I have been in an Applications Engineer position making $72500 as an annual salary for three years, my first position out of university. The work itself and most coworkers are fine/good, but I HATE my boss with a burning passion. In addition, the company does not seem to be going in a good direction: people are frustrated, problems aren’t getting solved, many people are leaving and we are having trouble replacing them. Morale is very low around the office and most people are openly discussing their job search efforts… it’s rough. In addition, the company is not dedicated to compensation advancement for existing employees. Many have been onboard for years without a compensation increase. My yearly ‘bonus’ last year was a bottle of red wine which I googled and found out cost $7 – really just insulting, honestly.
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I have received an offer for a Sales Engineer position with comparable benefits (only downside is two less paid holidays per year than my current position, everything else is essentially even.) and an annual base salary of $79,000, plus I believe it is safe to assume *some* form of annual bonus that is larger than a $7 bottle of wine. This position also allows me to work from home 3-4 days per week, something my current position does not allow and would be a great benefit in terms of time and money savings. Otherwise, the commute is only \~two minutes longer than my current commute. During my in-person interview, I stated I was searching for $75000-80000 as an annual base salary and was told they had budgeted only $70000. When I received the offer, I was surprised to see $79,000; one of my professional references told me that when they contacted him the company representative said they ‘love me’. I am a bit worried I’ll be pigeon-holed into a completely sales, non-technical role (not so much at this company but in terms of my overall career), but I believe I can spin my experience and pursue additional schooling or a certificate program so that wouldn’t be too much of a concern.
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Should I accept this offer? Should I counter-offer for a higher salary, given the decrease in paid holidays and the fact that I’m not 100% sure I should accept the offer? From my research the salary seems to be right around median for my area and experience.
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Thanks!