Because of high gas price, the government decided to lower our tax.
For me it translates to additional EUR 11/month ☹.
This is after deductions of thousands of euros each months (tax and social contribution) from my hard-earned salary. How come nobody is complaining about this?

During my yearly review, I told my manager that I expect to see significant salary increase next year (the inflation is 9% duh!).
She told me that I can expect to get 20% increase after 3-4 years. ☹
Now I know why a lot of people are leaving. How can you expect your employer to stay put if you're constantly paying them under market rate?! I have to keep switching jobs every 4-5 years to get a decent pay, right? Yet society expect me to settle down and have a stable job.

And then, how come a PM earn significantly more than a regular dev? Even the job interview is much easier. But I like the technical part too much to switch to people management.

By no means, I am starving right now working as a dev. I am happy that I even have a job, but somehow I felt like what I do is pointless just being a wage slave, and felt demotivated in a lot of ways.

P.S.: I am writing this now in front of my work computer. I have to catch up some work to do otherwise I won't have time to do it during the weekdays 😔
Pray for me guys I can get better job within next year.

This is a tough discussion topic.

Because yes a lot of taxes are wasted - on the other hand private control over certain areas should never happen, they should be in government hand.

Corruption and lobbyism is deeply rooted in any government, however even the simplest things like access to clean water require money.

Inflation might be high - but for most European countries this was a self made bubble. Most ruling parties *chose* it to happen, as most people chose to be happily content with it.

Many many many of the problems we're facing now started somewhere between 50 - 70 years ago.

... Could have been changed any time in the last 50 - 70 years, but why bother?

"Decent pay".

Would be interested what *that* is.

I'm trying hard to give a shred of doubt, but unless you're living in poverty, decent pay will always sound like "meh, I need more more more".

That's where the point comes back to being a PM and why it is higher paid.

I can wholeheartedly say that I'd like to chop of most of the PMs heads I know. Just to make out of their skulls a urinal collection so I can take a piss on their fucking skulls every day.

Maybe even a full toilet, shitting on them is what would be really enjoyable.

I'm a PM too, yes. But I think I've left at least a bit of human empathy in me left - while most PMs I know lack the entire definition of empathy, ethics and moral.

... Which - doing this Job for nearly 10 years, I can understand.

We're basically the punching bag of devs vs upper management aka "the militia with pitch forks and torches" vs "the predators with plasma rifles". Cause upper management are predators.

Most reason upper management leaves: They're **forced** to leave. By some conspiracy, union of unlikely partners, ... . Not because someone sued them.

Thus upper management makes every now and then a dick move to make sure the punching bags stay in line.

So we basically get more money so we shut up, get fucked by everyone while not asking questions. :)

The thing you can do: Make the most of the money by spending it.

You could save it up for your retirement....

But I'm realistic.

I've had more than one death moment.

I know that life ain't fair.

For me it's evident that saving money is like keeping all the trinkets in an RPG to save them later for the end boss...

And after the end boss you have like a gazillion of shit stuff you never used, but your overall experience till the end was an unpleasant one - because you made the game far harder than it needed to be.

Just make sure you don't spend on unnecessary things

If stuff doesn't make you happy, don't buy it

You don't need a luxus limousine, you need a car - as one example. ;)

Would anyone want to be a PM if it didn't pay more?

Biggest thing is not to stay stagnant. Your job has said what they expect to do for you, they have played their hand. You don’t have to accept that. It sounds like you are already on it.

Sadly, from my experience the inflation argument doesn't works in a negotiation. I cannot imagine salaries from 2021 being raised 9% across the board.

I've entered interviews with the mindset that I'd need 2% (standard inflation rate at the time) to break even and then a raise on top of that and was met with manager saying "Look, I was given a budget of 2% for the team, you'll get 4% which is one of the highest raises" 😑 felt like it was a lie but there was no argument to be made other than pretending to quit

@jiraTicket and they said that to everyone in the team, maybe with different numbers

@electrineer Yep, probably. Felt like a lie but it was hard to argue against without threatening to leave.

@jiraTicket could've asked around if anyone else got the same numbers