as an underpaid sw eng aged 35, working since age 16, with a stable job, what should i do?

Sonar Pro

Vote: switch jobs

The user's situation—underpaid software engineer with 19 years of experience (age 35, working since 16) and a stable job—perfectly aligns with expert advice across sources: job switching is the most reliable, low-risk path to higher pay[1][2][3]. Sources emphasize that having a current job strengthens your BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement), making you non-desperate and in-demand when applying elsewhere, often yielding 50-100% salary jumps by targeting product-based companies[1][3]. Videos highlight switching every 3 years as a 'sweet spot' to avoid stagnation and underpayment, with real examples of doubling salary via targeted applications[3]. **Option A (stay) ignores the core issue**: Underpayment persists without action; negotiation alone rarely matches market rates from switches, and sources note many devs undervalue themselves internally[2][4]. Stability is valuable but not worth chronic low pay. **Option C (start company) is high-risk**: No search results endorse entrepreneurship for this profile; it demands capital, market fit, and tolerance for failure, unsuitable for someone valuing stability over speculation. Switching leverages experience for immediate gains with minimal downside (keep stable job while applying), directly addressing underpayment per all sources[1][2][3][4].

Grok 4.1 Fast

Vote: switch jobs

With 19 years of experience as a software engineer, you're highly marketable in tech. Switching jobs is the proven path to significant salary increases—often 20-50% or more—without the extreme risks of entrepreneurship. Your stable job provides a safety net to job hunt discreetly, negotiate from strength, and avoid gaps in income. Markets fluctuate, but experienced engineers remain in demand. Staying perpetuates underpayment and resentment. Starting a company at 35 demands capital, a validated idea, and tolerance for likely failure (90%+ startups fail), which isn't ideal without more details on savings or product-market fit. B maximizes upside with minimal downside: better pay, new challenges, and retained stability.

GPT-5.4

Vote: switch jobs

You have the strongest leverage right now to switch jobs. At 35, with nearly two decades of work history and a stable current role, you are in a good position to market yourself as experienced, reliable, and low-risk. If you are underpaid, external moves usually produce much bigger compensation increases than staying and asking internally. Option A only makes sense if the job offers unusual upside: exceptional learning, great leadership, equity with real value, or lifestyle flexibility you cannot easily replace. Otherwise, staying tends to lock in the underpayment. Option C is higher risk. Starting a company can be rewarding, but being underpaid is not, by itself, a reason to become a founder. Founding works best when you have strong savings, a clear problem to solve, and real appetite for uncertainty. Best practical move: keep the stable job for now, quietly interview, benchmark your market value, and switch for materially better pay and growth. That gives you upside without unnecessary financial risk.

Kimi K2.5

Vote: switch jobs

You've accumulated 19 years of experience but are being underpaid—a mismatch that external hiring markets fix fastest. Switching jobs typically yields 15-30% salary increases, immediately correcting years of suppressed wages without sacrificing your current stability. Staying perpetuates the undervaluation; internal raises rarely close market-rate gaps, especially after prolonged underpayment. Starting a company is capital-intensive and high-risk, particularly when underpayment has likely limited your financial cushion. Leverage your track record and stable employment now to negotiate from a position of strength, secure fair compensation, and build the safety net needed before any future entrepreneurial leap.

Claude Opus 4.6

Vote: switch jobs

At 35 with 19 years of work experience (and likely 10+ years in software engineering), you are in the prime of your career and highly marketable. Being underpaid means your current employer is not valuing your contributions appropriately, and staying would only compound that loss over time — every year of being underpaid is money you never get back, and it drags down future offers if you stay too long. Switching jobs is statistically the most reliable way for software engineers to get significant salary increases — often 20-40% or more. The tech job market rewards mobility, and with your depth of experience, you're likely to command a much higher salary elsewhere. You already know you're underpaid, so the upside is clear and substantial. Staying (Option A) is the worst choice here. You've explicitly identified yourself as underpaid, and stability alone doesn't pay the bills or build wealth. Loyalty to an employer that underpays you is misplaced — they've already shown they don't prioritize your compensation. Starting your own company (Option C) is high-risk. At 35 with presumably financial obligations, jumping straight to entrepreneurship without first securing a better-paying position is unnecessarily risky. You can always start a company later from a position of financial strength. Get paid what you're worth first. The pragmatic, highest-expected-value move is to switch jobs. It's lower risk than starting a company, dramatically higher reward than staying, and leverages your extensive experience in the most efficient way possible.

Gemini 3.1 Pro

Vote: switch jobs

At 35, you are in your prime earning years. Since you already recognize you are underpaid, the most reliable and statistically proven way to correct your compensation in the tech industry is to switch jobs. Companies rarely offer internal raises that match external market offers, effectively penalizing your loyalty. You have been working since age 16, demonstrating incredible work ethic and reliability. Coupled with your experience as a software engineer, you are an incredibly attractive candidate. You should be leveraging this extensive history to secure your true market value. Switching jobs offers the absolute best risk-to-reward ratio. Unlike starting your own company (Option C), which introduces immense financial risk and potential loss of income, switching jobs allows you to maintain career stability. You can safely interview for new roles while keeping your current stable job as a safety net, resigning only when you have a much stronger, fairer offer in hand.

Final Summary

The AI Roundtable reached an immediate and unanimous consensus: the user must leverage their 19 years of experience to find a new employer. While the user valued 'stability,' the models collectively viewed their current situation as a trap where loyalty has become a financial tax, with Claude Opus 4.6 and Gemini 3.1 Pro noting that being underpaid at 35 is a permanent loss of wealth that internal raises will never rectify.

All 6 models agreed on "switch jobs" after discussion

Strongest Arguments

• switch jobs: With 19 years of experience, you are in your prime earning years and possess the ultimate leverage (a stable job) to negotiate from a position of strength; every year you remain underpaid is capital you can never recover, and external markets are the only reliable mechanism to force a salary correction of 20-50%.