What Is a Good Salary After 5 Years of Experience?

You may be:

• Leading projects
• Managing people
• Owning revenue
• Managing customers
• Building products
• Making technical decisions
• Managing budgets
• Owning business outcomes

That change should eventually be reflected in compensation.

Is your salary good after five years?

Don't judge it by experience alone. Compare compensation against responsibility. Someone with five years of experience doing highly specialised work may have a completely different salary from someone doing entry-level responsibilities.

The five-year benchmark

Skills

Do I have skills that are difficult to replace?

Ownership

Do I own outcomes rather than just tasks?

Impact

Can I demonstrate measurable business results?

Scope

Has my responsibility increased?

Market value

Would another company pay significantly more for my skills?

When should you consider switching?

If you have:

• Repeatedly taken on more responsibility
• Consistently strong performance
• Little salary growth
• Limited promotion opportunity
• Stagnant learning
• No clear career path

then it may be worth testing the market. However, don't switch solely for a percentage hike if the new role significantly reduces learning, stability or future opportunity.