came across this idea recently, that over a 5-year window, your increment rate matters more than your starting salary. which sounds counterintuitive because early career advice is always about “get the highest offer possible”.
but if your growth rate is higher, you can technically catch up (or even surpass) someone who started higher
so now I’m wondering, for people 5+ years into their career, how much does your starting salary actually matter today? did it compound in a meaningful way, or did your trajectory matter more than the starting point?