Salary Story: I Doubled My Earnings — For The Same Type Of Work — With One Job Change

In our series Salary Stories, women with long-term career experience open up about the most intimate details of their jobs: compensation. It’s an honest look at how real people navigate the complicated world of negotiating, raises, promotions and job loss, with the hope it will give young people more insight into how to advocate for themselves — and maybe take a few risks along the way.
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Age: 35
Location: Philadelphia
Current industry and job title: End-user pharmaceuticals, software data specialist
Current salary: $166,600
Number of years employed since school or university: 13
Starting salary: $400/week

Biggest salary jump: From $81,000 to $166,600 — this is my most recent job switch.

Biggest salary drop: From $89,440 to $81,000 due to changing from a temp to a full-time employee position at the same workplace.

Biggest negotiation regret: Not negotiating harder when switching from a temp to a full-time employee (the salary drop above). I stuck my neck out a little because the first offer was $76,000, which I flatly refused, but even after accepting $81,000, I think I should have negotiated non-salary perks (such as PTO and the sign-on bonus) more.

Best salary advice: Don’t be afraid to take risks on temp and contract work. Don’t feel guilty, even for an instant, when switching jobs. And remember, two-week notices are optional.

I had this job throughout college because I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. My boss offered to keep me on after I graduated, and I accepted because I knew everyone there and I could stay in a town I was already familiar with. It was just easy. The pay worked out to $20,800 annually.

This was in food and pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing, and I got this job through a friend who was a manager at the plant. My previous job was getting unsustainable because of the pay rate and also the toxic work environment, and I was starting to worry about paying off my student debt and getting my own health insurance. 

This was very tiring work, running production lines and operating heavy machinery, with a swing shift schedule. But it had perks, too, including a tuition reimbursement program through which I got my MBA — an accelerated online program that I finished as soon as possible, while doing this job. Plus, this was a unionized environment, which I felt lucky to be a part of.

After a year at my previous role, a lab job came open at the same site and I was offered the position. Although this was day work and I was immensely relieved to be off a swing shift schedule, I was a little nervous to leave the union behind, and this was technically part-time (at $28.85/hour). But I was told the demand was for 40 hours a week, and that I would retain all my benefits. It was a risk but I was elated to be able to sleep consistently at night again. 

I did not negotiate pay — I was so starry-eyed at the $20,000 bump and being able to have a day schedule that the thought of negotiating never crossed my mind (maybe it should have) and I didn’t want to overplay my hand.

I applied to this job, as did a couple of other internal applicants, and I was awarded the position. Again, I (regrettably) did not negotiate pay or other perks. I thought I was lucky to get a full-time job, still during the day, with another sizable pay bump.

This move to the quality assurance department was a quintessential desk job and the biggest workplace culture shock I have ever experienced. I had to communicate with people at the company’s corporate site regarding the salability and supply of product that the plant made. It was an extremely toxic and high-stress environment, and my manager abdicated almost all responsibility for the department. I was easily the most miserable at this job. 

However, it also had its perks. The plant was in a constant state of upheaval so there was an abundance of overtime available, for both this position (which paid ($34.62/hour) and for my prior two jobs at this location (I was still allowed to take shifts for those, too — hence the variable salary range during the five years I spent in this role). Initially, I was motivated to work this overtime to build general savings and also funds for a house down payment.

Towards the end of my time here in 2020, I was working close to 60 hours a week to hoard money during the pandemic, because my partner and I were concerned that one or both of us could lose our job.

Years back, the plant I worked for prior to this position brought in consultants to assess efficiency. Anticipating layoffs, I reached out to a recruiter during that time. Fortunately, I survived the layoff round and nothing of interest came up via the agency. But they still had my info on file so a recruiter contacted me again, this time for a job with a company that made pharmaceutical components and used a software program I knew from my previous job. 

The commute was half as long as for my prior job, and the hourly pay of $43 meant I would make more money working 40 hours/week than I made working 60 hours/week.

I was paid through a temp agency under a six-month contract, but the position was advertised as temp-to-hire. I deliberated a lot about taking this job because there were so many factors at play: It was the height of the pandemic, and my contract was not guaranteed to extend or result in full-time work. But my old position was absolutely not compatible with life — it was giving me actual heart palpitations — so I accepted.

My temp contract extended into 2021, and afterwards I was offered the job as a full-time direct employee. The company justified the drop in my earnings by saying I was being offered better benefits as a full-time employee, which I suppose was true. 

I did negotiate their initial offer of $76,000 up to $81,000, and I was proud of myself for that. But I do regret a little here: Only after I had signed all the paperwork did I realize that other employees got a sign-on bonus and were able to negotiate their PTO up — neither of which I thought to do. I phased into working 100% remotely for the last year of my employment here.

I was approached by a recruiter via LinkedIn about this contract position for a company in end-user pharmaceuticals in early 2023. They offered $80/hour, and I was too busy picking my jaw up off the floor to negotiate. 

This was around the time my previous job had announced a three-days-a-week return-to-office policy, which I was very, very salty about. So the prospect of staying 100% remote, while more than doubling my earnings and doing essentially the same type of work, was absolutely astonishing to me. 

I tried to negotiate staying remote at my old position but this was shot down so I was 0% sorry about quitting without notice and only coming onsite to hand in my laptop. 

I know this puts me in another somewhat precarious contract position, but I’m a little immune to the risk now; hopefully I don’t end up eating those words. Even if my contract isn’t renewed, I’ll be able to save up two years’ worth of living expenses while maintaining my investment rate. I paid off my student debt and my mortgage is low, so I think it was a worthwhile move to make. Plus, finally breaking into the actual end-user pharma industry — instead of the pharma-adjacent ingredients and components spaces — is cool, too, I guess, since it apparently boosts my market rate.

As far as my next career move, I hope to get this current contract extended out as many times as possible, since the work is sustainable for me and I’m happy with the rate. I am also considering approaching the company about taking me on as a part-time employee at maybe $85/hour for 20 hours a week. In a couple of years, I would love some extra work-life balance to pursue hobbies and simply work less. I know I’d be comfortable at that earning rate, and I’d be able to afford marketplace insurance, so it’s worth a shot!

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