Log In

Your email is not your username

Register

If you were a member of the old Bodybuilding.com forums and would like to reuse your previous username, you can request it below. We use your email only for registration and do not store it. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.

Confirm your email

A registration code was sent to your email. Enter it here.

Welcome

You have successfully setup your account.

Sign in

Quick Navigation Bottom Misc
Forum
» So this is what happens when you dont job hop? BRUTAL
  1. Results 1 to 30 of 30
post 10000185115 05-25-2026, 10:53 AM
-
#1
  1. MikeLowrrrey
  1. MikeLowrrrey
  2. Join Date: Jul 2018
  3. Age: 56
  4. Posts: 34,873
  5. Rep Power: 116767

So this is what happens when you dont job hop? BRUTAL

Mechanical engineer posted their salary. 23 years experience


post 10000185120 05-25-2026, 10:58 AM
-
#2
  1. Godfrd824
  1. Godfrd824
  2. Join Date: Oct 2008
  3. Location: DevilMayRage's Head, Rent Free
  4. Posts: 55,402
  5. Subscribers: 1
  6. Rep Power: 360745
90th percentile salary for a senior mechanical engineer is about $160k. So did he lose some money, sure. But not all that much. If he were the top 10% of mechanical engineers, they'd be trying to poach him.
When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.
post 10000185127 05-25-2026, 11:04 AM
-
#3
  1. dropped40lbs
  1. dropped40lbs
  2. Join Date: Jan, 2026
  3. Posts: 1,210
  4. Subscribers: 2
  5. Rep Power: 820
50 hrs per week for life, brootal lol
post 10000185129 05-25-2026, 11:05 AM
-
#4
  1. MikeLowrrrey
  1. MikeLowrrrey
  2. Join Date: Jul 2018
  3. Age: 56
  4. Posts: 34,873
  5. Rep Power: 116767
Originally Posted By Godfrd824
90th percentile salary for a senior mechanical engineer is about $160k. So did he lose some money, sure. But not all that much. If he were the top 10% of mechanical engineers, they'd be trying to poach him.
If you put $58k in an inflation calculator, he was already making $100k in 2004. So he only got a $17k raise.


If anything though, he should have hit $100k in at least 2016.
post 10000185131 05-25-2026, 11:06 AM
-
#5
  1. notbadnotbrad
  1. notbadnotbrad
  2. Join Date: Jul 2012
  3. Posts: 39,112
  4. Rep Power: 330976
It would be interesting if someone could add a column to this graph and show his real wages.
post 10000185133 05-25-2026, 11:07 AM
-
#6
  1. AllLifter
  2. Toker
  1. AllLifter
  2. Toker
  3. Join Date: Feb, 2026
  4. Location: Americuck
  5. Age: 30
  6. Height: 6'2"
  7. Weight: 189 lbs
  8. Posts: 1,456
  9. Subscribers: 2
  10. Rep Power: 154
lol at tradies
when will they learn?
Jailbaitwarrior Crew
Raw dog crew
Maybe Next Life Crew
post 10000185134 05-25-2026, 11:07 AM
-
#7
  1. Imnew1
  1. Imnew1
  2. Join Date: May 2017
  3. Age: 41
  4. Posts: 2,448
  5. Rep Power: 18176
I don't understand job hopping and the people that try it. The people that do usually end up in start up type of companies that fold within 6 months max and then they're back to looking for a new job.

Family friend works for nothing but startups for stock option hopes and is a director. She had one where she hired 6 people on her team only to have management tell them 2 weeks into their onboarding that they could only afford 2 and she had to cut 4 of them. Imagine going through who knows how many interviews and time to get hired only to be let go before you even really started and back begging for another job.

It's best to just stay where you're at and make connections with people that make way more than you in your field that might recommend you. Most people want to see others do well in life and give them a chance just like they got.

That's what happened to me. Out of college I made like 33k a year max at my job and was so embarrassed that I went to college only to make this. I got a different job that paid 45k, then got promoted to a 55k-60k role. Spent 5 years in that role and connected with people that liked me and were older and wanted a chance for me. Around Thanksgiving one year a guy that I worked with called me and told me to apply to his former boss bc he had put in a recommendation for me and if I apply he didn't want to get my hopes up but thought I was basically a shoe in. That was the easiest job interview of my entire life. She wanted to hire me and just meet me on MS Teams video. Salary went from 55k to 150K just like that. If I had tried to job hop or enter different fields that I had no experience or connections in I would have just been wasting my time and career.
post 10000185135 05-25-2026, 11:07 AM
-
#8
  1. GuineaDago585
  2. Bert McGirt
  1. GuineaDago585
  2. Bert McGirt
  3. Join Date: Nov 2012
  4. Posts: 40,140
  5. Subscribers: 1
  6. Rep Power: 390209
Jesus fucking Christ. They were making what I make now 20 years ago.

I’ve been at my company 4 years and have had some raises but I really need to GTFO.
post 10000185140 05-25-2026, 11:10 AM
-
#9
  1. ManOfBMW
  2. Registered User
  1. ManOfBMW
  2. Registered User
  3. Join Date: Apr 2024
  4. Age: 56
  5. Posts: 172
  6. Subscribers: 1
  7. Rep Power: 33
You get used to working at one place after only just a few months so once you stay for a year or 2 it's pretty much over for most people once you fall into your little routine it's truly over just groundhog day till you retire.
post 10000185143 05-25-2026, 11:11 AM
-
#10
  1. dropped40lbs
  1. dropped40lbs
  2. Join Date: Jan, 2026
  3. Posts: 1,210
  4. Subscribers: 2
  5. Rep Power: 820
Originally Posted By GuineaDago585
Jesus fucking Christ. They were making what I make now 20 years ago.

I’ve been at my company 4 years and have had some raises but I really need to GTFO.
u forgot the part where it says mechanical engineer, not a spreadsheet inputter like u
post 10000185148 05-25-2026, 11:15 AM
-
#11
  1. BigTimeOperator
  1. BigTimeOperator
  2. Join Date: Jul 2017
  3. Posts: 13,079
  4. Subscribers: 2
  5. Rep Power: 109165
Yeah you have to have the balls to tell your current company to FOAD and bail to another one that will respect you more, even if it takes you out of your comfort zone for awhile.
post 10000185154 05-25-2026, 11:18 AM
-
#12
  1. MikeLowrrrey
  1. MikeLowrrrey
  2. Join Date: Jul 2018
  3. Age: 56
  4. Posts: 34,873
  5. Rep Power: 116767
Originally Posted By Imnew1
I don't understand job hopping and the people that try it. The people that do usually end up in start up type of companies that fold within 6 months max and then they're back to looking for a new job.

Family friend works for nothing but startups for stock option hopes and is a director. She had one where she hired 6 people on her team only to have management tell them 2 weeks into their onboarding that they could only afford 2 and she had to cut 4 of them. Imagine going through who knows how many interviews and time to get hired only to be let go before you even really started and back begging for another job.

It's best to just stay where you're at and make connections with people that make way more than you in your field that might recommend you. Most people want to see others do well in life and give them a chance just like they got.

That's what happened to me. Out of college I made like 33k a year max at my job and was so embarrassed that I went to college only to make this. I got a different job that paid 45k, then got promoted to a 55k-60k role. Spent 5 years in that role and connected with people that liked me and were older and wanted a chance for me. Around Thanksgiving one year a guy that I worked with called me and told me to apply to his former boss bc he had put in a recommendation for me and if I apply he didn't want to get my hopes up but thought I was basically a shoe in. That was the easiest job interview of my entire life. She wanted to hire me and just meet me on MS Teams video. Salary went from 55k to 150K just like that. If I had tried to job hop or enter different fields that I had no experience or connections in I would have just been wasting my time and career.
Lol this is completely false



I went from 59k to 83k. Of course my company was small, but still. I'm still a poorcel, but $59k is damn near homeless.

I wouldn't have sniffed $75k for another 5 years if I stayed
post 10000185158 05-25-2026, 11:20 AM
-
#13
  1. notbadnotbrad
  1. notbadnotbrad
  2. Join Date: Jul 2012
  3. Posts: 39,112
  4. Rep Power: 330976
Claude prompt: can you show this persons real wages based on us cpi





A mechanical engineer spent 23 years at the same company, watched their nominal salary double from $58K to $117K, and ended up with basically nothing to show for it in real terms. Adjusted for inflation, their 2026 purchasing power is roughly what a $99K salary bought in 2004 — a real gain of under 20% across two decades of loyalty, or less than 1% per year.

The post-2021 inflation spike was the final gut punch: every raise since then has been a pay cut in disguise, with real wages falling from a peak of ~$133K (in today’s dollars) down to ~$117K. The market didn’t reward tenure — it taxed it.
post 10000185171 05-25-2026, 11:31 AM
-
#14
  1. naich
  1. naich
  2. Join Date: Nov 2011
  3. Posts: 16,837
  4. Subscribers: 1
  5. Rep Power: 116163
Originally Posted By notbadnotbrad
Claude prompt: can you show this persons real wages based on us cpi



heads or tails online

A mechanical engineer spent 23 years at the same company, watched their nominal salary double from $58K to $117K, and ended up with basically nothing to show for it in real terms. Adjusted for inflation, their 2026 purchasing power is roughly what a $99K salary bought in 2004 — a real gain of under 20% across two decades of loyalty, or less than 1% per year.

The post-2021 inflation spike was the final gut punch: every raise since then has been a pay cut in disguise, with real wages falling from a peak of ~$148K (in today’s dollars) down to ~$117K. The market didn’t reward tenure — it taxed it.
We should've never left the gold standard.
**Florida Crew**
**Waiting for National Guard Bus Ride to Labor Camp Crew**
post 10000185173 05-25-2026, 11:38 AM
-
#15
  1. GaloisTheory
  2. Registered User
  1. GaloisTheory
  2. Registered User
  3. Join Date: Oct 2014
  4. Posts: 13,879
  5. Rep Power: 82267
Holy shit that’s brutal but also pathetic.

Have some respect for yourself. You spend far too much time and energy at work to not be keeping up with the current market value.

There was a guy on OG misc who had a similarly poor progression. He had been at his company forever and so his only reference point was the measly 2-3% inflation “raises” (cope). He couldn’t really comprehend how badly he was being shortchanged. Guys only 3-5 years into the same career were making more than him.
Physics crew
post 10000185175 05-25-2026, 11:42 AM
-
#16
  1. AverageKenneth
  2. ♞Cheeky Ken...t♞
  1. AverageKenneth
  2. ♞Cheeky Ken...t♞
  3. Join Date: Aug 2014
  4. Location: On the midget's shitlist
  5. Height: 6'0"
  6. Weight: 200 lbs
  7. Posts: 15,170
  8. Subscribers: 3
  9. Rep Power: 114980
There's genuinely nothing worse than a "company loyalty" phaggot. Srs. Biggest cucks in the universe.

You can break your back for these soulless cunts for 40 years but they'll underpay the fuk out of you and drop you the second it's convenient. Not sure why anyone would think otherwise.

They must put something in the fucking free pizza they bring in every other Friday or some shit.
*Always Pick 2 Crew*
*Cursed by a dwarf Crew*
*Jesus will save me Crew*
*Made a mod red once crew(SRS)*
post 10000185176 05-25-2026, 11:44 AM
-
#17
  1. Imnew1
  1. Imnew1
  2. Join Date: May 2017
  3. Age: 41
  4. Posts: 2,448
  5. Rep Power: 18176
Originally Posted By MikeLowrrrey
Lol this is completely false



I went from 59k to 83k. Of course my company was small, but still. I'm still a poorcel, but $59k is damn near homeless.

I wouldn't have sniffed $75k for another 5 years if I stayed
Well I went from 55k to 150K so I guess my patience paid off. Only problem is AI and Indians to take our jobs so I know there's zero chance I'll ever actually retire from my company. They already laid me off once but reversed their decision as they kept me on for two months during their decision with another company to replace us all that failed. During that time I kept an excel sheet of all companies, job titles, date applied and responses I got. I had about 50 applications I submitted that I was perfectly qualified for and got nothing but auto rejections. I was so happy the day my boss called me and asked how would I like my job back full time and was so sorry I had to go through all of this and never wanted to do this to me. Job hopping and hoping somebody hires you just sounds miserable.
post 10000185201 05-25-2026, 12:09 PM
-
#18
  1. ExPatriot
  2. This is the end...
  1. ExPatriot
  2. This is the end...
  3. Join Date: Oct 2017
  4. Location: Texas, United States
  5. Posts: 15,124
  6. Subscribers: 5
  7. Rep Power: 686543
He should just rope...Super DFS
See ShakeBrah's signature
post 10000185203 05-25-2026, 12:10 PM
-
#19
  1. GaloisTheory
  2. Registered User
  1. GaloisTheory
  2. Registered User
  3. Join Date: Oct 2014
  4. Posts: 13,879
  5. Rep Power: 82267
Originally Posted By Imnew1
I don't understand job hopping and the people that try it. The people that do usually end up in start up type of companies that fold within 6 months max and then they're back to looking for a new job.

Family friend works for nothing but startups for stock option hopes and is a director. She had one where she hired 6 people on her team only to have management tell them 2 weeks into their onboarding that they could only afford 2 and she had to cut 4 of them. Imagine going through who knows how many interviews and time to get hired only to be let go before you even really started and back begging for another job.

It's best to just stay where you're at and make connections with people that make way more than you in your field that might recommend you. Most people want to see others do well in life and give them a chance just like they got.

That's what happened to me. Out of college I made like 33k a year max at my job and was so embarrassed that I went to college only to make this. I got a different job that paid 45k, then got promoted to a 55k-60k role. Spent 5 years in that role and connected with people that liked me and were older and wanted a chance for me. Around Thanksgiving one year a guy that I worked with called me and told me to apply to his former boss bc he had put in a recommendation for me and if I apply he didn't want to get my hopes up but thought I was basically a shoe in. That was the easiest job interview of my entire life. She wanted to hire me and just meet me on MS Teams video. Salary went from 55k to 150K just like that. If I had tried to job hop or enter different fields that I had no experience or connections in I would have just been wasting my time and career.
Job hopping is not career hopping. You don’t have to enter a new field with no connections to job hop. It doesn’t mean going to some sketchy startup either. I’m not sure why you’re framing it that way. It truly just means going to another job, which could be doing the same thing for another large employer.

If this guy were doing mechanical engineering at Lockheed Martin, he could have simply applied for a different mechanical engineering job at Raytheon after a few years and have received a 30-40% raise.

There is of course a point where it hits diminishing returns but starting salaries grow faster than wages within the market and so not switching jobs at least once or twice will in general leave you way behind.

Originally Posted By MikeLowrrrey
Lol this is completely false

I went from 59k to 83k. Of course my company was small, but still. I'm still a poorcel, but $59k is damn near homeless.

I wouldn't have sniffed $75k for another 5 years if I stayed
Yeah that was bad advice.
Physics crew
post 10000185233 05-25-2026, 12:32 PM
-
#20
  1. naich
  1. naich
  2. Join Date: Nov 2011
  3. Posts: 16,837
  4. Subscribers: 1
  5. Rep Power: 116163
Job: 5%
Short Term Saving: 4%
Investments: 11%
RE investments: 15%
Maximizing or maxing 401k and Roth IRA

If you aren't getting these annual returns you aren't going to make it, srs.
**Florida Crew**
**Waiting for National Guard Bus Ride to Labor Camp Crew**
post 10000185243 05-25-2026, 12:40 PM
-
#21
  1. taskmob
  1. taskmob
  2. Join Date: May 2015
  3. Age: 32
  4. Height: 5'11"
  5. Posts: 8,200
  6. Rep Power: 455
I fucking serve water and take peoples order and I make that much.
Fk the Good Poster Crew (Lockdev, Pink, Kimm, Wasps, Expatriot, Mulloway, Luc1fer, Smallpeter, gwg, Super Hercules, Bonobo, maori-rap, Based Bagel, ezmac31 and many more). You know who you are.
post 10000185255 05-25-2026, 12:48 PM
-
#22
  1. AverageKenneth
  2. ♞Cheeky Ken...t♞
  1. AverageKenneth
  2. ♞Cheeky Ken...t♞
  3. Join Date: Aug 2014
  4. Location: On the midget's shitlist
  5. Height: 6'0"
  6. Weight: 200 lbs
  7. Posts: 15,170
  8. Subscribers: 3
  9. Rep Power: 114980
Originally Posted By taskmob
I fucking serve water and take peoples order and I make that much.
Would tip $0.01. Srs.

Grumpy little cunt.
*Always Pick 2 Crew*
*Cursed by a dwarf Crew*
*Jesus will save me Crew*
*Made a mod red once crew(SRS)*
post 10000185291 05-25-2026, 01:28 PM
-
#23
  1. SoutheastBeast1
  1. SoutheastBeast1
  2. Join Date: Mar 2013
  3. Age: 39
  4. Posts: 63,113
  5. Subscribers: 6
  6. Rep Power: 247124
Originally Posted By notbadnotbrad
It would be interesting if someone could add a column to this graph and show his real wages.
That someone could be you


Edit:

You actually did it above even though you took the AI shortcut. Reps anyway
"One day I won't be able to lift any more. Not I won't want to lift. I mean physically unable. That day could be decades from now or it could be tomorrow. All I know is that's the day I'll wish I could lift more than ever. The day I'd give anything for one more workout, one more set, or one more cardio session. So go hard and enjoy every workout, every set, every rep. Because one day you will wake up and you will never get it back."
-SoutheastBeast1
post 10000185312 05-25-2026, 01:40 PM
-
#24
  1. Imnew1
  1. Imnew1
  2. Join Date: May 2017
  3. Age: 41
  4. Posts: 2,448
  5. Rep Power: 18176
Originally Posted By GaloisTheory
Job hopping is not career hopping. You don’t have to enter a new field with no connections to job hop. It doesn’t mean going to some sketchy startup either. I’m not sure why you’re framing it that way. It truly just means going to another job, which could be doing the same thing for another large employer.

If this guy were doing mechanical engineering at Lockheed Martin, he could have simply applied for a different mechanical engineering job at Raytheon after a few years and have received a 30-40% raise.

There is of course a point where it hits diminishing returns but starting salaries grow faster than wages within the market and so not switching jobs at least once or twice will in general leave you way behind.



Yeah that was bad advice.
I just mean I’ve never found it that easy to job hop in the same field you work in. AI filters you out of most companies you want to apply for and if you do get an interview you’re lucky if you get to the final round. Then they want to force you into some bs mock demo of you selling their service to a customer. You might as well just be patient and connect. Seeing people getting 65k-85k as a bump from 55k was frustrating while I watched it happen to the job hopping people I worked with but now I make 150k. To each their own.
post 10000185316 05-25-2026, 01:43 PM
-
#25
  1. Sui_Generis
  1. Sui_Generis
  2. Join Date: May, 2026
  3. Posts: 5
  4. Rep Power: 0
the job hopping does not make sense. why would another company pay you much more for the same job?
post 10000185376 05-25-2026, 02:12 PM
-
#26
  1. SuperHercules
  1. SuperHercules
  2. Join Date: Jun 2014
  3. Height: 6'5"
  4. Posts: 31,171
  5. Subscribers: 3
  6. Rep Power: 542187
76% total inflation of prices according to AI from 2004-2026, which would make his salary of 58k = 102k by now if it was just pegged to inflation

That means his purchasing power increase was only 15% after more than two decades of slaving away. Not really what one probably hopes for, but at least he didn't lose purchasing power like many low pier poverty slaves
Neg incels
post 10000185392 05-25-2026, 02:24 PM
-
#27
  1. imbored
  2. sikkunt
  1. imbored
  2. sikkunt
  3. Join Date: Feb, 2026
  4. Posts: 343
  5. Rep Power: 0
Originally Posted By Godfrd824
90th percentile salary for a senior mechanical engineer is about $160k. So did he lose some money, sure. But not all that much. If he were the top 10% of mechanical engineers, they'd be trying to poach him.
"Senior" means 3-5 years of experience. He has 23 years lol. He should be making at least 200k if he tried even a little. Pretty sure this is just ragebait though.
post 10000185457 05-25-2026, 02:52 PM
-
#28
  1. BigElephant
  1. BigElephant
  2. Join Date: Nov 2012
  3. Posts: 13,696
  4. Rep Power: 69985
Post deleted by user
post 10000185474 05-25-2026, 03:01 PM
-
#29
  1. MikeLowrrrey
  1. MikeLowrrrey
  2. Join Date: Jul 2018
  3. Age: 56
  4. Posts: 34,873
  5. Rep Power: 116767
Originally Posted By notbadnotbrad
Claude prompt: can you show this persons real wages based on us cpi





A mechanical engineer spent 23 years at the same company, watched their nominal salary double from $58K to $117K, and ended up with basically nothing to show for it in real terms. Adjusted for inflation, their 2026 purchasing power is roughly what a $99K salary bought in 2004 — a real gain of under 20% across two decades of loyalty, or less than 1% per year.

The post-2021 inflation spike was the final gut punch: every raise since then has been a pay cut in disguise, with real wages falling from a peak of ~$133K (in today’s dollars) down to ~$117K. The market didn’t reward tenure — it taxed it.
Does this account for 50 hour weeks? If not he's actually making 25% less than what he should be making
post 10000185497 05-25-2026, 03:12 PM
-
#30
  1. notbadnotbrad
  1. notbadnotbrad
  2. Join Date: Jul 2012
  3. Posts: 39,112
  4. Rep Power: 330976
Originally Posted By MikeLowrrrey
Does this account for 50 hour weeks? If not he's actually making 25% less than what he should be making
All the robot did was take your original chart and add a column for his real wages and yoy change based on US inflation data.

It’s based on the hours worked in the original chart.
Quick Navigation Top Misc
Bookmarks
Digg.com
Digg
del.icio.us
del.icio.us
Stumbleupon.com
StumbleUpon
Google.com
Google
Facebook.com
Facebook
Posting Permissions
  1. You may not post new threads
  2. You may not post replies
  3. You may not post attachments
  4. You may not edit your posts