‘I actually got to see a "shocked Pikachu" face’: Employee expected to get a $20k raise is actually offered $6k and told to “just quit” if he's unhappy, so he does and finds a higher paying job

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Aug 26, 2025 4:00 PM EDT

Working hard and doing your best is great advice to be successful in your care path. However, sometimes you have to do something risky in order to grow. Like this employee. He had been working long and tirelessly at his job. He was told if he were to get a certain promotion, he would be making $20k more than his original. So he worked hard, even took extra classes online in order to qualify for the position. And yet, when he was offered the promotion, they only told him he would get a $6k raise. Infuriated, he expressed his disappointment to his boss. And guess what he said? He told the employee that if he didn't like it, he should just quit. 

 

Well, that employee took that advice to heart and started applying to new jobs. He thought it would take months, maybe even a year. But within just a few weeks, he was already offered a new and higher paying position. So, he quit. His risk here was applying to new jobs while still employed, which can definitely get someone fired. But he didn't care, that boss basically told him to do just that and his boss' faces was in complete shock when he turned in his two weeks notice. 

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  • Cheezburger Image 10546567936
    via Unsplash+ (and Lala Azizli)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • "If you want more money, leave"

    Being a bit vague on purpose. Retelling the story with permission in the first person.
    via WBRobot
  • *** Edited with the corrected degree required, as many pointed out. Personally, I never graduated college, so I will mix up Bachelor's and Master's, as I have no personal frame of reference.
    via WBRobot
  • A few years ago I started a new position. The manager encouraged me to get my licensure and they'd promote you to assistant manager, but had proven myself over the years and had earned the title assistant to the manager and had the office running smoothly.
    via WBRobot
  • Here's the thing, licensure requires a bachelor's degree. So I went back to online community college to finish my associate's degree, then online college to obtain my bachelor's degree.
    via WBRobot
  • I'll be graduating later this year, and will have all other prerequisites to take the state exam in December.
    via WBRobot
  • Early spring, my manager started to show the seeds of doubt that assistant manager was not going to be available with the current ownership, as the new owners don't believe the company is big enough to require assistant managers.
    via WBRobot
  • So, instead of the $20k+ raise with increase in title and responsibilities, I was told a $6k raise should occur, as generally the company pays more for employees in other departments that have completed higher education.
    via WBRobot
  • Then it became without a title change, there can be no increase in pay. Then the fateful phrase "if you want more money, you'll have to leave." OK, boss.
    via WBRobot
  • Aside from a general disdain for being lied to, I incurred some minor student loans to fund my bachelor's, and some additional money is needed in order to start paying it back after graduation.
    via WBRobot
  • Cheezburger Image 10546582784
    via Unsplash+ (and Andrej Lišakov)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • I gave my resume to a colleague in the field and asked them to keep me in mind if they hear of any openings, expecting to hear something late this year or early next.
    via WBRobot
  • However, in early June, just a couple weeks after reaching out to my colleague, I'm getting interviews for a new job that I never applied to.
    via WBRobot
  • A couple weeks after that have, I accepted a job offer that was more than the $6k raise.
    via WBRobot
  • I actually got to see a "shocked Pikachu" face in person when I told the manager I was leaving.
    via WBRobot
  • They never saw it coming. I was gracious with a longer than industry standard leave notice.
    via WBRobot
  • Although the new job is a bit more of a commute, I am much happier in the new company.
    via WBRobot
  • I've heard through the grapevine is my replacement is still struggling with even the basics of my old job.
    via WBRobot

  • As you can see, sometimes a risk is worth…. well, the risk! You might be doing something scary and anxiety-inducing, but if your intentions are good, you'll pull through! 

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