I've been working for my employer since I dropped out of college and told myself it was just a temporary job until I figured out what I actually wanted to major in. That was 8.5 years ago.

In the 8.5 years I've dedicated to my employer and honing my skill set, I've worked in multiple departments and even was in management at one point for awhile. I've always been the person that looks for a challenge. I took on any additional training offered to learn processes, how to work on experimental vehicles, and learn new skills that would benefit and fit my employers needs. Always was the go to person who would do overtime, or be able to drop everything and go out of town within a day. However my pay never really reflected the effort I put forth.

After three years I was maxed out in terms of benefits, and every year for the past five years I have had no substantial raises. I was content with this for the longest time... Until recently. A new coworker point blank asked me:

"Why do you still work here? You are extremely knowledgeable and you are the backbone of the whole shop."

I never even thought of why I was still here, barely at the starting wage for the job I clawed my way to. I did my job damn better than people with 20 years of experience on the same floor making double what I make. I know they had the experience and were justified in their compensation, but why was I only worth 50% of their worth when I had triple the output. Five weeks ago I contacted the owners of our shop and requested a meeting. Those five weeks the owners have been in the building and have acknowledged that they know I wanted to talk with them but "they don't have time to sit down and talk."

In those five weeks I decided to look and see what was available in my field. Within a day I had interviews set up and secured a new position within a week. A new position with our direct competitor who knew of me specifically. They offered me a 30% pay increase and the benefits package is something I dreamed of ever since I topped out at my employer.

Today, after getting my official offer and start date, I turned in my resignation and was immediately called into a meeting with the owners. They immediately tried to match the offer. I asked them "if you could have been paying me this the whole time, why weren't you?"

They didn't have a response. Nothing but silence. I stood up and said thank you for the opportunity you gave me, but I'm still leaving, and walked out the door.

So infuriating and liberating at the same time.

Edit: Wow, I did not expect the overflowing support or people enjoying my experience. I thought maybe a few people would get a kick out of the "mic drop" and I needed a space to vent.

Thank you all for the well wishes on my next endeavor. Also thank you to the kind strangers that have given me my first silver and helpful awards.

I was and still am fearful of a change, but it's time for me to take a chance and make a change for the better. I truly hope that if any one of you are in a similar position I was in, you take inspiration from my post and discover what you are actually worth.