Does salary always need to go up and up and up? Can salary go down? Are we having those discussions? I didn’t. As a G13 I ran a team of 40 and after a reorg I became an IC but kept the same salary. No-one asked me to take less. For work/ life balance, I would’ve explored it. Life changes / needs change / new paradigms / reduce RIFs / Cisco family. Most families need more funds in their 30’s and 40’s than in their 50’s.
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Lots of people in their 50’s paying for kids colleges, their parents, and trying to take advantage of saving the full 401k amount of 26k. It is among the most expensive time. That will get worse for future generations who delayed house purchases and starting families due to college debt etc.
Most families need more funds in their 30’s and 40’s than in their 50’s.
Maybe that's truer in the newer generations where college tuitions are so much higher, but it's not true in my case.
In my 20's, I was paying off my college debts, getting married and having kids, so the day care fees and cost of diapers was ki----g me. In my 30's, I was trying to buy a home and paying a mortgage. In my 40's, it was time to start paying to send the kids to college and they couldn't get financial assistance because I made too much, so they had to get loans to cover what I couldn't. Now, in my 50's I'm still having to support my kids because they're swamped with college debts. I was hoping that in my 60's and 70's, things would be better, but I was forced to move during a burst housing bubble and lost all my equity in the home and now I'm an empty nester renting an apartment when I should be living in a home that I own by now. The cost of computers, smartphones, cars, etc. are just skyrocketing. With the need for a computer, smartphone and possibly a tablet because everything is going into the cloud, in an app, dual factor authentication, etc and the fact that they have to be replaced so damn often, you can't just buy one and keep it for years. Oops, that hardware won't run the newest OS. Oops, your banking app, restaurant app, department store app, etc. won't update and refuses to let you log in because it's not the latest version or your OS is out of date. Time to drop another grand each for you and the wife.
It's difficult to save in the Bay Area as an individual contributor. Home ownership is too expensive and rent takes up most of your income. Maybe if you already own a house in the Bay Area it's easier?
It is not how much you make it is how much you save.
Spent 18 years at Cisco. Regardless of what your salary, push to be able to max out you 401k and your Roth IRA. Every. Year.
I left at a G10 and had enough to retire. It is easy to do if you use the BrokerageLink 401k option.
It amazes me how many friends did similar route, got their LR, and are now looking for a similar high drama job primarily for the money.
What were people doing with their money while at Cisco? Obviously not planning.
Save wisely, and if staying, when you eventually leave; lots of other doors open up and you can work when you want to.
Nothing better that choosing your own path.
Ridiculous, Chuck are you OP?
"Auto pay cut due to inflation"
Except for Directors and above
Auto pay cut due to inflation
you return the money back to cisco if it's more than you need. just write your check and address it to Cisco.
All the SEs got a pay cut.
I know of a lot of people in their 50's that are taking care of their parents and it is such a financial difficulty.