He brought in $1.8M but was denied the promotion — so he upskilled on company dime and jumped ship with a 150% raise
Despite landing a $1.8 million revenue within a year for the company, the promotion was given to another employee and it deserved a response.
It feels ridiculous when another employee gets a promotion when you know you have put in a serious amount of effort and dedication. An engineering employee who goes by u/Kicker-gerunds5 shared a post on February 22 about how they were given the bare minimum despite going above and beyond at their job in the aerospace company. They told the manager that a mere 4% raise wasn’t fair, and since they proved themselves capable, they deserved a promotion. When this was denied, they took a stand using a shrewd approach and trained with courses at the company’s expense to ultimately land a job with a 150% higher pay.
My company didn't want to promote me or give me a decent raise, so I used their training budget to learn skills for a new job with a 150% higher salary.
by u/kicker-gerunds5 in InterviewCoderPro
The employee mentioned that they had gotten the job fresh out of college and worked there for 5 years. They realized that they needed a promotion from the role and something beyond the usual bare minimum raise. So they requested management roles. “They gave me a lead engineer role to see what I would do,” the post revealed. The person handled 5 engineers and a couple of other workers so well that their team made $1.8 million in revenue within a year. “It was a massive success. We even secured a patent for the company, and the Navy nominated us as finalists for the partner technical team of the year award,” they wrote.
What followed was frequent traveling, time away from family, much fame, more deals, but a hectic schedule. They abided by it all and delivered meticulously. When it was time for evaluation, the lead engineer was sure they’d land a promotion. “Then I heard that one of my team members (who reported to another manager) got an early promotion to a senior position,” while they got the regular 4% raise. They decided to take a stand and confronted the manager, who shunned the problem with excuses. The boss suggested they try hard and hope for next year.
The lead engineer got a reality check and knew what to expect. They started treating the position less like a priority and more like a job. No overtime, no weekend work, no traveling exhaustively, no holding back vacation. “My stress level dropped to zero,” they noted. But that wasn’t enough; the real problem wasn’t being solved. Instead of remaining stagnant, they decided to use up the company’s budget set aside for training and take courses to refine their skills. They enrolled and learned “beefing up resumes at the company's expense.”
When the course was completed, they sent out applications to other companies and promptly got calls. “It didn't take long. I found a new job with a starting salary 150% higher than my old one, and they paid overtime,” the employee said. There was nothing more to do; they resigned, leaving the manager baffled. "We just spent all this money for you to learn the new skills we need!" he told the worker. But there was no guilt, “With the overtime, I made about 3 times his (manager’s) salary in my first year there,” they noted. It was an experience that changed their lives for the better. According to a 2025 study from GALLUP, 51% of employees said they were looking for a job different from their current one. That’s 1 in every 2 employees in the U.S.
Many are aware of the job market, and only 28% admitted that now is a good time to look for something else. Yet, half of the sample is actively browsing new jobs. The highest reason for leaving was noted to be pay, as of 2024. 16% of workers said the low pay or benefits didn’t work for them. Yet, only 26% were likely to recommend their employer or organization to others. To figure out what the discrepancy is, the report looked at reasons why employees left organizations in the past. They found the highest-ranked reasons were “engagement and culture” (37%) and “well-being and life-balance” (31%). When workers see their recognition being ignored and, worse, given to someone else, it doesn’t take long for them to pack up and leave.
More on Scoop Upworthy
Employee bags himself a better opportunity after boss's flippant response to well-deserved promotion
Worker quits after boss gave unfair reason to overlook their promotion: 'Bridge too far'
Share on Facebook
