Keeping up with the Jones when it comes not to lifestyle, but professional achievements?
So this is my problem. I have the ugliest (but most reliable) Kia in the world. My home is less than one year of my current salary and it's perfect. Apart from Doordashing too often, I'm pretty happy with my level of frugality, and I feel almost no pressure to show off that way.
Admittedly though, when it comes to professional achievements, it's not the same thing at all. Right now, I have a truly unicorn job. A fully remote $400k per year job that I work from an inexpensive secondary city, that I don't particularly love, but has a lot of family close by, which is great for the kids. The remote part is especially lovely since I have a baby, and I love working east coast hours but living further west so I'm done with work most days at 3. Boss is great. Autonomy high. Job a little boring/unfulfilling at this point and there's a chance I'd be let go in 3 or so years when boss leaves, but that's about where I'd FIRE on the current path.
There's only one position higher than mine, and I've been offered it a few times. Total comp is about $150k more, but actually, wouldn't be at all, since it'd require me moving back to NYC and best case, working a hybrid schedule.
It's a really impressive sounding job though. And I do feel this pressure to post it on LinkedIn, as a kind of "See, I did do okay, after all" Not sure if this is because my first corporate job was such a bust and I performed poorly and was let go. Took me years after to feel competent again. Also, most of my network is pretty high achieving, so it's totally that comparative pressure that's similar to the reason lots of people are so imprudently acquisitive.
Anyway, I know it's stupid and that I should stay put. But that knowledge isn't stopping me from being really tempted to move anyway and update the LinkedIn. Anyone else struggle with this? What helps?
Posted Jun 15, 2026, 1:01 PM UTC · locked