You’ll often hear the advice that switching companies is the best way to get a substantial raise. Many companies generally dole out flat annual cost-of-living increases or small merit bonuses, rarely offering the bigger increases that many of us want, sending us searching for greener pastures.
Today’s Work History shows the benefits—and potential drawbacks—of jumping ship for a hefty raise. While a pay bump is attractive, there are other parts of the job that are just as important, including benefits, management, and growth potential.
We have a very impressive entry from a 33-year-old creative director who has made some smart moves over the years to not only grow her salary from $40,000 per year to $210,000, but ensure she’s getting the kind of work and campaigns that keep life interesting.
If you’d like to submit your own Work History, you can do so here!
The responses below have been lightly edited and condensed.
Age: 33
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Relationship status: Single dog mom
Job title and industry: Creative director at an advertising agency
Career length: 12 years
First salary: $40,000 in 2014
Current salary: $210,000
Biggest salary drop? Biggest salary jump?
I have not had a significant drop yet (fingers crossed that continues!), but to get a significant salary bump in advertising, you have to jump agencies. It's normal to move about every three years. One jump took me from $96,000 to $140,000, and my most recent took me from $160,000 to $200,000. The first included a title bump and the latter was a lateral move.
What’s the most interesting part of your career history?
I think switching “industries”—i.e. clients—is the most difficult thing to do. Speak to anyone who’s gotten stuck in health care or pharmaceutical advertising!
I made the move out of the automotive industry when I moved to New York City from Detroit. I took a kind of weird client—it would’ve been very difficult to go straight to something equally as “cool,” because I didn’t have the experience to back it up. I got very, very lucky, as changing industries is normally quite hard to do, and I always wanted to end up in NYC. In our work, the shoots and the celebs are cool, definitely, but it’s the day-to-day and what you get to work on that makes any career interesting.
Best salary-related advice you’ve ever received?
Be very wary of accepting a job for only a $10,000 to $20,000 pay bump. That’s saying a lot for those making under six figures, I know, but that number after taxes can easily be nonexistent depending on your employment circumstances. Consider healthcare subsidies, 401(k) matches, the number of days you have to be in office and any associated child or pet care, amount of travel expected, etc. Would you start a completely new job if that bump ends up only netting a couple thousand more over a year? Something to think about.
Biggest salary or pay-related regret?
Taking my first big salary bump ended up being a nightmare. I had to fight tooth and nail for interesting work, and if I hadn’t, I would probably have been stuck with a boring portfolio (or even nothing to show), which in my industry is the only way you get your NEXT job.
I see so many people who are talented and just being ground into the dust. While that job allowed me to move out of my apartment with three roommates and gain a sense of sanity, I got very, very lucky that that decision didn’t completely derail my career. I should’ve listened to my gut and paid attention to the many red flags that popped up during the interview process.
With hindsight, is there anything you would have done differently at any stage in your career/salary journey if you could go back in time?
I detail this below, but taking my first big pay bump and title ended up being a potentially catastrophic move. Listen to your gut and to red flags during the interview process.
Are you happy with your current salary?
I am incredibly happy with my current salary, and I say a small “thank you” to the universe every single day for my job and what I make. It’s allowed me to be more generous with my friends and family, live on my own in an expensive city, and take care of a dog solo. Looking back on my career, I’ve worked very hard, but it would be irresponsible not to admit that so much of what got me here today was just luck. I don’t take any of that for granted and hope I never do.
Anything else you’d like to expand on from your submission?
It’s much easier to say from the other side, but having managed both really stellar workers who go above and beyond AND people who do the bare minimum, I can say that the harder worker is going to get the raise and the promotion. At most workplaces, at review time, it’s a pool of finite money that’s doled out based on who’s worked hardest for it. If you know you are going above and beyond and not getting that recognition, it’s probably time to find another place that will do so!
Related: Start looking for your next job when you’re starting to feel ready for a change and way before you are miserable. Job hunting when you’re miserable is the worst.
Any time the offer comes in, don’t be scared to ask for $10,000 to $20,000 more. As a hiring manager, when folks ask for more money, my response has never been to go, “Oh, screw this person.” I go back to recruitment and see if there’s any more money. I like them. I want to hire them. Most people get something unless you’re already at the top of the salary band.
Work History
1st job: Art director
Starting salary: $40,000
Departing salary: $68,000
Years: 2014 to 2019
Normally in the advertising industry, the lowest rung for a creative is a “junior” (i.e. junior art director). I was hired as an art director, which was a quirk of the company and a result of being located in a smaller market. This was in 2014; they offered me a $40,000 salary and benefits, which I took immediately because that seemed like an insane amount of money to offer a baby.
I started out working in social media advertising, and I have basically never left! At my first job, it was much scrappier than it is today because clients “cared” a lot less, and it was kind of the wild west. I was posting on Vine! I traveled across the country for a big car brand taking pictures and video, editing videos, doing graphic design, pitching concepts, etc.
At the time, this brand had me, a copywriter, and some help from an associate creative director and creative director. I am sure the team behind this brand now is upwards of six to eight full-time people. The travel, independence, and opportunities I got there far outweighed the salary I was paid.
I worked there for almost five years, and because the company was under one of the big holding companies, I never had to ask for a raise. I got one at my performance review basically every year. I will always be grateful for companies that have these systems in place so you’re not arguing with your boss for more money all the time. For the record, sadly, I don’t think the big holding companies are like that anymore.
2nd job: Senior art director
Starting salary: $90,000
Departing salary: $96,000
Years: 2019 to 2020
Working under a large holding company does have its benefits, and when we lost a huge account, there was an opportunity for folks who wanted to relocate to take jobs in the New York office. I don’t know if anyone else ever tried to do this or was interested, but I ended up being the only person who went, and the opening for me was technically a promotion.
I asked for help relocating, and they gave me a $7,000 stipend. That’s where I learned about how bonuses get taxed! It was a pitiful amount of money to move across the country, but I used every cent. I packed up a U-Haul with my dad and paid movers only to help get stuff from the U-Haul into my Brooklyn apartment.
At this job, I learned how to manage more junior employees and coach other people; I also acted as a real creative leader to put together and present cohesive, polished work. We worked mainly on a tricky government client with lots of legal regulation as well as mind-numbingly boring work from random internal stakeholders. That first year, I got a raise to $96,000. Shout out to my boss—we’ll call him Shawn—for being the best boss I’ve ever had, and for consistently advocating for me and my team.
3rd job: Senior art director
Starting salary: $96,000
Departing salary: $96,000
Years: 2020 to 2021
This is a weird one. When the pandemic hit, advertising went into a bit of a free fall. So much of what we did relied on in-person work, like shooting, working on pitches during late nights, going to editing houses, etc. All of that had to change overnight, and a lot of complications popped up.
Because we had just one big account, in mid-2020 the higher-ups at our holding company decided we should be absorbed into a larger advertising company to cut down on complicated COVID stuff. I’ll call this company Jumble of Letters. I was still a senior art director, but the move ended up being a real bit of luck for me. This larger company introduced me to 360 campaigns, lots of really brilliant creative leadership, and the opportunity to work on more expansive things. I wrote a TV spot and went through consumer testing for the first time!
4th job: Senior art director to creative director
Starting salary: $140,000 (plus $10,000 signing bonus)
Departing salary: $160,000
Years: 2021 to 2024
By late 2021, I’d been a senior art director for a few years and wasn’t being paired up with a copywriting partner at Jumble of Letters. It just didn’t feel like they were investing in me the way I wanted to be invested in, and if I was going to be relied on to work independently, I wanted to become an associate creative director.
Another company we’ll call Big Country slid into my DMs about just that kind of opportunity and offered me $140,000 plus a signing bonus of $10,000 (before taxes) if I stayed for a year. I actually only got that bonus when my wonderful boss, Shawn, encouraged me to poke around and see if they could sweeten the deal. This was one of the true make-or-break moments of my career.
I took the job even though I felt a bit uneasy about some of the details concerning what I would actually do for my clients, and, unfortunately, I ended up being right. The job was nothing like I had been sold, which explains why they were trying to get me through the door by throwing money at me.
If I wasn’t such a Type A, overbearing person, this job could have turned into a dead end for me. But I fought my way onto projects outside of my direct team and always pushed for better assignments—enough to cobble together sufficient work for my portfolio over the course of a few years to make my time worth it.
I was promoted to creative director at this job, which is the only real thing I wanted to stay for, at $160,000 during the summer of 2024.
5th job: Creative director
Starting salary: $200,000 (plus $20,000 annual bonus)
Current salary: $210,000
Years: 2024 to now
When a recruiter slid into my DMs from my current company, I had been applying to creative director jobs for about a month, and it came as a huge relief—but I wasn’t going to “get got” again by a company offering a big paycheck. Everyone I chatted with was happy to work there, it didn’t feel like anyone was lying to me about the work, and it felt like the company was growing and had a bright future ahead. And as a plus, it was an independent agency, so I wouldn’t be subject to the whims of a large holding company anymore.
I took the job and started in December 2024 for $200,000. There have been a lot of company ups and downs since then that I won’t get into, but they’ve taken care of me, and I’ve worked incredibly hard. Because it’s an independent agency, there’s always been profit-sharing in place. We had a great year in 2025 and I got a $20,000 bonus (before taxes) in early 2026, as well as a pay raise to $210,000.
Thank you so much! Please comment with kindness!
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Alicia Adamczyk
