When to stay, or leave a job as an Engineering Manager

Why I walked away from £200K and why you should think twice before saying Yes.

I was unhappy at work. Not because of my team. Not because of my salary. Those were great. But the work? It wasn’t what I wanted to do.

I had spoken to my manager about it, and while we were working on a change, it was slow. After some time I lost trust. So I did what many people do in that situation: I started interviewing.

One company approached me and after weeks of interviews, seven rounds, to be exact, I got an offer. And not just any offer: a £200K comp package. Almost double what I was making at the time.

You probably know the company. The team was building exciting tech and the role had interesting challenges.

On the surface, it seemed like everything I was looking for.

But there was a catch: the company’s core business was gambling.

I took my time. I thought about it. The pay was fantastic. The day-to-day work seemed engaging. But when I thought about the bigger picture, I knew I couldn't take the job.

So I did something that, on paper, made no sense: I rejected the offer.

And I’m gl…