7–8 Years Experience, currently PM Role, 8.5 LPA – Stuck, Underpaid, and Unsure Whether to Confront or Exit
Hi everyone, I need honest advice.
I have around 7–8 years of experience and currently work as a Project Manager. On paper, it sounds stable. In reality, it feels stagnant. My current CTC is 8.5 LPA, which is significantly below market standards for someone with my experience. The reason? Minimal increments over the years and repeated assurances of “promotion in the next cycle.” Those cycles came and went. When I joined this organization, I was unemployed at the time and accepted a 25% hike just to secure stability. It wasn’t ideal, but I didn’t have leverage. Now I realize that decision locked me into a low baseline.
Beyond compensation, there’s another issue: The role itself has become extremely operational like reporting, follow-ups, status updates. Very little strategic ownership. No real problem-solving depth. The bigger frustration is this: I have strong interest in technical work. I can code, build solutions with AI tools, and genuinely enjoy hands-on development. But here, I’m stuck doing repetitive management coordination. It feels like I’m underutilizing my capabilities and wasting potential.
I’m considering speaking to my manager about correcting the pay gap since it’s substantially below market. But I’m unsure: If they deny correction, should I resign without another offer? Is it smarter to quietly prepare and switch? Should I pivot partially into technical roles instead of pure PM roles? How risky is resigning with a 90-day notice and no offer? Emotionally, it feels draining to continue like this. But practically, resigning without backup seems reckless.
One interview, 1000+ job opportunities
Take a 10-min AI interview to qualify for numerous real jobs auto-matched to your profile 🔑
Jump.
If they haven't respected you till now, they're not going to suddenly be generous on request.
Get a decent offer. Don't expect 100% hike within 1 jump.
Since you like building, build something that can be demonstrably useful, so you can add it to your resume and apply for tech program manager roles.
Wish you the best.
You should consider trying for a switch. With your experience, you can likely secure a good salary hike.
Whether you should resign without having another offer in hand depends entirely on your personal situation: your financial responsibilities, emergency savings, and overall risk appetite. I’m not fully aware of those factors.
That said, even if you decide to resign, you would typically have a 90-day notice period to find a new role. Given your experience, I believe you should be able to secure a job within that timeframe.