NYC accountant "snaps" at venture company offering $70k-100k for senior accountant role: 'Why would someone... making much more decide to join their company?'

Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor

Jan 11, 2026 11:00 AM EST

To the accountant who told a company exactly what they thought about their hiring practices, you're the hero we need right now!

I don't need to tell you that the job market is crazy right now — we all feel it, from those doing the hiring to those desperately trying to get hired. It's enough to make you long for years you never even lived through, the times when you could easily get a steady job that would pay well and provide for you for a lifetime. People used to have pensions! People used to raise 6 kids on a single income and still have enough money to go on vacations every year.

These days, you can have a good-paying job and still be in debt and eating ramen noodles every day because the cost of living has increased so much faster than the rate of actual salaries. Our grocery bill gets higher and higher and higher, but the salaries we're paid stay more or less the same. It leads to this feeling of helplessness — that there's nothing we can do to win in a system that seems designed for only the wealthiest of the wealthy to have a good life.

However, I do think there are some small ways we can push back against this system. This person here has the right idea. When they saw a job offering with a salary that was ridiculously low, they gave the company a piece of their mind, as you can read about below. Maybe you're thinking, "Okay, but one person's complaint isn't going to change everything!" Hmm… maybe… maybe not. If you're a professional in your field and you inform a company that they're not paying nearly enough to attract good candidates, they might snap to attention. Out of an avalanche of job apps, they get a strongly worded message, and that might startle them into having a meeting or 2 about priorities. If the priority is to have any warm body fill the role, than they're paying the right amount. But if they want good candidates who stick around, they're going to need that reality check in order to set change into motion. This person sort of inadvertently became a consultant for the day — if only they got paid for their savvy advice!

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'Salaries are in the toilet. I finally snapped & told a company they were being ridiculous'

via Karolina Grabowska For Unsplash+

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via Karolina Grabowska For Unsplash+

_{The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.}