Should You Take the Job, the Raise, or the Equity?

How to value a job offer (it's not just base salary)

Compare offers on total compensation: base + bonus + equity (vested expected value, not paper value) + 401(k) match + health insurance premium difference + commute cost + tax difference if relocating. A $180K offer in Austin can beat a $220K offer in San Francisco after taxes and cost of living.

Don't forget non-monetary leverage: a role that builds rare skills or opens future opportunities can be worth $500K+ over a career.

Equity compensation: RSUs, options, and the 'paper millionaire' trap

RSUs are taxed as ordinary income at vest — treat them like a cash bonus you're forced to invest in one stock. Best practice: sell on vest and diversify unless you have a clear thesis for holding company stock.

Stock options need a strike price below current value AND a liquidity event to be worth anything. Pre-IPO options are lottery tickets — fine in moderation, dangerous as a retirement plan.

When to switch jobs vs negotiate internally

The market rewards switching: 10–20% bumps are typical vs 3–4% internal raises. But every switch resets vesting clocks, may forfeit unvested equity, and carries cultural risk. Switch when your comp is 15%+ below market or your growth has stalled — otherwise negotiate hard.

How PeakWorth models a career move

PeakWorth models each offer as a scenario — base, bonus, vested-equity expected value, 401(k) match, and the tax + cost-of-living difference if you relocate — and runs it through a year-by-year deterministic simulation to age 95 with federal + state taxes and realistic returns.

Each path reports your PeakWorth (highest projected lifetime net worth) and FI Age (the year your portfolio reaches ~25× the expenses it must cover after Social Security — roughly 20× your total annual expenses), so a $220K San Francisco offer and a $180K Austin offer get compared on the number that matters — years of freedom — not just the headline salary.