Hey y’all! I’m new here and I’m currently working at a startup backed by sequoia as a research ML engineer making 115k in bay area. This is my first job and I’ve been working for about 6-7 months. I really like the work/team and I drove a lot of initiatives within the company. My manager likes me a lot and we work well together. However, I’ve been thinking about interviewing somewhere else that offers a higher base (120/130k) just to negotiate. I don’t plan on leaving the company any time soon but I do feel like I’m being underpaid. I have no idea how to approach my manager on this because I really don’t want to ruin the relationship or make it awkward once I got the offer. Any tips? Thanks!
There is a contradiction here. If you can't have a simple salary conversation with your manager comfortably, you can't say that you are working well together. I'd recommend discussing it with him/her first, tell him/her your expectations. S/he will be able to tell you whether your expectations are realistic for your experience and your position in the company. If s/he gets upset personally, that's a good sign for you - s/he's not a great manager. It may be time to make preparations to move on.
Thanks for the reply! Do you think it’s better to get an offer in hand first just to have a leverage then discuss?
Well said. You dont need to interview to have a paycheck discussion. The other thing is that after a few weeks if you dont see progress go ahead and get an offer ... you may need it to push the issue or simply to move on
Get an offer in hand. Ask for a salary slightly higher than offer. If boss says no then go to the job with the higher salary with offer
This is the right response. However you have to be prepared to move if your current company doesn't match it. This is very important.