I recently experienced the reality of job hopping to achieve the pay I deserve. After working at my previous company for over 10 years, where I consistently performed at a high level and received maximum raises, I was laid off last year. During my time there, I was grateful for the opportunities I had, but I noticed that my pay never aligned with my job title since I was an internal hire. After my layoff, I took some time to go back to school and did some part-time work to stay busy. Just last week, I received an offer for a junior role that involves similar responsibilities to my previous position, yet the pay is $15,000 higher than what I was making before. Interestingly, I found out that my old company now has a much higher-paying role available for external candidates, which makes me wonder about the budgeting differences between internal and external hires. I’m curious if anyone can explain the cost benefits behind this practice. It feels frustrating to realize that sometimes the best way to get a significant pay increase is to leave the company you’ve been loyal to.