I quit my extremely toxic job of 3 years due to it pushing me into a full blown mental health crisis. I did not have any job lined up when I left. After I started looking for new jobs, I realized how underpaid I was there. I started my job search with a target salary range for my next position of about a 30% increase from my last salary, which is at the higher end of market rate for my industry and experience.
I just received an offer to work with a company that as far as I can tell, is going to be great for my mental health. Small team of extremely empathetic leadership, low-stress environment, easy workload (as it relates to me and my experience), and a mission-based company whose service heavily aligns with my personal values, so the work feels meaningful.
The problem is that their max budget for this role is quite a bit lower than what I’m looking for. I knew this going into the interviews but told them I would hear them out since I believed in the mission, and would consider the offer package in its totality with all of the benefits laid out before I made a decision.
It’s still more than what I was making previously, but barely. Less than a 15% increase when I was hoping for 30%. Benefits aren’t anything special but decent, pretty in line with my last position.
Am I crazy for thinking I should still take it? I have other interviews lined up for companies paying a lot more money, but from what I can tell, they all just seem like they’re going to be your typical corporate bullshit and I’m afraid they’ll ruin my mental health again.
I guess I just need reassurance that I’m making the right decision. I ended up in a really scary place last time and I don’t ever want to end up there again. But is that worth ending up in a place that doesn’t give me the level of financial stability I want?