no other training other than Wikipedia, MSDN and a few more sites plus 20 years of experience in programming*. The most interesting domain (in life, other than my two children) to me is information retrieval, machine-learning, neural networks and A.I.

I have been offered a job one point five hours from where I live. They offer me a great deal of money should I choose to work for them. More money than I have ever earned. Not a HUGE pay check, but something that comes close to what my friends from college (who all went on to become businessmen and businesswomen) earn today.

I have been offered another job, 15 minutes from where I live, where the Chief Dev promised me that I would be working with IR, ML and AI to solve some great problems of theirs. Today, before I left the (third) interview I had with them, the Chief of all that is IT, and the Chief Dev, told me (after I had asked them: am I over-qualified, under-qualified or am I just right?) in a joined chant told me I am just right. However, they cringed when I told them what I currently earn.

Would you take an offer that _could_ take you to closer to your dream job but that pays $2000 less that your market value?

[stray]

You mean $2000/month? If so, that's $24000/year which sounds like a lot, but in terms of happiness $2000 less per month is roughly equivalent to a $1333/month raise.

At least according to this: http://lifehacker.com/ditching-your-commute-is-the-happiness...

[nolamark]

Personally, I've taken many (most?) of my jobs below market value.

I've always figured the first step was to get the job I wanted. It's only a starting salary.

It doesn't take much to prove you are worth much more and make them very nervous about you leaving because they are undervaling you.

The other thing is get your money working for you, so hopefully, one day, it can earn more for you than anyone can pay you, and you can focus on what the job has to offer you in term of your interest and dreams, not salary.

[exolymph]

$2,000 is a trivial amount to give up for increased satisfaction and a muuuuch shorter commute — I assume you missed a zero and mean $20,000?

Anyway, it all depends on what is most important to you. If the money is most important, choose that. If work conditions are more important, optimize for those instead.