Asking about money appears to be a generation gap hot button

Neither the size nor financial condition of a company is necessarily reflective of how good their offers are.

My last job at an F50 company was an awful permatemp h#llhole. They bought state of the art analytical equipment for $250k a pop, maintained expensive contracts for them, then let them sit unused after one 6 month project. The chemists operating the equipment and developing the methods didn't even have health insurance. I have never been so disengaged in my life while I was there.

My current job at a smaller company I have a lot of decades old instruments that I maintain myself. You'd think this is a podunk company but they do great and treat their workers well. I am painfully aware that if I ever tried to switch jobs I'd be looking at at at least 30% paycut probably more and inferior benefits.

That is one reason I don't even bother looking. I don't want to risk it. There are a lot of crapo companies out there in this profession. Instead I save and invest a large portion of my income so I can either retire early or retrain out of the profession entirely rather than play with low ballers and staffing agencies ever again.

Steven, you would probably enjoy your job more if you were in an environment with newer equipment and better technology. It's effort to find another job, but from the complaining you do, you seem like the perfect candidate to go after a new post. And, no one here (or anywhere else) advises you have to seek out staffing agencies. I would just politely decline their calls and do the search myself if I were in your shoes. We spend so much time on the job that someone who is unhappy at work is really in an unhealthy situation. Think of your health and happiness as one really good reason to find a better environment

Dave

For a Person in academia looking to Transition out, seriosly don't bother with all this talk about company's financial spread sheet etc. etc. ist about getting a Job and getting experience. Worry about where your compensation falls on the distrubition curve later - and understand that later on, other trade-offs become relvant.

DX