A 60% salary increase can make even the most cautious professionals stop and think. After all, career advice in the corporate world has been around for a long time: if a better offer comes along, take it. Higher pay usually means career growth, greater responsibility, and a chance to improve your financial future.But a Bengaluru-based tech professional challenges that logic, arguing that in today’s uncertain job market, stability can be worth much more than a bigger salary.The advice, shared by Sunny Kumar in a widely discussed Instagram video, struck a chord with many professionals navigating an IT industry that looks very different from the one that existed just a few years ago.
A tempting offer gone wrong
Kumar told the story of a friend who worked at MasterCard in Pune. According to him, the employee had what many professionals consider an ideal setup, a respected employer, a good salary, and a role in which he was comfortable. Then came an offer from a smaller consulting firm.The catch? A staggering 60% increase in compensation. For most employees, such a jump would be hard to ignore. Kumar admitted as much in his video. Few people, he said, want to turn down that kind of money.His friend did not. He resigned from the multinational company and joined the consultancy, believing that the move would accelerate his career and earnings. Instead, it became a lesson in how quickly fortunes can change in the technology sector.Within six months, the consultancy lost the project for which it had been hired. Without that business, the company no longer needs the role. The employee was allegedly asked to resign or face termination.Eventually, he lost his job. The pay rise that had convinced him to suddenly change employers meant very little.
Because the advice is resonant
Using the incident as an example, Kumar urged professionals to think twice before chasing higher salaries, especially in the current market.“If you work in a stable job, a good salary, a good company, then I would really suggest that even if you get 60-70%, even 100% growth, at least from six months to a year, do not change. The IT sector is really volatile these days,” he said.His warning comes at a time when job security has become a growing concern in the tech industry. The post-pandemic hiring frenzy has created a generation of professionals who have grown accustomed to frequent job changes and rapid salary growth. But the world has changed dramatically. Layoffs, project cancellations, restructuring exercises and cost-cutting measures have become increasingly common in the sector.For many employees, the question is no longer how much a new job pays. That’s whether the job will still exist a year later.
Not everyone agrees
Yet Kumar’s advice quickly divided opinion online. Many users pointed out that large organizations are not immune from layoffs.A comment revealed that they had recently lost their jobs at HSBC, arguing that no employer can guarantee security. Others noted that major corporations across industries have announced workforce reductions in recent years despite reporting strong revenues and profits.Some have questioned whether Kumar’s friend should have been safer if he had stayed with MasterCard.“What if he was also licensed by MasterCard?” one user asked, reflecting a sentiment shared by many professionals who have witnessed the restructuring of some of the world’s largest companies.Another commenter perhaps sums up the opposing view more succinctly: “You can be fired from a big company and a small company. The difference is that one paid you 60% more while you were there.”
The real problem is not the size
Beyond the debate about large versus small employers, many professionals argued that company size is only part of the equation.What matters most, they said, is understanding the company’s fundamentals. Revenue growth, profitability, customer engagement, future hiring plans, investments in emerging technologies, and overall business health often provide a clearer picture of stability than employee numbers alone.A badly lent multinational can be as risky as a struggling startup. Likewise, a well-run niche company can offer greater long-term security than a large organization facing structural challenges.The comments section has effectively become a masterclass in modern job hunting, with users encouraging professionals to do deeper research before accepting offers.
A changing definition of success
The debate reveals something bigger about today’s workforce. For years, career success has been measured largely by compensation. Larger salary packages often justified the risks associated with changing jobs.Now, many professionals add another factor to the calculation: predictability. In an environment where entire teams can disappear overnight and business priorities can change in a matter of months, stability has become a valuable currency in its own right.This does not mean that employees should never change jobs. Which means that every small company is risky and every multinational is safe. What this means is that wage increases, while attractive, no longer tell the whole story.For professionals weighing their next move, the lesson may be less about choosing big companies over small ones and more about understanding exactly what’s behind the offer letter.Sometimes the biggest number on the page isn’t the most important.
