Slightly lower pay for rewarding job?
I am an engineer in a kind of niche field. I have been in my role for 3 years (with 8 years total experience in my field), and am feeling like I’m at a dead end. I have no path to promotion to a senior role, and this has been openly communicated to me.
My previous manager, who I LOVED working for, left the company a while ago and at their new job has a posting for the perfect senior position. I want to apply because I know it would be incredibly rewarding. The only problem is that the posted base pay is a little lower than I would like. It is $5k less than my current pay + bonus, and does not mention anything about a bonus.
Should I apply and interview, knowing that it is potentially less earning potential? It is a smaller company so I would have much more room for vertical growth in my career, and also more room for technical knowledge expansion. I am feeling so conflicted, I feel like it’s crazy to lose earning potential, but my bonus isn’t guaranteed. Without my bonus, it is a 10% pay bump