I have taken three jobs now where they hired me saying I would be able to work with .NET. In every case they used me like a ho to maintain their legacy FoxPro system, no .NET. This is not going to happen to me again. In fact I hope the next company I work for doesn't even have any FoxPro code, so they aren't even tempted.

>Many years ago I worked for 7 years in the most unbelievablly stressful job. I finally did the same as you are considering and took another job with a lower pay but not anything like the stress I had to deal with previously. It was worth it. More than worth it.
>
>However, I must admit that the verbal promises often don't pan out in the end. I can't tell you the number of times I've heard "I know we promised you and you have more than exceeded the requirements, however business requirements have since changed..." la da da. Funny how after 5 years I left that location too and suddenly, upon my departure, they were able to fulfill their promises from years ago. I left anyway.
>
>If you take the new job, be prepared to either go with the flow (within reason), or walk. That brings on a new kind of stress.
>
>
>
>>I drive about 24 highway miles to work everyday. The new job would be ~ 8 miles shorter.
>>
>>No, I'm not to the point of not being able to handle the stress, although it is piling up. It gets better and worse, but it doesn't stay better for long.
>>
>>I am pretty sure I will end up accepting it - I just want a little reassurance that life isn't all about money. That 6% isn't going to break us by any means, but if I have to give up my Hawkeye Football season tickets, I will cut somebody.
>>
>>>When you reach the point where, when someone asks you how your day was and you reply "No one died', it might be time to look for another job.
>>>
>>>Other things to consider:
>>>Is the new job closer to your home? If so, there's gas and mileage savings
>>>
>>>Is getting out of bed in the morning the least stressful thing in your day? If so, do you 'require' some type of relaxant after work to 'wind down' (and no, I'm not trying to imply anything bad)
>>>
>>>Are the benefits within the realm of 'good'? Yeah, a smaller shop might not be able to afford the same insurance - but if you're less stressed you might not need it at the bigger shop level :)
>>>
>>>I think it all boils down to the fact that you are uncomfortable/unhappy in your current work situation and life is WAY too short to grind in a job/environment you don't like.
>>>
>>>
>>>I'd still get the preformance expectations and the promotion statement in writing.
>>>
>>>
>>>>I just got a job offer this morning. I have been getting really sick of the Dilbert-ness of my current job. I have talked to my manager and my manager's manager about it, so I have tried to address the issues.
>>>>
>>>>The new place is a small local manufacturing facility. They have a 7-8 developer shop. I would be coming in as a Developer 1 for about 8% less than I am making now. They said after 6 months if I meet performance expectations (which I am confident I can) they would promote me to a Developer 2, and my salary would increase to about what I make now. I think I would fit in better at the new place because I have always really enjoyed manufacturing, and it seems like a somewhat laid back place. I interviewed with half the department and they seem like geeks, instead of the business stiffs I work for now. All of their systems are written in .NET, so I wouldn't have to struggle with the integrations between subpar vendored systems.
>>>>
>>>>The benefits wouldn't be as good as my current job, but not by much. I think there would be a lot more potential at the new place. I am about ready to friggin lose my mind at my current place. Once jagoff told me I should start to learn Java and I was ready to fight him (not literally, but in my mind I had him up in a helicopter whirl).
>>>>
>>>>What say you? I'm having a hard time getting around the money thing for the first few months. Even if it were just a miniscule amount more than I make now it would have given me a warm fuzzy that at least I am headed in the right direction money wise. However, I really do think that in 2-3 years I would be making more there than I would be here. They are a C# and Oracle shop, and I am a VB and SQL Server guy, but I'm fairly confident I can make the switch without too much trouble.
>>>>
>>>>Anyway, I should probably just be happy that I have a job because I know some folks on here aren't as lucky.