Pro tip: I took a pay cut to leave a big company for a small startup and it was the best move I ever made.
Two years ago, I had to pick between staying at my safe corporate job making $85,000 a year or jumping to a 12-person startup for $65,000. Everyone told me I was crazy to walk away from that kind of money and the fancy office. I did it anyway because I was just a cog at the big place, doing the same reports every month. At the startup, I got to own projects from day one. In my first six months, I helped build a client system from scratch that we now use for half our sales. The learning curve was insane, but I grew more in one year than in five at the old job. My salary is almost back to where it was, but the skills and responsibility I have now are worth way more. Has anyone else made a similar jump and how did you handle the money part at first?