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> The second company will (if well run otherwise) likely be more successful over time and create more wealth than the first.

Perhaps, but it's the first company that I'd rather work for.



Just to put a number, what percentage of salary hit would you be willing to take to work in the first company? For simplification, if we take Europe as the first kind and US as the second the difference in salary could be 2-3x after accounting for cost of living.


That's a legitimately difficult question to answer, because there are so many factors that are involved when I determine what my minimum requirement is for a particular position.

But if I look at my last position and consider everything identical except that one case has laying employees off as an intentional part of the business plan, and the other case where that's not true, I would have wanted to make at least twice as much as compensation for the layoff risk.

But... working at a place where I feel insecure would have other knock-on effects. Primarily, being much less invested in the company, and so less willing to make sacrifices or take risks, regardless of pay rate. And that means that I'd be likely to be unhappy in the position. So it's all very complicated.

As a caveat, though, I am not particularly motivated by money, as long as my minimum requirements are met. I tend to be motivated more by the work and work environment itself.

I have learned that there are quite a lot of things that can't be made better through increased compensation.




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